Electric actuators in action

Louise Davis

In a project showcasing the latest in actuation technologies, an innovative control system will be used to control hundreds of intelligent electric actuators at a new petroleum terminal in Malaysia.

Neway Valve has ordered more than 570 IQ3 multi-turn electric actuators to be installed on gate and ball valves ranging from 8 to 42in at the Pengerang Deepwater Petroleum Terminal. The site is operated by Pengerang Terminals (Two).

The project phases

Phase two of the project involved the construction of storage and distribution facilities needed to transport crude oil, petroleum, chemical and petrochemical products to the Refinery & Petrochemicals Integrated Development (RAPID) tank farm, also in southern Johor. The second phase also included the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, comprised of a regasification unit and two 200,000m3 LNG storage tanks, as well as the building of berths for the loading and unloading of LNG vessels.

The project’s third phase got underway in May 2019 and will see the construction of petroleum and petrochemical storage tanks for medium- to long-term customers.

Electric actuators and control system

Rotork’s IQ3 electric actuators will be used to control the flow of the products onto carriers that use a deepwater jetty with depths up to 24m to carry products to the two sites. They will also ensure the complete isolation of the hydrocarbon products to prevent contamination. The Pakscan network bus system will be connected to seven hot standby Master Stations.

Suitable for use in all industries, the Master Station is capable of operating up to 240 actuators across three separate field networks allowing the optimum network to be used in different plant areas. It supports Modbus RTU protocol with third-party device integration and Pakscan Classic, Rotork’s standard two-wire closed-loop system. The Master Station can be supplied with built-in redundancy support via a hot standby configuration, allowing a replica unit to assume network control in the event of an error in the primary unit.

Results from Rotork Site Services

The end-user is already successfully operating IQ3 electric actuators at six other sites in the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex, a 6,239-acre downstream development in Malaysia.

The local support offered through Rotork Site Services (RSS) was also key in securing the order. The company’s engineers are carrying out extensive on site commissioning of both the IQ3 electric actuators and the Master Stations. RSS encompasses field support for repairs, commissioning, upgrades and maintenance through a global network of service engineers. They can also assist with planned shutdown support through project management and supervision, on-site overhaul and testing.

MH Tang is with Rotork

 

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