Nuclear Instruments for Process Control Workshop

Nuclear Instruments for Process Control

Workshop, Jakarta October 18, 2016
1
Who we are…
Berthold Technologies is the international leader in industrial process control, bio analytics
and radiation protection with over 350 employees worldwide situated in Bad Wildbad in
the Black Forest, Germany
 1949 founded by Prof. Dr. Rudolf Berthold
 100 % privately owned by descendants of

Prof. Berthold and management partners
 100 % self-financed
 Certified acc.
 ISO 9001
 ISO 14001
 BS/OHSAS 18001
…
2
Who we are…
 350 employees worldwide
 Sales 70 Million Euro
 Specialized in radiometric process

measurements since 1949
 >20,000 nuclear gauges in operation
3
…and where we come from

Company History
 1949 Founded by Prof. Dr. Rudolf

Berthold
 1950 Development of the first industrial

process measurement based on γ-
Transmission (Level Switch - BASF)
 1955 First density systems supplied
 1959 Use of Rod shaped sources for

highly accurate level measurements
 1973 High-sensitive scintillators replaced

Geiger-Müller technology
 2003 SuperSENS most sensitive detector
 2014 SIL2/3 certified detectors

4
Berthold Today
 The Berthold premises comprise 5 major

buildings including modern production
facilities for detectors, electronics and…
 Own production facility for radiation

sources and shielding containers
5
Berthold Today
 250 people in Bad Wildbad 16 15 42

 Focus on Quality, Safety and Technology 38
110
 44 employees in R&D 27
 More than 70 patents
R&D
Sales / Marketing
Administration
Production
Service
Apprentices
6
Berthold Today
 Active Areas:
 Subsidaries in all major markets

(e.g. USA, China, UK, France, Italy, India…)
 Partner companies all over the world

(e.g. Latin America, South East Asia, Russia, Australia, Africa…)
Indonesia:
Sarana Instruments
7
Berthold Today
 Active Areas:
Refineries Chemical Steel industry – Mining and Alumina

e.g. Shell, Exxon Mobil, e.g. BASF, Dow, Eastman, continuous casting e.g. BHP Billiton, Rio
Total… SABIC… e.g. Arcelor Mittal, Tinto, VALE, Anglo
POSCO, Thyssen Krupp… American, Peabody
And many others: Oil offshore, Coal gasification, Power plants, Pulp & Paper, Cement,
Sugar mills, Glass production, Wastewater etc.
8
Berthold Products
 Continuous Level
 Level Switch
 Interface measurement
 Density
 Concentration
 Neutron moisture
 Microwave moisture and dry content
 Bulk flow meters
…
9
Agenda
 The Gamma Principle
10
Why Gamma?
 Non-contacting, non intrusive

measurement
 Extreme measurement conditions!

 High temperatures
 High pressures
 Excessive foaming
 Acid, caustic media
 Wall build-ups, scaling
 Long-term solution
 Virtually maintenance-free
 Typically no re-calibrations
11
X-ray Vision for your process
Source object detector Source object detector

X-Ray tube person film gamma vessel scintillation
source counter
To determine fractures etc. To determine level, density and others
12
12
This is the basic principle
 A known energy from our source is sent through the product.

 The detector on the opposite side of the product sees the attenuation of the energy
changing as the level or the product density changes.
 Think of it as light passing through different liquids.
13
This is the basic principle r
source I0 object detector I
 source: emits gamma radiation I0
 object: radiation is attenuated
 detector: measures transmitted intensity I constant density thickness
I = I0 · Exp(-m · r · D)
14
Scintillation Detectors Make radiation visible!
 Absorption of the gamma ray
 Trapping of light
 Transport
source
 Conversion of light to
electrons
Scintillation  You need at least

crystal 20 photons to detect
photomultiplier
15
Scintillation Detector
el. Amplifier
Scintillator Photomultiplier Electronics

Converts g to light flash Converts light flash to a voltage pulse Converts pulses rate
to 4..20mA
3 main parts in a scintillation detector

