POWER September 2015 - 22

sometimes a fogging system could be used
at the head chute to reduce dust. He has
seen other plants use retractable spouts
or strip curtains, but frequently all of the
solutions need to work together to get the
best results.
Blazek noted that effectively controlling
dust at storage piles has numerous
benefits, including compliance with
emission standards (air and run-off),
reduced coal oxidation, reduced spontaneous
combustion, better community
relations (no visible plumes), reduced inventory
loss, and improved worker health
and working conditions. In the end, it's
just a matter of finding the solution that
best fits a plant's needs. ■
-Aaron Larson is a POWER associate
editor.
New Digital Meters
Replace Old Analog Meters
Power plants use indicators to monitor
process parameters such as pressure, flow,
temperature, voltage, current, and vibration.
Unless a facility is relatively new,
it likely has analog panel meters; some
plants have hundreds of them.
One reason companies resist upgrading
to digital meters is that digital meters
have historically required an external
source of power to control the electronics.
Many analog meters operate off the instrument
loop power and don't have external
power supplies.
Advantages of Digital Meters
As instrumentation and control technology
has improved, many control room
meters have become outdated. For years,
many have questioned what would be the
best replacement meter for their control
room panels. Is it an analog meter, which
provides less accuracy, yet has no rewiring
cost? Or is it a digital meter, which offers
higher accuracy but has a high rewiring
cost?
Digital meters are better than analog in
many ways. They don't suffer from parallax
like analog meters, so they can be read
from a greater distance. The needle never
gets stuck, and they are generally more
accurate. They are also less susceptible
to shock and vibration problems, and they
don't drift out of calibration.
Digital bar graph meters offer another
advantage. In addition to the
illuminated numerical display, the bar
graphs can be programmed for intuitive
green LED indication when the process
is within its normal operating range,
and with yellow or red when off normal
or in alarm. This feature allows operators
to quickly identify problems in
their process parameters.
New Technology Meters Offer a
Variety of Options
It took a lot of persistence to move digital
and analog meters past their respective
shortcomings, but technological advances
have resulted in the development of the
Otek New Technology Meter (NTM). The
NTM fulfills the desire for a 100% parasitic
signal-powered digital meter.
Some features of the NTM series include:
■
Signal powered (like analog meters)
■ Economical customization of bezel,
housing, and wiring, eliminating expensive
rewiring
■ Parasitic power of 10-60 milliwatts for
display only or under 1 W for external
power models that include relays and
analog output, eliminating the need for
emergency power backup
■ Input signal failure alarm
■ Automatic tricolor (red-green-yellow)
bar graph
5. Are you living in black and white? The NTM-M (right) is a suitable replacement
for the DB40 meter (left). Courtesy: Otek Corp.
6. A colorful substitute. The GE180
(left) can be upgraded to the NTM-9 (right).
Courtesy: Otek Corp.
■ High-accuracy digital LED display
■ Isolated USB, RS485, and Ethernet connections
plus 32 GB memory
■ Industrial, military, or nuclear grade
■ 20 different housings to choose from
■ 1, 2, 3, and 4 channel models are available
The
NTM, via its auto tricolor bar
graph, combines the trend of the needle
indicator along with digital accuracy
and introduces dead signal notification
and alarming. With this new addition to
the process measurement and control
industry, the chance for accidents has
been significantly reduced because erroneous
readings are less likely to occur,
and out-of-specification parameters are
easier to recognize.
Several nuclear power plants have
placed orders for Class 1E instruments,
and the meters are being installed in both
control and simulator rooms. The NTM provides
the practical application and cost
efficiency of an analog meter with the accuracy
and reliability of a digital meter.
These intelligent instruments are replacing
several competitors' meters, including the
DB40 (Figure 5) and the GE180 (Figure 6)
models, without having to change existing
wiring, mounting, or uninterruptible
power supplies. ■
-Otto P. Fest, PhD (opfest@otekcorp.
com) is president of Otek Corp., and Brian
Shaler is an electrical engineer with Entergy
Nuclear Operations at the Palisades
nuclear power plant.
22
www.powermag.com
POWER | September 2015
http://www.powermag.com

POWER September 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER September 2015

Contents
POWER September 2015 - Cover1
POWER September 2015 - Cover2
POWER September 2015 - Contents
POWER September 2015 - 2
POWER September 2015 - 3
POWER September 2015 - 4
POWER September 2015 - 5
POWER September 2015 - 6
POWER September 2015 - 7
POWER September 2015 - 8
POWER September 2015 - 9
POWER September 2015 - 10
POWER September 2015 - 11
POWER September 2015 - 12
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POWER September 2015 - 14
POWER September 2015 - 15
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POWER September 2015 - Cover3
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