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Our August 2004 Spotlight topic
focuses on:
Life
on the Ocean Wave
| Imagine
you’re on a cruise ship (oooh!). Now imagine that you’re
in charge of keeping that ship’s many systems running (argh!).
The propulsion system needed for a 142,000-ton vessel is nontrivial:
It’s big, it’s complicated, and if you want to make sure
that all is well, it’s vital that you monitor its health. Royal
Caribbean Cruise Lines wanted a reliable system to continuously monitor
the key 11 kV electrical switchgear on the propulsion systems of its
Voyager Class liners. QHi Infrared worked with R&B Marine in Miami,
FL, to install QHi’s ExerTherm system to provide continuous thermal
monitoring for the important components within the electrical switchgear
enclosures. ExerTherm uses small plastic noncontact IR sensors that
measure the target temperature in relation to the surrounding ambient
and require no power to operate. Placed inside the enclosure to spot
any potential problems, the sensors have two-stage alarms, which activate
if temperatures exceed customer-defined levels. The signal is fed
back to data cards, which provide signal conditioning, and from there
to a remote PC for logging and ongoing trend analysis, which can identify
problems before they happen. |
 |
Cruise
on!
Contact Bob Harris,
Exergen Corp., Watertown, MA; 617-923-9000 ext. 238,or
email: rharris@exergen.com.
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