TPi September 2018

processing and connectivity, cloud-based data monitoring and storage and material data analysis services. While the sensor tubes are fully load carrying, the material certification is unaffected by the inclusion of the sensors. It is also possible to have the tube made from most alloys, in sizes from OD 15mm up to 110mm, and length of up to 15m. An amount of 2mm is added to the wall thickness to accommodate the sensors. The signal process and connectivity device receive signals from the sensor tubes, and one or more devices may be required depending upon how many tubes are being used. The gateway is connected across 4G technology, and local output for real-time production process control is also featured. Signals are sent to the cloud, which is built on Microsoft Azure, for additional processing and computation. Data can be stored long-term for analysis purposes, while within machine learning, data mining and AI are all under development. Installation can then be easily managed from the customer portal provided. Customers are supported in the making of material condition assessments, and material failure analysis will be provided if necessary, along with materials consulting and testing services. Using real material data libraries offers extensive testing and development of products together with actual recordings of the sensor tubes’ service life. Accurate analysis and predictions are fully available for the user. An example of the kind of application where the system can be used would be a boiler that has accidentally been operating without sufficient cooling water, and this could mean that the material has been overheated and could potentially fail. This then begs the question of whether it is safe to continue with the operation. By using tubes including intelligent sensors with cloud data monitoring it would be possible to know the exact temperature the tubes have been subjected to, and this would enable an educated evaluation and decision to be made. Another example would be where a heat exchanger has been run intermittently with extreme variations in temperature. This would result in the tubes being subjected to thermal strain cycling. With intelligent tubes used with cloud monitoring it would be possible to chart a ‘strain history’ of the tube and pinpoint when strain has reached critical levels.

About Sandvik Sandvik is a developer and manufacturer of products in advanced stainless steels and special alloys for demanding environments, as well as products and systems for nuclear applications.

One real life situation was with Bomhus Energi AB in Sweden, which has a 150 MW bubbling fluid bed boiler installed with a primary air pre-heater operating at <250°C, with low pressures, air inside the tube and fumes outside. The intelligent tubes were able to measure the temperature of the tube wall to avoid the temperature dropping to below dew point, and therefore avoiding any corrosion issues. One metre of the tube was removed and replaced with an intelligent tube. This means Bomhus is able to fully monitor the operation and performance of the plant; plan for any remedial action that may be required; and prevent unexpected failure in the future. Increasingly today’s technology and innovations are improving the quality of process monitoring and significantly helping with operational planning to reduce the risk of downtime. Those involved in manufacturing processes will find that adopting these new techniques will make a large difference to their operations, and working with materials experts to install such equipment will undoubtedly reap significant benefits.

Sandvik Materials Technology – Sweden www.materials.sandvik

Diagram of Sandvik’s Sentusys system

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TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL September 2018

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