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a
Technology Report
ABB Group Annual Report 1999
Brain Power.
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:00 Uhr Seite UG1
180
160
140
120
100
95 96 97 98 99
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
,500
89 91 93 95 97 98 991 1998 and 1999 figures not including Power Generation
Contents Key Figures
Group investment in Research and Development1
(US$ in millions)
Intensity of Innovation: Percentage of business based on products developed in the past five years
Increase of first patent filings since 1995(%)
Factory Automation
Power Systems
Distribution Products and Systems
Petroleum, Chemical & Consumer Industrial
High-Voltage Switchgear
Metals & Minerals
Industrial Service
85%
85%
75%
75%
75%
70%
65%
2 Highlights
1 Working in the economy of ideas
2 Growing ABB’s intellectual capital
6 Cutting edge
13 Laser beams and paper machines
14 Future factory
16 Coal mind
18 Intelligent microbes
20 Remote-controlled power
22 The new body shop
24 Power Distribution
26 Brain power
29 Fresh start
30 Fault finder
31 Sea change
34 New depths
36 Excellent connections
37 Academia
40 Power Transmission
42 Changing the variables
43 Tip driver
44 Composite revolution
46 Y2k
47 The little robot
48 Service standards
50 Connected
51 Nature’s way
52 The smart heart
55 Synchronize your switches
56 Green drive
58 Technologies in Automation
60 Technologies in Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals
62 Technologies in ABB Transmission and ABB Distribution
64 ABB Building Technologies
66 Glossary
68 Technology Management
Numbers given exclude the Power Generation business
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:00 Uhr Seite UG2
ABB Group Technology Report 1999 1
Ours is an era of exponential and fast change. Amid
the opening of markets that characterizes globalization,
new technologies mature and knowledge grows day
by day. Some people are uncomfortable with the
rate and speed of change. But there are untold new
opportunities in among the challenges that change
brings. At ABB, we see new technologies as a way to
seek solutions today that will benefit our customers,
and society, tomorrow. Higher efficiencies, better use
of natural resources, higher productivity, less impact
on the environment, remediation: technology,
prudently used, will make it possible.
Another important part in the big picture as we enter
the 21st Century is that we are increasingly living in an
economy of ideas as well as an economy of physical
things. This is creating totally new ways of defining
value and of adding value.
It is against this backdrop that we are transforming
ABB into a knowledge-based company. We are
reshaping our business portfolio in order to lessen
our dependence on heavy assets and to increase
our reliance on intellectual resources. The combined
brain power of our 165,000 people in more than 100
countries is our future. We build knowledge to inject
more creativity, innovation and ingenuity into every
aspect of our business.
As this report shows, technology plays an important
role in this process of change. It also demonstrates our
strong emphasis on achieving significant technological
breakthroughs to maintain our position at the cutting
edge. The results of ABB’s global R&D that are
represented here are very encouraging.
In the economy of both physical things and ideas,
ABB is moving up a value chain from electricity
through electronics to software and beyond. Much
of the value added we obtain from technology comes
from infusing new knowledge into traditional
products, giving them more functionality through
added software, making them smarter with microcir-
cuit brains. By making products, systems and whole
ranges of solutions more intelligent, we add
managability to functionality, and predictability to
reliability.
Another strand in our value chain places us squarely
in the economy of ideas, linking our technological
offerings to efficiency and productivity gains. How?
Through new behavior. Through working so closely
with our customers that we become part of their
business, and they part of ours.
In the realm of technology, in R&D, cooperation has
always been the key. Our relationships with technology
partners and customers seeking new solutions are at
the heart of ABB’s success.
But it is people who drive innovation. Our thousands
of scientists and engineers, with their dedication,
creativity and ingenuity, form the core of our most
precious asset as a global company – the brain power
of ABB.
Working in the economy of ideas
Göran Lindahl
President and Chief
Executive Officer
Göran Lindahl President and Chief Executive Officer
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2 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
ABB is in the midst of a dramatic transformation. We
are expanding in businesses where we can combine
our knowledge of the markets with our latest tech-
nology to provide our customers not simply with a
product, or a system, but with greater competitive-
ness. We are reducing our dependence on businesses
based on heavy assets and fixed capital, and growing
fast in new and flexible businesses based on intel-
lectual capital.
At the heart of ABB’s intellectual capital is research
and development. Only by cultivating outstanding
ideas, focusing them on the needs of our customers,
measuring their impact and protecting them as a
source of value creation can we assure that ABB will
continue to be successful as it grows in what we call
the knowledge and service economies of the future.
In this report, we want to share with you some
of our good ideas and recent major achievements,
introduce you to some of our people, show you how
we manage R&D, and talk about some of the many
challenges that lie ahead.
Making breakthroughs happen
ABB spends some eight percent of its revenues on
research and development, a high level for the type
of industry we are in. We make this investment
because we believe it is the foundation for our future
growth and profitability. Through it we keep our
products and systems competitive, develop
innovative solutions for our customers and make
technological breakthroughs that change the rules
of the game in our industry, while creating value for
our customers and, ultimately, our shareholders.
Let’s take some examples of breakthroughs and how
we make them happen:
■ Imagine being able to log on to a Web site, use
some simple pull-down menus to design a product
like an electrical transformer to meet your particular
requirements, then click the mouse to have that
product manufactured by a team of robots and
delivered within a matter of hours. ABB has created
a factory using the power of the Internet and our
knowledge of robotics and flexible manufacturing
to make it possible.
■ Measuring the quality of water is a tedious process
today. You need to collect samples, bring them to
a properly equipped lab where technicians carry out
the analysis. We have created a smart alternative –
a complete and self contained free-floating lab that
uses the latest micro-technologies to collect and
analyze water automatically, then makes the results
immediately available to the customer online.
■ What if you could engineer or build things from
scratch by manipulating molecules? For example,
what if you could develop a new catalyst by creating
a microscopic grid structure into which you could
place tiny catalytic particles? With the right surface
and coating, the chemical reaction is much more
efficient and easier to control.
By working with these so-called nanotechnologies,
we will be able to engineer materials exactly the way
we want them, with the properties we need, like
conductivity, flexibility, robustness or resistance to
heat and pressure. This will have a tremendous
impact on chemical processes, insulation, magnetic
materials and coatings, and other areas.
As exciting as such breakthroughs are, you can’t
plan them. You need instead to create the kind of
environment in which new ideas have room to grow.
Management plays a vital role to guide the thinking
of researchers, set ambitious goals, and stimulate
people to go for leapfrog innovations. A must is to
Growing ABB’s intellectual capital
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4 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
make funding available to original research or high
risk research that has the potential for a high reward
– 20 percent of our corporate resources are allocated
to exploration, experimentation and pre-studies.
But other incentives are also key: setting targets that
stretch peoples’ imaginations; understanding the
valuable lessons to be learned from making mistakes;
and recognizing people with both financial and non-
financial rewards when they succeed.
Supporting ABB’s strategic goals
ABB’s shift into more knowledge and service-based
businesses means software has become an increas-
ingly significant constituent of our products. In fact,
we cannot maintain our technological leadership
without a strong position in software technology.
Today, ABB has thousands of people developing
software and embedding it in our products, making
them faster, able to do much more, communicate
with other products, monitor their own operation –
in short, software makes our products smarter. In
R&D, we focus not only on the
software itself, but also on the ways
we create software. Our goal is to
improve the quality of our software
products and reduce the time and
cost of development.
But we are also monitoring the
development of emerging software
technologies, such as gesture
programming, component technology
and robust software technologies.
Several pilot projects are under way
and look very promising.
The global market is changing
rapidly, in part because the frontiers
of technology are expanding so
quickly. In this environment, successful companies
are those that are fast and flexible, that know their
customers’ markets and needs better than the
competition, that focus on building and protecting
their intellectual capital so they can deliver complete
business solutions. This is the strategic approach
that guides the direction of R&D at ABB.
That’s also why knowledge management – creating,
organizing and applying knowledge – is an integral
part of what we do. This is knowledge about our
customers, their processes and needs, about state-
of-the-art technology, about what the future holds.
Through our Engineering System Integration
program, we ensure that knowledge management
is integrated into our engineering processes.
