General Instrumentation Accessories Installation Design Notes

This article is about Instrumentation Accessories Material Receiving Checklist and Instrumentation Accessories Installation Design Notes of Instrumentation and Control Systems as per International Codes and standards for Commercial Buildings, Plants and Refinery Projects.

General Instrumentation Accessories Installation Design Notes

Material Receiving General Checklist for Instrumentation & Control

General Requirements

All pulsation dampeners (or snubbers), siphons, diaphragm seals and similar accessories shall be shown on P & IDs.
Snubber design shall allow easy disassembly to facilitate cleaning. Snubbers shall not be used on switches in critical (e.g., ESD) service. Pulsation dampeners using a restriction orifice or a moving piston are acceptable. Capillary tube-type snubbers are not acceptable.
Gauge savers protecting instruments against pressures that are very high compared to the operating range may be used, except on switches in critical (e.g., ESD) service..

An indicating pressure gauge shall be installed in the top of each tank.
With the exception of relief valve piping, all instrument connections (except thermowells) smaller than 50 mm (2 in) shall be provided with excess flow check valves or restricting orifices having an orifice size not greater than 3.175 mm (1/8 in.), or spring return valve with fusible link.
All instruments and their accessories shall meet the relevant requirements of SAES-J-003 pertaining to ambient conditions.
Locally mounted instruments and their accessories shall meet the relevant electrical area classification requirements of SAES-B-068.
“siphons shall also be used for process fluids with a temperature over 250°C (480°F) when the gauge is above the tap connection.”
All Purchased Material Shall meet the Applicable SAMSS

Material Requirements

Purchase Order and Instrument specification sheet criteria shall be confirmed and compared with instrument stainless steel tags / labels and nameplates, and shipment checked for damage, prior to acceptance of the shipment
The electronic instruments and control valve positioners shall be smart.
“Instruments and control systems shall operate continuously under the following ambient air temperatures without any degradation of the manufacturer’s guaranteed performance:
(1) Indoor Air conditioned, 10°C(50°F) to 35°C(95°F)
(2) Outdoor sheltered, 0°C (32°F) to 55°C (32°F)
(3) Outdoor unsheltered conditions, 0°C (32°F) to 65°C (149°F)”
Verify that all the instruments are from technically acceptable vendors.
For instrumentation purchases from manufacturers that are not listed in this standard, a request for technical evaluation, with justifications, shall be submitted in writing to the General Supervisor, Process Instrumentation Division, P&CSD.
The instruments should comply with the Saudi Aramco-defined standard conditions for process flow101.325kPa(abs) at 15°C as per SI units or 14.73psia at 60°F (English units)
Verify the field transmission signals are 3-15psi, 4-20 mA and vendor specific digital protocols when used between their controllers and their respective field devices.
If HART communication protocol is used, verify that the superimposed digital signal is not used for plant control.
All fieldbus devices should have FOUNDATION Field bus certification as having passed the latest revision of Interoperability Test Kit (ITK).
Verify that the FF Devices and all function blocks shall be tested and certified by the host control system vendor.
Verify that the FFDevices and all function blocks shall be downloadable into the devices by the end user.
All fieldbus devices shall be capable of performing continuous diagnostics, including self-test functions, to provide specific diagnostic information at the Man Machine Interface (MMI).
All fieldbus instruments shall include menu’s and method’s (wizards) to allow easy set-up and calibration from the MMI.
Verify “certificate of compliance” for each type of nonincendive device, clearly showing the nonincendive field wiring parameters embedded, in viewable format, in the Foundation Fieldbus Segment Calculator (FFSC).
As a minimum, all pressure devices shall be specified with over-range protection to 1-1/2 times the maximum system operating pressure. [PIP PCCPR001 Sec 4.3]
Materials selection for pressure device wetted parts shall be type 304 or 316 stainless steel with TFE gaskets, unless other materials are required by process [PIP PCCPR001 Sec 4.6, July 1997]
Standard ranges shall be selected such that the normal operating pressure falls between 30% and 70% of the scale range.
Gauges supplied by vendors as part of other pneumatic devices such as current to pneumatic converters, instrument air supply regulators, valve positioners, piston actuators, and similar devices shall be vendor standard unless otherwise specified
Electric switch contacts shall be snap acting, single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) as a minimum. The contact rating shall be sufficient to operate solenoids, relays, or other devices as specified in the data sheet without the need for additional or interposing relays. Hermetically sealed switch contacts are preferable.

International Standard and Codes for Instrumentation Accessories

Copper Tubing, Brass Fittings, and Valves for Instrument Service

3. SAES-J-002 -Technically acceptable instruments, 23 June 2008
4. SAES-J-003 – Instrumentation Basic Design, 16 January 2008
5. SAES-J-200 – Pressure, 18 May 2008
6. SAES-J-904 – FOUNDATION fieldbus Systems, 31 July 2004
7. PIP PCCPR001 – Pressure Measurement Criteria, 24 April 2007
8. SAES-B-057 – Safety Requirements: Refrigerated and Pressure Storage Vessels, 29 June 2005