Wireless monitor feeds back seal status data

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Aug 29, 2008

First purpose-built wireless technology of its type to remotely measure the pressure, temperature and level of the barrier fluid in a system.

The world's leading designer and manufacturer of mechanical sealing technology is set to revolutionise seal support system monitoring with the launch of what is believed to be the first purpose-built wireless technology of its type to remotely measure the pressure, temperature and level of the barrier fluid in a system.

John Crane's new 3in1 VMS vessel monitoring system is easier, faster and far less expensive to install than traditional hardwired alternatives and it offers a rugged, reliable and accurate flow of real-time information on the current state of seals and their support systems.

This can significantly improve the levels of plant reliability, availability and environmental compliance by allowing maintenance procedures to be tailored to the individual plant so that seal failures can be better understood, decisions can be made more rapidly and operating costs can be cut.

Maintaining a barrier fluid within set limits provides a stable operating environment that helps to maximise seal life.

By monitoring the pressure, temperature and level in the barrier fluid vessel John Crane's 3in1 VMS detects early indications of potential seal damage so that preventative measures can be taken before a seal failure occurs or the process fluid becomes contaminated.

It is a robust and cost-effective solution and thanks to its wireless operation it can be used where hardwiring is not economically viable.

This makes the 3in1 VMS ideal from use on seals systems in hazardous and remote locations, as data are transmitted back to a central gateway where they are analysed by specialist software and displayed using easy-to-read graphics.

A traffic light alarming and notification system warns operators of a problem within a plant, enabling them to pinpoint the exact seal system in question, identify the problem and immediately compare this to the record of that system's previous trended performance which is stored in the 3in1 VMS.

The system can be fitted to John Crane standard seal system types 100, 200 and 300 and versions to suit other manufacturer's seal systems are also available.

The 3in1 VMS sensor nodes are battery operated (expected life of 5 years) and are designed for quick and easy installation.

It comes complete with its own software which provides at-a-glance mimic panels, alarming, trending, records of state changes and reporting.

It can be installed at less than 20% of the typical cost of an equivalent cabled system and requires very little maintenance.

It allows up to 75 vessels to be monitored on a site located up to 300m away from the gateway receiver in a plant environment, and 1500m line of site.

Created by the John Crane's Asset Management Systems (JCAMS) the 3in1 VMS can also be expanded to include other elements of a wider condition based maintenance system.