We also have to maintain our strength in
manufacturing, a particular challenge for ABB
where, because we serve so many industries, the
scope of our manufacturing capabilities is so wide.
We manufacture products in lots of millions, and
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 5
highly customized products that are virtually one of
a kind. At the same time the very nature of manu-
facturing technology is changing under the influence
of information technology, for instance, the Internet.
So one of our R&D goals is to find new ways of
manufacturing that make us more cost-efficient while
delivering ever-higher quality and functionality.
The advances of science and technology are
premised on cooperation within the global scientific
community. We consider ourselves very much a part
of that community. Together with leading and inter-
nationally recognized universities we follow the
latest technological developments. Already we see
that recent advances in several areas, such as the
micro-engineered catalysts described above, have
the potential for more breakthroughs in the future.
Delivering value
While we aim to deliver world class R&D, our
ultimate goal is to add value. That, in turn, means
we also have to be able to measure this value. Our
continued attention to value creation through R&D
is supported by several measurement systems.
Obvious in this regard is the number of patents
and invention disclosures, which again showed
a good increase in 1999. Since January 1999 we also
look at the intensity of innovation in our business
areas, measured as the proportion of each area’s
annual sales derived from products developed during
the last five years.
We feel confident that in 1999 major progress
was made to realize our vision for ABB’s R&D.
The measurement of return on investment clearly
underlines the significant role R&D plays in creating
business for ABB and value for shareholders. Our
systematic approach to creating protected positions
within important technology areas lays the
foundations for our future growth. And finally,
beyond this vision we have the working reality of
a goal-oriented, fast-acting R&D team of thousands
of dedicated scientists and engineers who make
it all happen.
H. Markus Bayegan
Senior Corporate Officer, Group R&D and Technology
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 7
ABB has always prided itself on the level of invest-
ment and the amount of effort it puts into research.
Whether it be short-term, market-driven development
of products or long-term blue sky research, ABB
works on the belief that constant, well-funded
innovation is vital to maintaining its lead as a techno-
logy company serving its customers and shareholders.
But innovation in a vacuum is of little inherent value.
There has to be a precise focus for research and
development. At ABB the focus is clear. It is to create
products that have the potential to change markets –
products that will set the standard for future
generations.
Easy to say; harder to achieve. Harder unless the
determination to break new ground is backed by
three vital elements: a willingness to take risks; a
determination to set ambitious targets around long-
term visions; and the will to invest adequate corporate
funds to make those long-term visions a reality.
No technology company, however inventive or well-
resourced, can do it alone. ABB has always recognized
the importance of building partnerships with the
world’s leading universities and research centers to
create an outward-looking network of innovators.
This combination of core research expertise and
cooperation with other institutes helped us achieve
a number of breakthroughs in key areas of corporate
research.
Automation Technologies
Fully-integrated manufacturing – Today automation
can mean solutions from a single robot through to a
full production line. The trend among manufacturers
in the recent past has been to concentrate on indivi-
dual pieces of robot equipment. But that is changing.
Now firms are looking for systems that make a whole
production process work together – full manufactur-
ing solutions, including software and hardware.
ABB has developed a simple solution. The Basic
Integration Platform for Flexible Automation is,
in effect, the hub of an automated manufacturing
system. Companies can plug in their specific
requirements to this platform and perform the tasks
of control, network communication and information
management in a distributed control environment.
gEdgeResearch risks today that make a difference tomorrow
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:01 Uhr Seite 7
8 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Electric Power
Technologies
is looking into ways to
improve the distribution
and transmission of power.
ABB’s main expertise in
this field is in insulation,
current conduction,
limitation and interruption,
electromagnetic interfer-
ence and electrical systems
engineering.
Power Electronics
The development of
breakthrough technologies
in the critical area of power
semiconductor chips and
power modules form the
backbone of this research.
The platform is an integral part of the move to
Industrial Information Technology. The advantage
to industry is that firms no longer have to order
isolated bits of high-tech equipment and try to inte-
grate them. Now companies can order a seamless
manufacturing plant, which is already fully-integrated.
Sensors and Communication
Radio wave control – Automated factories and
workplaces depend on accurate control systems
to make them work smoothly and efficiently.
The control system is like the nervous system of
the body, making everything work in harmony.
When ABB came to design a new range of control-
lers it decided to make thorough changes. It went
to the heart of the controller; the communication
system for on-site programming and testing of the
controller.
Traditionally, communications in this field have
relied on wireless infrared. Cheap and robust, this
has done the job well. But it has shortcomings. For
instance, infrared requires a direct, uninterrupted line
of sight and this is not always easy to achieve on a
busy shopfloor or workspace.
ABB’s search for a better solution led the company
to look at innovations being pioneered by radio
specialists. In particular, it looked at the Bluetooth
collaborative project between Ericsson, Nokia, Intel,
IBM and Toshiba to produce a world standard in
radio communication between office equipment,
networks, portable PCs, and mobile phones. Nearly
all PCs and cell phones are expected to have this
new technology fitted as standard by the end of
the year 2000.
ABB has integrated Bluetooth into its next-generation
controller. Extra equipment has been added includ-
ing a transceiver, an internal antenna, a matching
network and a connector for an external antenna.
Bluetooth drivers and software have been imported
to the new controller’s operating system.
Automation
Technologies
is a key area of research
dealing with the improve-
ment of production process
efficiency. It is concerned
with simulation, control and
optimization strategies, the
interaction between people
and machines, embedded
software, mechatronics,
monitoring and diagnosis.
Sensors and
Communication
is changing at a rapid rate.
The trend is towards
replacing electro-magnetic
devices with electronic or
micro-sized optical and
ultra-low power solutions.
Rapid progress is being
made thanks to important
breakthroughs in sensors,
micro-engineered
mechanical systems and
wireless communication.
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 9
The result is the world’s first integrated Bluetooth
short-range communication link for industrial
applications. It allows ABB controllers to link a range
of office systems into a single network.
Electric Power Technologies
(Un)common capacitor – ABB is developing a
common capacitor for AC and DC applications which
is safer, cleaner and cheaper to use. The DryHED
capacitor is an oil-free system.
ABB technicians are concentrating first on building a
DC capacitor to prove the dry technology approach.
The first DC DryHED will be built for use both in
trains and in power systems like ABB’s HVDC Light™.
In the second phase the development team will turn
to an AC capacitor. ABB believes that environmental
demands will create a large market for AC systems as
well as DC versions. Having a common production
line for both will make it cost-effective to meet that
market demand.
A prototype is installed in a Danish HVDC Light™
station and development work has proved the
novel design concept behind DryHED. One of its
outstanding features is that it comes in two formats –
a flat design for traction applications like trains and
a cylindrical design for power stations.
Another unique feature is its inexpensive modular
make-up – the system is divided into tightly wound
elements called “cheeses” (measuring only 150 mm
by 180mm) which are stacked on top of each other
and can be added until the required voltage level is
reached.
ABB calculates that the new DC system will also
deliver space savings of up to 25 percent. In AC the
benefits should be just as dramatic.
Digital sweeper – Low-voltage electricity
networks are regularly distorted by harmonics –
the interference that originates from a multitude of
electrical devices working in close proximity. The
effect can pollute the network with high frequency
currents and wipe out energy savings.
Manufacturing
Technologies
Changing the way things
are made can have a
dramatic effect on their
performance. But the best
changes are those which
also cut the cost of
manufacturing and the time
it takes for a product to get
to market. Investigating
highly productive, flexible
forms of manufacturing is a
bedrock of ABB’s research
effort.
Engineering Systems
and Software
Engineering
One of the key challenges
ABB faces is to harness
the power of software and
information technology to
make its own engineering
systems more responsive
and efficient. The search for
new ways to do business is
constant and a core activity
for ABB researchers.
Oil, Gas and
Petrochemicals
ABB has been a pioneer
in developing high-tech
solutions to aid the extrac-
tion of oil and gas from very
deep waters, increasingly
the main area of operation
for the petroleum industry.
Due to the nature of the
environment in which oil
companies are now
working, the development
work is often, if not always,
groundbreaking.
