Wireless Valve Monitoring

Industrial valves are the key components of manufacturing industry. Israeli company ELTAV has developed a wireless valve monitoring system built around ZigBee mesh networking technology.

Until now valve monitoring has entailed building a wired network and paying continuous fees for each node, making valve monitoring very expensive to implement and to operate. ELTAV's wireless sensor network enables monitoring of all kinds of valves in a plant giving a comprehensive picture of the valves' performance and health status in real-time.

Most importantly this solution provides production line operators with vital information that they need at low cost, with simple installation and low ongoing maintenance expense.

The benefits of ZigBee wireless technology stretch far beyond saving installation and hardwiring costs by opening new possibilities in control and accountability. The ELTAV system provides a comprehensive solution for full and real time visibility of all monitored valves in a plant.

The system consists of:

Valve Devices that are attached to an actuated or manual valve

Valve Device Readers forming a network system of data routers and gateways

Communication Server which holds the ELTAV communication control tools

ELTAV Management System which is an optional tool that provides the user with information and reports on the valves' position and health status

Operator Device which is a dedicated Hand Held Device used by the production line operator on the shop floor

Tens of millions of new industrial valves are installed yearly. Aside from being used in newly installed valves the ELTAV ZigBee system can be retrofitted in existing valves as well. This opens up a huge market for the ELTAV wireless solution.

"Our valve monitoring solution could not exist without ZigBee," says ELTAV

System Operation

A Valve Device (VD) is fitted externally to a valve through its ISO 5211 mating flange using simple brackets. The VD is battery powered and uses the ZigBee protocol operating at 2.4GHz to transmit and receive messages to and from the VD. The VD shaft is fastened to the valve stem through a special bracket which transfers the turn of the stem to the VD.

A sensor measures the angular position of the stem relative to the position of the valve. This information is broadcast to the Valve Device Reader (VDR) that is installed in the production plant. The VD reports the valve's position periodically or after it has sensed a movement of the lever. The VD temperature, battery status and other housekeeping information is broadcast with every message.

A remote VDR transmits its message to another VDR, closer to the Gateway VDR. The closer VDR acts as a router that retransmits the messages that it has received through the ZigBee link until it gets to the Gateway VDR using ZigBee mesh networking technology.

Each VDR can potentially become a gateway once it is plugged into the site network via an Ethernet Access point when its signal is converted in to a standard TCP/IP communication protocol.

The Communication Server (CS) processes the received data, monitors it and delivers it to the process control computer HMI using standard interface protocols. Eltavalve photo1.jpg

The Operator Device (OD) allows the insertion of an operator ID into the EMS whenever a valve operation is executed. In addition, it sets up the VD parameters from a short distance, manages operator tasks on the plant floor and other functionalities.

ELTAV has successfully installed its ZigBee based solution into many factory environments. One of the more difficult radio environments encountered to date has been at the Galam Sugar Processing Factory where operating temperatures often exceed 45°C and the equipment is almost all of stainless steel construction installed on steel reinforced concrete floors.

Despite these inauspicious surroundings ELTAV achieved 100% datapacket rate success using un-amplified ETRX2 ZigBee modules from Telegesis and Ember ZigBee mesh networking technology. ELTAV is already busy with enhancements to their ZigBee valve monitoring technology adding additional sensing features such as vibration, temperature and flow measurement as well as widening the range of valves that their system can accommodate

Customer Profile

Eltav, Israel develops wireless devices for monitoring production
activity in the chemical process industry (including chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, oil, water, food and others).

Eltav intends to become a leader in the market for affordable
wireless external add-on monitoring devices of industrial ball
valves in the process industry.

Technology Solution

ELTAV has designed and produced a wireless valve operating and monitoring solution which brings all the benefits of wireless technology whilst opening new possibilities in control and accountability for manufacturing industry.