Enhanced Digital Valve Controller Is SIL3 Certified

March 25, 2008

Emerson Process Management has announced enhancements to its SIL3-certified Fisher Fieldvue DVC6000 digital valve controller for Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS). The enhancements help improve reliability, flexibility and availability of Emergency Shutdown (ESD) valve solutions. The ESD final control system components are integrated with safety-certified sensors and SIL3-rated systems in Emerson's digital smart SIS solutions.

The DVC6000 SIS instrument enhancements include manual reset, a stored safety demand event log, pass/fail status after a partial stroke test and third party certification to SIL3, SIF loop.

A safety demand event can be stored in the non-volatile memory of the microprocessor and retrieved at any time. This event log is critical for plant personnel, reliability engineers, and auditing authority to properly understand the final element status before and after the trip or demand event.

After the completion of a partial stroke test, the DVC6000 SIS instrument will provide a pass or fail status along with a signature curve. It will also provide additional diagnostics on stick slip, shaft integrity and maximum and minimum torque.

The DVC6000 SIS digital valve controller can operate by an input signal of 0-24VDC, 0-20 mA or 4-20 mA. The instrument is certified by a third party for its compliance to IEC61508 requirements enabling the device to be suitable for use in SIL3, SIF loop. The instrument is also available in stainless steel constructions for harsh offshore environments and severe service constructions providing remote mount capability and extreme temperature functionality.

Emerson's smart SIS safety management solution is an extension of its PlantWeb digital plant architecture, providing an integrated approach to complete safety loops — from sensor to logic solver to final control element. The Emerson SIS solution enables customers to implement safer facilities, improve availability, lower life-cycle costs, and ease regulatory compliance. The smart SIS system components include Rosemount and Micro Motion certified and proven-in-use devices, the DeltaV SIS system, SIL-PAC final control solution with Fieldvue DVC6000 SIS controller, and the AMS Suite: Intelligent Device Manager.