Use of Optical Emission Spectroscopy Data for Fault Detection of Mass Flow Controller in Plasma Etch Equipment

To minimize wafer yield losses by misprocessing during semiconductor manufacturing, faster and more accurate fault detection during the plasma process are desired to increase production yields. Process faults can be caused by abnormal equipment conditions, and the performance drifts of the parts or components of complicated semiconductor fabrication equipment are some of the most unnoticed factors that eventually change the plasma conditions. In this work, we propose improved stability and accuracy of process fault detection using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) data. Under a controlled experimental setup of arbitrarily induced fault scenarios, the extended isolation forest (EIF) approach was used to detect anomalies in OES data compared with the conventional isolation forest method in terms of accuracy and speed. We also used the OES data to generate features related to electron temperature and found that using the electron temperature features together with equipment status variable identification data (SVID) and OES data improved the prediction accuracy of process/equipment fault detection by a maximum of 0.84%.

Influence of Internal Defects of Basic Metal of the Equipment on Its Operational Properties

The paper deals with the issue of safe operation of technological equipment with a defect in the base metal of the delamination type. Mathematical modeling of the stress-strain state in the defect zone by the finite element method in ANSYS software package is carried out. The article presents and analyzes the obtained graphs of the distribution of stress intensity factors. Based on the analysis of the obtained dependences, it is shown that stratification of the base metal does not have a significant effect on the performance of the process equipment.

Explosion prevention and mitigation in plants which process, generate and store combustible dusts

Combustible dusts which are present in workplaces are a significant hazard which cannot be ignored by the plant owners, managers and workers. Combustible dust deflagrations and explosions have caused large numbers of deaths and catastrophic property damages in various industries, ranging from pharmaceutical plants to sugar factories. One may say that dust explosions in process industries always start inside process equipment such as mills, dryers, filters. Such events may occur in any process in which a combustible dust is handled, produced or stored, and can be triggered by any energy source, including static electricity, friction and hot surfaces. For any combustible dust type, several important parameters have to be taken into account when designing and using protective systems: i.e. the ease with which dust clouds ignite and their burning rates, maximum explosion pressure, maximum rate of explosion pressure rise. These parameters vary considerably depending on the dust type, their knowledge being a first step for carrying out a proper explosion risk assessment in installations which circulate combustible dusts. The paper presents the main aspects concerning explosion protection which have to be taken into account when designing protective systems intended to be used in explosive atmospheres generated by combustible dusts and the importance of selecting the proper explosion protection technique.

Manufacturing, Control, and Automation

This chapter identifies the common needs for process controls and automation that include methodologies to enable in-situ-level process controls, optimization at the plant or industry level, open-architecture software tools, adaptive control systems, methods and diagnostic tools for condition-based maintenance of process equipment in a manufacturing industry.

Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Polytetrafluoroethylene Composites Modified by Carbon Fibers and Zeolite

Currently, lightweight and high-strength polymer composites can provide weight savings in the automotive and process equipment industries by replacing metal parts. Polytetrafluoroethylene and polymer composites based on it are used in various tribological applications due to their excellent antifriction properties and thermal stability. This article examines the effect of combined fillers (carbon fibers and zeolite) on the mechanical, tribological properties, and structure of polytetrafluoroethylene. It is shown that the introduction of combined fillers into polytetrafluoroethylene retains the tensile strength and elongation at break at a content of 1–5 wt.% of carbon fibers, the compressive stress increased by 53%, and the yield stress increased by 45% relative to the initial polymer. The wear resistance of polymer composites increased 810-fold compared to the initial polytetrafluoroethylene while maintaining a low coefficient of friction. The structural features of polymer composites are characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy.

Improving the dependability of light vented foundations exposed to vibration load on frost soils

Aim. Today, dynamically-loaded foundations of process equipment often prove to be oversized with significantly overestimated values of stiffness, mass and material consumption. Therefore, reducing the costs and time of construction of gas pipeline facilities, especially on permafrost, is of relevance to PJSC Gazprom. One of the primary ways of solving this problem is installing gas pumping equipment on light vented support structures. The disadvantage of such structures is the low vibration rigidity. A method [1] is proposed for improving the vibration rigidity of a foundation subjected to vibration load. The simulation aims to improve the dependability of light vented foundations by studying vibration displacements of foundations with attached reinforced concrete panels depending on the thermal state of frost soils, parameters of the attached panels and connectors. Methods. Vibration displacements of a foundation with an attached device were identified using the finite element method and the improved computational model of the foundation – GCU – soil system. Results. Computational experiments identified the vibration displacements of the foundation in the cold and warm seasons for the following cases of reinforced concrete plates attached to the foundation: symmetrical and non-symmetrical; at different distances; through connectors with different stiffness parameters; with additional weights; frozen to the ground. Conclusions were made based on the results of simulation of vibration displacements of foundations with an attached device in cold and warm seasons. Conclusion. The presented results of computational experiments aimed at improving the vibration rigidity of light foundations by using method [1] show sufficiently good indicators of reduced vibration displacements of the foundation. Thus, in the case of symmetrical connection of four reinforced concrete panels in summer, the reduction of vibration displacements is 42.4%, while increased stiffness of the connectors, attachment of additional weights and freezing of reinforced concrete panels into the ground will allow reducing the vibration displacements of the foundation up to 2.5 times. However, it should be noted, that applying the findings in the process of development of project documentation and construction of foundations requires R&D activities involving verification and comparison of the obtained results of numerical simulation with a natural experiment.

