The Strengths of Electric Actuators in the Water Industry

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AUMA Riester GmbH & Co. KG

Consistent Actuator Concepts

Valve designs and sizes require tailored solutions within the water industry — applications range from small butterfly valves in waterworks to the slide gates driven by double chains in a sluice. The objective is to create homogeneity throughout the plant in terms of connecting actuators to the control station as well as standardising their installation, commissioning, and operation. Besides the easier every–day handling, the economic advantages are considerable, e.g. when ordering spare parts.

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Modular actuator concepts offer this homogeneity across torque ranges between 10 Nm up to virtually 700,000 Nm. This is achieved by unambiguous interfaces between electronics and mechanics, between motor and gearbox as well as sensor technology and gearbox.

The customer–specific actuator is the product of the customised combination of all these basic elements.

Lightning Protection

In proximity of large water reservoirs, e.g. tanks in sewage treatment plants, there is potential and increased danger of lightning strikes.

Even if there is no direct lightning impact, the electrical field in signal cables might induce voltages with potential to impairing electronics of field devices and consequently of actuators. Efficient prevention of these impacts are overvoltage protection modules blocking overvoltages of up to 4 kV from the integral electronics.

Overvoltages are completely eliminated when using fibre optic cables for data transmission. Fibre optic technology implies the use of fieldbus systems and requires suitable interfaces within the actuators for converting the light signals into electrical signals required by the actuator and vice versa.

Valve Automation

Smart Actuation for a Smarter World

* The author is Marketing Manager, Auma Riester GmbH & Co. KG, Müllheim/Germany.

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