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Electrostatic Precipitator
Remote Controls

Description
Following for guidance only

Electrostatic precipitator
Gateway communication
This is illustrated below. The picture shows a medium size ESP with 3 fields and 6 bus sections connected to the plant computer system via the so-called gateway communication. The HV power supply energizing each bus section consists of a T/R set controlled by a PIACS DC control unit. The PIACS DC controls the corona power delivered to the corresponding section in a closed loop regulation of the precipitator current, according to the existing operating conditions. Furthermore, the PIACS DC may control the rapping mechanisms and heaters. These functions are performed by advanced control strategies incorporated in the software of the control unit. Plant control system

PIACS DCs System PIACS PLC converter manager Gateway Flue gas
ESP

Plant PLC

PIACS communication bus In the recent years with increasing plant automation and more advanced operator interfaces available in the control room, the integration of the precipitator control in the plant computer system is an increasing demand. This integration is performed in the following way: The PIACS DC and Coromax control units are interfaced to a common communication bus (BitBus 1), by a low cost unit, the PIACS converter. Being at the BitBus level it is easy to interface to the plant computer system by using a PIACS Gateway unit. There are standard gateway units allowing interface to PLC systems of the most common makes.

From the operator stations in the control room the following is possible: - start/stop of the T/R sets - reading of currents, voltages, spark rate, etc. in the different bus sections - trend analysis of PIACS DC signals - reading and change of relevant settings of the PIACS DC units Other control functions concerning the auxiliary equipment can be incorporated in an special unit, the PIACS I/O, which has a built-in interface to the BitBus.
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BitBus is a trademark of Intel Corp.

PIACS Manager
F.L.Smidth Airtech has its own supervisory computer control for ESPs, which is marketed under the trade name PIACS Manager. This has been implemented in a PC running under Windows NT and includes a SCADA package taking care of the man-machine interface (MMI) with the ESP. This is a low-cost system intended for remote supervision and control of the PIACS controllers from F.L.Smidth Airtech, and therefore it incorporates simple and predefined mimics displays for the operation of the system.
Stand-alone

The PIACS Manager is normally implemented as a stand-alone system interfaced to the PIACS control units. Its modularity, based on modules from Brodersens System 2000, makes it possible to control several ESPs simultaneously, dependent on the total number of bus-bar sections. Its capacity is about 100 bus-sections. The system is shown below. The picture shows the PIACS Manager controlling a 6 bus-sections ESP. The T/R sets and rappers in each field are controlled by a PIACS DC control unit. These control units communicate with the PIACS Manager through a converter, the so-called PIACS converter, which interfaces the PIACS Bus to BitBus. The PC interfaces with the BitBus by means of a PC board or Gateway module and they act as the System Manager in the BitBus communication.

PC Windows NT PIACS DCs PIACS Converter

AI-DI

Flue gas
ESP

I/O signals

PIACS communication bus

Process signal acquisition is also possible. If needed this function can be performed by standard modules from the system 2000 having analog and digital I/Os. In this way the system can provide all the relevant data for remote operation.

Integrated with the plant computer system

As an option, the PIACS Manager can be interfaced to the plant PLC by using the gateway principle, shown in below figure. This picture shows the supervision of a 6 bus-sections ESP, where a PLC gateway module from the system 2000 is incorporated for interfacing the BitBus to the plant computer system

Plant control system

Plant PLC

PC Windows NT PIACS DCs PLC Gateway

Flue gas
ESP

PIACS Converter

AI-DI I/O signals (Optional)

PIACS communication bus The PIACS Manager includes a simple configurable graphic interface for operation of the system. This features: mimic displays trending of all signals and PIACS parameters alarm handling automatic recording and display of i-v curves The operation of the system is performed by means of a number of mimic displays. From here it is possible to start/stop the T/R sets and rappers and to reset alarms as seen in Fig. 4, Furthermore, the access to the PIACS parameters for display and change is possible. Besides, there are bargraphs showing the mean current and the mean and the minimum voltage of each bus-section. The PIACS Manager is implemented on a PC having the following data: Pentium processor/Windows NT 4.0 64 Mb RAM 3.2 Gb hard disk CD ROM drive 15 color monitor

PIACS Remote
In the field of ESP computer supervision a new facility has been gaining acceptance among customers. The principle is to incorporate a process data acquisition facility and then to connect the PC to the company headquarters via a modem. This facility allows the ESP specialist to get in contact with the automatic control units and if the process conditions are known, then the ESP performance can be assessed. Preventive maintenance and up to a certain extent, advice regarding corrective maintenance can be possible, making possible a better after-sales service, and in same cases a specialist visit can be avoided. In other words, the aim with this system is to allow service performed remotely from the ESP supplier's main office, providing optimization of the settings of the automatic control equipment, planning preventive maintenance and trouble-shooting. FLS milj has developed such a system, which is based on the PIACS Manager and marketed under the trade name PIACS Remote.
System architecture Stand-alone

The system is shown below. The picture shows the PIACS Remote system, which to operates on a PC in a Windows NT environment. The PIACS Remote is normally implemented as a standalone system interfaced to the PIACS control units. Its modularity, based on modules from Brodersens System 2000, makes it possible to control several ESPs simultaneously dependent on the total number of bus-bar sections. The capacity of the system is about 100 bus-sections. PC Windows NT

PIACS DCs

PIACS Converter AI-DI Modem

Flue gas
ESP

Process signals

FLS milj Modem

PIACS communication bus

A PIACS DC control unit can control the T/R sets and rappers in each field. These control units communicate with the PIACS Remote through a converter, the so-called PIACS converter, which interface the PIACS Bus to BitBus. The PC interfaces with the BitBus by means of a PC board or Gateway module and they act as the System Manager in the BitBus communication.

The system can be remotely accessed through one of the serial ports by a modem connection. Standard modules, from the system 2000 having analog and digital I/Os perform process signal acquisition. In this way the system can provide all the relevant data for a remote operator working in assessing the performance of the ESP, eventual problems, etc. The typical input signals from the process (power utility) may be: Stack emission Coal feed rate Total air flow Inlet gas temperature Outlet gas temperature SO2 content O2 content

Integrated with the plant computer system

The picture below shows the PIACS Remote system interfaced to the plant PLC by using the gateway principle, i.e. incorporating a PLC gateway module for interfacing the BitBus to the plant computer system. Plant control system

Plant PLC

PLC Gateway PC Windows NT

PIACS DCs

PIACS Converter

BitBus

Flue gas
ESP

AI-DI Process signals

Modem

Modem

PIACS communication bus

The PIACS Remote like the PIACS Manager includes a simple configurable graphic interface for operation of the system. This features: mimic displays trending of all signals and parameters alarm handling automatic recording and display of i-v curves The operation of the system is performed by means of a number of mimic displays. From here it is possible to start/stop the T/R sets and rappers, to reset alarms and to access the PIACS parameters for display and setting. The system has incorporated the necessary software for the configuration of the system and the MMI according to the particular plant.

BitBus is a trademark of Intel Corp.

F.L.Smidth Airtech is continuously improving its electrostatic precipitators and therefore reserves the right to change its technical specifications without prior warning. This description including appertaining sketches is a general description containing various options and solutions, which are not necessarily enclosed in a specific quotation. For details of the specific quotation please refer to the actual technical specifications. VicR/EMB Rev1A