February 18, 2016
International Load Cell and System Designers Dynamic Load Monitoring Ltd (DLM) working in conjunction with their Singapore partners Northbridge Load Cell Services, have just completed delivery of one of their largest projects to date, a complete stinger load monitoring system for pipe lay stinger designer and manufacturer Antares Energy Solution Pte. DLM successfully designed, manufactured and assisted commissioning of the Load Monitoring system with Northbridge Engineers at the end of January in Singapore.
Incorporating 46 of DLM’s Force Magnitude Load Pins, the function of which enables load to be read on multiple different planes around a Load Pin, is unique in the world of load monitoring. The Load Pins monitored pipe forces at each of the fourteen pipe roller boxes and combined with depth sensors at each end of the three articulated stinger sections, along with an inclinometer in order to determine depth of stinger sections and angle of the stinger during pipe-lay operations. DLM’s Design Engineering team employed the use of various industrial control technologies including Profinet, Profibus, RS485 Modbus and Modbus TCP. A Siemens PLC and HMI display were implemented to integrate and display the sensors values, with the HMI screen allowing for interrogation of each Load Cell and Sensor, configuration of alarm reporting, historical data logging and many other features.
DLM’s Technical Manager Chris Scrutton commented: “The biggest challenge was to enable the 46 Load Cells to communicate down a single pair of twisted cabling, this was achieved by using RS485 Modbus to sequentially communicate with each Load Cell. Using this method also allowed for enhanced diagnostics and alarming as it is possible to tell exactly which Load Cell is outputting a certain value.”
In order to ensure a robust solution was provided the system incorporates full redundancy to allow operations to continue in the event of damage. This included a redundant power supply and a separate standalone UPS allowing the system to continue running and eliminate data loss in the event of total power failure. The system operates through RS485 twisted pair, however in order to protect against data loss should a signal cable be damaged, the system will automatically switch over to a fibre optic redundant loop without loss of signal.
DLM’s Managing Director Martin Halford commented: “This is biggest system design project DLM have completed in recent years and really displays our ability to combine our expertise in manufacturing Load Cells with our rapidly expanding system design service. We have a great relationship with our partners Northbridge in Singapore, who share our values of supplying quality service and products along with the ability to offer clients a turn-key solution”
