SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP:
Special Steel Casting for Ultrasonic Gas Flow Meters for Dubai
The ongoing rise in the global demand for fossil fuels has led to the formation of a supply network involving countries as well as continents. To accurately assess flow and transport capacities as well as temporary storage and distribution capacities, the industries depend on high-performance measurement technology. Their expert in this vital technology is SICK Engineering GmbH, which specializes in manufacturing sensors for industrial applications and in integrated measurement technology systems. In order to keep up with the high demands to these systems, SICK Engineering has been able to count on SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP for its special steel castings for a solid nine years now. The latter manufactures gas meter housings and handles complex mechanical processing tasks for SICK Engineering. One example of their winning cooperative partnership is the gas flowmeter FLOWSIC600 produced for the Margham gas field in Dubai.
SICK AG and its more than 5,000 employees is a worldwide technology and market leader in the automation of factories, logistics and processes. SICK Engineering GmbH, its subsidiary based in the Ottendorf-Okrilla municipality near Dresden, Germany, currently employs 140 people, specializing in the fields of measuring technology and process instrumentation. It services waste incineration facilities, power plants, steel mills and cement plants, as well as customers in the oil, gas, chemical and petrochemical industries. Its product portfolio includes, among others, gas flowmeters as well as measuring devices for volume flow and dust loads. One of the latest developments of SICK Engineering is the ultrasonic gas flowmeter FLOWSIC600 predominantly used in the natural gas industry for its high-precision measurement data regarding volume, volume flow as well as gas flow. “Our gas flowmeters are used in production, transport, storage and distribution processes. That means high demands to the flowmeter materials in terms of heat resistance, pressure resistance and measuring accuracy. Even if the measuring accuracy is just a few tenths of a percent off, it can lead to significant inconsistencies in projection and thus to likely losses for our customers,” explains Dr. Andreas Ehrlich, director of research and development at SICK Engineering GmbH. The same demands are made to the special steel housings of the gas flowmeters – especially for measurements with obligatory calibration. With their compact design and fully integrated cable layout, these measuring sensors are made for tough industrial environments. Their systems are robust, interference-free and require little maintenance. Moreover, the installation length of the ultrasonic gas flowmeters is made exactly for replacing conventional turbine flowmeters without any need for piping reconfigurations.
Gas Flowmeters for Dubai
One of the company’s most recent and fascinating projects was the supply of the Margham gas field in Dubai with the gas flowmeter FLOWSIC600. With an area of 60 hectares and a maximum volume displacement of 325,100 cubic meters a year, Margham gas field is the largest gas field in Dubai. In total, the company delivered five 6-inch to 36-inch FLOWSIC600 there – four for obligatory calibrations involving high- and low-pressure pipelines and one for operating measurements. The minimum energy needed for this sophisticated ultrasonic measuring technology makes it possible for the units to run on solar energy and to slash energy consumption.
Time was short throughout the duration of the project, as the delivery time for the gas flowmeter housings, cast from special steel, was limited to merely twelve weeks. “The only way to accomplish that is with a reliable and competent partner like SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP, because we look for vendors who are flexible and time-efficient, who have comprehensive know-how in metallurgy, consistent and certified quality management and who are committed to high-precision work,” says Dr. Ehrlich. SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH meets all these requirements consistently, which is why SICK Engineering counts on it to hand-cast gas flowmeters with inside diameters ranging from 3 to 48 inches on a regular basis. “Those are pretty impressive dimensions – our 48-inch gas flowmeters weigh as much as nine tons, with diameters of almost 1.2 meters – wide enough for a child to walk through without having to duck,” says Jörg Röderhoff, Sales Manager of SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP, about the size of the units.
SCHMOLZ+BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP supplies its housings in various stages of completion – ranging from unfinished castings to fully assembled and painted versions. SICK Engineering then equips these pre-fabricated gas flowmeters with its own in-house made ultrasonic measuring sensors “made in Germany”. “The high-precision work of SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH allows us to reduce a significant amount of our own assembly and operations,” says Dr. Ehrlich in explaining one of the benefits of their close teamwork. He adds, “As a result, we also benefit from enormous flexibility, whether it’s the range of materials or the delivery time.” The gas flowmeters are generally produced in small series or as individual units – the expert in special steel casting guarantees delivery within six to eight weeks or express deliveries, based on warehouse availability.