Implementasi Realitas Berimbuh pada Antarmuka Manusia-Mesin di Industri Proses

Process industries such as oil refineries, petrochemical plants, and power plants require a human-machine interface system to monitor continuously. The operator usually carries out monitoring via a human-machine interface. However, it is difficult to know the condition of process equipment in real-time. The implementation of augmented reality allows engineers to visualize process equipment in real-time when conducting field inspections. The implementation of augmented reality at the human-machine interface to the fluid catalytic cracking process in an oil refinery is discussed in this paper. The design was started by developing a three-dimensional process equipment model using Autodesk Inventor. The result of the three-dimensional model then using Unity 3D software connected to the Vuforia Engine was implemented on a gadget into an augmented reality application. Data communication performance analysis was carried out using inferential statistics methods to test variations in service quality at levels 0, 1, and 2. The result of the Tukey test showed that the communication network latency value in level 2 was significantly higher than levels 0 and 1, which was 0.704±0.108 seconds. These results indicate that augmented reality can be implemented on human-machine interfaces by ensuring the quality of data communication services using Message Queue Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol at levels 0 or 1.

Flow Assurance and Thermodynamic Challenges of operating CO2 Pipelines for variations in terrains and environments

The requirement for capturing and storing Carbon Dioxide will continue to grow in the next decade and a fundamental part of this is being able to transport the fluid over large geographical distances in numerous terrains and environments. The evolving nature of the fluid supply and the storage characteristics ensure the operation of the pipeline remains a challenge throughout its operational life. This paper will examine the impact of changes in the fluid composition, storage locations, ambient conditions and the various operating modes the pipeline will see throughout the lifecycle, highlight the technical design and operational challenges and finally give guidance on future developments. The thermodynamic behaviour of CO2 with and without impurities will be demonstrated utilising the fluid characterisation software, MultiflashTM. The fluid behaviour and hydraulic performance will be calculated over the expected operational envelope of the pipeline throughout field life, highlighting the benefits and constraints of using the single component module in OLGATM whilst comparing against a compositional approach when dealing with impurities. The paper will demonstrate through two case studies of varying nature including geographical environment, storage location (aquifer vs. abandoned hydrocarbon reservoir) and ambient conditions, the following issues: The impact of the storage type on the pipeline operations and how this will evolve with time; The environmental conditions and the impact these have on selection of process equipment and operational procedures (i.e. shutdown); and The impact the CO2 composition has on the design of the CO2 pipeline, and The paper will conclude with a set of guidelines for undertaking design analysis of CO2 pipelines for variations in fluid composition, storage locations and ambient conditions as well as some key operational strategies. This paper utilises the current state of the art tools and how these evolving tools are making this technically challenging area more mainstream.

Innovative Reverse Engineering Approach in Design and Construction of New Gas Processing Facility in Brown Field Block Through Optimum Utilization of Excess Materials and Idle Equipment to Improve Capital Stewardship and Inventory Management. Case Study: Field X Associated Gas Recovery Project

Successful project management boils down to effectively and efficiently managing resources to meet the project's cost and schedule. The ability to manage project effectively becomes increasingly important to recover capital project expenditures in expiring Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) blocks. The longer the time needed for a project to complete, the higher the project capital and the lower the capital recovery. Referring to look back result of several major capital facility projects, the key challenge in meeting the project cost and schedule is related to procurement of long lead materials and key process equipment. In brown field blocks, there is an opportunity to perform reverse engineering by optimally utilizing the excess materials in the warehouse and idle/unused process equipment to solve the key challenges. As additional benefit, utilization of excess materials and idle process equipment will improve inventory management and capital stewardship, since the cost to relocate and modify the equipment are significantly lower than the cost of buying a new equipment. Field X Associated Gas Recovery Project (AGRP) provided an excellent case study of successful reverse engineering approach using excess material and idle equipment in design and construction of a new gas processing facility in brown field block. Field X AGRP is designed to recover and process associated gas from X field to be used as fuel gas for the gas turbines at the internal Power Generation Plant. However, based on lesson learned from similar opportunity in the past, the cost of construction and installation of a new gas processing facility using new construction materials and new process equipment is very high, which is uneconomic at the current oil price environment. Therefore, to make the project economic, the project team shall consider the utilization of available excess material in the warehouse and idle/unused equipment into design basis. Project team conducted assessment to several facilities across the concession area to gather equipment specification data of idle process equipment and the size of available excess materials. The gas processing facility design was reverse engineered to optimally utilize the idle process equipment and excess materials. The utilization of idle equipment and excess material in construction of the gas processing facility has successfully generated cost saving up to 5 times the project cost from avoiding purchase of new equipment and new construction materials. The project successfully recovered associated gas at the rate of 0.5 MMSCFD to be used as fuel to gas turbine and produced 60 BOPD condensate from gas-liquid separation process