BEblog

The Engineering team at Burns has for many years enjoyed the air temperature measurement challenges in clean rooms, HVAC, storage areas, transportation, compressor rooms, production areas, environmental chambers, critical office areas….. 

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In some instances it’s all about durability and accuracy. 

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In other cases the challenge is measuring the temperature of the  AIR and not the WALL or some other influence within the wall.

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Burns brings to these applications;  a myriad of design styles and adaptations, the wisdom that can be found in the series of technical papers on PRT Sources of Error and a passion for creative problem solving.

Share with us your Air temperature measurement challenge and we’ll get the team engaged in making you a hero!  Call us at 952-935-4400, email us at info@burnsengineering.com or comment here on the BEblog.

We are ready to discover, design and create something to insure your success.  That’s just the stuff we like to do….

 Chuck

NCSLI in Florida was the place to be in early August.

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John Zwak presented a paper on Using an Ice bath to approximate the Triple Point of Water (TPW)

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John and Bill Bergquist also participated in the EXPO.  We had a little fun with the ICE theme..  It’s all about the ICE, ice bath, TPW, Minnesota ice fishing and the interesting combination of all three….

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At Burns we believe in bring to your PRT and Temperature Calibration needs a practical and valuable perspective that will have a positive Impact on your Business….  If you missed us, send us a note at:  info@burnsengineering.com, comment on the BEblog, give us a call or stop by visit us in Minnesota.  Remember if you wait until January, that ice theme comes back in full force.

 See you next year at NCSLI 2009 in San Antonio.  Metrology’s Impact on Global Trade

Practical temperature measurement insights is Burns’ contribution to Metrology’s Impact on Global Trade…

Join us…

 Chuck

The best things come in small packages.  I’ve heard that phrase many times.  Recently the engineering team at Burns has been working on a stealth project to evaluate material and process approaches for the purpose of; mini, tiny, micro and just little RTD’s.  We code named the project SLIM and gave it a mascot….

We discovered some interesting materials and process options, and broke a few assumptions and perceived constraints.  Then, in the design mode, applied these ideas and created a few new RTD’s for various applications throughout the BioPharma, Food & Beverage, PetroChem and Ethanol industries.  These little RTD’s play a role in Bearing temperature monitoring, product transit condition monitoring and various surface sensing and tight locations where addition temperature profile and awareness is important to the process.

The team had a blast think beyond the rules, historical approaches and known materials.  In true “achieve, change and improve” mode, we are doing it again.

What paradigms have you busted through recently?  Click the comment button and tell us a bit about your recent  A-ha’s.

Chuck�

Ethanol and it’s expansive support industry at the FEW Event have rushed the gates at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.   They are talking everything from filter bag systems, mixers, bacteria issues, biodiesel, fermentation and thermal oxidizers….   The conversation even dipped into the area of CIP (Clean in Place), posing the question, “Should the Ethanol fermentation process move toward the sanitary guidelines similar to the food and beverage industry?”  This was driven by the co-product “Distillers Grain” entering into the food stream through the animal feed. 

The Expo opened Monday evening, breaking the ice with a Grand Opening and massive social in the expo arena.  The spirit in the room was an interesting mix of excitement, passion and commitment to all the good aspects and value of Ethanol as a clean and renewable fuel energy source.  That doesn’t mean that there aren’t questions and concerns about the interdependency with the other uses of corn, and the economic complexities as the ethanol industry grows….  It sounds like these folks are aware of all of this, and are committed to being good stewards of the resources they consume and at the same time looking for additional Sugar & starch sources to balance the demand for corn.  One alternate fermentation product being discussed is ALGAE!  Now that’s being creative!

More later from on the Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo and the passionate folks in attendance.

 What are your thoughts and concerns about Ethanol…  Click the comment button above and tell us your thoughts.

 Chuck�

Burns Engineering has updated the Burns Website to better serve our friends. Friends of Burns are our most important relationships.