Mechanics
Smart materials, advanced
rotor dynamics for high-
speed machines,
lightweight design, noise
and vibration control –
these are technologies
relevant to almost
everything ABB does.
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10 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
ABB has developed a fully digital system for sweep-
ing away unwanted harmonic disturbance from
networks. It is a far more efficient and less risky
method than any comparable analogue sweeper
currently in use.
The Power Quality Filter employs high-speed digital
signals to scan for interference. Compensating
currents are then generated digitally and injected into
the network to clean up the electrical pollution. The
system wipes out the risk of overload associated with
analogue systems. It is compact and easy to extend.
A deliberately simple design means the system is
cheaper to operate and easy to install in a smaller
amount of floor space.
Power Electronics
Soft switching – ABB has tackled a key part of
the electronic work chain to develop an extremely
efficient, high-power converter from motor drives
higher than five megawatts (MW). The individual
power semiconductor chips which make up these
complex systems can be turned on and off at
precisely the most efficient time.
The concept seems simple enough. The idea was
to develop a converter that could minimize switching
losses – one major cause of unwanted heat dissipat-
ion in these systems. But the results have been
dramatic.
Combining this new concept with the innovative
IGCT – a thyristor, or high-power valve that can be
switched off without the use of auxiliary filters – has
substantially reduced switching losses. The technique
employed is called Soft Switching. It turns the power
valves on or off only at moments when either the
current or the voltage is zero.
Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals
All-in-one – Subsea processing calls for compact
solutions. The main drivers for improvements to
existing equipment and new concepts are size,
weight and footprint (the area occupied by the
facility on the ocean floor). Reducing these leads to
significant cost savings on topside and subsea
processing plants.
Sand contamination is an increasing problem during
oil production, where many installations have been
designed without accounting for the amounts of sand
following the well stream. This has often led to
erosion problems in piping, valves and other devices
directly in contact with the well stream. Sand can fill
various process units such as separators and heat
exchangers, reducing their efficiency.
A Compact Concentric Cylindric Cyclone (4C) utilizes
moderate gravity forces to make the internal flow
path geometry suitable for gas/liquid and sand
separation, all in one unit. It features one cylindrical
unit placed inside another, where the outer cylinder
serves as pressure containment and volume buffer.
Special emphasis has been put on smooth handling
of the oil/water mixture to avoid severe droplet
break-up and stable emulsions downstream of the
cyclone.
The 4C fits particularly well with development of
deepwater gas fields far from existing infrastructure.
Mechanics
Fanplastic – Ongoing demand for improved
performance and efficiency, coupled with lower
costs, has led manufacturers of high-speed rotating
machines such as fans and impellers to improve the
properties of the materials used. Fiber-reinforced
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 11
composites fulfill these requirements better than
standard materials, such as steel, aluminum or
titanium alloys, because of their extraordinary
strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios.
While many types of composites exist, the most
mature and promising materials are those based on
carbon fiber-reinforced polymers. The challenge
involved in manufacturing structures made with
these materials lies in the need to orient continuous
fibers in multiple directions.
The process, called robot-based thermoplastic fiber
placement, overcomes existing technology hurdles
by using impregnated thermoplastic tape, which is
heated and then consolidated in situ under pressure.
ABB has implemented the process with a 6-axis
robotic system and has used it to develop fans to
cool vital systems, for example, in locomotives.
Now it is possible to produce impellers efficiently
and cheaply from the point of design through to
rapid thermoforming, robotically controlled
composite preforming, and on to assembly line tasks
such as bonding and welding.
Manufacturing Technologies
Forward-looking factories – New design processes
need to be both simple and adaptable to meet
the needs of industrial customers demanding much
shorter lead times and higher productivity levels.
To accomplish this, ABB is employing what it calls
Agile Manufacturing – a new approach to the whole
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12 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
manufacturing process, production control and
logistics.
The goal is to create manufacturing technologies
designed for variation according to customer needs.
The new integrated fan is one such technology. It is
built on an automated production system from a set
of modules. Interchangeable components can be
switched quickly so the production process can be
varied on short notice. If a customer calls for a
certain model it can be turned out quickly, as part of
a manufacturing process built to be responsive to the
customer’s immediate needs.
Couple a system like this with an Internet-based
order and invoicing system and it provides the
customer with the sort of flexibility that until now
has been unachievable.
Engineering Systems and Software Engineering
Shifting gear – SHIFT is a research project aimed
at ensuring that ABB gets its most important relation-
ship right – the relationship with the customer.
Project SHIFT has three vital components.
■ Web-based software for custom-built
communication with customers
■ A suite of computerized analysis tools to
determine precise customer needs
■ Radically changed business processes to support
customers both before they order and after they
have taken delivery of goods
SHIFT has already proved its ability to make ABB
more responsive to customers. A system that allows
ABB products to be modeled in 3-D over the Internet
speeds up the ordering process.
Software jigsaw – ABB relies more and more on
one key element – software. ABB is a software
company. It is a leader in bringing the power of
software to a multitude of industrial applications.
The companies that succeed as the software
suppliers of the future will be those that can best
integrate diverse pieces of individual and highly
marketable software – the components – into
integrated systems.
This new way of working in software development
and distribution is called Component Technology.
Feasibility studies are underway with leading
European universities to test the potential of software
component technology in ABB’s different software
domains. The research tests individual components
and how they fit with others already supplied to
customers.
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 13
Have you ever had paper jam in a
copying machine? Or the bottom rip out
of a paper bag, embarrassingly spilling
your groceries? Have you ever seen a
photo in a magazine printed so blurry
you could hardly tell what it was?
These common problems are often caused
by bad quality paper, poorly formed while
being made on a paper machine. These
small problems become very big problems
for papermakers when customers
complain and return shipments.
To avoid these problems, papermakers have attemp-
ted to measure paper quality in a process known as
“fiber orientation.” This process detects how micro-
scopic pulp fibers are placed as the paper is being
made. But, in conventional systems, by the time a
problem is discovered many tons of paper may have
already gone to waste.
This year, ABB unveiled the world’s first online and
real-time measurement of fiber orientation using laser
beams and advanced sensor technology. The new
technology provides the pulp and paper industry’s
fastest measurement of fiber orientation.
Launched in March 1999, the “AccuRay Fiber Orient-
ation Sensor” measures fiber orientation on both sides
of the sheet with 36,000 high-speed measurements
per second. Measuring both sides of the sheet is
crucial because poor fiber orientation on one side
can lead to an overall bad sheet.
The important technology leap for ABB came when
a physicist discovered that a laser directed along the
“grain” of fiber orientation (that is, with all the
fibers pointing in one direction) results in an arced
reflection. Conversely, if the laser is directed against
the grain, a vertical reflection occurs. So, you can
accurately determine the orientation of fibers with
lasers and detectors placed on both sides of the
sheet.
Measuring these parameters in real time allows
papermakers to control the quality of paper while
it is being made. Eliminating problems early allows
for more high-quality paper at a lower cost.
ABB chose a special high-grade laser for its ability to
withstand harsh paper machine environments. Three
lasers on each side of the sheet pulse at high speeds
while synchronized to avoid interference with lasers
on the other side of the sheet. Any disturbing
patterns of reflection are immediately noted online.
Twelve of the dual-sided sensors have been sold
since its introduction. According to customers,
payback for the sensor is less than one year. ABB
is also developing software that will automatically
control various elements of the paper machine as a
problem is detected. When this software is released,
payback will be even better.
Laser Beams and Paper Machines
Perfecting the papermaking process
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14 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
ABB has harnessed the fast-expanding power of
technology by using eCommerce to seamlessly
initiate a product order process and carry out the
manufacturing in a factory fully-operated by robots.
This factory of the future is linked to both ABB’s
sales force and materials suppliers at all times.
By combining the best elements of advanced
robotics with an automated ordering system, ABB
can slash labor costs by half, cycle times by 90
percent and floor space in the manufacturing area
by 60 percent.
The test factory in the U.S. is producing electrical
transformers used in power distribution networks.
These transformers alter voltage and current so that
the electricity is useable in the home. The highly-
innovative plant uses automation from the point of
ordering, through production and on to dispatch of
the finished product.
Savings are built in to the system from end-to-end.
