Global process control industries spend an average of US$50 billion a year on corrosion problems that can hinder their abilities to operate at optimal levels. Honeywell claims that its proprietary on-line corrosion technology can reduce corrosion costs to process control customers by up to 20%.
A competent corrosion solution offers measurable improvements and benefits to users. These benefits include:
* Increased plant uptime due to improved reliability of assets.
* Reduction in maintenance costs by moving from scheduled to reliability-centred maintenance.
* Maximised production throughput while protecting plant assets.
* Improved safety by minimising the effects of process upsets and excursions.
* Significant reduction in inhibitor costs.
A winning combination
Through its acquisition of InterCorr International in 2005, Honeywell Process Solutions claim to have become the first and only automation and control supplier to offer realtime on-line corrosion detection for integration with the process control system. The integration of InterCorr technology with Honeywell's Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS) enables customers to shift from traditional off-line corrosion assessment to on-line, realtime measurement, allowing them to realise significant reductions in corrosion expenditures and to manage plant assets more effectively.
Corrosion as a process variable
As an input to the process control system, corrosion data can be alarmed, historised, trended, and assigned to process groups. Corrosion data can then be correlated with other process variables allowing the corrosion specialist and plant operator or engineer to work together, both having a broader view of plant operating conditions and methods of mitigation.
Through integration with Experion PKS, operators can transform raw corrosion monitoring data into high-value process knowledge. Operators can gain an awareness of their plant conditions, make critical business decisions quickly and take proactive actions to optimise short-term and long-term plant performance.
An integral part of the PKS is the use of advanced applications, like Honeywell's asset, control and operations applications. Advanced applications with realtime corrosion data are a further source of high-value process knowledge for the process engineer to make the right decision at the right time.
Corrosion detection
The patented SmartCET (Smart corrosion evaluation technology) corrosion detection transmitter forms the foundation for Honeywell's corrosion solution, providing a convenient and efficient method to bring corrosion data to the process control system. This on-line, realtime corrosion information enriches the information in a process knowledge system and facilitates preventative maintenance through the early detection of corrosion.
SmartCET transmitters communicate via Honeywell's XYR5000 wireless product, the industrial standard HART protocol or 4-20 mA, and can easily connect to existing control systems.
Because localised corrosion accounts for 70% to 90% of all corrosion-related equipment failures it is important to be able to accurately detect this. Linear polarisation resistance (LPR) is a proven method for measurement of corrosion trends. However, Honeywell scientists, with their extensive materials research background and plant corrosion knowledge, discovered a better, more accurate method to measure corrosion effects and developed a superior method to calculate corrosion, hence Super LPR. Super LPR couples LPR with two Honeywell technologies for quicker and more accurate corrosion rate measurement and assessment of localised corrosion propensity. This proprietary Super LPR technology is embedded in the SmartCET transmitters.
Honeywell claim that this results in its corrosion transmitter being the only on-line, realtime product capable of accurately monitoring localised corrosion (pitting). This gives plant operators access to current, actionable process variable information including a time-trended general (uniform) corrosion rate and an indication of corrosion modality (localised or pitting corrosion) detection.
The unique design of SmartCET enables it to connect to a range of different off-the-shelf and custom probe designs, each configured to provide the most accurate and reliable measurement of corrosion activity.
Equipped with the appropriate probe these transmitters allow corrosion monitoring to be available to virtually all plant equipment, regardless of material or operating conditions. Examples include aqueous environments, oil-water or multiphase mixtures, vapour phase and high temperature applications.
For more information visit www.honeywell.com/ps or contact Julie Ann Brown, Honeywell SA, +27 (0)11 695 8000, [email protected], or www.honeywell.co.za
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