APPLIED TECHNOLOGY DRIVES & CONTROLS ENERGY EFFICIENT SOLUTIONS FOR MUSHROOM PRODUCTION


As one of the largest mushroom producers in Ireland, the production and packaging facility at Codd Mushrooms is one of the most modern in Europe. Here, the vacuum cooling system takes products from a field temperature of 20˚C down to 3˚C in just 20 minutes – ensuring two days extra shelf life. The factory’s chilled water system serves the requirements of various production areas, which all work independently and need varying amounts of heating or cooling depending on the environmental conditions and the point in the production cycle. Water is initially cooled to 5˚C, stored and pumped to heat exchangers in the production areas. It is then returned to the chiller for re-cooling and reuse. Being committed to sustainability, the


company decided to investigate whether energy savings could be made – so turned to Mitsubishi Electric system integrator MPAC. Director Matt Pender commented: “Because the system didn’t have any way of knowing what the demand would be, it was always working at full capacity. As such, it was only ever working efficiently when demand was equal to 100% of capacity. “In reality, demand at the plant is dynamic. It rarely needs the full capacity, and even if it does


it still won’t be a constant demand. The system demand varies hour by hour and day by day, with a number of different influencing factors, including the number of production rooms calling for cooling, the stage of the cycle the rooms are in, the external ambient temperature dictated by the local weather and the humidity.” Even at zero demand, the old system would


continue pumping the maximum volume of water and, even it wouldn’t be drawn through the heat exchangers, it would still warm up en route. So, MPAC performed a thorough investigation


of the chilled water system, looking at areas for improvement. The company noted that it consumed 6115kWh of energy over a seven day monitoring period. Although a theoretical maximum efficiency


could be achieved by stopping the system when there was no demand, this would lose the ability to detect when demand increased again. Furthermore, if there wasn’t a buffer of chilled water, the system would be ‘laggy’ and slow to respond when cooling was needed. The solution developed by MPAC lay in between, with a calculated demand system. The various pumps in the system – including the primary pump that circulates water between the chiller and buffer tank, the secondary pump feeding the lower side of the factory, and the twinset pump feeding the upper side – were all fitted with Mitsubishi Electric FR-F740 variable speed drives. These were linked to a Mitsubishi Electric MELSEC Q series PLC via CC-Link. All process variables are measured by sensors and data is fed to the PLC via Mitsubishi Electric STLite remote I/O units. The PLC calculates the actual demand and appropriate response, adjusting the drives accordingly. By controlling the pumps, the flow of water is always proportional to


demand. Process visualisation is via a Mitsubishi Electric GOT series HMI. As centrifugal pumps operate on a cube law with regard to energy consumption, even small reductions in speed can quickly deliver significant energy savings. Once the new control system was installed,


MPAC monitored demand over a second seven day period, and saw energy consumption reduced from 6115kWh to just 664kWh – a saving of 5451kWh. Of additional benefit, the drives have reduced electrical and mechanical stresses on the pump and motors, and eliminated water hammer. The resulting PLC based control system,


using Mitsubishi Electric variable speed drives to control the various pumps, delivered the saving of over 5400kWh in one week, which will amount to approximately £33,000 per year.


Mitsubishi Electric gb3a.mitsubishielectric.com


MAINTAINING THE EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON AIRCRAFT


The Eurofighter Typhoon is capable of achieving supersonic speed in under 30 seconds and can travel the distance between London and Birmingham in just six minutes. For this, a ‘one stop shop’ control system solution from Siemens UK & Ireland, including a machine tool collision avoidance software programme, is delivering operational, safety and cost benefits for the aircraft and its UK manufacturer, BAE Systems. Chris Dowson, product specialist-


machine tool modernisation at Siemens UK & Ireland, explained that the company focussed on the ‘man movers’ – a set of moving platforms controlled by a CNC controller which are used to support the personnel hand spraying the aircraft’s exterior. BAE Systems wanted to identify if there


was a solution to minimise any potential for the platforms to inadvertently strike the aircraft during the spraying process. Any interruption part way through a spray – such as if the platform came into contact with the aircraft’s exterior – would mean the surface would have to be rubbed down again and re-prepared for spraying. So, the Siemens team devised a new holistic control system. Overview ATEX Zone 1 PC-based HMI panels running Siemens TIA Portal WinCC SCADA


8 NOVEMBER 2016 | DESIGN SOLUTIONS


were mounted onto the man mover spray platforms to generate maximum transparency and control over the system. These control 840D sls on each of the four operational man movers to govern overall trajectory, movement and control as the sprayers undertake their tasks. They are linked to a supervisor PC located in a nearby office to provide additional supervision on the process. Dowson adds: “The inclusion of the


840D sl Collision Avoidance software elevates the overall solution, eradicating the potential for preventable damage to the aircraft during the spraying process by ensuring a safe distance is maintained at all times between the man mover platforms and the aircraft surface.“ In addition to enhancing the spraying


process via the anti-collision software, the improved diagnostics of the Siemens solution has driven tangible process availability and reliability advances for


BAE Systems. The combined efficiencies generated by the overall control system in the spray booth upgrade means that BAE Systems expects to realise a return on its investment within 24 months.


Siemens www.siemens.com 


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52