The new ordering system and its manufacturing
processes are able to make products economically
in batches as small as units of one.
The process begins with a salesman or customer
entering the product specification online. The
“product configurator” is linked to the Internet,
allowing a wide range of potential customers to
access ABB’s product range anywhere in the world.
Working on a computer or laptop linked by mobile
phone to ABB’s host systems, the sales personnel
price the products, select the quotation documentation,
and enter the order in one simple operation.
To avoid mistakes and simplify the operation, the
system uses pre-loaded customer specifications and
questions the user on-screen to arrive at a description
of the desired product.
The system is seamless and requires very little
human intervention once an order has been placed.
The very process of negotiating the order on the
computer creates the bill of material, which is then
released online to the factory floor.
The manufacturing process is already scheduled
within seconds of the order having been placed. The
project then mates this highly-sophisticated order
and scheduling system to one of the company’s most
advanced “lights out” factories.
The plant uses an advanced manufacturing cell
to make the tanks, or casings, that house the active
parts of distribution transformers.
The cell is highly-automated, including seven robots,
two press brakes, a laser cutting system, and various
welding machines. It is more than a first for ABB.
It is also the first cell in the U.S. to use a robot rather
than a human being to manage the press brake and
laser system in the handling of large steel sheets.
The robots move the casing materials and compo-
nents around the cell, carrying out tasks that were
previously done by people. At each stage the robots
stop and add holes, bend the metal, and oversee and
carry out welding operations. The cell uses unique
By combining advanced roboticswith an automated ordering system,ABB can slash labor costs by half,cycle times by 90%, and floor spacein the manufacturing area by 60%.
Future Factory:End-to-end automation
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:01 Uhr Seite 14
ABB Group Technology Report 1999 15
technology to weld threaded studs to the outside of
the casing.
The assembly line, which brings together the
intricate parts of the transformer itself, is also highly-
automated. Winding machines download design data
from the system and produce the transformer
windings without any intervention by human
operators. The test cells carry out a series of rigorous
checks in just 90 seconds under the control of the
factory’s production system.
The new plant represents a huge leap forward in
manufacturing systems. ABB is planning to add
another robot to the end of the assembly line to
weld a cover to the casing, sealing the transformer in
and protecting it from wind and rain. Other robots
will be added to the paint line. The result will be a
transformer built from scratch solely by robots.
The factory is already one of the most highly-
automated in the world, overseen by just two or
three people. But it is the flexibility that counts. In
the past, automated systems took time to reconfigure
for different products – and that in turn meant long
production runs were best to keep costs down.
The combination of this advanced manufacturing
technology and the new dry-type cable transformers,
designed for easy manufacturing, will generate the
next breakthrough in this area.
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16 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Coal may be one of the world’s most plentiful fossil
fuels, but it is still a valuable and irreplaceable
resource. As long as it is used to create energy,
power station operators need to be sure they are
burning the coal as efficiently as possible.
One persistent problem for power utilities has been
that relatively large quantities of coal often fall
through the boiler and are buried in fly ash –
unused. This wastes energy and boosts fuel costs.
But the cost burden is not just in the loss of energy
production. Fly ash contaminated by coal is not re-
usable and has to be buried in expensive landfill
sites. Fly ash untainted by high levels of carbon, in
contrast, is a vital raw material for the concrete
making industry and is a valuable source of extra
income for the power station operator.
As operators strive for less polluting forms of
power generation, they also rely on close
monitoring of carbon in ash (CIA). ABB has
developed a new system to very precisely detect
carbon in ash. The measurement system uses
online technology to deliver real-time readings
of how much coal remains unburned in the boiler.
Integrated into the power station, the system
guarantees lower emissions and a stream of valuable,
recyclable fly ash.
The old method of measuring CIA included physically
taking a probe from within the boiler cavity. This is
CoalMindMeasuring fuel combustion in boilers
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:02 Uhr Seite 16
time-consuming and costly. ABB created a system
that measures CIA by using a microwave diagnostic
system.
Basically, microwaves are absorbed at varying rates
by different materials. In this case, a pulse of micro-
wave radiation is blasted inside the boiler and sensors
analyze the signals that come out of the cavity. A
high level of CIA will reflect differently than a low
level. Sensors detect the different levels and show the
measurement on a computer screen. If there is too
much carbon, the combustion can be changed, and
if there is too little, the operator can react
accordingly.
To get an idea of the extreme sensitivity
of the measurement system, think of
a computer screen made up of one
million pixels. This system can
measure down to the equivalent
of five pixels.
Building such a system posed a number of significant
challenges to ABB engineers. It needs to be highly-
sensitive and rugged at the same time.
The instrument has to operate in an incredibly hostile
environment. Temperatures inside a modern boiler
rise as high as 400 degrees centigrade. In addition,
the conditions are dirty and the measuring system
must be able to operate efficiently when fouled by
high levels of fly ash.
The system has been operating successfully for the
past year of uninterrupted performance in a trial at a
U.S. utility. ABB plans to integrate it into a closed-
loop power station control unit.
ABB Group Technology Report 1999 17
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18 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Measuring pollution in rivers, sewage works or
factory inlets is a vital but expensive and labor-
intensive task. Current technology also makes it
an inexact science.
Measuring equipment is expensive to maintain and
complicated to use. Even state-of-the-art equipment
requires tests to be carried out on-site by technicians
who then have to carry samples back to the
laboratory for analysis. This means high costs and
unreliability in an age when tough environmental
regulations require regular and accurate tests at an
affordable cost.
Using highly-innovative micro-engineering
techniques, ABB has developed a fully-automated
micro-lab – no bigger than a football – which can
monitor water pollution levels autonomously and
continuously feed back test results online, all with
minimal maintenance.
The challenge in this groundbreaking piece of
technology was to find a way to integrate an entire
chemical laboratory onto one small chip and
ensure that all the microelements of the systems
functioned together. The system will cut operating
costs dramatically, strengthen analysis and
increase environmental efficiency.
The system is called BODNAP because it measures
biological oxygen demand (BOD) and levels of
nitrate, ammonium and phosphate (NAP) in water.
The accurate measurement of BOD is particularly
important as it indicates the organic load in the
water, and therefore, the levels of pollution. The
A smart way to cleaner waterIntelligentMicrobes
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 19
organic load is what microorganisms in the water
feed off. If the load is high, these microbes will
swell and consume more and more of the oxygen
on which plant and fish life depends. The greater
the load, the greater the risk that plants and fish
will die. So the organic load has to be kept low
in natural waters.
BODNAP is a small, free-floating buoy, which has at
its core a microfluidic system built on a silicon wafer
containing pumps, channels, flow resistors and
mixing chambers. In simple terms, the buoy contains
a silicon wafer – only about four inches in diameter
– which has a built-in, miniature chemical analysis
laboratory.
Water is pushed by microscopic pumps down
channels no larger than a human hair. The channels
contain living microorganisms. Flow sensors ensure
that precisely the right amount of water is pumped
through the channels.
A chemical reaction occurs when the water passes
over the microbes within the channels. The water
color is changed and electronically detected by
optical sensors. The color reveals water content and
the precise levels of pollutants. The results of this
complicated piece of microanalysis are fed back to a
monitoring station via a cable linked to a standard
computer interface. The system provides continuous
real-time testing and monitoring.
The smart measuring equipment in the BODNAP is
contained in a removable cartridge. The cartridge
needs changing only once every three months,
making the system as easy to use as an inkjet printer.
Between cartridge changes, the system can be left
alone to carry out tests and to transmit a stream of
continuous online data back to the laboratory for
computer analysis.
ABB also overcame the challenge of incorporating
two unique features: a self-cleaning sampling system,
which means the system can operate in even the
dirtiest water without extra maintenance, and a
bioreactor, which actually incorporates living micro-
organisms used for measuring organic pollution.
BODNAP promises to offer customers water-testing
equipment which is smaller, smarter and cheaper
to own and operate. The system is in trials with 10
customers around the world.
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20 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
With the move to deregulated electricity markets, power
companies are constantly looking for more efficient ways to
supply power to customers. More often than not, that means
better managing the operation of their systems and the
distribution of power.
