DESIGNING STEAM TRAPS MONITORING SYSTEMS

The design of data transmission topology is one of the most critical aspects on steam traps monitoring systems. Data transmission can be done via cable, wireless, optical fiber, etc. If the wireless option is chosen, a 3D previous analysis of wireless coverage and of reduction of Fresnel zones should be performed, lack of such analysis almost always leads to failure of the wireless system. Besides, following critical aspects mus be taken into account:

1. Line-of-site between antennas
2. Density of obstacles between antennas
3. Proximity of antennas to the ground (strongly affects Fresnel Zone)
4. Access Point or Routing Capacity

In case of large population of steam traps and high obstacles density (i.eg. petrochemical plants) wireless range distance must be reduced to 30 - 40 meters to guarantee data trasnmissions from Wireless Devices to Access Points. Once the structure of Access Points has been designed (without exceeding their maximum capacity), their power lines and data lines (electrical wiring, and optical fiber to its Gateway) must be designed. The most serious and frequent error in wireless topology design is due to not installing enough Access Points. Correcting this deficit during startup generates large extra costs.

wireless monitoring, Bitherm SmartWatchWeb, steam saving, thermostatic

wireless monitoring, Bitherm SmartWatchWeb, steam saving, thermostatic

wireless monitoring, Bitherm SmartWatchWeb, steam saving, thermostatic

SmartWatchWeb^™ TOPOLOGY

SmartWatchWeb™ topology offers extraordinary flexibility by combining wired & wireless architectures to easily adapt to any industrial environment. Its high reliability and scalability allows monitoring tens of thousands of steam traps in a single monitoring network and platform, reducing installation costs and maintenance.

SmartWatchWeb™ is the only proven monitoring system with enough scalability to monitor thousands of steam traps. See more than 60 success stories in more than 20 years.

The following simplified diagram shows the powerful SmartWatchWeb^™ Topology:

The SmartWatchWeb™ steam traps monitoring system combines innovative technologies (digitization, sensorization, acquisition and data processing, ...) to perform accurate real-time steam traps failure diagnostics in order to achieve 10% to 20% steam saving by appliying the Intensive Maintenance Methodology on huge population of steam traps.