High Demands to Quality Management and Reliability
Top demands are also made to the materials used: In general, customers provide SICK Engineering with detailed specifications specifying their various requirements to requested alloys. Owing to varying regulations and standards in the United States, Europe or the Middle East, these specifications tend to widely differ from each other. “Whether it’s rain, storm, snow and freezing weather or, as in the case of the Margham gas field, heat and sand – the gas flowmeters must be able to handle the various climate zones worldwide. That’s why we’re very flexible when it comes to the materials we use,” explains Mr. Röderhoff. Hence, SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP relies on a wide range of materials including more than 400 alloys – many materials of which are specifically tailored to the purposes of SICK gas flowmeters. The most widely used ones are Duplex, Super Duplex and special materials as well as super austenite, all of which stand out in their resistance against corrosion and abrasion. First and foremost, consider that gas is chemically aggressive and that the materials are exposed to temperatures between -190 and +280 degrees Centigrade. Add to that the fact that gas flowmeters are exposed to pressure – which means they’re subject to strict legal requirements, which SICK Engineering and SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP fulfill in joint cooperation. It all comes down to consistent and certified quality management, because safety is one of the vital aspects of the natural gas industry. So it only makes sense for a gas flowmeter to be subjected to pressures as high as 450 bar in extreme situations.
Results that Speak for Themselves
Close teamwork made it possible to complete the project in Dubai on time. “Our gas flowmeters have now been in use there for three years – without the slightest problem. This speaks volumes of the perfect quality of the special steel parts that are put to use,” comments Dr. Ehrlich. SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP has evolved into a strategic partner for SICK Engineering, having been a significant contributor to the latter’s success. “In our line of business, our motto is “better, faster and more accurate” – which is only possible if you have a dependable partner “, Dr. Ehrlich goes on. The degree to which SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP values teamwork is evident in the company’s targeted investments such as its machinery. Says Jörg Röderhoff, “Obviously, we remain committed as ever to providing SICK Engineering with integrated service under one roof.”
The Ultrasonic Gas Flowmeter FLOWSIC600
The physical basis of the ultrasonic gas flowmeter FLOWSIC600 is the relationship between gas flow and sound. The flow of gas is measured by applying how the rate at which sound waves reverberate within a gas fluctuates with the flow rate of the gas. Two or more ultrasonic converters alternate to generate ultrasonic impulses. These impulses move both with the direction of the gas flow and against it. As a result, the ultrasonic signals occur at different intervals. Measuring these different intervals makes it possible to determine the rate at which the gas flows. With the aid of cutting-edge electronics made by SICK Engineering, this physical phenomenon can be applied to measure even the slightest intervals with extreme accuracy to produce high-precision measurement data regarding the volume, flow and flow rate of the gas.
Captions:
Fig. 1: At 60 hectares and a maximum volume displacement of 325,000 cubic
meters a year, the Margham gas field is the largest gas field in Dubai.
Fig. 2: The ultrasonic gas flowmeter FLOWSIC600 is used especially in the
natural gas industry for high-precision measurement data regarding
the volume, flow and flow rate of gas.
Fig. 3: In total, SICK Engineering delivered five 6-inch to 36-inch gas
flowmeters FLOWSIC600 to Dubai.
Fig. 4: SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH hand-casts measuring sensors with
interior diameters between 3 and 48 inches for SICK Engineering
on a regular basis.
SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH GUSS GmbH
SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP is the market and quality leader in the field of special steel casting in Europe. It is also a subsidiary of SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH KG, the world’s largest producer of tool steel materials and stainless long products. Its cast products comprise hand-cast and machine-cast components, CONTURAâ (ceramic cast products), precision-cast products and centrifugally cast products – individually weighing between 30 grams and 20 tons. The core services include consulting, developmental research, metallurgical know-how (400 alloys), cutting-edge casting technology and high-precision production processes. In 2008, the SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP yielded 147 million Euros in revenue, employing about 700 people at its four locations in Germany – Krefeld, Ennepetal, Monheim und Kohlscheid. In 2009, the company opened its new customer service and training center in Krefeld. Its customers include energy management and mechanical engineering companies, steel and rolling mills, pump, instrumentation and automotive manufacturers as well as customers in the arts.
Company Contact
Sonja Van Noppen • SCHMOLZ + BICKENBACH CASTING GROUP
Blumentalstraße 2 • 47798 Krefeld, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 2151-764-1117 • Fax: +49 (0) 2151-764-1952
E-mail: s.vannoppen@schmolz-bickenbach.com
Internet: guss.schmolz-bickenbach.com
Posted August 9, 2009
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