Increasingly, the key to greater efficiency lies with automated
systems and demand side management techniques that allow
utilities to control demand for power through different pricing
for different users at different peak and off-peak times. These
tools require powerful, high-tech solutions and intelligent
communications systems running the length and breadth of
electricity networks.
ABB tackled this issue by pooling its expertise in the
electricity sector, developing a fast, new way for power
utilities to control their distribution systems remotely. The
DartNet™ system is now the world’s fastest communication
system for use on medium-voltage power lines. The
system infuses new technology into traditional thinking.
It allows power companies to carry out vital tasks like opening
and closing circuit breakers and switches, reading voltages
and current levels, managing load levels and reading meters
remotely with far more efficiency. Most current distribution
systems require manual switching when there is a fault, which
is slow and labor-intensive. Competing systems that employ
automated switching are still far slower than DartNet™.
The starting point was to develop an effective communication
system that stretched to every corner of the power distribution
system. The obvious way to ensure complete coverage was
to use the same medium-voltage power lines that carry the
Remote- controlled power
New ways to run powerdistribution networks
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:02 Uhr Seite 20
ABB Group Technology Report 1999 21
power. Then, controlling signals and data would automatically
reach all the right parts of the system.
But there was an obstacle to making this idea work. Power
networks work on low frequencies, while communications
systems require much higher bandwidths to transport data and
signals. In normal circumstances, the two do not mix very
well and when they do, they are susceptible to disruption and
noise interference. The challenge was to achieve the best
performance for both with minimum disruption.
One goal was to ensure that the commissioning, operation and
maintenance of the finished system would be simple.
The idea was to allow the system to be integrated into an
electricity network easily. It also had to be simply extended
when new components were added to the network.
For example, ABB designed a registration process, similar
to the “plug-and-play” concept used in home computers,
to automatically log the presence of a new communications
device when it is installed – for instance, when a new
household or industrial connection is added – without the
need for an operator to change settings.
Any changes in the topography of the distribution system –
for example, when switches are made between substations
or there is a fault – will immediately be registered and the
system will select the best alternative path for communications,
just as it does for the power signal.
Features like this make DartNet™ highly reliable and robust.
The new technology has been proven in live trials with a
leading Swiss utility.
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22 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
A car factory in full production conjures images of
sparks flying around the most advanced automation
systems. Heavy body framing systems and robotics
combine to build sleek machines of pleasure and
comfort. In the end, a steady stream of identical
vehicles pour from production lines into lots where
they await shipping in perfectly aligned rows.
These automation systems come at a price. There are
some tasks, such as welding, that require great
precision and strength at the same time; factors that
dictate the use of so-called hard automation. More,
the machines used in production are controlled by
mechanics rather than programmable software,
making them inflexible and expensive.
As a result, car manufacturers are forced to make and
sell the same model for as long as possible to
recuperate their tooling investment. The inability to
alter model range is incompatible with consumer
demand. Consumers want an ever-changing selection
of new cars. This puts a premium on shop floor
flexibility.
Hard automation is extremely reliable for producing
the same vehicle over and over again, but it is slow
to adapt. ABB has developed a new body framing
system that uses flexible robots to hold the car
pieces together during welding. It is far more flexible
than its predecessors and speeds up the process of
delivering new model variants to market.
Traditionally, car body framing needed large and
heavy machinery to operate large and heavy tooling.
Stiff frames for holding car body panels in place
were needed to deliver very precise welding by
TheNewBodyShopShowing the way in automated manufacturing
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 23
robots. The precision is crucial: if parts are out of
place by less than a millimeter, quality suffers, and
major components like doors and windows will not
open or close.
ABB has replaced this heavy machinery with three
flexible robots, which take the panels, place them in
position and hold them tightly while the welding
robots apply the welds.
The software tells the robots what to do. Different
body panels and frames can be programmed into the
system as required.
The system is designed for extreme precision and
consistency, and like its predecessor, can resist the
jolt of the welding process.
The result is a much more advanced framing system
that uses tooling a quarter the weight of conventional
systems – while being as stiff as needed.
And, those perfectly aligned rows of new cars will
vary in make, model and size, the way consumers
want them.
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24 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Like power transmission, the electricity distribution
business is going through fundamental changes.
Deregulation, aimed at creating new efficiencies
while lowering the cost of power to the individual
consumer, is driving major changes in the way
power companies go about their business.
In power distribution markets, the changes are felt
everywhere. Still, around 60 percent of utilities
worldwide remain vertically integrated, which means
they own both transmission and distribution grids.
But the trends point to increasing separation of
ownership, with some utilities owning the long-
distance transmission grid and others owning the
distribution network in cities, industrial and
commercial areas.
The new distribution utilities emerging from this
process will operate in a new and different business
environment. They will compete – or join forces –
with service providers from other business sectors
such as financial services and retail. Big global service
providers will own regional distribution utilities.
Globalization, already evident in the electricity
market, is highly-visible in the distribution business.
Information on products and systems is available and
comparable through the Internet. Globalized power
suppliers are questioning the need to have country-
specific solutions because experience in other regions
shows similar functionality available at lower costs.
In developed and developing nations alike,
distribution grids need to be upgraded. Outdated
equipment operates at or beyond its limits, producing
high losses, disturbances and failures.
Distribution providers also serve big individual
customers in industry, large commercial complexes
like airports and other niche markets. As a result, the
product portfolio in distribution needs to be diverse.
ABB has answers for all of these issues. At product
level, the main strategy of ABB’s distribution segment
is to standardize technology platforms and products
based on best practice. Customer-specific solutions, if
needed, are adapted locally but based on one
technology platform. As a result, high quality is
available everywhere.
For example, when ABB’s distribution transformer
factory was developed, all processes were
standardized – from ordering through engineering to
manufacturing. The result was a highly integrated
Internet- and robot-supported business stripped of
everything that does not add value.
ABB continues to integrate electronics into
equipment to improve power quality and reduce
operational costs. For example, the Intelligent Ring
Main Units launched this year can communicate
with SCADA network control systems, enabling
monitoring and remote control of switches.
Another example of this more sophisticated
approach is Integrated Power Quality in distribution
systems. ABB now uses such power quality
technology as standard in all medium-voltage
equipment, like the power factor controller and
the fast transfer switch, both of which reduce
power quality problems in areas most vulnerable
to disturbance.
Power DistributionGlobalsolutions for localmarkets
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 25
ABB’s efforts to promote cost-effectiveness and
efficiency does not stop at the design of new
equipment incorporating the latest technological
breakthroughs. It extends to the creation of
innovative systems to support customers.
In recent decades, the focus for innovation was on
large-scale power generation, transmission and
distribution of electrical energy. Behind the scenes,
small-scale distributed power – small power plant
located directly in a customer’s factory or other
building – has slowly taken a substantial share of the
market. In a joint venture, Volvo of Sweden and
ABB are now introducing a new, highly-efficient gas
microturbine, the T100, a 100 kW engine. More
than 10 years research and development have gone
into this highly-flexible, economical and efficient
alternative to conventional power generation.
Thanks to its range of products and system
components, ABB is now in a position to define
the optimal solution to any problem.
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26 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
BrainpowerOur people’s ideas are our most important asset
atarina Lundblad Vannesjö is in no
doubt about the scale of the challenge
she faces every day of her working life
as ABB’s head of Intellectual Property. “For a tech-
nology-based company like ours, the intellectual
capital generated by the employees is perhaps our
most important asset,” she said.
Katarina and a global team of about 90 people
play a key role in protecting ABB’s world-beating
technologies. In 1999, she and her team beat ABB’s
own target for registering First Filings – the crucial
“first disclosure” of a new idea – by 15 percent.
But getting scientists and engineers to cooperate in
this process is not always easy, as Katarina – herself
originally a material scientist who specialized in
nuclear fuels research – understands only too well.
“It is not uncommon for inventors to be reticent, to
believe that their contribution is really not so signifi-
cant and simply to refrain from filing an invention
disclosure,” she said.
To overcome this hurdle, ABB introduced a system of
incentives to encourage the submission of disclosures
as part of an active and continuous policy to press
its innovators to register their breakthroughs.
Major drivers in the invention process are ABB’s
Corporate Research Centers, which generate some
40 percent of all invention disclosures.
