The Siemens SIPART PS2 Valve Positioner demonstrates the versatility and reliability that you have come to expect from Siemens. While Siemens leads the market with safe, uninterrupted performance, we’re striving to develop new technologies to meet the changing market needs and expectations.

With that in mind, this year we are introducing new functionalities to our SIPART PS2 Valve Positioner:

1. Fail in Place Technology
Traditionally, upon loss of power to a valve positioner, the device will fail to an end stop position.

Our new optional Fail-in-Place (FIP) feature causes the valve to remain in the last position when it loses power. This is particularly useful in damper control applications, but can also be beneficial for critical process control valves.

2. Valve Performance Test through a HART Update
New diagnostic features and control improvements via the HART Communication protocol update. The key feature in this update is a Valve Performance Test (VPT). VPT provides hysteresis, non-linearity, non-repeatability, maximum measured error and inaccuracy up/down.

This test will provide a baseline as well as current data on your valve that will help plan upcoming maintenance on your customers’ equipment.

3. Integral Volume Booster (launched in August 2014)
Volume Boosters are typically mounted externally to the valve positioner and are used to boost air flow to the actuator.

Our unique Integral Volume Booster (IVB) directly connects to the SIPART PS2 and eliminates a majority of the fittings and pipe bending required to mount standard external volume boosters. This reduction in piping, fittings and labor helps reduce the overall cost of ownership.

Source : Siemens

Infrared inspections often involve analyzing temperature variations on something extremely small or too far away to see the needed detail with standard lenses. Two new lenses for Fluke infrared cameras bring those worlds into sharper focus. The 25 micron macro lens can identify defects that might otherwise be too small to see on targets like PCB boards. The new 4x telephoto lens gets users a four times magnified view of a target at a distance, so targets like a high electrical line or a tall flare stack can be easily inspected.

The two new lenses expand the Fluke portfolio of lenses for select infrared cameras of 320 x 240 resolution and under. The Fluke portfolio of lenses now includes standard, wide angle, macro, and 2x and 4x telephoto lenses-all precisely engineered germanium optics. All these lenses are easily exchanged between compatible cameras without the need to send the lens and camera back to the factory for calibration, eliminating the cost and downtime caused by shipping and additional calibration.

The 4x telephoto lens, which is compatible with Fluke^® TiX560, TiX520, Ti400, Ti300, and Ti200 infrared cameras, helps identify problems in power utilities as small as a failed splice on a high electrical line while keeping technicians safely on the ground. In applications like petrochemical and metals refinement where explosive atmospheres, extreme heat, or dangerous electrical levels make keeping a safe distance critical, the telephoto lens makes distant details more viewable while keeping workers at a safer distance.

The 25 micron macro lens, which is compatible with Fluke TiX560 and TiX520 infrared cameras, enables technicians to distinguish thermal variations across distances smaller than a human hair, making it ideal for applications in electronics/PCB board R&D, or anything else requiring near-microscopic level infrared resolution. The LaserSharp^® Auto Focus button is used to set the focus at the optimal distance for the lens, eliminating the need to move the focus wheel by tiny amounts to get accurate, in-focus images, speeding infrared measurements.

“These new lenses represent Fluke’s continued drive to listen to and be involved with the application needs of customers,” said Chris Bohn, senior business unit manager for Fluke Thermography. “As technology changes and customers discover new applications for infrared technology, Fluke will continue to innovate in the area of infrared optics, as we have with our camera systems.”

Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation was lIsted as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies in 2015 byFortune magazine in its international edition dated March 1, 2015.

The annual ranking of the world’s most admired companies, set up by Fortune magazine, takes stock of the best assessed companies following a survey carried out on 15,000 company executives and specialists in different economic sectors. The attributes assessed in the survey include innovative capacity, responsibility toward communities and the environment, the quality of products and talent attraction.

In 2015, Schneider Electric was ranked 7th in its sector of Industry and Electronics, retaining the position it achieved in 2014. The Group has gone up two places in the Innovation attribute (2015: 9th position / 2014: 11th), and has maintained its position in the Management attributes (7th in 2015 and 2014) and Financial Stability (6th in 2015 and 2014). The Group has also identified areas for improvement in attributes such as Social Responsibility and Competitiveness.

This ranking recognizes Schneider Electric’s many initiatives aimed at making relations with its employees more attractive and engaging, not to mention with all of its customers and partners. The new company programme “Schneider is On”, launched in early 2015, should enable Schneider Electric to continue on the path of innovation to offer even more value to its customers.

Source : Schneider

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won a significant order to provide substations and related power infrastructure for the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm. ABB will provide power infrastructure for the offshore platform as well as the onshore substation to efficiently integrate the new wind farm into the country’s transmission grid. ABB will also extend an existing substation that will receive the wind power. The wind farm is scheduled for completion in 2018.

The 400 Megawatt (MW) project is being built by energy company E.ON, in partnership with the UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB).The wind farm will be situated off the Sussex coast between Worthing and Brighton and will include 116 turbines, with the nearest located 13 kilometers from shore. When complete, the wind farm will have the capability to generate electricity for around 300,000 homes and reduce CO2 emissions by up to 600,000 tonnes a year.

The wind farm’s 400MW of installed electrical capacity will contribute to the United Kingdom’s (UK) target of achieving 15 percent of its total energy production from renewable sources by 2020 and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Europe now has around 8 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power connected to the grid. UK is the leading contributor, accounting for nearly half the installed capacity and a further 11.9 GW of offshore capacity under construction or with planning approval.

“These substations will help integrate wind energy and facilitate the reliable and efficient transmission of clean power,” said Claudio Facchin, president of ABB’s Power Systems division. “We are pleased to contribute with our innovative technologies and proven project execution experience to support the enhancement of renewables in the U.K.’s energy mix and the strengthening of the power infrastructure. This order is another example of our Next Level Strategy and our focus on profitable growth.”

As part of the order scope, ABB will be responsible for the turnkey delivery of the onshore substation, including high-voltage air-insulated switchgear (AIS), gas-insulated switchgear (GIS), transformers and substation automation as well as control and protection systems.

The onshore substation will also be equipped with four STATCOM (static compensator) units to ensure grid stability. These will provide reactive power compensation by detecting and instantly compensating for voltage fluctuations associated with the intermittent nature of wind energy.

ABB will also supply medium-voltage switchgear, power transformers and protection and control systems for the offshore platform as well as two new switchgear bays with control and protection equipment for the National Grid’s nearby substation at Bolney, receiving power from the new wind farm. The solution ensures that stringent grid code standards are met.

About ABB

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility, industry, and transport and infrastructure customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in roughly 100 countries and employs about 140,000 people.

Sources : ABB