Table Of ContentINTEGRATING
MICROELECTRONICS INTO GAS
DISTRIBUTION
Edited by
William F.Rush, Jr.
James E.Huebler
Jared R.W.Smith
Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
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PREFACE
This volume contains papers presented at the first and second IGT symposia on microelectronics in the gas
industry. The first was held November 18–20, 1985, in Orlando, Florida. The second symposium was held
September 8–10, 1986, in Fontana, Wisconsin.
The purpose of these symposia was to disseminate information on the rapidly evolving topics of gas
distribution automation. Speakers included manufacturing, utility, and R&D personnel. The papers
considered technical, economic, and policy aspects of the application of microelectronics to gas distribution
problems. The major topics included—
• Technology overviews
• Commercially Available Systems
• Emerging Technologies and New Directions
• Utility Experience with Microelectronic Automation
• Related Developments
Comparing the papers from the two symposia illustrates the speed at which this field changes. Products
being designed or available only as prototypes during the first symposium were commercially available
during the second. Several had already been reduced in cost and improved in reliability as manufacturers
gained experience. The rapid technical and economic changes complicate automation-related decisions for
both utilities and manufacturers. If these papers help to improve and simplify these decisions, our efforts
will have been justified.
William F.Rush
James E.Huebler
Jared R.W.Smith
Institute of Gas Technology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTEGRATING MICROELECTRONICS INTO GAS DISTRIBUTION (Session I)
— PREFACE iii
W.F.Rush, Jr.James E.Huebler and Jared R.W.Smith, Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, Illinois
OVERVIEW OF MICROELECTRONICS IN THE GAS INDUSTRY
1 FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF MICROELECTRONICS AUTOMATION 2
W.Booker, City of Colorado Springs, Colorado
2 MICROPROCESSORS APPLIED TO ECONOMIC AND OPERATIONAL CONTROL OF 14
GAS SYSTEMS
G.D.Bogel, Bristol Babcock, Inc., Waterbury, Connecticut
COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE HARDWARE
3 INTEGRATING MICROELECTRONICS INTO GAS DISTRIBUTION 23
I.A.Hicks, American Meter Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
4 REMOTE DATA COLLECTION SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATION WITH A CENTRAL 35
COMPUTER
E.J.Sweeney, Metretek, Inc., Melbourne, Florida
5 WATER METER TECHNOLOGY AND THE GAS INDUSTRY: AUTOMATED METER 40
READING SYSTEMS HAVE BECOME MARKET DRIVEN
A.B.Caruso, Neptune Information Systems, Atlanta, Georgia
6 METER MOUNTED INSTRUMENTS 50
P.J.Hanowich, Rockwell International Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
7 REAL TIME MEASUREMENT OF NATURAL GAS METER STATIONS 57
C.J.Glaeser, Entex, Inc., Houston, Texas
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
8 AUTOMATION OF FACILITIES INFORMATION 61
J.A.Bernard, Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, Green Bay, Wisconsin
9 AUTOMATING CORROSION CONTROL 68
R.J.Grozelle, Union Gas Limited, Chatham, Ontario
10 INTEGRATING RF ELECTRONICS INTO GAS DISTRIBUTION 79
R.D.Malme, DEI Energy Systems, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
v
DIRECTIONS IN AUTOMATING DISTRIBUTION
11 ON THE CONCEPT OF A TOTAL SYSTEM APPROACH TO DISTRIBUTION 85
AUTOMATION
J.E.Huebler and W.F.Rush, Jr.C.J.Ziolkowski, Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, Illinois
12 THE GRI PERSPECTIVE ON ADVANCED GAS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS RESEARCH 95
R.S.Norman, Gas Research Institute, Chicago, Illinois
EXPERIENCE WITH AUTOMATION
13 AUTOMATION OF WASTE HEAT RECOVERY PLANT FOR COMPRESSION OF 1 05
NATURAL GAS
M.L.Adelmann, Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America, Lombard, Illinois
14 ON-SITE ENERGY MEASUREMENT 1 14
W.W.Volkmor, Southern California Gas Company, Los Angeles, California
15 PEOPLES GAS TAKES ANOTHER STEP INTO THE COMPUTER AGE 1 21
F.J.Milfeit, The Peoples Natural Gas Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
16 ELECTRONICS AT UNION GAS 1 26
D.Barker, Union Gas Ltd., Chatham, Ontario, Canada
17 AUTOMATIC CALL-BACK ALARM SYSTEMS 1 33
T.Wilson, Peoples Natural Gas Company, Council Bluffs, Iowa
INTEGRATING MICROELECTRONICS INTO GAS DISTRIBUTION (Session II)
AN OVERVIEW OF MICROELECTRONICS
1 OVERVIEW OF GAS AUTOMATION 1 39
J.E.Huebler, Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, Illinois
2 AN OVERVIEW OF MICROELECTRONICS 1 47
