Retrofit of legacy actuators provide Indian airport with critical performance data

21/04/2022

An aviation fuel station at a major Indian airport has been enhanced with the installation of intelligent electric actuators from Rotork. The customer wished to upgrade to the latest in intelligent actuation technology, benefitting from the ability to gather data to plan for maintenance activities in advance, as well as a high degree of accuracy and reliability.

The airport in Kolkata is known as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBIA). It is the fifth busiest in the whole of India and annually handles approximately 9 million passengers. It was expanded in 2013 by the addition of a new terminal. Aviation fuel is collected from nearby Haldia Refinery by tanker and delivered to NSCBIA airport. Over 30 IQ intelligent multi-turn electric actuators have been ordered for installation at an aviation fuel station at the airport. They are replacing existing K-range Rotork actuators that operate gate valves; around half the ordered actuators have now been installed at the storage tanks at the station.

The customer wished to upgrade to IQ3 actuators to access the features and benefits they offer, such as access to operational data through the integrated data logger. This retrofit project will see the IQ3 actuators replacing the existing actuators to provide flow control for aviation fuel at the receipt, delivery and recirculation lines. The customer requested that the replacement actuators were electric, to avoid unnecessary changes to power supplies and existing set-up.

Local engineers demonstrated the features of IQ3 actuators to Indian Oil Corporation Limited (who run the aviation fuel network at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport), highlighting operational accuracy, data logging functions and power supply options, including the ability to install without a power supply. The IQ3 is Rotork’s flagship intelligent electric actuator. IQ3 actuators are ATEX certified as explosionproof, suitable for use in Safety Integrity Level 2/3 applications and watertight to IP66/68. The high-resolution LCD display was singled out by the customer as a desirable feature, in order to visually check information.

The customer has signed up to a service agreement as part of Rotork’s Lifetime Management programme, ensuring ongoing service support and reduced downtime for maintenance activities through Heath Checks and periodic maintenance. A reduction of downtime was of critical concern to the customer, which can be assisted by a holistic asset management programme such as Lifetime Management.