Only a fraction of the people working in production today can remember the days of purely mechanical pressure monitoring with on-site displays. Pressure gauges are still indispensable as back-up in many processes in pharmaceutical companies. However, electrical pressure measuring devices have been performing their crucial control function for decades. Without them, process automation would be unthinkable. And sensors are becoming more and more powerful as digitalization progresses.
However, pressure sensors can quickly reach their limits under critical process conditions.
Membrane monitoring was developed to prevent such damage from only becoming apparent between two batches.
In the meantime, a significant step has been taken. Inline process transmitters take pressure measurement in pharmaceutical processes to a new level.
They represent the essence of two patent solutions: membrane monitoring and the pipe pressure seal with a round foil membrane. The inline process transmitter not only compensates for the limited robustness of a pipe pressure seal thanks to its design with a thick-walled sensor element. It also records the process pressure even without a transfer fluid, so there is no risk of contamination. Its sensor element is additionally monitored in order to detect potential damage to it and signal it at the same time: either via its HART®7 protocol or via a fault current.