Electronics drives automation of critical gas operations

Pipeline & Gas Journal, Sept, 2004 by Jim Albrecht

The influence of electronics and automation on improving efficiencies is clearly evident in a wide range of industries. Gas Technology Institute (GTI) has played a key role in developing technologies for automating the natural gas industry's most critical tasks.

Teaming electronics experts with computer scientists, physicists and engineers, GTI is working with gas industry groups, government agencies, manufacturers and individual companies on numerous projects to help automate industry operations.

Electronic metering technologies, control and data acquisition systems and continually modernized construction and maintenance equipment have all served to replace the shovel and pencil.

"The importance electronics is having on natural gas operations cannot be overstated," says GTI's Steve Gauthier, Executive Director of Distribution & Pipeline Technology. "Electronics is making common utility tasks easier and less costly to perform, while allowing the industry to enhance the security of operations in ways never before possible."

Several of GTI's most successful developments have been produced by its Electronics & Telecommunications (E&T) Laboratory, a state-of-the-art facility at the organization's headquarters in Des Plaines, IL.

"With electronics a key element of so many gas industry tools and processes, maintaining strong capabilities in this area is a priority for GTI," Gauthier says.

Automated Pressure Regulation

One of the most noted products to be developed through the E&T Lab in recent years is the GridBoss[TM] automated district-regulator (available from Fisher Controls) that gives gas utility companies better control of line pressures to meet the gas demands of their customers. GTI's solution was to develop automated pressure-control hardware and software to gather and record various data--such as temperatures, pressures, time of day and low-pressure points--analyze the information and provide 24-hour continuous adjustments for district regulator hardware to automatically set the lowest appropriate pressure to satisfy demand.

"Conventional technology requires utilities to manually adjust district regulators seasonally to meet the expected peak demands," explains Chris Ziolkowski, GTI Associate Director of the E&T Lab. "However, when regulators are set based on the seasonal needs, the distribution systems tend to operate at pressures higher than necessary. This can induce higher leak rates and, for low-pressure systems without regulators at customer sites, result in under-registration of gas delivered to customers."

In addition, Ziolkowski notes, automated controls at district regulator vaults give utilities extra flexibility of response in emergency or unusual situations. A gas distribution system can also benefit from this technology by eliminating costly visits to remote regulators, reducing hazard and gas loss in third-party damage situations and providing extra flexibility in accepting gas from multiple suppliers.

"Smart" CP Monitor

In May 2004, Borin Manufacturing LLC introduced its DART IITM Walk-by Test Point Interrogation System, developed by the GTI E&T Lab. The system is built on wireless technology. It improves operators' ability to monitor steel lines to ensure that they have the proper cathodic protection (CP) from corrosion.

"Conventionally, CP monitoring is done by physically accessing the buried pipe--which is a labor-intensive procedure often conducted in busy streets," says Ziolkowski.

To address the concern, KeySpan Energy and GTI's Sustaining Membership Program funded the development and commercialization of a wireless system for reading CP currents and voltages using a buried, low-cost radio frequency transponder and reference electrode. The buried monitor can be activated during a walk-by using a portable electronics package to measure the steady-state CP potential and instant-off protection potential. The corrosion data, transponder serial number, time and date are stored in a handheld reading device from 3M Company.

The transponder automatically takes a reading once a month. Twelve months of readings are automatically transmitted to the handheld receiver during a visit. These readings, with their ID information, can be downloaded from the handheld device to a desk computer.

In addition to reduced labor (up to 70%), with the Smart CP Monitor, data accuracy and gathering speed are improved. Building on this success, GTI is currently working with 3M--which has successfully developed buried markers that wirelessly provide identifying information--to advance the ability of buried markers to provide data from in-situ sensors, such as the CP monitor.

Automation At Hand

"Industry advisers are consistent in what they tell us they want from our research programs," says Gauthier. "They want products that are smaller, faster, smarter and less expensive. And through advanced electronics, we're delivering these products."

The "smaller-is-better" concept is being realized through GTI's adaptation of personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other handheld devices for gas-industry tasks.