The intelligent functions of the new versions of the Cerabar and Deltabar absolute and differential pressure transmitters pave the way to Industry 4.0 and offer plant operators smart process reliability.
Apart from temperature and concentration, the measurement parameter “pressure” is crucial in the process and quality of chemical reactions. What’s more, the pressure built up in containers and pipes is of significant importance when it comes to safety in the chemical process industry, in the oil & gas industry and in power plants. The new Cerabar and Deltabar pressure measurement product lines feature intelligent functions and are designed to meet the safety requirements of these industries. With a broad range of sensors, best possible measuring performance and all the necessary certificates, these instruments can be used in the most demanding pressure measurement applications.
The ceramic measuring cell is an example of a pressure sensor that has already proven itself. The ultra-pure ceramic measuring cell, added to the product range in 1987, shows its full capacity in high-vacuum applications, when aggressive or abrasive media are involved or short-time pressure shocks occur. In addition, it comes with integrated membrane failure detection.
More Industry 4.0
Process and plant safety are top priorities in the chemical process industry, the oil & gas industry and in power plants. Only when safety is ensured can Industry 4.0 unlock its full potential. In this context, sensors are critically important. Sensors have to reliably capture, link and transfer process data to the respective higher levels – crucial tasks regarding the improvement and efficiency of process management. If ordered with the optional Bluetooth® and Heartbeat Technology features, the new Cerabar and Deltabar generations meet all the key criteria mentioned in the NAMUR roadmap for process sensors: these features offer wireless communication and sensor diagnostics and provide sensor and process data.
Bluetooth® Wireless Technology: Digitally improved processes for enhanced productivity
The Bluetooth® interface significantly adds to the ease of use of the new Cerabar and Deltabar product lines. This equally applies to the commissioning and operation of the instruments.
- no longer necessary to open the device
- measuring points can easily be operated and configured, even if difficult to access
- the device can easily and quickly be parameterized before installation (e.g. in advance in the workshop)
- several PDF reports can be generated directly
Endress+Hauser Bluetooth® interfaces feature a special protocol (PAKE) that differs from that used by consumer devices such as smartphones or fitness trackers, which means that the Bluetooth® connection between the SmartBlue app and a pressure transmitter is not compromised and IT security is maintained. Attacks manipulating the connection between app and device can thus be excluded. Accordingly, the security of Endress+Hauser wireless connection technology received positive ratings from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security (AISEC): “In conclusion […] we derive the subsequent evaluation of the security level of the Bluetooth® infrastructure:
- Protocol
- Algorithms
Only personal ID cards with an integrated NFC interface offer a higher degree of security.
Heartbeat Technology: More smart process safety
From the perspective of plant operators, the ideal measuring instrument is completely self-monitoring. With Heartbeat Technology, Endress+Hauser devices come quite close to this ideal, since it relieves operators of most of the effort of monitoring their devices. As a first step, this includes permanent device diagnostics with plain text messages according to NE 107. Heartbeat Technology also renders laborious on-site troubleshooting at the measuring point a thing of the past: When a fault occurs, the revised display turns from green to red and provides clues directly on-site.
An app-based operating sequence guides operating personnel through a device verification process that can be executed at any time (Heartbeat Verification), and the results are recorded in a verification protocol – without interrupting the process or removing the device from the line. The integrated Heartbeat monitoring functions will in future provide additional device and process information obtained from statistical analysis of sensor data or detect undervoltage at any time.
Ready for SIL2 and SIL3 applications
Like their predecessors, the new product lines were developed according to IEC 61508, so they can be directly used in SIL2 or – inhomogeneous redundancy – in SIL3 applications. When using pressure transmitters in safety-instrumented process control systems, it is essential for the plant operator to eliminate systematic errors and at the same time reduce the time spent on each SIL measuring point. The pressure transmitters can be operated without removing the housing lid by means of the touch buttons integrated into the display. This also avoids possible corrosion issues caused by humidity penetrating the device while opening and closing it. The new digital assistants for SIL locking and proof testing according to SIL also help to avoid systematic errors. They provide step-by-step guidance while testing, like the checklist pilots, follow before take-off. When completing an operating sequence, the user can obtain a PDF test protocol, e.g. via the new Bluetooth® interface and the Endress+Hauser SmartBlue app.
Netilion IIoT ecosystem unleashes data potential for Industry 4.0 applications
Industry 4.0 process sensors open up numerous exciting opportunities for plant operators to make use of the data collected from sensors. The key to success is, however, the transparency and availability of the additional information. “As long as essential sensor data is left sleeping in the pressure transmitter, the potential of Industry 4.0 cannot be realized,” says Peter Dietrich, Head of the Department for Digitalization at Endress+Hauser Germany. “As things stand, 97 percent of all sensor data remains unused. And the Endress+Hauser cloud-based platform Netilion set out to exploit the new-found potential to the full,” adds Dietrich.
The free Netilion scanner app makes the manual inventory of the installed base really easy. The relevant pressure transmitter data can be captured by using either a QR code or an RFID chip. Additional information, e.g. the position of the measuring point, can be entered easily.
Netilion Library provides documentation for the captured pressure instruments at any time, eliminating the previously cumbersome search for relevant documents and significantly reducing maintenance and commissioning times. Meanwhile, the Endress+Hauser data platform holds data sets of more than 40 million installed devices.
Netilion Analytics automatically links these digital twins to the measuring point documents. A dashboard containing all captured measuring points offers a complete overview of the plant so that the operator can tell at a glance which pressure instruments are no longer available for purchase, for example.
Netilion Health, an online service, supports plant operators with more than 25,000 device diagnostics. The service supplements the pressure transmitters’ status messages with diagnostic codes according to NE 107, error causes, and recommended actions – which frees the plant operator from difficult fault interpretation, allowing them to address every fault or error message in a simple and targeted manner.
The bottom line: A smart kickoff for Industry 4.0
The new Cerabar and Deltabar product lines provide plant operators with a future-oriented start to Industry 4.0. Both proven and newly designed features offer high productivity as well as process safety and plant availability. An investment in digitally optimized processes pays off – today and in the future.
[1] “Security Evaluation of the Endress+Hauser Bluetooth® Infrastructure” – Fraunhofer Institute AISEC
