IC-WIN23-PG08+09_Layout 1 30/11/2023 10:58 Page 9


INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE


and have been on the market for decades. Mineral thermal fluids offer excellent thermal stability at moderate temperatures. However, when heated to elevated temperatures for prolonged periods, they may degrade at a faster rate, negatively impacting heat transfer efficiency. For applications that demand thermal


stability and efficiency at both higher and lower temperatures, synthetic fluids can improve performance. Synthetic thermal fluids are engineered to operate effectively in more demanding industrial heating applications because of their wide operating temperature range, exceptional heat transfer efficiency and excellent resistance to degradation, corrosion, and fouling. While mineral fluids may seem the more


cost-effective option, they do not always offer the heat transfer efficiency required and can increase long-term maintenance costs. Synthetic fluids on the other hand will maintain thermal stability, efficiency and performance across a broader temperature range, maximising uptime.


Maintaining synthetic fluids


Proactive maintenance is important when using any heat transfer fluid to increase productivity and reduce maintenance costs, but engineers should adapt procedures based on the fluid they use. Because of their limited temperature


range, as mineral thermal fluids near the end of their lifespan thermal cracking and oxidation cause the fluid to degrade. As the fluid approaches the very end of its practical lifespan, there is a gradual curve that drops off quickly - the degradation curve. This gradual curve before the drop is a grey area where engineers can still manage the fluid. To mitigate for by-products of degradation, such as sludge and carbon deposits, plot condition and anticipate the degradation curve, engineers should regularly sample fluid to understand its condition. Synthetic heat transfer fluids are designed to be more resistant to degradation, but engineers will still benefit from routine representative fluid sampling and analysis. By drawing a sample when the system is


hot, closed and circulating, engineers can send it for analysis and gain an accurate representation of what’s happening inside. Engineers can trend condition over time, monitoring for any signs of change in thermal fluid quality that may impact production and plan maintenance accordingly. When choosing a thermal fluid,


manufacturers can narrow down the list of options by first understanding if they need a mineral or synthetic thermal oil. By carefully assessing the process requirements, temperature range and potential maintenance costs, manufacturers can make an informed decision on what fluid will deliver the thermal stability and performance required. global heat transfer www.globalhtf.com


embRacing induStRial technology SolutionS to incReaSe cRitical aSSet Reliability


R


S has helped a leading brewer avoid downtime that could have cost the firm £60,000, as well as a potential £4,000 bill for asset replacement.


RS Industria, an innovative cloud service


and part of the RS Group, was utilised by the UK’s oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame, to help the company gain valuable insight into a key asset: a bottle filler which lies at the heart of the brewery operation on the bottling line. With a capacity to fill 27,000 bottles per


hour – which contributes to the firms output of 50 million pints every year – the asset is critical but ageing. Shepherd Neame’s engineers needed to develop a greater understanding of its performance so they could implement steps to increase the reliability of the machine to avoid costly downtime. Michael Unsworth, director of brewing at


Shepherd Neame, explains: “Stoppage on production with the scale of output we work to on our bottling line can cost around £1,000 per hour. If unplanned downtime lasts for days, which can be the case when there are long lead times for spare parts, it can be very costly. “For this reason, we needed to get the right


insight on the machine and its components to use the data to develop a robust maintenance strategy. Not only does this save us the aforementioned downtime cost, but measures to prevent failures also saves us the component and labour costs,” he adds. Working closely with Shepherd Neame,


RS Industria engineers installed condition monitoring on the asset’s main drive and vibration sensors on its gearboxes, before


connecting these to a local hub. RS Industria monitors machines in real-time, alerting engineers to potential small issues before they escalate. This real-time data is fed into a cloud-based analytics system that can spot indicators of potential failure to improve asset reliability through preventative and predictive maintenance. Within hours of the RS Industrial solution


being in place to monitor the bottling machine, issues with two critical components were flagged: the gearbox was showing a high-frequency vibration – indicating a lubrication issue – and an oil leak was discovered, caused by a faulty seal. Had these issues not been identified, the gearbox may have failed and needed to be replaced, at a cost of around £4,000. High vibration on the motor was also


detected, leading to timely investigation of the issue and component replacement scheduled to tie in with planned maintenance programmes. This avoided potential downtime and potential cost arising from secondary damage to the machine. Richard Jeffers, managing director of RS


Industria, says: “The work we have done with Shepherd Neame has yielded immediate benefits with tangible cost savings. This is a real testament to the value of gathering insights into the health of assets to increase reliability and enable predictive maintenance.” Unsworth concludes: “We’re really


happy with the insight RS Industria has helped us unveil – which has been hassle- free for us – from which we’ve already achieved significant value.”


RS www.rs-industria.com


induStRial compliance | WinteR 2023 9


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