K
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 27
The centers are known as “invention engines” and
the research director at each one puts a huge
emphasis on encouraging innovation in all members
of the research team. They will meet each inventor
personally to go through their ideas to help track
developing ideas and to push concepts through to
disclosable breakthroughs.
“We experiment with the idea generation process
to find the best ways of encouraging our inventors,”
Katarina said. For example, ABB introduced a rapid
response process called “IdeaCare” in one country.
With this process, ideas are transformed into proper
invention disclosures within 24 hours and can end
up in First Filings in less than five days.
Katarina emphasizes why such speed is vital. “We are
in a race with our competitors to inject our enormous
knowledge directly into our well-proven products,
making them more intelligent and also offering this
know-how in the form of software products to the
market. This intellectual capital is invaluable and it
needs proper protection,” she said.
ABB’s patent service organization has a multi-
national reach, operating in nine countries – Sweden,
Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Finland, Norway,
Poland, Japan and the U.S. Staffed by patent and
trademark attorneys, specialist researchers, translators
and patent administrators, Katarina’s service actively
supports the corporate research centers and the
operating companies to secure proper protection for
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28 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
ABB’s R&D successes. With the group putting
increasing emphasis on software and intelligent
solutions, special training in handling software-
related inventions is an important part of educating
these key members of staff.
But training is also offered to the inventors them-
selves. “We have a number of training programs for
our inventors to make them aware of the huge value
in protecting ABB business,” said Katarina.
Katarina stresses that the process of perfecting the
patenting system is one that never stops. “It is
characteristic of learning organizations like ABB, that
we are never satisfied with the results we achieve,”
she said. “In the field of intellectual capital we have
major challenges ahead of us that we have only
really started to attack.”
She highlights that in 1999 access to the company’s
own knowledge bank has been made much easier
by creating a patent register. The register contains
more than 20,000 patents structured so researchers
can quickly retrieve the information they need.
Alongside this the company has created new and
efficient ways for researchers to search public
databases to research competitor patents, those of
customers, those held in universities and many more,
so that they can track the patents of ABB competitors
and general market activity.
“We are sharpening up the methods we use to assess
the value of our intellectual property at any one time
so we can make the necessary business decisions,”
said Katarina. “This is also helping us to detect and
follow up any infringements of our own intellectual
property.
“The more ABB develops into a company whose
products and systems are leveraged by information
technology, and the more it extends its reach into
the knowledge intensive service business, the more
this ability to manage intellectual property will be-
come a core competence of the company,” she said.
Knowledge engines enhance brain power
Corporate Research designed special knowledge engines to get the data they need
for the professional set up and execution of research projects. Harsh Karandikar,
Manager of the Engineering Systems Program, designed this engine with a team of
knowledge experts.
One important set of data integrated into this engine is the ABB patent portfolio. The
portfolio has more than 20,000 patents structured for easy retrieval. Search engines
provide competitor patents, customer information, university projects and more.
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 29
FreshStartElectrical motors are the workhorses of industry
worldwide. Millions of them are used in everything
from making cars to toothpaste. So, making a
better motor, or finding ways to make them more
efficient, can save customers a lot of money. It
also cuts the amount of electricity needed in
manufacturing, which benefits the environment.
That’s why ABB is committing time and money to
putting the latest technology in some of the most
humble devices.
Starter controls for electric motors, for example,
have been around for almost as long as the motors
themselves. Starter controls protect motors from
overload and short circuits. They also prevent the
motor from being damaged if the system becomes
blocked.
To visualize a potential system block, picture a pulp
and paper mill running planks of wood along a
conveyer belt. If a large object dropped into the belt,
it would become blocked, raising the current and
threatening the system. A starter control would shut
the system down before this happened. Unfortunately,
traditional starter controls demand time and operator
analysis of the problem.
ABB engineers have been working hard to develop
new versions of the controls using smart technologies
so customers can improve the efficiency and safety
of their factory processes.
Traditionally, customers have been faced with an
array of control devices for handling motor problems.
There is a circuit breaker to protect the motor from
short circuits. There is a unit designed to protect the
motor from overload. And there is also a manual
disconnect device.
An operator has to choose the appropriate combina-
tion of devices when a problem occurs. This takes
time and is expensive because the devices have to
be connected and mounted together in the factory.
ABB decided a more efficient way forward was
possible after examining the total cost of this time-
consuming process. The company decided to
develop an integrated control unit for medium and
high-power motors.
The new starter control combines devices, reducing
the time needed to remedy a problem. More, the
starter control ensures factory safety by intervening
whenever a disruption in the system takes place.
It immediately alerts operators to the problem. The
alert can then be investigated before the problem
becomes acute and dangerous.
The bottom line on this product is that it is smaller,
more efficient and easier to use. The increased
functionality it offers breathes confidence and new
life into some of the most traditional operations.
Revitalizing motor controls
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30 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Engineers have always faced a dilemma when
designing systems to detect faults in electric grids:
speed versus keeping up the service level.
Conventional protection systems have not been able
to detect individual faults at high speed. This is
difficult because power must be shut off to the faulty
part of the system before short circuit current raises.
And, the rest of the system must continue running.
ABB has found a way to make a series of circuit
breakers communicate with one another and detect a
fault within a fraction of the time taken by conven-
tional electrical protection systems. The new system
is called Early Fault Detection and Prevention (EFDP).
It works like a high-speed search and rescue team.
Much like a team of men and women scouring
mountainsides from helicopters in search of avalan-
ches and potentially trapped hikers, EFDP is always
at work. This constant monitoring offers power
suppliers unprecedented levels of safety and far
greater network efficiency. Faults can be detected
and the appropriate circuit breaker alerted within
microseconds.
The move away from a single circuit breaker
model to a global approach involving a number
of intelligent circuit breakers is a significant
step forward in the process of fault detection and
protection.
EFDP can be used in any size of installation. A huge
number of circuit breakers can be linked together
and made to communicate and operate in cascade.
Like that search and rescue team, each bit of infor-
mation or messaging passed through the system
benefits overall performance.
The new system offers many advantages in safety,
efficiency and network integrity. EFDP reduces both
the loss of high service levels and the risk of plant
damage.
EFDP is a discriminatory system. This means power
outages remain localized to the part of the installation
where the fault occurs. They do not further interrupt
power flow or impact the rest of the network.
Another overall benefit of the system is that it
improves overall quality of power on low-voltage
networks. It does this by cutting down the cumula-
tive faults, short circuits and shutdowns that cause
damaging dips in voltage across networks.
EFDP will be a key ABB product for companies
wanting to upgrade and modernize their networks.
Integrated with conventional power supervision and
control equipment, EFDP ensures safe power
delivery with greater continuity.
Fault finder A safer, faster way to protect power
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 31
ABB is at the forefront of the race to develop
technologies that can make huge leaps forward in
underwater technology. New technology must
carry out more complex tasks at a lower cost while
abiding by ever-increasing environmental standards.
The price of a barrel of oil is the same regardless of
whether it comes from a Texan backyard or a well
thousands of meters under the North Sea. The
industry cannot look to the future for comfort: oil
prices are likely to stay stable at relatively low levels.
At the same time, geologists are faced with looking
for oil and gas reservoirs in more difficult locations.
Most of the large and easily-accessible offshore
fields, for example, have already been developed
and are past peak production.
So the fields of the future are smaller, more remote,
with a mixed potential yield. The water is deeper.
The locations often lack supporting infrastructure.
And to cap it all, the composition of the fluids in the
reservoir will be more challenging.
Knowledge becomes the new raw material in oil and gas production
SeaChange
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32 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
The answer? To shift away from an industry based on
labor and hardware, such as enormous offshore
platforms manned by huge crews, towards technology
and knowledge.
Only a few years ago engineers prospecting for oil
knew they could not deal with water deeper than
1,000 meters, reservoir pressures greater than 700 bar
and fluid temperatures higher than 100 degrees
centigrade.
But these boundaries are constantly breached. Now,
the talk is of production at depths of 3,000 meters
and pressures greater than 1,000 bar, and tempera-
tures higher than 200 degrees centrigrade.