16
This is the basic principle r
source I0 object detector I
 source: emits gamma radiation I0
 object: radiation is attenuated
 detector: measures transmitted intensity I constant density thickness
I = I0 · Exp(-m · r · D)
18
Selection of Isotopes
Isotope Am-241 Cs - 137 Co - 60
Energy 59.5 keV 660 keV 1200 keV
Half Life Time 432 years 30.18 years 5.27 years
Half Value Layer 0.8mm / 0.031in 110mm / 4.3in 155mm / 6.1in
Available in Both Point and Rod Both Point and Rod Both Point and Rod
keV = Kiloelectron-Volt
19
The Radiation Source
 Capsule, containing the radioactive

material
 Co-60
 Cs-137
 Am-241
 Others…
 Thightness!!! Exceeding best possible

ISO classification 66646
 Triple Encapsulation
 Temperature tested up to 1200°C/60min
 Drop test 20 kg from 2 meters
20
Shielding Containers
 Source capsule in center  Safe handling (transportation, installation

 Surrounding lead blocks the radiation and during use)
 Collimate the radiation beam
Source capsule
21
Rod sources
 Radioactive material distributed over

whole source length
 Co-60 wire wound around a core
 By changing the pitch the intensity of
activity can be modified
 Advantage in practical use: Highest
achievable accuracy and linearity
 Continuous activity distribution
 Adapted to the individual measurement
geometry
22
Rod source Production
 In-house source production

 Custom-made for each project
23
Shields – Variants and Specialities
Different sizes depending on source Special shield for

activity, legal aspects and measuring cont. casting
Flange shield
range applications
24
Agenda
 Measuring Level
25
Measuring Level
High / Low Level Alarm
 High level / low level alarm
 Safety Switch
26
Measuring Level
 Continuous signal (0…100%)
 Wide radiation beam
27
Level – Different Ways of Forming a Radiation Field
Detector Source Multiple Combinations
 Point detector  Narrow beam

 Rod detector  Fan beam
 Rod Source
28
Multiphase Level Measurements

Monitoring multiple layers
 Sand level, emulsion layers, oil /water  Applications in Production Separators,

interfaces, foam Test Separators, Desalters, Alkylation
 Measuring a density profile over height units, Slug Catchers
29
Agenda
 Measuring Density
30
Measuring Density
 Density or Concentration / Solid Content
 On pipes or vessels
I = I0 · Exp(-m · r · D)
 Easy clamp on / installation without
downtime
31
Application Example Dredging

One out of hundreds
 Aim for the optimum operation

set-point
 Dredging efficiency depends on

speed and flow rate
 Control the mass flow of

produced solids
 Density system clamped on the suction pipe
 Combined with flow meter
-> Mass flow output
32
Know How!
 Different arrangements lead to different results
Standard 30° or 45° S- or U-shaped

irradiation 90° irradiation measuring path
 Depending on geometry, density range, isotope
33
Agenda
 Radiation Protection
34
Radiation Protection: Ionization
 Radiation transports energy

 Atoms ‚absorb‘ energy Ionisation
 Free electrons ionize molecules: radiation
damage
 DNA can be damaged
 Cell dies…or…
 …is correctly repaired…or…
 …cell is incorrectly repaired…
35
Dose – the unit of radiation protection
 Measure for the transferred energy

 Unit: Sievert (Sv) (often mSv)
 1 Sv = 1 J / kg (1 Sv = 100 rem)
Shield Time Distance
A Source activity
G gamma doserate constant
r Distance to source
T time
S Shielding effect
36
Typical dose values
 At detector (density) 1 mSv/h

 30cm from shield 0.3 mSv/h
 Eating a banana 0.1 mSv

 Schwarzwald (black forrest) 0.2 mSv/h
 Air plane in 10.000m height 5 mSv/h
 My Flight here (10 hours) 50 mSv
 X-ray jawbone 10 mSv
 Mammography 500 mSv
 Computer tomography 2.000-10.000 mSv
 Tumor irradiation 70.000.000 mS
(Note: 1 mrem = 10 mSv)

37
Agenda
 Criteria for Selecting

Radiometric Gauges
38
2 Main Criteria for the Selection of Nuclear Gauges
Sensitivity Long-term Stability
 Why?  Why?
 Radiation Safety  Ambient temperature changes
 Aim for the lowest source activity  Summer / Winter / Day / Night
 Aging of Components
 Aim for the best performance
39
Absorption of the gamma ray
 The bigger (scintillator) the better!
 Mass is needed to stopp the gamma ray
First you need to hit it!
40
Scintillation Detectors
 Absorption of the gamma ray
 Trapping of light
 Transport
source
 Conversion of light to
electrons
Scintillation  You need at least

crystal 20 photons to detect
photomultiplier
41
Detector Types
optical
coupling
It‘s the scintillator which makes
the difference
NaI point detectors Polymer Standard rod TowerSENS

