Intelligentization From the development trend of industrial and automated instrumentation, intelligentization is its core component. Intelligentization is manifested in its various new functions. For example, in the past, when flow meters needed temperature and pressure compensation, three transmitters were required to measure flow, temperature, and pressure separately, and a calculator was needed for calculation. Now, a single intelligent flow transmitter can handle this task. Another example is an intelligent actuator, which, due to its multiple self-diagnostic functions, makes maintenance prediction possible. For instance, when the valve stem stroke of the actuator's control valve exceeds a certain length, it will send a signal to notify maintenance personnel to replace the sealing packing; it can also notify personnel to intervene when the valve operates too frequently to prevent accidents; when used with corrosive media, it can also send a signal when a certain flow rate or operating time is exceeded, so that timely replacement can be carried out, because there are no materials that will never corrode. In industrial control, previously, control algorithms could only be implemented by regulators or DCS. Now, an intelligent transmitter or actuator, simply by embedding a PID module, can work with relevant field instruments to achieve autonomous adjustment on-site. This achieves complete decentralized control, reducing the burden on the DCS host, making adjustments more timely, and improving the overall system reliability. High Precision As industrial production demands increasingly higher product quality, and national policies and regulations have specific requirements and regulations for energy conservation and emission reduction, improving the precision of measuring instruments and control systems has become a priority. For example, transmitter precision has generally improved from 0.75% to 0.04%. Coriolis mass flow meters used for trade exchange have reached an accuracy of 0.05%, and some ultrasonic gas flow meters have reached an accuracy of 0.5%. The new generation of DCS also uses this as an important indicator. Currently, some newly constructed large-scale projects have explicitly required the precision of relevant products during the bidding process. This is both a threshold and a requirement for manufacturers' resources. Wirelessization Fieldbus is a promising technology that should have seen rapid development and widespread adoption. However, the proliferation of international standards has hindered its adoption. For example, there are already more than 10 international standards for first-generation bus-type fieldbuses. Adding the second-generation real-time industrial Ethernet, the number may exceed 20. Third-generation bus communication solutions are also emerging, and major multinational corporations and organizations are developing their own standards. Currently known standards include HART wireless, ISA's SP100, IEC, and those from large companies like Emerson and Siemens. Too many standards are not a good sign for users, who hope to establish a single international standard through their efforts. Industrial production demands high output, stability, high quality, low consumption, safety, and environmental protection. With increasing production scale—for example, thermal power units now have 1 million kW supercritical units; oil refineries have reached 10 million tons; and ethylene plants have reached 1 million tons—the number of measurement and control points is constantly increasing, generally exceeding 10,000 points. If field instruments can achieve wireless communication, the number of cabling and maintenance workers will be greatly reduced, which will be welcomed by construction design departments and end users. Therefore, the development of short-range, low-power, and reliable wireless communication is a current highlight. Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS ): With the increasing scale of production, accidents not only cause huge economic losses, but also significant casualties and environmental impacts. Therefore, production safety is receiving increasing attention. Currently, some chemical or petrochemical companies' safety systems, such as ESD emergency shutdown, are managed by dedicated PLCs like TRICONES. This results in the company's control system consisting of two main parts: DCS and dedicated PLCs. As the functions of new DCSs continue to expand, Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS) have emerged. Therefore, a unified management system using a DCS with SIS functionality can be used, which is naturally welcomed by owners. However, insurance companies require third-party certification, and certification requires a quantifiable concept. Therefore, the IEC has established standards that classify safety performance into four levels. SIL stands for Safety Integrity Level. Based on current manufacturing levels, transmitters only achieve a safety level of SIL2. To meet SIL3 requirements, redundancy measures can be implemented. As for DCS (Distributed Control Systems), some major DCS manufacturers have already obtained TUV certification, achieving SIL3. Given current societal production levels, meeting SIL3 standards is sufficient to meet the safety requirements of the chemical and heavy petrochemical industries. Therefore, an increasing number of instrument manufacturers are incorporating SIS (Safety Assurance System) functionality into their products, a current trend. Online Operation of Scientific Instruments With technological advancements, the structure of scientific instruments is becoming increasingly simplified, smaller, lighter, easier to operate, and more affordable, enabling operation under industrial conditions. Therefore, scientific instruments that previously could only operate offline in laboratories can now operate online in production environments. For example, mass spectrometers are being tested on the blast furnaces of Wuhan Iron and Steel Group to analyze the composition of top gas. From an application perspective, such instruments can be considered part of industrial automation instruments. This trend is expected to accelerate in the future. New types of instruments are constantly emerging, breaking through previously considered undetectable boundaries. For example, products for measuring two-phase flow are already in practical use, such as the microwave gas-solid two-phase flow meter from SWR (Germany), the DUALSTR-EAMMKI gas-liquid two-phase flow meter from SOLARTRON (UK), and the LP multiphase flow meter from MALFIAID (USA). SWR's gas-solid two-phase flow meter has already been tested in the pulverized coal injection system of the blast furnace at Wuhan Iron and Steel Group. Soft measurement technology is under development . Due to the complexity of production processes and the harshness of industrial environments, some important or critical parameters cannot be directly measured. They can only be derived using computer technology and other measurable parameters. This indirect measurement method is sometimes called virtual instrumentation. The key to realizing soft measurement technology lies in the fact that R&D personnel must first understand the production process, be familiar with the process operation, and master measurement and computer technologies to achieve twice the result with half the effort. MIV Model Currently, some newly built large-scale petrochemical plants, such as ethylene projects, have adopted the MIV contracting model, where MIV stands for Major Instrumentation Contractor. This approach is beneficial for the construction of large-scale projects, ensuring their smooth and timely commissioning. For example, a million-ton-level ethylene project typically involves a dozen or more units producing various products, requiring simultaneous operation. Otherwise, even a single day of delay could result in losses exceeding 100 million yuan. For ease of management, both engineering companies and enterprises prefer this model. However, this model is not static. For instance, Shanghai SECCO's ethylene unit uses the MIV (Multi-Instrument System), the Nanhai CSPC ethylene project uses the MAC (Macro- ...