Temperature Diagnostics for Improved Refinery Operations - Emerson Automation Experts

Temperature Diagnostics for Improved Refinery Operations


Hydrocarbon-Processing-Leverage-Diagnostics-to-keep-production-running-smoothlyThe article opens:


Unplanned shutdowns can significantly reduce the refinery output. Heat is a fundamental element in converting crude oil to refined fuels and other products. Diagnostics from temperature transmitters:


Temperature transmitters have different levels of diagnostics beyond the temperature process variable (PV) that they provide to the control system. Michelle explains that:


Digital communications protocols including HART/WirelessHART, Foundation fieldbus, and Profibus carry these diagnostics from the transmitter back to the handheld device, process automation system, or asset management software.

She highlights the difference between alerts and alarms from a transmitter:

Alerts do not affect the transmitter’s ability to output the correct measurement signal and therefore will not interrupt the 4-20 mA output. An example is “Process Variable Out-of-Range”… Alarms, on the other hand, will drive the transmitter output either high or low depending on user’s configuration choice.

Some temperature transmitters, such as the Rosemount 3144P, have diagnostic logging to capture:


The main issues these diagnostics help refinery personnel spot include measurement failure, poor measurement reliability, and suboptimal process control. Failures occur when components in the transmitter fail. Tough operating environments found in refineries can accelerate these failures. Transmitter redundancy, drift detection, and monitoring the diagnostics can help avert unplanned shutdowns and quickly address the situation.

Sensor degradation, electrically noisy environments and instrument failure can impact measurement reliability. Transmitter noise filtering, measurement validation, sensor signal drift identification, loose/broken sensor lead alerts can help improve overall measurement reliability.

Control systems that can read the transmitter diagnostics can incorporate these diagnostics to help identify:


Rosemount-Engineers-Guide-to-Industrial-Temperature-MeasurementMichelle lists specific diagnostics to address each of these issues and summarizes her thoughts.


See some of the specific diagnostics described in the article and connect with the Rosemount Temperature experts in the Temperature Instrumentation track of the Emerson Exchange 365 community.

Also, if you haven’t already ordered your complimentary copy of The Engineer’s Guide to Industrial Temperature Measurement, follow the hyperlink to the ordering page.

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