25/25 40/35 50/50 CrystalSENS 50/500 up to 50/2000 up to
NaI (or CsI) 50/60 50/2000 50/8000
Point detector SuperSENS organic organic
Density, level 150/150 rod detector for long
Low background Density, level measuring ranges
42
Different Scintillation Crystals
Different in:
 Volume
 Material (Density)
Different stopping
power
(Sensitivity)
43
The Berthold Range of Products
DuoSeries Uni-Probe SmartSeries SENSseries

2 wire systems with detectors with simplistic detecors with
seperate integrated (density) integrated
transmitter unit transmitter for detector with transmitter with
HART, Profibus, local user SIL2/SIL3
Fieldbus interface and approval
HART output
44
The Berthold Range of Products
DuoSeries Uni-Probe SmartSeries SENSseries

2 wire systems with detectors with simplistic density detecors with
seperate integrated detector with integrated
transmitter unit transmitter for local user transmitter with
HART, Profibus, interface and SIL2/SIL3
Fieldbus HART output approval
45
SuperSENS Detector
 150 x 150mm diameter scintillator
 80% lower source activity
 For thick walled pipes/vessels
 To avoid insertion sources
 Retrofit solution: extended source life

(by 10 or more years)
46
Radiation on the detector side matters!
 Source is well shielded but…
 Radiation is directed towards the

detector side
Our responsibility!
47
Retrofitting Solutions
 Existing sources can be re-used with our

highly sensitive detectors
 Extend source life by 10 or more years
 Saves money on source disposal and new

sources
48
Unbelievable? These are true stories…
 Hydraulic Fracturing – density

measurement of fracturing fluid
 re-using a competitor source adding 6

steel plates and 1 lead plate in front of
the detector
 Resulting signal ~250,000 cps on empty

pipe
49
Unbelievable? These are true stories…
 Coke Drum level measurement

PETRONAS - Melaka refinery in Malaysia
 re-using a competitor source from 1998 +

adding 25mm lead in front of each source
50
Long term stability
Statistic
Short term Systematic, Drift
Long term

51
Long term stability
Statistic
Short term Systematic, Drift
Long term
Statistic Error Systematic Error

Varies each measurement Hard to spot (hidden in statistic)
Averaging (or higher rate) reduces Long observation may reveal it
error No easy way to improve
Time constant  Except by cheating
Source activity / sensitivity
respectively
Nuclear Instruments count
for Process rate
Control
Or compensation!
52
Long-term Stability
It‘s not a fake!
200x zoom in…
±0.1%
53
Loop Reactor – Phillips Process
 Highly critical PE loop reactor process

Slurry from Ethylene + catalyst -> Polymer
 Produce close to density limit
 3 density gauges – “democracy”
54
Long-term Stability
55
Long-term Stability
56
How do we achieve this?
 Aim: Keep the sensitivity constant!

 Problem: Temperature!
Temp. Sens. Temp. Sens.
We need a lever! 57
We have a lever…
Sens. Sens.
But by how much should we pull or push?

OR: How do we know the sensitivity changed?
58
How to monitor sensitivity?
 Cosmic rays
- H, He, … Fe
- Converted to muons (big electrons)
- From big bang
- Start of the universe
- Speed of light
 1 per cm2 and second
 Very constant rate
 Every person here is hit by
10 cosmics/second
59
Cosmics: Back to the earth
 We have a very constant (and cheap!)

source of pulses
 Very high energy (easily distinguished
from gammas)
 Keeping their rate constant (HV)…
 …keeps the sensitivity constant!
 Corrects for temperature and aging
Cosmics
is our
reference
object! Fri / 7pm Sun / 1pm
60
Ruggedness of Detectors
 High mechanical stability
 Photomultiplier „elastic“ bedded
 Massive magnetic shield, to cancel out effects of magnetic disturbances
 Mechanics completely made of stainless steel
 Heavy Duty Detector, i.e. for fracking and others…
61
Testing during Development

