FAQ’s for Siemens / Controlotron FUS/P1010 Clamp-on Flowmeter & FUG1010 Gas Flowmeter
“I installed the flowmeter and it tells me that I have a weak signal...The meter displays the following message:
Meter displays:“Invalid Setup (try Direct Mode)
During the Initial Makeup the system detects invalid transducer spacing, erroneous liquid pipe parameters, or some other factor that prevents it from completing the Initial Makeup. This may be due to one of the following:
●An out-of-range data entry.
●An invalid condition (e.g., overlapping transducers in Reflect Mode). If selecting Direct Mode does not resolve, review all site setup and transducer installation choices particularly data entered for pipe and liquid.
●In Reflect Mode the flow meter detects that the pipe wall signal may infringe upon the liquid signal. Use Direct Mode instead.
●Press <ENT>, <Up Arrow>, <Down Arrow>, or <Left Arrow> to abort install routine. Continue programming other site data in anticipation of resolving the difficulty later. Call technical support for help if necessary.
Meter displays: “Low Signal - Press <ENT>”
During the Initial Makeup the flow meter decides that the level of the receive signal is insufficient for proper operation. Some reasons for low signal are:
●Invoking [Install completed?] on an empty pipe.
●Coupling compound insufficient; not applied or evaporated.
●A disconnected or broken transducer cable.
●The pipe needs to be conditioned / cleaned at the mounting location.
●Air in the line? Flush out large air bubbles.
●The Xdcr cables are defective or not connected to the correct channel.
●The Set Empty routine performed when pipe was NOT actually empty.
● Check the pipe for transient electrical noise or voltage. If in the 50mV to 60mV range, this will cancel / lessen the signal from the transducer. If this is the case, look for a way to properly earth ground the pipe up stream of the measurement
If you locate and correct the improper condition immediately, press <ENT> to resume the installation procedure. Otherwise, press the <Left Arrow> to abort the installation and conduct a thorough investigation.
Meter displays: “Detection Fault”
If it appears that the flow meter cannot complete an Initial Makeup it means that the pipe and/or liquid conditions do not permit a receive signal that meets the flow detection standards. The system will not operate. Attempt to improve operating conditions by reinstalling the transducers at a different spacing offset, or even at a different location on the pipe.
Switching from Reflect to Direct Mount may solve the problem. However, operation may not be possible if there is poor liquid or pipe wall sonic conductivity.
NOTE:At any time during the sensor INSTALL process you can press ENTER button and the meter will jump to a pre-determined drive and you can see the ALC (signal strength). If the signal strength is @ 2, check your cables. A 2 is the same as no transducer! To cancel, press the < left arrow…
Alarm, error, and system messages: Alarm Letter Codes and Descriptions
The following alarm codes appear on the main display of the flowmeter.
The displays shown below indicate where the Alarm Codes appear on the screen. Press <UP> or <DOWN> Arrows to change screen views.
Letter CodesAlarm CodeDescription
SPACESpacingTransducer spacing may need adjustment
EMPTYEmptyPipe is empty
HI/LORateFlow above High setting or below Low setting
FAULTFault Three continuous seconds without new data update
AERAeration Current aeration percentage exceeds the alarm set point
MEMRYMemory Last valid reading for a selected interval during Fault
Condition
MAKUP Makeup In-Process Makeup occurred
Test Facilities Graph Screen
When operating in the transit time mode the Test Facilities Graph Screen is an exceptional diagnostic tool for troubleshooting problem applications or simply determining Receive signal quality. The primary function of this screen is to display the digitized receive signal waveform with the similar appearance and function of a digital oscilloscope. This screen also allows the user to override some of the flowmeter default settings by permitting adjustment to the measured transit time, the digital averaging and the zero crossover used in the measurement of the up/down transit time difference. Refer to the TROUBLE SHOOTING section of the Operation Instruction manual for additional details.
I have a good ALC, but the meter will fault….
This may be due to a sudden increase of air or particulates, thus dropping the SN – signal to noise ratio, which will then lower the ALC:
If the meter was installed at a zero flow condition with a strong signal it is likely that our “Empty Set” threshold is at or near 30. If the Signal strength (ALC) drops below 30 (due to signal loss from the air –and this will lower the SN Signal to Noise Ratio) the meter will declare a fault even though there may be sufficient signal with which to operate. Thus the work around is as follows;
1.Go to the “Install transducer” menu
2.Scroll down to Empty Pipe Set
3.Select “Set Empty”
4.You will see a number in parenthesis, that is the empty threshold, If the ALC falls below this number the meter declares fault
5.Press the right arrow and use the numerical keypad to enter a value of about 15 and press enter
6.You will now have more margin to withstand the initial aeration burst so long as the ALC doesn’t drop below the new value
I have a good ALC, but the meter will fault….part II
Improper termination of one or both coax cables at either end can cause large swings in the flow (negative to positive) with a good ALC and SN and Faulting. This is due to a floating ground on the transducer signal…
“The installer didn't remove the insulation on the downstream transducer's
F connector on the pipe to terminate the shielding, so it was a floating
ground and that put a lot of noise on the signal. Terminating that shield
made it come right in as it should”
tp
DOPPLER:
When should I use Doppler??
