Smart sensors for paper mills
15 Jan 2000
Nash-HTI is a new system for measuring the temperatures in the dryer sections of paper machines. Developed by Nash Europe, a leading supplier of dewatering equipment to the paper industry, the system relies on tiny sensor/transmitters embedded in each dryer cylinder to feed back continuous temperature information to the mill's DCS.
Using a NASA-developed telemetry system, the sensor/transmitters on each dryer are read by pickup coils connected to a multiplexer unit, which processes the analogue signals from the sensors, converting them to digital to transmit to the DCS.
Closer control over dryers allows the machines to run faster, with fewer sheet breaks and faster grade changes. Nash says that typically 20 per cent less sheet breakage can be expected on a coated paper machine.