To cope with such conditions, tomorrow’s industry
will use intelligent production and processing
systems operated by remote control. The new
technologies are already under development. In the
near future ABB will be able to monitor the behavior
of the reservoir and the well in real time.
Engineers will combine this information with
computer models that simulate the reservoir’s
conditions. The reservoir can then be carefully
controlled so the flow of hydrocarbons is handled
to best effect, all the way from the reservoir itself,
to the point where they are exported.
The new systems can control the flow and
generate and process data in some of the most
inhospitable places on earth, even deep inside the
well. The technologies include sensors, data
acquisition systems, flow control devices such as
remotely-operated choke valves, and systems to
both separate water from the hydrocarbons and
reinject it into the reservoir as needed.
ABB provides reservoir engineers with knowledge of
the well conditions. Real-time logging of the reservoir
temperature, pressure and flow conditions means
placing permanent probes and sensors into the well
– practical on land, but not deep beneath the waves.
ABB is developing new instrumentation capable of
surviving these harsh conditions as part of its
Advanced Downhole Monitoring And Reservoir
Control System (ADMARC) project.
ABB has designed an electronics module that uses
silicon carbide and silicon on insulator technology.
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:02 Uhr Seite 32
The module combines integrated circuits with sophis-
ticated packaging. The company has a range of
electronics that can withstand temperatures as high
as 220 degrees centigrade over long periods of time.
ABB has also developed a passive optical sensor
that collects data over long periods with little risk of
failure. It complements the electronic sensors
because it operates at even higher temperatures.
ABB has developed cabling that withstands the rigors
of installation and high temperatures of the well, yet
is still cost-effective. Complete processing systems
will be placed on the seabed with compressors,
separators, pumping stations and chemical injection
systems.
Integrated with the next generation of control
systems, this seabed technology ensures that oil and
gas can be sent hundreds of kilometers back to
shore or to existing platforms safely and
economically.
ABB Group Technology Report 1999 33
New instrumentation and
components can now
control flow and generate
information in some of the
world’s most inhospitable
places.
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:02 Uhr Seite 33
The search for new underwater reserves of oil and
gas is driving petroleum companies to new depths.
The first generation of subsea oil and gas exploration
saw the industry employ cutting-edge technology to
reach reserves which were then seen as testing the
limits of science and technology.
But the exhaustion of these reserves has led the
industry’s search for new reservoirs of hydrocarbons
into much more difficult environments. This, in turn,
has meant far more stringent technological demands
on companies, like ABB, that are front-line suppliers
of equipment to the industry.
Already oil and gas companies are working at sea
depths undreamed of when deep-sea exploration
and production began. It is now quite common for
wells to be drilled in more than 2,000 meters of
water and it is expected that in the next five years
drilling will move into even deeper waters up to
4,000 meters below the sea’s surface.
Recent oil discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico and
off the coast of West Africa confirm the existence
of large and valuable reserves at such depths.
ABB, as one of the leading suppliers of high-tech
equipment to the petrochemical industry, recognized
early on that it needed to
provide the right
technology to support exploration into these new
territories. ABB Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals is
increasingly focused on this work and is determined
to be a leader in the field.
One of the main challenges thrown up by the move
into ultra deepwater oil and gas production is the need
to produce systems that will support a wellhead on
the seabed which can withstand a hostile environ-
ment, where pressure, for example, can reach as
high as 1,034 bar, or 15,000 pounds per square inch
(psi). Compare that to a normal ambient pressure at
the surface of 1 bar (15 psi), and the magnitude of
the challenge becomes apparent.
ABB has developed the Super MS700 wellhead system
and the Super HDH4 wellhead connector to meet
this challenge.
Stemming from existing families of ABB seabed
equipment, which are already industry-standard, they
operate at far greater depths and offer unprecedented
strength and reliability.
They achieve this performance thanks to a
sealing technology which takes
advantage of the
high pressures
ABB know-how leads deep sea discoveryNew Depths
34 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:02 Uhr Seite 34
ABB Group Technology Report 1999 35
at the bottom of the ocean. By choosing the right
materials and sealing concepts, ABB engineers
can actually fuse connecting surfaces together,
creating an almost perfect seal between wellhead
components that ensures the overall structural and
operational integrity of the system.
ABB’s strategy of focusing on this exciting new
area of exploration is paying dividends, as the
company has established an unrivalled presence
in the market. Some 75 percent of all deepwater-
drilling vessels currently use ABB’s super wellhead
connector technology.
ABB has also made rapid progress this year in
developing the advanced floating platforms needed
to support both wellheads and processing systems
used in deep water exploration and production.
Recognizing that an oil company’s requirements
for a platform will depend on the precise nature of
the field under development – its topography, sea
conditions, wind speed and direction – ABB decided
to create a portfolio of deepwater
designs.
ABB is well-recognized as the world’s leading
producer of one type of platform suitable for deep-
water, the Tension Leg Platform (TLP). This mature
concept was the cornerstone of successful field
developments in seven worldwide installations
during the 1990s, in water depths of up to 1,200 m.
In 1999, research initiated under corporate R&D
programs has resulted in three new offerings in our
deepwater platform portfolio.
All these designs serve a common purpose. They
offer ABB’s customers purpose-built floating platforms
for deepwater field developments at much lower
cost. These cost savings are hugely-significant for the
oil industry. With oil prices relatively static, companies
are looking for ways to cut production and operating
costs while offering their customers even better
performance.
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:02 Uhr Seite 35
36 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Everybody knows electricity and water don’t mix.
Yet if the oil and gas industry had no way to deliver
high voltages underwater, it would be hard-pressed
to develop new subsea fields, especially as wells are
developed in ever-deeper water far away from
existing offshore facilities.
The problem of transporting power to equipment in
deep water is all the more pressing as the oil and gas
industry moves away from reliance on large rigs and
platforms on the surface of the sea to remotely
controlled oil installations on the seabed. Electrical
power connections in this environment are a
nightmare.
ABB’s calming solution is a high-voltage connector
designed to run safely and reliably over a design life
of 25 years. Typically, the insulating material around
the connector had to be replaced every two to five
years. This connection point in a cable is the most
critical point along the line. It is also the weakest
point and most prone to insulation problems. The
new MECON connector is a first for the market.
Already operational in the Troll Field, a Norwegian
sector of the North Sea, MECON can be retrieved
or serviced on-site by remotely-operated vehicles.
It incorporates a novel system for flushing out and
replacing seawater with a dielectric fluid. This seem-
ingly complicated process is actually quite simple.
When a high-voltage connection is made under-
water, the insulating materials are threatened by
the surrounding elements. At the precise moment a
connection is made, MECON flushes the connector
with this special dielectric fluid. The flushing allows
the connector to be sealed within an all-metal barrier
system, better protecting the high-quality insulating
equipment inside the system. In turn, the system can
handle the high-voltage loading needed at the seabed
while reducing wear and tear on the insulating
materials.
This technology allows high-voltage power to be
taken to new depths. Costs come down as the entire
seabed operation moves underwater.
ABB now offers MECON for 12 kilovolt (kV) systems.
Testing is underway to qualify MECON for even
higher voltages to meet the changing demands of a
relentless market.
MECON’s focus on function, reliability and maintain-
ability achieved international recognition with the
prestigious Woelfel Best Mechanical Engineering
1999 award from the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers.
Excellent ConnectionsPower under the sea
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 37
ABB places great value on the work done by
scientists and engineers in universities. Pioneering
academics drive the technology machine. Their
forays into uncharted intellectual territory pave the
way for many of ABB’s in-house breakthroughs.
As a result, strong links have been built between the
Group and the world’s leading institutions. Some-
times those connections bring academics to work for
ABB, where they can put their theories into practice
in a real industrial setting. Other times the benefits
go back the other way and industrial needs feed the
world of fundamental research.
Several of our top researchers give regular lectures
at universities. Some work part-time for ABB and
part-time for a faculty. It is a relationship based
on a carefully nurtured network of contacts and
cooperation with top universities all over the world.
In the past year ABB has worked to extend its relation-
ship with some 50 of the world’s leading technology
institutes, among them highly-respected universities
like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),
Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University,
California, and Cambridge University in the UK.
