Hydrocarbon Processing - May 2021 - 87

MIKE RHODES, MANAGING EDITOR
Mike.Rhodes@HydrocarbonProcessing.com

Innovations

Extended digital
transmission portfolio with
edge-enabled transformers
and switchgear
Siemens Energy has extended its
switchgear and transformer portfolio
with Edgeformer™ and Edgegear™, presenting the first high-voltage devices with
edge computing. The new generation of
digitally enabled transmission products
and systems opens new possibilities for
grid operators to benefit from data-driven
applications by deploying them within
the local substation network.
The shift to an increasingly decarbonized energy landscape poses tremendous
challenges to grid operators that require a
new way of managing the energy system.
The digitalization of power transmission assets in the substation, the heart of
any electrical power distribution system,
plays an important role to manage the increased feed-ins of renewable energy and
the exponential increase of complexity.
While most digital solutions for substation assets rely solely on equipment with
cloud connectivity, edge-enabled transmission products like Edgegear and Edgeformer offer new possibilities to connect
equipment directly within the substation
without having to forego the benefits of
cloud-based solutions like app-based data
analytics. Edge computing technology
enables faster computing capabilities for
quicker decision-making as well as data
storage and processing onsite.
With edge computing, the data is kept
offline in the substation without compromising a seamless, secure and easy
integration into the existing customer
IT-landscape. The result is a highly cybersecure system. Siemens Energy's edgeenabled transformers and switchgear will
come with app-based data analytics and
asset management.
With Edgeformer and Edgegear, every
transmission system operator will have access to value-added applications, enabling
them to respond faster to changes in the
system and increase asset transparency,

productivity and reliability. Edgegear, for
example, provides operators with realtime partial discharge analyses as well as
gas and oil leakage prediction supported
by artificial intelligence and machine
learning, allowing grid operators to manage their networks more effectively.

Ultra-compact flowmeter
for utilities and
industrial automation
KROHNE has introduced the AF-E
400 ultra-compact electromagnetic flowmeter (FIG. 1) for utilities and industrial
automation applications. It is specially
designed to fit in applications with little
installation space available (e.g., in cooling lines of welding equipment, bending
machines and robots, or on chemical
dosing skids). AF-E 400 matches the requirements of application areas in heating and cooling/temperature control,
machine building of washing or dosing
equipment, HVAC, and utilities and industrial automation applications in all
process industries.
KROHNE has examined issues with
products in this segment and developed
the cost-effective, ultra-compact flowmeter to be best-in-class in terms of
temperature range, accuracy, pressure
drop and flow range: AF-E 400 features a
stainless-steel housing and is suitable for
continuous use at > 90°C (> 194°F) liquid temperature, allowing for operation
in very demanding cooling and hot water
applications. The round bore reduction
of the sensor makes the flowmeter more
resilient in terms of increased pressure,
ensuring high accuracy over a wide pressure and temperature range, and a high
turndown ratio without risk of cavitation. The integrated temperature measurement eliminates the need for an additional sensor, minimizing the intrusion
points in the pipe and providing more
data from the process.
AF-E 400 also features extensive selfdiagnostics: the meter continuously monitors several critical aspects, including low

FIG. 1. The KROHNE AF-E 400 ultra-compact
electromagnetic flowmeter.

supply voltage, incorrect parametrization,
flow range exceedance, or short circuit on
any of its outputs. Warning messages-
according to NAMUR NE107-alert the
user via the rotatable full-color display or
the communication outputs.
Due to the special design of its magnetic circuit, field strength and electronics,
AF-E 400 is immune to crosstalk caused by
magnetic field overlap of adjacent devices,
and can be installed in series or in parallel
up to a distance of 2 mm/0.08 in. from device to device without interference.
Nominal sensor sizes reach from
DN6...25/ ¼...1 in. for flowrates up to
150 l/min/40 gpm as standard, and up
to 500 l/min/132 gpm on request. Output options include 4...20 mA, pulse, frequency, switch, IO-link or Modbus to
provide operators with multiple sensor
and application data for smarter factory
automation. AF-E 400 is sold from stock
and shipped within 48 hr.

Maintain critical
temperature in
multi-fuel boilers
Ensuring that steam turbines run at
maximum efficiency is directly dependent
on the steam's temperature entering the
turbine. Higher steam temperatures mean
higher efficiency and lower emissions.
With a highly controlled temperature, the
turbine can produce more power with the
same amount of fuel.
For ultra-super critical (USC) multifuel boiler technology, accurate temperature measurement from 550°C-700°C
Hydrocarbon Processing | MAY 2021

Hydrocarbon Processing - May 2021

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