Steel Industry Process Monitoring Upgrade: Nexisense Single-Crystal Silicon Pressure and Differential Pressure Transmitter Integration Guide

China's steel industry continues to advance in blast furnace scaling, intelligent converters, precise rolling, and green technologies such as waste heat recovery and dry dust removal. Real-time and accurate process monitoring has become crucial to ensure furnace stability, increase gas recovery, optimize hydraulic control, and reduce energy consumption. Pressure and differential pressure transmitters, as core front-end instruments, directly support blast furnace pressure balancing, automated dust removal, and rolling mill AGC thickness control. Nexisense specializes in industrial-grade sensors. Its three core products—HPM86 single-crystal silicon pressure transmitter, HPM81/HPM82 single-crystal silicon differential pressure transmitters—offer high accuracy, stability, excellent environmental adaptability, and flexible range compression, designed for B2B system integrators, IIoT solution providers, and engineering companies, already successfully deployed in multiple large steel plants.

This guide analyzes these three transmitters from a system integrator perspective, covering typical steel process applications, integration solutions, real project cases, and selection and installation guidelines, helping procurement teams efficiently build monitoring networks aligned with Industry 4.0 and IIoT standards.

Core Technology Features and Steel Process Adaptation

The steel production environment features high temperature, high pressure, heavy dust, strong vibration, and corrosive gases, imposing strict requirements: accuracy ±0.075% FS, vibration resistance ≥20 g, medium temperature -40 to 120℃ (isolated), high static pressure >70 bar, protection IP66/67.

All three products use single-crystal silicon sensing elements and digital compensation technology, ensuring minimal long-term zero drift, low temperature effects, and strong overload capability:

• HPM86 Single-Crystal Silicon Pressure Transmitter: Suitable for absolute/ gauge pressure measurement, high accuracy and stability, flexible range compression, high-temperature medium isolation; typical applications: blast furnace top pressure, rolling mill main hydraulic pressure.

• HPM81 Single-Crystal Silicon Differential Pressure Transmitter: High static differential pressure measurement, excellent environmental adaptability; typical applications: dust collector differential, gas pipeline differential, furnace static differential.

• HPM82 Single-Crystal Silicon Differential Pressure Transmitter (Enhanced): Enhanced vibration resistance and operational convenience; typical applications: high-vibration rolling areas, converter differential monitoring.

All three support 4–20 mA + HART (remote calibration/diagnostics), Modbus RTU/TCP (edge computing), and PROFIBUS PA protocols, seamlessly integrating with domestic DCS (Xinhua, HollySys, etc.) or international systems (Siemens PCS 7, ABB 800xA), with MTBF >100,000 hours.

Typical Applications and Integration Cases

Blast Furnace Systems: Top Pressure and Differential Pressure Monitoring

Blast furnace top pressure (1.5–2.5 bar), furnace shell-to-top differential, and tuyeres pressure are key for assessing furnace condition and controlling burden distribution and pressure release.

Case: In a 4500 m³ blast furnace modernization project in North China, HPM86 monitored total top pressure, HPM81 (standard type) monitored top-to-downpipe differential and dust collector inlet/outlet differential. HART protocol connected to DCS, enabling automatic burden depth adjustment and pressure release valve linkage. Furnace top pressure fluctuation was controlled within ±3 kPa, gas utilization reached 98.5%, and release losses were significantly reduced.

Coking and Sintering Systems: Gas and Dust Differential Control

Coke oven gas main differential and sintering machine tail electrostatic/dust bag differential directly affect draft efficiency and emission control.

Case: In a dry dust removal upgrade at a northeastern steel plant, HPM81 monitored dust collector inlet/outlet differential, Modbus RTU output connected to PLC for pulse valve automatic cleaning. Differential was maintained at 1.2–1.8 kPa, fan energy consumption reduced 7–10%, supporting real-time energy management optimization.

Steelmaking and Rolling Systems: Oxygen Lance and Hydraulic Load Monitoring

Converter oxygen lance pressure and gas recovery differential; hot rolling hydraulic AGC systems require high vibration resistance and rapid pressure feedback.

