A programme of valve motorisation is a central feature of an extensive automation project that will obtain, store and process data in real time from a network of liquid hydrocarbon product pipelines in Latin America. The project is installing a SCADA control system for the integration, monitoring and control of valves at more than 100 refining product, storage and injection sites on over 2500km of pipeline. These pipelines transport a range of liquid hydrocarbons. The project includes the necessity to replace manual gearboxes with actuators on over one hundred mostly remotely sited valves. The actuator specification demanded a self-contained design, suitable for remote, exposed locations with only limited electric power availability. After reviewing the available technologies, Rotork’s engineering department selected the best solution: a standard product from the company’s fluid power actuation portfolio. The Twin Power is a self-contained multi-turn actuator, operated either pneumatically or hydraulically. The mechanical design is based on either a bevel gearbox for linear valves or a worm gearbox for quarter-turn valves. The actuators on this project are designed to operate from stored nitrogen tanks, sized for three valve cycles. The new Rotork actuators and those already installed on the pipeline network will provide a vital role in the operation of the new SCADA system, which will yield greater security in the operation of facilities and mitigate risks for personnel, local communities and the environment.
