Life Sciences


Job Note: Steam Control Solution at Medical Center

October 16, 2024 | Application NotesLife Sciences

 

Prominent Hospital

Philadelphia, PA

Construction Costs: $10K

 

 

Services Provided

  • Instrument Programming &Configuration
  • HMI Screen Development
  • On-Site Start-Up &Commissioning
  • Operator Training
jefferson steam distribution control system p+id

Neal Systems Provides Steam Distribution Control Panel to State-of-the-Art Philadelphia Medical Center

A brand new, state-of-the-art, medical center that recently opened its doors in Center City Philadelphia, PA expressed a need for control and monitoring instrumentation for its facility steam distribution system. The distribution system supplies steam to critical sub-systems within the center, including those for hot water generation, HVAC, and medical equipment sterilization. 

 

The control panel Neal Systems provided was ultimately built around two Eurotherm Nanodac Controller/recorders and a 15-inch Weintek Touchscreen HMI.

 

In the control panel, the Nanodac pair governs the operation of a network of Pressure Relief Valves (PRVs)into which high pressure municipal steam is introduced; where Pressure Transmitters (PTs) measure distributed steam pressure. 

 

PID Pressure Control Loops set up in the Nanodacs enable the PRV network to not only step steam pressure down in stages from high to medium to low so that it’s optimized for sub-system use, but also keep sub-system demand for steam fulfilled as the sub-systems repeatedly approach and back away from full capacity operation over the course of a typical workday.

 

The control panel’s Weintek Touchscreen HMI offers building operators an interactive display of data quantifying several aspects of steam distribution system activity including valve positions, target steam pressure measurements, and pressure deviation alarms which trip whenever steam pressure within the system falls too low or runs too high. 

 

Displayed data is overlayed on custom graphics depicting steam distribution plumbing, thereby offering a physical picture by which operators can assess system operational integrity. 

 

A local alarm strobe with horn is also fitted on the control panel that energizes each time a pressure deviation alarm goes active. A virtual “Alarm Acknowledge” button configured into the HMI Touchscreen can be pressed to silence the alarm horn once Operators are fully notified that a steam pressure deviation event has taken place.

 

All parameters displayed by the Touchscreen HMI are also recorded in real-time by the Nanodacs. Because the Nanodacs and HMI are Ethernet-enabled, the data they display, control, and collect can be made available to other systems, such as data historian, building management, and energy monitoring ones, via corporate Ethernet network link. 

 

Overall, the Nanodacs and Weintek Touchscreen HMI make the medical center’s steam distribution control panel an invaluable tool for managing the facility’s use of a vitally important utility. Facility operators and technicians are provided a system interface that makes the day-to-day tasks of steam distribution monitoring,performance optimization, and predictive maintenance convenient and easy, while managers have at their fingertips reliable data by which to base operational,procedural, and budgetary decisions impacted by the center’s steam usage.



Application Note: Revolutionizing Laboratory Gas Monitoring: A Cost-Effective Solution

February 5, 2024 | Application NotesLife Sciences

Problem

A pharmaceutical customer in Pennsylvania required a solution to help monitor toxic, flammable, and O2 depleting gases in their laboratory. They need the ability to change the sensors depending on what gases are being detected at the time; in this case – oxygen (O2) and Silicon Tetrachloride (SiCl4). The detectors they have are permanent, meaning that once they install the unit, they have to replace the entire thing to sense a new gas— a very inconvenient and costly task. 

 

Not only that, but their existing system was a rat’s nest of wires with little to no drawings. It was retrofitted so many times to the point where nobody understands how the system functions anymore. In fact, the customer was having a difficult time finding anyone with the knowledge and expertise to help them. That is when the Neal Systems team came to help.

Before
Before

Solution

After troubleshooting and testing the pre-existing equipment to know how everything worked together, Neal Systems demolished obsolete portions of the existing cabinet and repurposed what we could. Their existing equipment was retrofitted with a new Draeger Regard 7000 enclosure, several Draeger Polytron 7000 transmitters, gas detectors, and new light stacks. Our solution simplifies the process to exchange sensors, and the controller can recognize exchanged sensors and recommend settings based on what is plugged in.

The Big Reveal

Our solution allows the customer to change out multiple gas sensors with relative ease. The system can recognize the different sensors that are plugged into the transmitters, and even recommend when the sensor life is near an end so that they can be proactively changed out. The customer no longer has the hassle of replacing detectors when they need to monitor new gases. We’ve also updated the drawings so that future work and expansion of the system would be feasible. The solution we provided to our customer was cost-effective, quick, and efficient, thanks to Neal Systems’ Engineering team and Draeger’s advanced technology, especially the Regard 7000 Gas Detection System.

After
After
After

After

After

PRODUCTS USED

Draeger Polytron 7000

Draeger Electrochemical (EC) Sensor

Draeger Regard 7000

Engineering Inquiry? Contact us here and we will be in touch!


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