Our goal is to help you with your challenges and concerns where Temperature is important to your success.

We want you to BE confident,	BE connected.	BE engaged.
.. It is our goal to provide relevance,	real technical value,	effective solutions,
a range of choices,	………And have a little fun.	find this image on the Web Site.….
	Register with us and become one of the Friends of Burns.

Let’s stay connected… Click the comment button above and share you thoughts and if you found the mystery image…

Chuck

Originally design in 1975, the Burns Engineering Underwater PRT has found itself serving many submerged needs in industries from Power generation to Paper processing; helping to protect the delicate aquatic environment. 

In Minnesota it’s all about the Walleye… 

The Burns Underwater PRT spends so much time underwater it’s beginning to grow gills

In my search, DNR within every state in the US has regulation and guidelines for Industrial water discharge temperature to insure protection of the lakes, rivers and streams.

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We all have a responsibility to care for our world.  This is one way Burns Engineering supports a Greener Globe!

What can we do to help you protect the environment? 

Chuck

WOW….. 

 I am sitting at the MWFPA 2007 event listening to Vince Lombardi, Jr. speaking about Teamwork!  A topic that transcends industries, businesses, projects and issues.  

It got me thinking…. 

That is the key to what Burns wants to BE;  A team, with you.  To BE in a Teamwork relationship about the temperature related challenges that you have on your list of concerns.  To bridge our Temperature expertise and your process expertise to achieve the goal which can be best described as your success.

For a guy from Minnesota who happens to be a Minnesota Viking fan, I am humbled by the powerful message, in the presence of the son of Coach, Vince Lombardi. 

His message:  “combining clear goals and dreams, with commitment and mental toughness, will enable success”, is exciting and energizing. 

Burns will BE committed and BE temperature experts on your team.

We would love to hear from you about how we can team-up for your success.

Chuck

How important is the requirement for No-Animal-Derived materials?

Would better temperature-control improve your efficiency?

Wow. Lots of questions on our minds as we head to Milwaukee next week to participate in MWFPA 2007. The food & beverage manufacturing process is a challenging one. We’ve learned that by being trusted partners for clients in the food & beverage industry for more than 45 years. So we hope to see some old friends and meet some new ones next week.

But why wait? Let’s start the conversation right here: What are the most pressing issues you face in the food & beverage manufacturing process?

Bet we’ve got a few ideas of how temperature measurement can help!

- Chuck

A harsh environment and a tough packaging challenge in the BioPharma and Food & Beverage industries, pretty much sums up the development task for our newest Autoclave Load Cell product: Burns Model 21090.

As you may know, the operating conditions of the autoclave process ranges from vacuum to positive pressure steam at temperatures up to 135C. Individually, these conditions are fairly easy to design around, but the combination presents a few interesting challenges in the RTD world – and sealing the device such that the insulation resistance performance is maintained after multiple cycles is the fun part. 

Other features we designed into our new autoclave sensor include a .125 diameter stainless steel sharp-tipped sensor sheath to facilitate insertion through the rubber membrane of the load cell, and a dual Pt100 element that can support either a 3- or 4-wire operating connection. The cable features a silicone rubber jacket providing the durability necessary to meet the handling concerns that were shared with us from users of large chamber autoclave systems. We also designed a bulkhead/transition system to assist in providing a sealed penetration through the wall of the autoclave. 

Now back to the sealing challenge!

Inside the transition housing (or handle which is laser marked for easy identification) is an elegant design which protects the 8-wire joints, simply yet effectively seals the sensor and involves very few complex parts. The design insures ease of manufacture and an epoxy fill method that results in an extremely stable final assembly.

We’re proud of the creativity of the approach and through our design verification testing, we’re confident in the high reliability of the Model 21090 in the harsh environment of the Autoclave processing cycle.

Got another challenging application?  Comment on the blog or give us a call.

- John Zwak, Sr. Design & Metrology Engineer