WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF FORCE MEASAUREMENT IN HAZARDOUS AREAS

At SENSY, our daily challenge is to adapt the interface of our force transducers to meet the operating constraints in the field.

We manufacture force transducers based on strain gauges technology, with a standard output between 5 and 30 mV (power supply: 10 VDC).

As long as SENSY has been in existence, it has offered a wide range of options to allow the type of transmission to be adapted to the application, including:

Analogue amplifiers (0-10 V, 4-20 mA, +/-10 V, etc.)

Digital amplifiers (RS232, RS485, USB, etc.)

Wireless transmitter/receiver for industrial environments.

We can now add to this list:

A ‘wireless ATEX-certified transmitter/receiver capable of being both battery-operated and used in hazardous areas’

SENSY recently delivered a complete measurement solution, which included a system for measuring the force of five mooring cables operating in a hazardous area, by utilizing radio transmission.

FINDING a solution for a customer’s problem: Our customer needed to control the forces applied on the tankers mooring lines during the discharge of their crude-oil cargo.

SENSY’s SOLUTION

Manufacture of five ‘Exd’ certified tensiometers, submersible in case of an accident, quick release for ease-of-use, and connected to a multichannel radio;

Development of an ‘Ex- certified’ transmitter in an explosion-proof enclosure;

Realization of an Ex- certified receiver mounted on the outside of the ship’s bridge in an explosion-proof enclosure and connected to a computer installed in the safe area.

Features of dedicated software:

Display of the tension force of each mooring line in a bar graph so that the data can readily understood.

Programmable alert thresholds with an audible alarm and a color changing from green to red depending on the force level.

Real-time data recording.

TECHNICAL FEATURES:

Force transducers

Type : Static line tensiometer, model 5560S

Capacity : 45 t

Certification : ‘Exd T6’ according to CEI 60079-1/EN60079-1

Output signal : 1 mV/V

Protection : IP67 Marine

Cable length : 15 m

Option : Quick release system

Conditioner / Transmitter

Number of channels : 5

Accuracy : ± 0.1 %

Inputs : 5 x 2 mV/V

Power supply : 10..24 VDC

Range : 1.000 m with no obstructions or interference in the surrounding area

Explosion-proof enclosure : Eexd IIB T4

Receiver

Output : RS485 (Modbus)

Power supply : 230 VAC

Explosion-proof enclosure : Eexd IIB T4

Protection : IP54

Dedicated software (on a computer outside of the hazardous area)

Display of the five strengths on a bar graph with colours changing from green to red depending on the force level;

Programmable alert thresholds with an audible alarm.

Data recording