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We Rest Our Case with Explosion-Proof Pressure Transmitters
As the demand for fossil fuels increases, the need for improved monitoring and control of wellheads has become increasingly important. Monitoring of oil and gas wellhead performance as a means to improve well production output has been employed for a number of years. WIKA’s initiative is focused on developing and launching a product that delivers improvement while extending the monitoring capability to include control functionality that will produce a truly closed loop, automated production capability.
Of the 500,000 wells in the United States, 160,000 of them are considered marginal. In order to make wells more productive, they need to be instrumented. Only 40% of wells have been instrumented altogether. There are 20,000 new wells being drilled every year. The rising price of oil is what makes it more feasible to drill these new wells.
Explosion-proof pressure transmitters work on the principle of containment, where the pressure transmitter is enclosed in a housing that is designed to contain, control, cool, and then vent any possible ignition. The WIKA E-10 explosion-proof pressure transmitter is designed for applications in the oil and gas industry including wellhead monitoring, refining, pipelines and natural gas compressors.
Explosion-proof pressure transmitters contain explosions within an enclosure that has the ability to prevent an explosion’s energy, electrical or thermal, from reaching the volatile atmosphere. Several methods of explosion-proofing are available. Examples include filling the containment enclosure with oil or surrounding the electrical apparatus with molding resin or potting compound.
In the petro-chemical and process industries, pressure transmitters and transducers are subjected to severe applications which may contain aggressive media, temperature extremes, vibration, pulsation, and uncompromising environmental conditions.
In these applications, the E-10 pressure transmitter may also be used to indicate problems or abnormal conditions. A vast network of tanks, vessels, pipes, and control systems must be monitored and maintained within optimum operating tolerances.
Tubing and casing (surrounds the tubing) pressures are monitored to determine the optimum flow rate and their outputs can be used to monitor for down-hole leaks. The E-10 pressure transmitter can be used in wellhead applications depending on the area classification where they are installed.
Applications and installations in the oil and gas markets are extremely rough and demanding. Mechanical shock and vibration are common. The solid state components of the E-10 pressure transmitters are fully encapsulated in a soft potting gel. Combined with low mass/low profile design, the E-10 pressure transmitter is the right choice for the demands of this industry.