Following regulatory clearance, Lufft will become a part of Hach Environmental, a group of companies, including Ott Hydromet, Sutron Corporation, and Sea-Bird Scientific. The network of companies serves customers with high-quality instruments focused on environmental-monitoring solutions. The addition of Lufft to the group is expected to provide core technologies in a wide range of meteorological, precipitation,…
From NASA to wind turbines: Wireless RFID sensors monitor rotating equipment
Phase IV Engineering has successfully developed wireless, battery-free RFID sensors that were initially designed to improve NASA’s water reclamation on the International Space Station. Now these sensors can also be used for wind turbines. Phase IV’s battery-free passive sensors can be used in predictive maintenance for turbines by keeping tabs on rotating equipment and watching for…
Offshore wind farm gets boost with ZephIR Lidar
ZephIR Lidar has installed a turbine-mounted ZephIR DM wind lidar on the 270-MW Lincs Offshore Wind Farm. Located five miles off the Skegness coast, Lincs Wind Farm is a joint venture between Centrica Energy, Siemens Project Ventures, and DONG Energy. It is anticipated that the installation of the lidar unit will help to identify opportunities…
AST’s multi-variable sensors are ideal for low-power systems
As the global market focuses on lean manufacturing, American Sensor Technologies (AST) offers multi-variable sensors that combine multiple sensing systems such as pressure, temperature, and even LVDT linear position sensors in one package. The package is designed to reduce the number of components in an installation, trim inventory stock and build times, and eliminate waste.…
SKF Insight intelligent bearing trialed in wind turbines and rail cars
SKF has begun to apply SKF Insight, its bearing health management technology, in several high-end industry applications. The technology uses self-powered, intelligent, wireless sensors in the SKF bearing to provide instant condition-monitoring data via the Internet and is undergoing trials in challenging projects in the wind turbine and railway industries. SKF Insight monitors dynamic parameters…
How to quickly convert any standard sensor output to modbus format
The ADC series of analog to digital signal converters readily accepts analog signals from up to eight loop or separately powered current, voltage, temperature, or any other parameter sensor, and seamlessly converts them to a digital signal output that interfaces with the industry standard Modbus RTU digital protocol using a single network address. DIN rail…
Watlow introduces new sensors and controllers catalog
A new product guide from Watlow, a manufacturer of thermal systems, includes product descriptions, specifications, features and benefits, applications, line drawings, and photos of temperature sensors, wire, cable, temperature controllers, power controllers, and supporting software. The catalog is in two sections. Watlow’s sensors, wires, and cables are listed first, followed by the company’s temperature, process,…
Catalog helps select the right sensor
Pepperl+Fuchs has introduced edition 1.0 of the company’s North American Sensor Catalog and Selection Guide. This nearly 1,200-page resource details the company’s family of capacitive, inductive, weld immune, special application, NAMUR, ultrasonic, and photoelectric sensors. It also details the company’s rotary encoders, cordsets, special function devices, and accessories. Complete product specifications, benefits, and ordering information…
Hall effect series with 4 to 20mA output
The continuous shortage of Hall Effect sensors is trouble for manufacturers. But Premo’s family of Hall effect sensors have an output current with a fixed range of 4 to 20mA. The new series provides a linearity <0.5% with a ±1% accuracy levels. The bandwidth is up to 6kHz with a response time less than 200…
Wind sensor tech – a guide
A brochure, Sensor Technology for Wind Energy Applications, provides an overview of the world’s most comprehensive selection of sensing technologies for wind energy applications, and highlights. Pepperl+Fuchs has 10+ years experience in providing reliable sensing solutions to the industry. Sensor Technology for Wind Energy Applications also provides helpful illustrations of these technologies as applied in…
How are sensors used on wind farms?
Wind farms run on sensors. They make condition monitoring and SCADA systems possible. Without sensors, no system can be controlled. One pearl of wisdom often dropped by control engineers says that a control is only as good as what it measures, and an event cannot be controlled if it cannot be measured. For wind professionals,…
Catalog features sensors for wind and solar
One sensor manufacturer has a new catalog with a range of rotary position sensors applicable to the wind and solar industries. ASM Sensors, Inc. has included their Posirot sensors, as well as their single and dual axis inclinometers, Positilt.
More on monitoring
Flexible monitoring electronics means being able to be adapt to any kind of safety sensor system. This is what the “eloFlex” system from elobau has been designed for: flexibility of parameter selection for logic control of sensor inputs and relay outputs.
IP68-rated hall sensors detect gear rotational and speed
A sensor for rotational direction and rpm of gears and engines has been introduced by Baumer Group. The MTRM 16 magnetic hall sensor is IP68-rated to operate reliably in harsh environments. The compact sensor has an operating voltage range from 8 to 28 Vdc. With a maximum switching frequency of 20 kHz, the durable sensor…
Two sensors per blade makes turbine safer
The pitch control system is among the most important on a wind turbine, say engineers at German turbine manufacturer Vensys Energy AG. The control measures, monitors, and adjusts the working angle of the rotor blades on a wind turbine, which can change its power output. The control also turns the rotor into the wind on…
Sensor detects fluid properties
The FPS2800B12C4 is a fluid property sensor that directly and simultaneously measures viscosity, density, dielectric constant, and temperature of a fluid. The sensor, from Visyx Technologies Inc, Freemont, Calif., monitors the direct and dynamic relationship between several physical properties to determine the quality, condition, and contaminant loading of fluids such as hydraulic and gear oils,…
Compact Weather Stations Help Measure the Wind
Wind is a limited resource. As such, finding areas where one can harvest the most energy from this limited resource is becoming increasingly important in today’s power generation market. Proper turbine selection, controls and siting are among the top of the important decisions list. Two years ago, Lufft provided a solution to your controls application…
Mouser Electronics now stocks tiny TI temperature sensor
Mouser Electronics Inc. is now stocking the Texas Instruments TMP112 digital temperature sensor with SMBus and two-wire serial interface. It requires no external components and is capable of reading temperatures to a resolution of 0.0625°C. The TI TMP112 digital temperature sensor allows up to four devices on one bus and lets users calibrate for higher…
Blade sensors could let turbines adapt faster
Researchers have developed a technique that lets sensors monitor forces exerted on wind turbine blades, a step toward improving their efficiency by letting them adjust to rapidly changing wind conditions. The research by engineers at Purdue University and Sandia National Laboratories is part of an effort to develop a smarter wind turbine. “The goal is…