Case: In a digital upgrade of a hot rolling line at an East China special steel plant, HPM86 (enhanced vibration design) monitored rolling mill main hydraulic cylinder pressure, HPM82 monitored servo valve differential. Data uploaded via HART + Modbus TCP to edge gateway, supporting load prediction and thickness closed-loop control. Rolling deviation controlled within ±15 μm, and unplanned downtime decreased by 18%.

Technical Specifications Overview

• Common Features: Single-crystal silicon core, accuracy ±0.075% FS, annual drift < ±0.1%, excellent environmental adaptability (-40–85℃ working, higher for isolated media), flexible range compression >10:1, local button/HART configuration.

• Pressure Transmitter: Range 0–60 bar (gauge/absolute), overload 200% FS, 316L/Hastelloy diaphragm, vibration resistance 20–50 g.

• Differential Pressure Transmitter (Standard): Range ±0.5–100 kPa, high static pressure 70 bar, remote flange/capillary optional.

• Differential Pressure Transmitter (Enhanced): Enhanced vibration and EMC resistance, suitable for high-vibration environments, rich output protocols.

Selection and Integration Guidelines

1. Process selection: top furnace/gas → pressure transmitter; dust/furnace differential → standard differential; rolling mill hydraulics → enhanced pressure/differential.

2. Protocol matching: HART for remote diagnostics and calibration, Modbus TCP for IIoT cloud and predictive maintenance.

3. Installation tips: avoid dust jet/turbulence at tap points, use cooling/isolation for high-temperature gas, vibration areas with damping brackets, shielded and grounded cabling to prevent EMI.

4. Integration verification: zero/span calibration before commissioning, HART loop testing, EMC verification (GB/T 17626).

5. Maintenance strategy: calibrate on-site every 6–12 months, use built-in diagnostic functions (drift/overload alarms) for predictive maintenance.

OEM Customization and Bulk Supply Advantages

Supports OEM white-label, customizable range, interface (flange/thread), material (Hastelloy upgrade), firmware (OPC UA/MQTT). ISO 9001 factory combined with EDI supply chain ensures consistency across multi-line projects. Sample delivery 4–6 weeks, tiered pricing reduces large-scale deployment costs.

FAQ

1. Recommended transmitter for blast furnace top pressure? HPM86, range 0–3 bar, accuracy ±0.075% FS, Hastelloy isolation, corrosion and dust resistant.

2. How do differential transmitters handle high dust environments? IP66/67 protection, Hastelloy diaphragm, strong vibration resistance ensures stable long-term measurement.

3. Vibration requirements for rolling mill hydraulic system? ≥20–50 g; enhanced HPM82/HPM86 has damping design.

4. Compatibility with domestic DCS? Supports HART/Modbus RTU/TCP, DD files provided, verified on Xinhua, HollySys, NARI platforms.

5. Typical installation for blast furnace gas pipeline differential? Avoid condensation, add isolation/cooling, horizontal/vertical as per media, sealed with no leaks.

6. Advantages over traditional products? Higher accuracy/stability, lower drift, flexible range compression, excellent vibration/environment adaptability, easier operation.

7. Explosion-proof certification? Ex d IIC T6 / Ex ia IIC T4, suitable for gas, coke oven, and other hazardous areas.

8. How to connect transmitters to IIoT platform? Modbus TCP + edge gateway, or HART + wireless module, MQTT upload for big data analysis.

9. OEM lead time and support? 4–6 weeks for samples, customizable range, interface, material, protocol, protection, dedicated production for bulk projects.

10. Maintenance cycle and diagnostics? Recommended calibration every 6–12 months, built-in drift/overload/health alarms, HART/SNMP output, supports predictive maintenance.

Conclusion

The HPM86 pressure transmitter, HPM81 standard differential, and HPM82 enhanced differential transmitters provide high accuracy, stability, environmental adaptability, and operational convenience, reliably supporting critical steel process monitoring. From blast furnace top pressure optimization to rolling mill hydraulic precision control, and from dust energy saving to gas recovery efficiency, these products have long-term stable performance in multiple steel plants, significantly improving process efficiency, equipment reliability, and green transformation.

If your team is planning blast furnace automation upgrades, rolling line modernization, energy management center construction, or IIoT monitoring projects, contact Nexisense technical support for selection guidance, integration verification, and on-site assistance to advance the steel industry toward high-quality, intelligent, and green production.