CNG Gas Detection & Emergency Shutdown Services

Applitech’s advanced critical control system configurations are custom designed to meet all of the local / state building safety, fire protection codes, and emergency response requirements for each field installation.    Applitech has more than 10 years of professional engineering design and control system integration experience in a wide range of CNG Gas Detection Systems ranging in size from statewide bus storage/maintenance buildings for the entire network of RIPTA (Rhode Island Public Transit Authority) facilities down to very small systems consisting of single hydrogen/diesel fuel/methane gas detectors for individual battery rooms or other hazardous gas locations.

Applitech’s experienced project management team can furnish complete turnkey Gas Detection & Emergency Shutdown Systems for design/build contracts; and is also frequently awarded a wide variety of publicly-funded projects on a competitive bid basis.  Over the past 10 years, our largest CNG Gas Detection projects were often designed by some of the nation’s leading Consulting Engineering Firms, including The Shaw Group, Stone & Webster, Bechtel, Parsons and Brinkerhoff.  In addition, Applitech’s staff of control system experts can provide detailed design assistance and related consulting engineering support for any type of industrial, commercial, and/or municipal application.

Project Experience

RIPTA (Rhode Island Public Transit Authority), Newport, RI

Complete design, fabrication, calibration, and field commissioning of a triple-redundant CNG Gas Detection & Emergency Shutdown System for the Newport RIPTA CNG Bus Storage, Wash, and Maintenance Facility.  Applitech’s engineering staff provided more than 80 Infrared CNG Gas Detectors and designed a fully automated emergency response/shutdown system to insure the safety of the facility buildings, the maintenance support personnel, and all of the stored buses/trolleys.  This state-of-the-art CNG Gas Detection System utilizes triple redundant Triconex processors (also designed to support redundant I/O); and a full PC-based HMI system, with detailed graphic displays of the facility parameters and critical monitoring/control data.

RIPTA (Rhode Island Public Transit Authority), Statewide Contract

In September 2003, Applitech was awarded a comprehensive 5 Year CNG Gas Detection & ESD Maintenance Service and Field Support Contract to insure the proper operation of all their installed systems statewide.  These maintenance/support services include, but are not limited to, providing routine maintenance service and equipment performance tests/checks on all digital control system components.  The digital control systems at RIPTA include Quantum by Detronics, Trident by Triconex, PLC 90/70 by GEFanuc, and Quadlog by Siemens (originally Moore Systems).

MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority), South Boston, MA.

Complete design, fabrication, calibration, and field commissioning of a triple redundant CNG Gas Detection & Emergency Shutdown System for the MBTA’s Cabot Bus Maintenance & Storage Facility.  Our staff of experienced system engineers provided approx. 120 Infrared CNG Gas Detectors and developed a fully automated emergency response / shutdown system to insure the safety of all the facility building areas, the maintenance support personnel, and several hundred stored MBTA buses/trolleys.

This high-performance CNG Gas Detection System utilizes fully redundant Siemens Quadlog processors; and a networked Intellution iFIX system, with detailed graphic displays of all the critical facility parameters, alarm logging, trend charts, and historical monitoring/control data.

It is important to mention that all of our CNG Gas Detection Systems have a state-of-the-art data monitoring utility.  Our advanced data trending feature is an invaluable tool for facility operations personnel, which allows them to view individual CNG levels at each sensor over a period of one year or more.  In addition, monitoring historical data is very helpful in troubleshooting CNG gas leaks, since operations personnel can recreate a dangerous situation long after a critical gas leak has been cleared.  By recreating the actual environmental conditions, the facility engineers gain a better understanding of the type of gas leak (i.e. if the leak was sudden, catastrophic, or if the CNG gas level had slowly escalated over time).  This important historical data also indicates if the additional ventilation provided by the exhaust fans activated by the gas monitoring system helped to bring down the CNG gas levels or if the additional emergency exhaust fans need to be installed in the facility.

Central Artery Tunnel - Ventilation Control System,  Boston, MA.

Applitech’s senior engineers were responsible for the complete PLC-based control system design/configuration & integrated data communications network architecture for a unique HVAC and environmental monitoring application to support the entire Central Artery Tunnel Project (commonly called, the Big Dig) in Boston, MA.

	This extensive Modicon Quantum PLC includes a large number of redundant processors providing coordinated control actions to respond to high levels of toxic fumes, tunnel fires, or limited oxygen conditions.  Self-healing fiberoptic networks were utilized, as required, to maximize the overall reliability of all these critical control systems even during the worst possible operational conditions.
Multiple local, color-graphic OIT’s (Operator Interface Terminals) were installed in each Vent Building to provide the operator with detailed graphic displays of the key facility parameters, alarm logging, trend charts, and other critical monitoring/control data.