Metso extends control-system capabilities

London — Metso has equipped the latest version of its DNA control system with some “unique” features and applications, the Finnish group claims.

The enhancements are targeted mainly at the energy and pulp & paper industries, and as a new area, mining and construction industries.

Among the ’firsts’, is the introduction on an embedded machine condition and runnability monitoring within process controls. This feature, which is conventionally separate from control systems, is designed to support preventative and predictive maintenance of rotating machines, such as flue gas fans, feed water pumps and turbines.

Meanwhile, the company said it has combined its expertise in mining and construction machinery with scalable Metso DNA automation systems. These range from single machine controls to entire plant-wide automation and information management systems.

An example of the new offering is a crushing plant control solution that connects crushers and screens together: enabling management of the entire plant from the control room.

The Metso DNA user interface provides production information to guide responses to plant events, said Metso. Automatic controls, it added, stabilise the process and allow the operators to monitor the plant as a whole.

Metso DNA now offers one system for power producers, which includes energy management, plant information management, controls for the boiler, turbine and balance of plant, safety integrated systems, as well as emissions management.

The integration of applications for turbine control, turbine protection and turbine management into the Metso DNA automation system is claimed to provide customers with “cost-efficient maintenance, and reliability-based redundant process controllers.”

Metso’s pulverised coal-fired combustion optimisation manages control reactions to dynamic upsets, such as changes in mill configuration or load demand.

A sootblowing optimisation tool calculates, stores and displays the boiler heat transfer characteristics that indicate fouling and deposit accumulation on heat transfer surfaces. It also defines the economically optimal sootblowing sequence.

Metso DNA also offers pulp and paper makers a single system for all controls, from the fibre line to baling information, and from headbox to winder. The system’s new winder controls, is said to increase the transparency between the winding process and papermaking process controls.

Metso has also further developed its Metso DNA pulp mill information management offering and upgraded its bale tracking solution for the baling line.

The newest application in Metso’s pulp mill information management system, Metso DNA Bale Tracker, takes bale tracking to a new level. The new solution, it said, is based solely on the automation platform, which makes bale tracking and marking more reliable.

All online quality data needed for each and every bale is also available, via integration with Metso’s quality control system and process and quality vision.

In addition, Metso said it is pioneering “usability” in the process control work with an approach that takes account of “emotions and feelings” as part of the process control work.

“Despite being fact-based by nature, process control work at pulp and paper mills includes a lot of feelings connected with solving situations. When all the aspects of business and production processes are under control, people in various tasks can enjoy feeling in control of their work,” explains Jacki Olsen, product manager for Metso DNA.

“The user can easily access all the data collected during his/ her absence, for example, over the weekend. Traditionally, the history of this information required separate applications, and data analysis was difficult. This is one example of how we have taken usability into consideration with subsequent positive emotions and positive user experience,” Olsen explains.