According to DIN EN 60068
 Temperature-shock-test
 High pressure jet test with water
 Mechanical shock test
 Vibrations test
 Climate change test
 Splashproof test
 Drop test
62
Impressions
63
Final testing
 All electronics are tested for 48h+

 Temperature cycle 0…50°C
 Serialized components
Transmitter units ready for testing Hands on

approach
to quality
64
SIL2 Rated Systems
 Certification for
 level switch (high / low level)
 continuous level
 density
 SIL3 (redundant detectors)
 SFF 95%
65
Whatever is measured
SIL 2 & SIL 3
Level Switch Level Density
All 3 applications with SIL only by BERTHOLD
66
SIL2 / SIL3 certifiacte – How do we achieve this?
 External reference source (Cosmic radiation) - Patented

 Monitored current output - Patented
 Aging compensation – Patented
 Others:
 Mechanical stability
 Date/Time and CPU Clock Monitoring
 Program Flow Monitoring with Watch-Dog
 Detector Temperature Monitoring
 Improved HV-Limit Monitoring
 Monitoring of the PMT Current
 Continuous RAM + Flash-Memory Check
67
Stable during weld inspections?
 Radiation interference from non-destructive testing
Use of high activity sources (3-

80 Ci) mostly Ir-192
→ Wrong measure-ment due
to excess count rate
→ Too low level is displayed
68
RID Discrimination of Radiation Interference
CH 1  2nd measurement
6000 channel
5000  Active when
CH 2 radiation
4000
interference is
present
cps
3000
 Counts from the

2000
inspection
Co-60
1000 source
Ir-192
are excluded
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Energy
Energie
69
RID Example at BASF
70
Why Berthold?
 Berthold is the true expert for radiometric measurements

 We can help you to find the right application setup
 We have many options to find the best solution for your application
 Smalles source size due to most sensitive detectors
 Most reliable measurement due to high quality standards
 Local service to help with all legal issues and commisioning
71
Thanks for your attention!
72

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Nuclear Instruments for Process Control

Nuclear Instruments for Process Control

 1949 founded by Prof. Dr. Rudolf Berthold

 100 % privately owned by descendants of

 350 employees worldwide

 Sales 70 Million Euro

 Specialized in radiometric process

 >20,000 nuclear gauges in operation

…and where we come from

 1949 Founded by Prof. Dr. Rudolf

 1950 Development of the first industrial

 1955 First density systems supplied

 1959 Use of Rod shaped sources for

 1973 High-sensitive scintillators replaced

 2003 SuperSENS most sensitive detector

 2014 SIL2/3 certified detectors

 The Berthold premises comprise 5 major

 Own production facility for radiation

 250 people in Bad Wildbad 16 15 42

 Subsidaries in all major markets

 Partner companies all over the world

Refineries Chemical Steel industry – Mining and Alumina

 Microwave moisture and dry content

 Bulk flow meters

 The Gamma Principle

 Non-contacting, non intrusive

 Extreme measurement conditions!

X-ray Vision for your process

Source object detector Source object detector

To determine fractures etc. To determine level, density and others

This is the basic principle

 A known energy from our source is sent through the product.

This is the basic principle r

source I0 object detector I

 source: emits gamma radiation I0

 object: radiation is attenuated

 detector: measures transmitted intensity I constant density thickness

Scintillation Detectors Make radiation visible!

 Absorption of the gamma ray

Scintillation  You need at least

Scintillator Photomultiplier Electronics

3 main parts in a scintillation detector

This is the basic principle r

source I0 object detector I

 source: emits gamma radiation I0

 object: radiation is attenuated

 detector: measures transmitted intensity I constant density thickness

Isotope Am-241 Cs - 137 Co - 60

Energy 59.5 keV 660 keV 1200 keV

Half Life Time 432 years 30.18 years 5.27 years

Half Value Layer 0.8mm / 0.031in 110mm / 4.3in 155mm / 6.1in

The Radiation Source

 Capsule, containing the radioactive

 Thightness!!! Exceeding best possible

 Temperature tested up to 1200°C/60min

 Drop test 20 kg from 2 meters

 Source capsule in center  Safe handling (transportation, installation

 Collimate the radiation beam

 Radioactive material distributed over

Rod source Production

 In-house source production

Shields – Variants and Specialities

Different sizes depending on source Special shield for