Electricity + Control September 2019

COVER ARTICLE

New sonic industrial imager A fast, simple way to detect compressed air, steam, gas and vacuum leaks

L eaks in compressed air, gas and vacuum systems hit both production uptime and the operations bottom line. According to the US Department of Energy compressed air accounts for 10% of the electricity used in the USA. Allowing leaks to exist undetected produces hidden costs that negatively impact revenue. While this is a known issue, locating leaks has been a time- consuming and tedious process – until now. COMTEST says with Fluke’s new ii900 Sonic Industrial Imager, maintenance teams can quickly pinpoint the location of compressed air, gas and vacuum leaks. With SoundSight™ technology, the sound a ground leak produces can be seen, even in extremely noisy industrial environments or hard-to-reach locations. A SoundMap™ is overlaid on a visual image for quick location of the leak. No more waiting until second shift or a scheduled downtime to find leaks. Previously, the easiest way to identify leaks in compressed air, gas or vacuum systems was to walk the plant and listen for them, or conduct visual inspections with soap and water. However, only the most obvious, largest leaks make a noise detectable by the human ear while smaller leaks can go undetected. According to a study by the Compressed Air and Gas Institute (CAGI) an average compressed air system loses 30% of its air through leaks. If a leak can be heard, it is probably costing thousands of rand a year. The smaller leaks, the ones not easily heard, are a hidden source of wasted energy and productivity. With minimal training, maintenance technicians can begin checking for air leaks during their typical maintenance routine – even during peak operation hours. It’s a simple 3-step process: 1. Adjust the range 2. View the combined SoundMap™ and visual image 3. Identify the source of the leak. Now location and repair of leaks can be undertaken during normal operations and the repair can be immediately re-inspected to verify that the leak has truly been fixed.

The ii900 enables users to do more with existing air compressors, for example: - Delay the capital expense of purchasing an additional compressor - Ensure proper air pressure to pneumatic equipment - Lower utility costs (optimises compressed air budget) - Reduce leak detection time - Improve reliability in the production line - Make leak detection part of a typical maintenance routine - Train the maintenance team (in a matter of minutes!) - Instantly validate repairs. The handheld Fluke ii900 Sonic Industrial Imager is designed for production facilities that rely on compressed air. It is equipped with an array of miniaturised microphones and has the ability to easily isolate the sound frequency to identify leaks, background noise can be filtered and leaks are easily identified. The 7” LCD touchscreen overlays a SoundMap™ on a visual image for quick leak location identification. The ii900 means a better, quicker, simpler way to check compressed air leaks and, at the same time, conduct gas and vacuum leak identification.

FEATURES: · Control systems+ automation+ systems engineering · Drives,motors+ switchgear · Energymanagement+ environmental engineering · Plantmaintenance, test+measurement · Sensors, switches+ transducers

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8/21/2019 10:42:02AM

For more information contact: COMTEST Tel: +27 (0)10 595 1821 or email: sales@comtest.co.za

Electricity + Control

SEPTEMBER 2019

11