Electricity + Control October 2019

CONTROL SYSTEMS + AUTOMATION Product News

Tough enclosures for remote I/O control networks Intertec is introducing a range of tough field enclosures, with compact passive cooling, to house remote I/O and other control and instrumentation electronics. The enclosures have been developed to help EPC and processing plant engineers eliminate the need for costly plant buildings such as satellite instrument houses or remote instrument enclosures – which often need to be air-conditioned and blast- and fire-resistant.

factory – an efficient and cost-effective process – avoiding the need for opening and exposure to dangerous conditions at site during installation and operation. Intertec’s GRP enclosures can be fabricated with embedded insulation (a monolithic sandwich with layers of GRP sheet enclosing insulation). This is a major benefit in respect of remote I/O applications using sensitive electronic devices with lifetimes and reliabilities that are reduced by overheating. Efficient insulation helps protect against temperature extremes and it is one reason why the simple steel cabinets, widely used for cabling-related field junction boxes, are not adequate for some of the more sophisticated remote I/O applications now being deployed. Because of the electronic devices housed in the enclosures, some form of cooling may also be required. If power is available on the site, conventional fan cooling can be used. However, the temperature stability of highly insulated

GRP boxes also makes it possible to exploit passive cooling systems, which do not require electricity and have no moving parts (an advantage that supports their use in hazardous areas too). A tank of water and a heat exchanger use the cool night-time temperatures to moderate the interior temperature during the day. As many advanced remote I/O applications will, by their nature, be small and compact, Intertec has designed new passive cooling systems for smaller-sized cabinets and enclosures. These include a passive cooling system with a heat exchanger that doubles as a sunshade. The performance of the passive cooler can also be boosted by a small active element – such as a water cooler. Intertec can fabricate passively cooled field protection systems like this in enclosures and box sizes down to about 40 litres in volume.

Fabricated from GRP (glassfibre reinforced polyester) materials, the enclosures provide rugged dust- and water-proof environments to protect remote control equipment located deep inside processing areas. The concept responds to requests from clients – making it easier to roll out more versatile, distributed control architectures containing field equipment such as software-configured I/O, IIoT networking and PLCs. It also provides for field control equipment enclosures to be assembled and sealed in the

For more information visit: www.intertec.info