The primary guideline to understand for selecting Reflexor over transit time is that there is no primary guideline.
Technically any liquid that has "Any Amount" of reflective particulate (air bubble or solids) could be measured with a doppler as this is its only requirement.
The need for Doppler is pretty much application dependent as there are no definitive levels of solids, volume of air, etc with which to determine that Doppler is necessary. There are application clues and certain applications where we can say with a high degree of confidence that it should be Doppler.
For example:
Paper pulp with a concentration > about 3%
Specific stages in a Waste Water plant E.G. Mixed Liquor and Thickened sludge
Slurries with high levels of reflective solids
Slurries that are "opaque" to ultrasound (Fly ash, lime)
Display’s F (fault) at 0 flow…
The Siemens Clamp-on, when used with the Doppler transducers will
display F (fault) when flow would stop and solids drop out of suspension.
Although the meter can be setup to display F again, the present default will
show 0 gpm, and the output will go to 2mA. While you could change the display
to go back to showing F, you cannot change the mA value from 2mA. This
could be a problem and show as a negative flow values, and even subtract from
an internal integrator in a DCS or PLC system as many now recognize signals
below 4mA. If the customer cannot address in the PLC or DCS, the solution is
using one of the Mii programmable isolators like the FCT or SIY, as even if the
input drops below 4mA, the output can be limited to 4mA.
DOPPLER (Reflexor): When using the SPECTRC GRAF (noise filter)
Noise level in doppler at 25% of FX level.
If you raise or, lower level, the flow reading will increase because averaging
higher numbers (ignoring lower numbers in average)
When raising the noise bar which is the bottom one on the doppler graph screen you want to set the level at 25% of what the fx reading is. If the fx reading is 100 set the noise level at 25.You want the Noise level at 25% of FX level.
If you raise the lower bar, the one on the left, your reading will increase because what it is doing is averaging all those bars in the graph. If you ignore the lower ones it raises the average because you are not taking those lower readings into the average. this will make your flow reading increase.
Spectra Graph is a powerful tool used to determine if the installation has achieved an adequate margin of operation. It also eliminates the possible effects of mechanical vibration and external RFI.
The Spectra Graph display provides keypad control keys that allow adjustments of application dependent parameters, if required, while observing the results of these adjustments.
Application dependent parameters are the Low and High Limit cursors and the Noise cursor. In most cases, only the Noise Cursor will be required to be adjusted.
PGEN:
FUG - The PGEN digital pulse is assigned to unit of volume. The unit of volume is determined by the volume units selected under ‘Flow Vol. Units’ in the menu. It is also determined by whether you are reading in actual or standard. Example; if you have cubic feet selected and actual flow you will read “ACF’ vice versa if you standardize you will read ‘SCF’
AUTO ZERO feature:
The Auto zero only works in reflect as it utilizes the pipe wall signal.
SiWare
What is the “S-filter”?
It is use to recommend an alternate transducer. However, we don’t like to do this. You should always go with the first choice. Uncheck the S-filter when sizing for transducers.
VS (sound velocity)
While programming the flow computer gave a “estimated velocity of sound: 1480”. This is the typical speed of sound in water - the fluid that you are going to measure may differ. You will see the Velocity of Sound again while performing the sensor install. This will be an actual velocity and should be very close to the estimate given earlier. If they do not agree, your pipe wall may be different than you entered- ex: you entered Sch40 w/0.50” wall when you actually have STD w/0.375 wall thickness. Double check the wall or pipe schedule!
TESTING the TRANSDUCERS
You can test the transit time transducers by programming the meter for a steel pipe w/1.315”OD pipe with a 0.133 wall. Then apply couplant to each transducer and rubb them together. Perform a sensor install and check the ALC. This should be very high (40-60 or higher). If not, check the wires (ohm) or try another set of transducers.
You can test the coax cableswith a transducer attached. Set your Multimeter to Ohms. Remove the cable connection at the transmitter and touch the center with one probe and shield to the other. You should see the following resistance:
DOPPLER Transducers: 750ohm resistance
TRANSIT TIME transducers: 150ohm resistance