Control Concepts: Digital Thyristor Power Control for Predictive Maintenance
March 5, 2020
Digital SCR power controllers can calculate resistance and provide precise power control and can allow help in optimizing production costs. Predictive maintenance is achieved by knowing when an element has reached its useful life.
Intelligent Power Control
Intelligent power control has embedded algorithms with Teach functions to calculate data and predict what is likely to happen next in the life of a heating element. This capability can determine partial load loss, resistance change, and complete load loss. This data can be used to help reduce energy cost.
Predicting & Extending Heater Element Life
The ability to measure resistance in a furnace can provide information on the overall condition of an element. Utilizing Teach functions, a power controller with embedded algorithms calculating data, enable it to constantly predict what is likely to happen next in the life of a heating element.
Conditions such as partial load failure are determined and can provide appropriate alarming.
Knowing the life of the element enables you to predict when they should be changed and allows for a structured shut down preventing expensive un-scheduled down time.
Optimizing Energy Costs
Realizing the life of the element is also very useful in determining other conditions of the furnace, such as furnace insulation problems. Heat loss due to poor insulation can cause the elements to work harder to maintain temperature and shorten element life. Furthermore, lost heat increases energy consumption and higher electric bills.
Understanding the condition of the furnace elements and the overall life of the element can be key in determining if the furnace is in proper operating condition to meet the next AMS2750 audit.
Intelligent controllers have a Kilovolt-ampere hour meter (KVAh Consumption). The KVAh Consumption value is the apparent power (KVA) enabling the operator to know what the actual energy costs are for a particular product run. Understanding plant loading and KVAh Consumption are key factors in determining if load shedding and load sharing are appropriate.
Determining the aging process of a variable resistive load provides information very useful in determining when transformer taps should be tapped up or tapped down. Operating on the proper tap can help eliminate costly utility penalties by improving system power factor.
Power Conversion Equipment & Digital Connectivity
Digital connectivity by various Bus networks for your SCR power controller enables all this data to be readily accessible.
IoT is becoming a reality. Power conversion equipment is just one smart device that will be used in connecting it all together. Predictive maintenance, and proper energy utilization, are just a couple of the many things that can improve plant productivity.
At Control Concepts, Inc., we are all about power control and helping you meet your needs for improved productivity, reduced energy consumption, greater process control and reliability. Give us a call and let us help you find the best solution for your project or process.
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