New Introductory Video From CTi Controltech

CTi Controltech has released a new welcome video illustrating the company's capabilities. CTi’s expertise includes burner management and combustion control, as well as other areas of process control in the refining, power (including renewable such as geothermal and solar), food, specialty chemicals, mining, and semi-conductor industries. The company's personnel resources include engineers, technicians, and sales/support staff. CTi Controltech is strategically based in San Ramon, CA.

High Efficiency Hydronic Boilers

Series 3000C Hydronic Boiler
Courtesy Williams & Davis Boilers

Hydronic boilers are widely deployed in residential, commercial, and industrial settings as part of a central heating plant or process hot water system. In recent years, replacing steam boilers with hydronic units has been one way to boost efficiency and reduce operating costs. Hydronic boilers produce hot water, whereas steam boilers deliver vapor (steam) to the distribution system.

Hydronic boilers employing condensing boiler technology can achieve efficiency rates beyond 95% in some cases. The elevated efficiency results from making use of the sensible and latent heat from the combustion fuel. Additional savings are reaped from the lower operating temperature range of the entire system. Using temperature reset related to outdoor temperature, weekend and night setback operation, and operating at greater differential between supply and return temperatures can further add to the comparative savings of a condensing hydronic boiler system.

Hydronic boiler with cover removed
Courtesy Williams & Davis Boilers

There are many considerations to be taken into account when selecting a hydronic boiler and associated equipment. Proper selection and coordination of the instrumentation and equipment is a key part of achieving the desired efficiency and energy savings. It is beneficial to consult with combustion experts when planning to install new equipment. Combining your facility or process knowledge with their expertise will produce the best outcomes.

High Efficiency Hydronic Boilers from CTi Controltech

Armored Liquid Level Gauges With Specialty Indicators

Armored liquid level gauges provide protection from
mechanical stress and impact
Courtesy Jerguson / Clark Reliance

Sight glass liquid level gauges are a mainstay of fluid processing operations that store raw materials, intermediate, or final product in tanks and other vessels. Having a direct visual indication of fluid level at the tank enhances safety and provides the all important data point about what is happening inside the tank.

These level gauges are installed on the exterior of the tank, exposed to whatever environmental or operational hazards existing or occurring at the location. Armored level gauges are appropriately named because of their construction. They are designed to resist impact and mechanical stress, as well as a range or environmental conditions.

There are generally two versions of armored level gauges, reflex and transparent. The names refer to way in which light is handled by the gauge to reveal the liquid level. One manufacturer of armored level gauges and other level instruments, Clark-Reliance, provides a good description of the two gauge types. Their brand of armored level gauges is Jerguson, and I provide their description here of the two types (source)

Jerguson® Reflex Level Gauges are ideal for clean total level indication applications for refining, petrochemical and general use applications. The reflex prisms are molded and polished to provide a crisp black-silver bi-color indication of the fluid level. As light passes into the reflex glass, if there is fluid present, the light continues through the glass and reflects off the back of the level gauge, providing a black color for fluid level regardless of the actual color properties of the process fluid. If fluid is not present, the light is reflected off the glass back towards the user, providing a shiny silver or mirror-like appearance to indicate vapor space.

Cross section of reflex level gauge 

Jerguson® Transparent Level Gauges are selected for interface level indication, dirty service or any application that requires the use of a shield to protect the glass from corrosion. A transparent gage is also known as a “thru-vision” gauge since the gauge is constructed with two pieces of flat polished glass assembled on opposite sides of the level gauge chamber. Since the user can see straight through the gauge, it is also easy to view the fluid properties, such as color, whereas this would not be possible with a reflex gauge. The use of an illuminator is always recommended on a transparent gauge.

Cross section of transparent level gauge

Selecting an armored level gauge is an exercise in preparing for known and unknown events that might disable your ability to directly read fluid level. Armored level gauges are employed extensively in chemical, petrochemical, and other industries where reliability under challenging conditions is essential. Wherever there are mechanical hazards, an armored level gauge may ultimately prove to be cheap insurance against downtime or delay.

Share your level measurement challenges with a product application specialist. Combine their product expertise with your process knowledge to produce an effective solution. Below is a data sheet for one of several series of Jerguson armored level gauges, so you can explore more detail. Contact the product application specialists for more information about larger sizes, higher vessel operating pressures, and optional configurations that will best suit your application.

Jerguson armored liquid level gage series 300 l from CTi Controltech

Vortex Gas Flowmeter With Built-in Pressure and Temperature Compensation

Azbil MVF Series Vortex Gas Flowmeter

Industrial process control operations require measurement, lots of measurement. Whether it be temperature, level, flow, pressure, or some other attribute of the process, manufacturers have always responded to customer demand with a broad array of engineered products geared toward higher performance and lower cost.

Combining related measuring functions or capabilities into a single device can result in space and cost savings, as well as simplifying maintenance operations. Azbil NA does just that with their MVF Series of vortex flowmeters for gases.

Vortex flowmeters are based upon the recognized principle of vortices being generated downstream of a blunt obstruction at a frequency dependent upon the velocity of the fluid (von Kármán effect). The fluid velocity can be combined with temperature and pressure measurements to produce a calculated mass flow. Azbil, in their MVF Series, provides built in compensation for temperature and pressure, eliminating the need for additional instrumentation. The vortex gas flowmeter provides an output signal that is proportional to the mass flow, as well as a pulse signal. The flowmeter is suitable for use with air, nitrogen, argon, oxygen, carbon dioxide, city gas (13A), methane, propane, butane, and other inert gases or mixtures outside the explosion limit range.

See the data sheet below for more detail. You can also contact product application specialists for any assistance needed to select the right configuration for your application. Share your process measurement and control challenges with product experts. Combine your process expertise with their product application knowledge to produce the most effective solutions.

Vortex Gas Flowmeter for Process Measurement from CTi Controltech