The Context
Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) is a technique to measure a single gas analyte. The concentration of trace levels of certain gases such as methane, water vapor, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, oxygen etc. within a gaseous mixture can be measured using this technique. TDLAS is extensively used in domains like combustion and flow analyses, trace species measurements, environmental monitoring, process monitoring and its control, plasma processing. A big name in the process instrumentation space was developing a flagship TDLAS instrument. Having extensively worked with spectrometry and gas analyzers in the past, Tismo was tasked with the development of the web based control software for the TDLAS instrument.
The Problem
The TDLAS instrument, with its ability to achieve very low detection limits (of the order of parts per billion) was designed to be mounted directly on industrial pipes. The control software would have to work around the memory constraints and the energy usage restrictions of the instrument and the need for low energy usage, while still providing a good user experience. Moreover, the client wanted to control the instrument remotely, using a PC
The Solution
Tismo implemented a web based control software for the TDLAS instrument. The software was developed using HTML 5, CSS and JavaScript on the AngularJS framework. It supported analog communication, Modbus and Ethernet communication protocols. Users could access the web based control software over HTTPS.
Architecture diagram of Web based Control Software for TDLAS Instrument
The web based control software for the TDLAS instrument ensured a modern user interface, accessible on a PC. It allowed the TDLAS instrument to measure trace levels of methane, water vapor, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and oxygen in process and flue gases. The web based control software provided real-time analysis data, configuration and calibration capabilities, alarms and displayed a variety of maintenance and troubleshooting information.
Features
The Web HMI developed by Tismo supported the following features:
- Real-time performance monitoring
- Automatic data capture and logging
- Remote PC, Web enabled interface
- Remote User Interface updates
- History for Alarms, Calibration and trends
Summary
The Tismo team leveraged its experience to deliver a remotely accessible web based control software for a TDLAS instrument. It was developed using HTML 5, CSS and JavaScript on the AngularJS framework. It allowed the TDLAS instrument to measure trace levels of methane, water vapor, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and oxygen in process and flue gases.