The Swanson Flo Blog is dedicated to provide educational and new product information on process control instrumentation, control valves, and valve automation. For more information on these products, visit SwansonFlo.com or call 800-288-7926.
A rupture disc (pressure safety disc, burst disc, bursting disc) is a “one and done” pressure relief device most often used to protect a vessel, pipe, or container from over pressurization. As opposed to pressure relief valves, rupture discs are designed to function only one time by providing an instantaneous response to an over-pressure condition.
These sacrificial parts are designed to burst when pressure within production equipment exceeds a certain threshold by breaking down, stopping the process to prevent or mitigate hazardous events. Rupture discs are critical instruments utilized so that companies can ensure process safety as set forth by the International Safety Standards (IEC 61508/61511).
Rupture discs prove most effective when they fail according to pre-established specifications. Inferior rupture discs often cause unnecessary and expensive production shutdowns due to the lack of quality testing and expertise in manufacturing.
Rupture discs are commonly used in chemical, petrochemical, nuclear, aerospace, medical, railroad, pharmaceutical, food processing and gas & oil applications. They provide primary or backup protection. Very often rupture discs are used in tandem with safety relief valves, protecting them from the process media and extending the life of the relief valve.
Isolation ring installed view (courtesy of Ashcroft)
Hard-to-measure fluids such as harsh acids and bases, slurries, adhesives, sludge, paint pigments, and mine slurry can quickly clog or destroy pressure gauges, switches, and transmitters.
For these kinds of applications, the instrument must be isolated from the process media by using a barrier that accurately transmits any pressure changes, while isolating the instrument from direct contact with the media being monitored.
When a pressure instrument is connected directly to a pipeline, solids from the process media can quickly plug the pressure port resulting in erroneous readings. The pressure port on diaphragm seals are prone to clogging too, and won’t solve the problem. The best solution is an isolation ring.
Isolation rings use a flexible inner liner backed with a clean, captive, non-compressible liquid. As the media flows through the pipe, the pressure exerted on the flexible liner is transferred through the liquid directly to the pressure sensing element of the instrument, keeping it completely isolated from the process media.
Isolation rings are designed to protect you from the challenges of clogging, plugging, corrosive media and pulsation. As professionals in the water and wastewater, pulp and paper, mining, and food processing industry know all to well, slurries and digestion processes can clog unprotected pressure instruments, resulting in dangerous conditions and down time.
Isolation rings prevent those problems by protecting the pressure sensing element from the medium. They're designed to overcome the most extreme applications and keep processes running day-in and day-out.
For more information on process instrumentation, call Swanson Flo at 800-288-7926 or visit http://www.swansonflo.com.
The video below gives you a quick look inside an isolation ring and shows how they are used.
For decades, the Foxboro brand has driven the development of various breakthrough measurement technologies: The first d/p cell, the dual-phase Digital Coriolis Mass Flowmeter, the DolpHinTM pH Sensor, and the Magnetic Flowmeter.
Foxboro instrumentation sets the industry standard for performance in a wide variety of measurement technologies:
Pressure transmitters that provide best-in-class accuracy levels and the longest standard and optional warranties in the industry
Flowmeter technolgies: Magnetic, Vortex shedding and Coriolis that provide unparalleled solution for liquids, gases and steam
Process analytical sensors that revolutionize pH and conductivity measurement
Temperature transmitters providing accurate and reliable measurements in the harshest of environments
Level measurement including LevelStar Buoyancy and LevelWave Radar devices for the widest choice of installation and applications
Accutech provides wireless measurements where traditional instruments struggle with operation and budget goals
Foxboro instruments provide accurate, reliable measurement and analysis of pressure, ow, level, and process analytical variables so you have the process control you need for maximum integration and interoperability - all at competitive prices, low cost of ownership, and 24-hour worldwide support from a single source.
For more information on Foxboro Field Instruments, visit Swanson Flo or call 800-288-7926.
Magnetic level gauges, also referred to as magnetic level indicators, are routinely used to provide a display of liquid level in tanks and other vessels. They are often employed in tandem with magnetostrictive, guided wave radar, or other measurement means to provide a reliable local display of liquid level, as well as an electrical signal that can be transmitted to recording instrumentation or controllers. The favorable attributes of magnetic level gauges include:
Continuous level measurement
Operable without electric power
Direct visual tank fluid level indication, regardless of tank shape or profile.
Wide range of operating temperature and pressure
Breakage resistant construction
Range of construction materials available to accommodate corrosive media
Measuring indicators, switches, and transmitters mounted externally, without contacting the medium being measured.
Low maintenance operation.
Readable level indication from greater distance than glass sight gauges.
Applicable to large fluid level ranges with a single instrument.
Magnetic level indicators have a strong position in the liquid level measurement field and should be considered as a candidate for fulfilling those applications where the magnetic level gauge features fulfill the project requirements. There are many options available to customize the level indicator for each specific application. Share your application challenges with a product specialist, combining your process knowledge with their product application expertise to develop an effective solution.
Modern actuators are increasingly equipped with functions that provide information to the process operator, closing the loop with feedback that confirms the valve position, suitability of the energy supply to the actuator, and a range of other specialized data points.
A continuous goal for any plant is is a reduction in whatever level of maintenance that is currently required to keep everything operating. Maintenance is costly and time consuming, a set of many specialized tasks, each with a probability of not being completed properly.
Industrial process control encompasses a broad range of fluid handling operations. A significant part of fluid control is accomplished by valves, many of which are operated automatically through the use of actuators. Actuators are mounted on valves in place of, or in addition to, a hand-wheel, lever, or other manual means of opening and closing the valve. With an actuator installed, a control signal can be transmitted from a remote source to the actuator, commanding a change in valve position, and the actuator will respond by converting some form of connected energy into mechanical motion that positions the valve accordingly.
The Flowserve Limitorque L120 electric actuator pictured above is designed for a wide range of environmental applications in power, oil & gas, and water industries.
Take a minute (54 seconds actually) to acquaint yourself with Swanson Flo, one of the Midwest's most innovative process control companies. For more information, visit www.SwansonFlo.com.