V.Tamosaitis, Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, Illinois
3 THE FUTURE ROLE OF SENSOR TECHNOLOGY IN GAS DISTRIBUTION 1 57
OPERATIONS
S.R.Kramer, Gas Research Institute, Chicago, Illinois
COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE PRODUCTS
4 CENTRALIZED METER READING: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE 1 67
J.Childers, Neptune Information Systems, Norcross, Georgia
5 DATA ACCUMULATION AND COMMUNICATION 1 70
W.T.Bushman, Metretek, Inc., Melbourne, Florida
6 ELECTRONIC VOLUME CORRECTION AND DATA COLLECTION 1 75
R.J.Ensch, Dresser Measurement, Houston, Texas
7 SONIC INTEGRATED GAS MEASUREMENT ASSEMBLY: A REAL TIME 1 80
MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL STATION
vi
I.A.Hicks, American Meter Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
8 JUSTIFYING AUTOMATED METER READING TECHNOLOGY IN THE GAS 1 85
INDUSTRY
R.D.Malme, EnScan, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
9 VOLUME CORRECTORS AND FLOW COMPUTERS 1 90
R.H.Schieber, American Meter Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
UTILITY EXPERIENCE WITH AUTOMATION
10 SELECTING A GAS SCADA SYSTEM 1 94
T.B.Tahir, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., New York, New York
11 SCADA SYSTEMS IN GAS DISTRIBUTION FROM THEN, ’ZTIL NOW; ’TIL 1 99
TOMORROW: AN EVOLUTION OF METERING
A.W.Gershman, Brooklyn Union Gas Company, Brooklyn, New York
12 RADIO-TRANSMITTED, MICROCOMPUTER-BASED TELEMETER SYSTEMS 2 05
V.B.Hammond, Northern Illinois Gas, Naperville, Illinois
13 FIELD IMPLEMENTATION OF A REMOTE METER READING SYSTEM 2 11
F.H.Abrew, Equitable Gas Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
14 SYSTEM EVOLUTION IN THE MATURE SCADA ENVIRONMENT 2 18
D.K.Diel, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation
RELATED DEVELOPMENTS
15 INTEGRATION OF CORPORATE DATA SYSTEMS 2 33
D.R.Smith and A.Louis, Gilbert Services, Inc., Reading, Pennsylvania
16 IMPLEMENTATION OF AUTOMATIC METER READING 2 45
D.L.Schlenger, Hackensack Water Company, Harrington Park, New Jersey
17 ELECTRONIC SOLUTIONS TO METER READING 2 51
V.S.Casler, Porta-Printer Systems, Inc.
ADVANCES IN AUTOMATION
18 ADVANCED GAS DISTRIBUTION RESEARCH AT IGT 2 62
W.F.Rush, Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, Illinois
19 A LOW-POWER MICRO DATA PROCESSING AND CONTROL SYSTEM 2 70
PROGRAMMABLE ON SITE IN BASIC
M.J.-C.Bonnel, Gaz de France
20 HOW MICROELECTRONICS SAVES MONEY ON GAS SYSTEMS 2 78
G.D.Bogel, Bristol Babcock, Inc., Waterbury, Connecticut
21 ECONOMICS OF ELECTRONIC MEASUREMENT 2 87
J.Griffeth, Datek Industries, Inc., Houston, Texas
vii
22 REAL TIME MEASUREMENT: A CANADIAN GAS TRANSMISSION COMPANY 3 03
APPROACH
B.J.McConaghy, NOVA, An Alberta Corporation, Alberta, Canada
23 THE CAIN ENCODER™ — AUTOMATIC METER READING FOR THE REAL WORLD 3 14
C.J.Cain, Cain Encoder Company, Greenville, North Carolina
24 DISTRIBUTION ROBOTICS IN THE GAS INDUSTRY: ISSUES AND APPLICATIONS 3 18
L.A.Sweetwood, Institute of Gas Technology, Chicago, Illinois
Symposium Papers
INTEGRATING MICROELECTRONICS INTO GAS
DISTRIBUTION I
Presented
November 18–20, 1985
Orlando, Florida
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF MICROELECTRONICS
AUTOMATION
Wayne Booker
Engineering/Operations Superintendent
City of Colorado Springs
ABSTRACT
This paper addresses fundamental applications of microelectronics to automation systems used in
the gas industry. The information focuses on terminology used in microelectronics automation and
presents an overview of automation processes.
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF MICROELECTRONICS AUTOMATION
INTRODUCTION
Microelectronics dominates today’s automation applications in the gas industry with miniature circuit and
semiconductor technology. Microelectronic’s hardware decline in cost and improved reliability makes
automation a buzz word in the gas industry. Economics is the primary force driving automation decisions,
especially considering the increasing operation and maintenance costs associated with personnel and
regulatory activities. Significant incentives exist to automate information gathering and control activities to
avoid adding personnel and create improved productivity of existing personnel. For discussion purposes in
this material, automation will be considered the application of electronics to replace or speed up human
activities.
AUTOMATION CONSIDERATIONS
The use of microelectronics broadens the application base for automation. The vast technology available
today may seem overwhelming, but there are some basic considerations that will simplify evaluating
automation.
