Intelligent valve actuators in Airbus super-jumbo production plant

Paul Boughton

Rotork IQ and IQT intelligent electric actuators with Pakscan 2-wire digital control have been installed on a specialised area of the plant that manufactures the world’s largestmost advanced and efficient commercial airliner.

The Rotork actuators are installed at Toulousewhere a huge new production plant has been built for the Airbus A380.

The actuators control the sequence by which jet fuelstored in six tanksis pumped into the A380’s 310000 litre fuel tanks to clean them and then pumped back through filters for storage and re-use. A total of 64ATEX certified IQ and IQT actuators operate Malbranque gate valvesCameron ball valves and Metso butterfly valves on the plantcontrolled by a 120 channel Pakscan llE masterstation with hot standby.

The hot standby Pakscan would provide a totally automaticuninterrupted change-over of control to a secondary masterstation in the event of a component faultsecuring the safesequential operation of the plant process under any anticipated circumstances. Any fault is immediately identified by an alarm signal to facilitate repair.

Rotork’s French sales company was awarded the Airbus order by a consortium consisting of SPIE BatignollesExxon and EECTA. The AirbusA380the world’s only
twin-deckfour aisle airlinerbrings new standards of comfortbetter economics and improved environmental responsibilities to the large aircraft sector. Seating up to 656 passengersthe first A380s will enter service later this year.

Rotork Controls Ltd is base in BathUK. www.rotork.com

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