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APPLICATION NOTE

Impulse Line Blocking Diagnosis in DP Transmitters


Industry: Oil & Gas, Refinery, Petrochemical, Chemical
Product: Differential Pressure Transmitter (EJX)

Introduction

Expected Benefits

Differential pressure (DP) flowmeters composed of an orifice plate,


a DP transmitter, and other components are widely used in many
applications because they are reliable and require no wet calibration.
The simple design of orifice plates and modern DP transmitters make
them extremely reliable. However, the impulse lines which transmit
process pressure to the DP transmitter are vulnerable to blockages
caused by fluid condensation, freezing, or corrosion. Impulse line
blocking is a problem that must be addressed to ensure efficient
operation and maintenance.
Yokogawas EJX series DP transmitter is equipped with a silicon resonant
sensor that can rapidly detect both static pressure and differential
pressure. These features enable the development of a diagnostic
technique which detects fluctuations in static and differential pressures.
By using a digital communications network such as fieldbus, operators
can determine whether an impulse line at a specific installation site has
been blocked. Such information can significantly reduce maintenance
workload and cost.

Informs operators/maintenance engineers that a blockage is forming


in an impulse line before the process is disrupted.
Predicts when the impulse line will be blocked and suggests a
corrective action, based on blockage thresholds.
Blockage thresholds are determined based on blocking substance,
flowrate variation, and the time required for taking corrective action.

Impulse-line-blocking Diagnostic
Technique
(1) Fluctuation of differential, static pressures
Fluctuating components of differential, static pressures generally
decrease when an impulse line is blocked.
Fluctuating components are calculated as the square summation of
the difference of differential and static pressures that are sampled at
very short time intervals. The amplitudes of fluctuating components
are derived from the root of the square summation. Since these
components are affected by flowrate changes, they are provided as
fluctuation components through flowrate compensation.
Table1 shows the value of the fluctuating components when blocking
occurs on the Hi-side, Lo-side, and both sides. The values for when
no blocking occurs are also shown. When both sides of impulse lines
are blocked, all fluctuating components decrease. When one side of
an impulse line is blocked, the corresponding fluctuating component
decreases. In this case the fluctuating component of differential
pressure is larger than when no blockage occurs.
Table1. Fluctuating component values in impulse lines
H/L side
(bothsides)
blockage

EJX
PH
(static pressure
H side)

Figure1. Connected to impulse lines

PL
(static pressure
L side)
DP
(differential
pressure)

http://www.yokogawa.com/fld/
AN 01C25A01-01E
All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2007, Yokogawa Electric Corporation

H side
blockage

L side blockage No blockage

APPLICATION NOTE

(2) Blocking diagnosis using water flow test rig


Blocking factor F is determined as the correlation function between
the amplitudes of fluctuating components. It approaches +1 for high

Blocking Factor F

side blocking and -1 for low side blocking. Figure2 shows the Blocking
factor F for each blocking type.

Normal --> H side Blockage(0:10) --> H and L Blockages(0:15) --> L side Blockage(0:22)

1.00

H side blocking

0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
0.00
-0.20
-0.40

L side blocking

-0.60
-0.80

0:30

0:29

0:28

0:26

0:25

0:24

0:23

0:21

0:20

0:19

0:17

0:16

0:15

0:14

0:12

0:11

0:10

0:09

0:07

0:06

0:05

0:03

0:02

0:01

0:00

-1.00

Time [min.]
Figure2. Blocking factor F with H and L side blocking

Conclusion

Note:

Operators must receive diagnostic information before a line block leads


to a malfunction. Yokogawa provides predictive diagnostics based on
trend analysis of the blocking factor, which improves maintenance
efficiency and reduces maintenance costs.

This diagnostic function is currently available for low viscous liquids


only.

http://www.yokogawa.com/fld/
AN 01C25A01-01E
All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2007, Yokogawa Electric Corporation

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