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o find an answer for this question we look back at the history of the process Industry and process automation. Everybody has some concerns when we talk about an automated system and its reliability as we all have some knowledge on power failure in our private lives just think about a lightning strike at night while we are watching an interesting TVshow. At the very least the power supply to our TV set is cut-off and we have to sit in candlelight. For most of us its normal but disturbing that we depend so highly on those hidden utility supplies in a black box. So in the case of automated valves we feel much more comfortable when there is a possibility available to have an access to the system where we can interact manually in case of any failure. The 20th century saw the introduction of much automation in industrial facilities.
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air) and the wonderful thing about compressed air is that it can be stored in tanks. This tank in a process area is the battery pack, if we compare it to an electrical system, and feeds the process valve actuating systems with the compressed air guaranteeing a proper function along the designed black-out-condition coverage which is usually 1 to 2 hrs but can be extended to several hours and is just a question of the sizing of the tank. The whole and complete SCADA respective PLC systems run on a low voltage 24V/DC system anyway which can have a power back-up system of a small battery pack in the control room (see Figure 3 pneumatic circuit in process automation) Such a combination always guarantees proper control of the system in the case of power failure without using a single manual override on a pneumatic actuator - which is just wasting money and increasing the need for maintenance of those installations.
Besides that, the installation, commissioning & start-up is done manually with just a wrench for the end position adjustment (usually done during installation in the workshop as no torque adjustment, running direction check is required). If the safety related standard requires an absolute fail-safe function of OPEN, CLOSE or HOLD it is common to use spring-return actuators as they do not even need pneumatic air to reach the defined safety position! Comparing a common installation of electric actuators and a pneumatic installation as shown in figure 3, the pneumatic system shows a much higher availability than an electrically operated system, even if we do not find any manual override on the actuator itself. In the next issue we will focus on the influence of pneumatics on safety as well as SiL (Safety integrity Level issues) to IEC 61511.
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