Application Scenarios
Picture a 300,000 Nm³/h Claus unit in a Middle-East gas plant where the acid-gas recycle valve must hold exact position during feed-gas composition swings; an analogue positioner would drift with every ambient change and a discrete I/P would bleed compressed air continuously. The V18345-2010521001 is commissioned with a single auto-stroke push — it learns the actuator’s stroke, spring characteristic and friction profile, then applies adaptive gain in closed loop, closing the 3/3-way valve in centre position once the setpoint is reached and cutting steady-state air consumption to roughly 0.015 scfm. The same logic applies wherever process loops are small and critical: separator level-control valves, boiler feedwater recirculation, reactor-effluent trim valves, polymer let-down stations, and steam-conditioning skids. The pain points the V18345-2010521001 addresses are consistent across these applications — drift under thermal cycling, excessive instrument-air consumption, slow re-tuning after actuator maintenance, and the difficulty of extracting diagnostic data from purely mechanical positioners on HART-managed assets.
Parameter
| Parameter | Value / Description |
|---|---|
| Product Model | ABB V18345-2010521001 (TZIDC-200 series, double-acting / fail-freeze pneumatics) |
| Manufacturer | ABB Automation GmbH — Measurement & Analytics, Minden, Germany |
| Product Category | Intelligent electro-pneumatic valve positioner (microprocessor-based, HART) |
| Setpoint Signal | 4 … 20 mA two-wire, split-range configurable, min. range 20 % (3.2 mA) |
| Communication | HART 7 over the 4-20 mA loop; LKS local communication connector |
| Pneumatic Configuration | Double-acting actuator, fail-freeze on loss of power |
| Supply Pressure | 1.4 … 6 bar (20 … 90 psi); max 7 bar |
| Air Capacity | 5.0 kg/h ≈ 3.9 Nm³/h ≈ 2.3 scfm @ 1.4 bar; 13 kg/h @ 6 bar |
| Resolution | 16,000-step A/D conversion; dead band 0.1 %, tolerance band 0.3 % (factory) |
| Travel / Rotation | Linear 10 … 120 mm; rotary 30 … 135° standard (option to 270°) |
| Ambient Temperature | -40 … +85 °C (-40 … +185 °F) |
| Vibration Immunity | Up to 10 g, 80 Hz (actuator-mounted sensor); 2 g, 300 Hz (remote sensor option) |
| Protection Class | IP66 / NEMA 4X; flameproof enclosure |
| Explosion Protection | ATEX Ex II 2 G Ex d IIC T4/T5/T6; FM / CSA Class I Div. 1 Groups C-D; IECEx; GOST |
| Functional Safety | Suitable for SIL2 loops per IEC 61508 (SFF 94 %, PFDav 1.76×10⁻⁴) |
| Local Interface | 2-line LCD with 4 pushbuttons (auto-stroke, parameter, monitoring) |
| Mounting | DIN/IEC 534 (NAMUR) linear; VDI/VDE 3845 rotary; integral-mount variant available |
Technical Principles and Innovative Values
- Innovation Point 1 — Adaptive microprocessor control with auto-stroke. The CPU of the V18345-2010521001 performs a one-button commissioning routine that identifies actuator stroke, spring characteristic, split-range configuration and travel limits, then computes optimised control parameters. Manual tuning after valve maintenance is eliminated; re-commissioning takes under two minutes on a typical globe valve.
- Innovation Point 2 — Closed-centre 3/3-way pneumatic amplifier. Unlike spool-type positioners that bleed air continuously, the 3/3-way valve in the V18345-2010521001 shuts off in centre position once the setpoint is reached, delivering steady-state air consumption of approximately 0.015 scfm — a reduction of roughly 80-90 % against analogue positioners on the same actuator.
- Innovation Point 3 — Unmatched vibration immunity. ABB specifies 10 g immunity up to 80 Hz on the actuator-mounted position sensor of the V18345-2010521001, with an optional remote-sensor version rated to 2 g up to 300 Hz for reciprocating-compressor and pipeline-surveillance service where conventional positioners lose position feedback under broad-band vibration.
- Innovation Point 4 — Modular expansion without replacement. The basic TZIDC chassis of the accepts retrofittable plug-in modules for 4-20 mA analog position feedback, digital feedback via proximity switches or 24 V microswitches, and a safety-shutdown module that depressurises the actuator independently of the main electronics — extending the device from a simple positioner to a SIL2 partial-stroke-test node without replacing hardware.
- Innovation Point 5 — Native HART 7 diagnostic depth. Through the 4-20 mA loop, the exposes operational, adjustment, monitoring, diagnostic and maintenance parameter sets, including positioning time-out, counter limits and internal temperature trend, giving asset-management platforms (ABB Ability, AMS, PACTware) full visibility without additional field wiring.
Application Cases and Industry Value
Petrochemical — flare-gas let-down control on a Middle-East refinery. A 240,000-bpd refinery operating sixty butterfly and globe valves on flare-gas, amine and naphtha duty replaced a mixed fleet of analogue and first-generation digital positioners with the across the highest-vibration loops. The refinery reported three measurable outcomes: total instrument-air consumption to the valve population dropped by an audited 22 % because the closed-centre pneumatics vented nothing at steady state; unscheduled valve-related trips on the flare network fell by 31 % over eighteen months; and HART-based partial-stroke testing allowed ESD prove-out without bypassing the loop, removing a long-standing permit-to-work burden. The fail-freeze behaviour of the also prevented the “slam-to-safe” nuisance trips that had plagued adjacent loops using fail-safe positioners on non-critical services.
Power — feedwater recirculation on a 600 MW supercritical unit. On a boiler feedwater recirculation line subject to high cavitation and broad-band vibration, an earlier analogue positioner could not hold setpoint and was repeatedly damaged by transmitted vibration. Fitting the with its 10 g vibration rating and adaptive-gain control restored stable loop response across load swings, and the plant’s maintenance team used the on-board diagnostic counters to schedule actuator diaphragm replacement based on actual travel accumulation rather than fixed calendar intervals — reducing planned valve maintenance by roughly 15 % year on year.
Related Product Combination Solutions
- ABB TZIDC-200 (V18348 root) with PROFIBUS PA — the fieldbus companion to the for plants standardised on PROFIBUS PA process-automation segments rather than HART.
- ABB TZIDC-220 (V18350) with FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 — the same flameproof chassis with FF H1 communication; specified alongside the in mixed-protocolbrownfield installations.
- ABB TZIDC-110 / TZIDC-120 (V18345-x0x2x2xx0x) — the intrinsically-safe variants of the same family, used when the hazardous-area philosophy calls for Ex ia rather than Ex d, and interchangeable with the at the PLC/HART configuration level.
- ABB V18345-H1010421001 analog position-feedback module — plug-in 4-20 mA feedback option that adds a redundant position signal from the to a second controller or vibration-system input.
- ABB mechanical position indicator kit — fits onto the chassis and provides local visual position readout independent of the motherboard, recommended for washdown and outdoor installations.
- ABB proximity-switch / 24 V microswitch digital feedback kit — adds two programmable position-switching points derived from the travel, useful for interlock and permissive signalling without PLC valve-algorithm modifications.
- ABB safety-shutdown module — plugs into the chassis and forces depressurisation of the actuator independently of the CPU, supporting SIL2 trip-partial architectures.
- ABB Gauge-block manifold (supply and output gauges) — bolt-on accessory that exposes supply and output-1 / output-2 pressure on the for commissioning and troubleshooting without fitting separate gauges in the air line.