ABB usually works with common research programs,
joining our industrial research resources with the
brainforce of an individual university or a number of
academic institutions. But, the Group also participates
in network programs offered by places like MIT with
its collaborative “Leader in Manufacturing” program.
ABB also embraces remote education projects to help
keep our own software engineers up to speed on the
latest developments. One example of this is the
Software Performance Improvement program run by
Stanford University.
AcademiaABB’s links to world class universities:
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:02 Uhr Seite 37
38 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
The reason for maintaining such a sophisticated web
of academic contacts is simple: it allows ABB to respond
quickly to changing social and industrial demands.
Take, for example, the “intelligent eye,” a technological
dream for many years that is now nearing fruition.
This development will yield a whole range of benefits
for the automation industry.
Micro-engineered mechanical systems are also a
key area of interest for ABB. They will be a central
part of traditional techniques for measurement
and control, and open a range of applications for
technologies used in two important areas of interest –
power transmission and power distribution.
Nanostructured catalysts will be of huge importance
to ABB’s catalysis business. They will produce a
number of massive technological leaps within the
chemical industry.
Working with the world of academia allows the
Group to maintain a leading position in wireless
technology and its application in industrial automa-
tion. Front-end research in ultra-low power wireless
communication will benefit both sides of this winning
combination.
Some examples of these important research
initiatives are as follows:
Intelligent eye – The objective of this innovative
program involving ABB and Carnegie Mellon
University is to develop a new type of machine
vision sensor using CMOS integrated circuit tech-
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:02 Uhr Seite 38
ABB Group Technology Report 1999 39
nology. The project will enable ABB to build a 3-D
scanner at much lower cost with no loss of power
or performance. The program is built on the under-
standing that automation technology increasingly
relies upon 3D, full-vision scanning techniques for
vital tasks like visual inspection, robot guidance,
process monitoring and computer modelling. This
aids rapid prototyping and robot programming.
Lowdown on high-voltage chip – Standard
technology has micro-relays built on a chip in the
range of 50V and 200mA. The challenge is to
extend this to higher voltages and into the many
applications where low voltages are a prerequisite.
The program aims to combine high voltage and
high current on a chip which is still cheap to produce.
We are confident that an important breakthrough
will soon be achieved in this crucial area.
Future refined – Gasoline will soon be produced
from normal hydro-carbons that have been
restructured with the help of innovative new catalysis
methods. The key to this development is a catalyst
which does not produce unwanted by-products
at the point of chemical reaction and which does not
deactivate too rapidly. But where do such catalysts
come from? The answer is nano-sized, synthetic
catalyst design. Our research with MIT is proving this
to be a valid approach.
Un-wired – ABB believes the widespread use of
wireless communication in industrial automation is in
sight. For this to happen, a new technology platform
for ultra-low power wireless sensors and actuators
has to be developed. A research program with MIT
is tackling this challenge. The key to successful wire-
less communication in automation and control is the
power consumption of both the radio transmitter and
the receiver. Industrial acceptance of this technology
relies on a simple, but demanding, requirement –
up to 10 years of maintenance-free operation.
These are just a few examples of the projects we
are working on with the world’s top universities and
academic institutions. For ABB, external cooperation
of this kind is invaluable. It provides a source of new
ideas and highly talented people and acts as a motor
for major innovations.
Asgeir Sorensen is one of many recognized experts recruited to work for ABB. Asgeir completed
his doctoral thesis at the Department of Engineering Cybernetics at the Norwegian University of
Science and Technology and joined the ABB Automation group in Norway in 1993. With his
students, he shares the know-how he has accumulated in the fields of advanced control, power
generation and distribution, and electrical propulsion in the marine, oil and gas markets while
working at ABB.
So Asgeir currently has two jobs. He is a technical manager in ABB’s Automation Marine and
Turbo-chargers business and Professor of Marine Cybernetics in the Faculty of Marine
Technology at the university he himself once attended. “I like working as a part-time professor as
well as working for ABB. It is exciting to work with young people and to have a permanent contact
with the scientific community,” Asgeir says.
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:02 Uhr Seite 39
40 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Electricity markets are changing rapidly. Privatization,
deregulation and public opinion have had an
enduring impact on the electricity business.
Electricity transmission companies demand new
technological solutions across the range of their
equipment. They want cost-effective systems that
allow them to maximize returns in a much more
competitive market while delivering power in a way
that has less impact on the environment.
New relationships are developing within the
electricity industry. Utilities are giving manufacturers
greater leeway to define the detailed specification
and design of systems. In return, they have much
stricter requirements for function, cost and
performance.
In short, the whole industry – from manufacturing
through to the production and delivery of power –
has been gripped by a new competitiveness.
ABB has been swift to recognize that the needs of
consumers – the customers’ customers – are changing
too. An indication of how much consumer demands
have changed is evident in the way public opinion has
swung so sharply against the use of visually intrusive
power equipment like overhead lines. Consumers
want alternatives which do not blight the landscape.
ABB is increasingly focusing its research on
developing discreet systems that are less visible and
often underground. It is also developing technologies
that use fewer materials, or that eliminate polluting
or hazardous substances such as insulation oil.
Last year, the new PASS range of intelligent substation
products was completed. The first large substation
based on this solution is now in service.
PASS – which stands for Plug and Switch System –
offers a complete range of products from 110 kV to
550 kV. It uses integrated breakers, disconnectors and
earthing switches, as well as sensors, electronic
actuators and optical fiber-based communications to
control and operate high-voltage switchgear.
With HVDC Light™ – a new range of High-Voltage
Direct Current transmission network equipment,
which has a fraction of the environmental impact of
large-scale, conventional systems – ABB cemented its
position as a provider of cleaner, cheaper electricity
systems.
HVDC Light™ is one-fifth the size of conventional
HVDC technology for the same rated power. We
foresee stations needing only 350 square meters
compared with conventional plants that require
10,000 square meters. Operators can achieve huge
economic gains, breaking even on much smaller
plants.
The first HVDC Light™ underground 80 kV/50MW
dry cable has been laid and successfully tested on
the island of Gotland, Sweden, connecting a remote
wind energy farm to the grid on the mainland.
SVC Light™ uses the same integrated gate bipolar
transistor (IGBT) technology to reduce flicker in the
power signal. An initial application in Hagfors,
Sweden, shows the flicker has been successfully
controlled.
Dryformer™ – a novel oil-free transformer design
using high-voltage extruded cable technology – has
been launched. Dryformer™ allows, for the very first
time, high-voltage systems to be sited, without risk,
in or close to densely populated areas where power
demand is highest.
Power Transmission New solutions for a changingmarket
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:02 Uhr Seite 40
ABB Group Technology Report 1999 41
ABB has also boosted its investment in AC and DC
cable technology. A new dedicated cable production
facility has been set up in Karlskrona in Sweden.
It produces the cables that will operate with many
of the new systems described above.
Even though going underground is an optimal
environmental solution, ABB is also working to
reduce size, visibility and electro-magnetic fields of
overhead transmission lines.
But, much work goes into improving mature and
conventional products. For example, ABB has
enhanced self-blast technology to apply it in High-
Current Generator Breakers for short-circuit currents
up to 160 kA. The new principle eliminates complex
rotating arc current interruption. This new breaker
uses disconnectors, earthing switches and a
generator for start-up and breaking.
The benefit of this innovation to big power stations
is that it allows the use of economical and light high-
current systems in the range of 500–700 MW.
ABB recognizes that new technological solutions
are required to meet fast-changing market conditions
in the power transmission sector. Work carried out
in 1999 will ensure that ABB remains ahead of its
competitors in supplying the right systems for a
cleaner and more efficient electricity future.
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42 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
In the digital age, innovators are pushing for faster
and smaller designs for products ranging from
computers and cars to video games and phones.
Product designers and customers love the idea of
squeezing technology into ever-shrinking devices.
The mobile phone is a great example of technology
meeting consumer demand for a smaller device with
better performance. Similarly, industry is starting to
demand smaller, more efficient and flexible
machinery.
ABB has undertaken this process with one of the
most important devices used in the modern world –
the variable speed drive. Variable speed drives are
used in a huge number of applications to control
electrical motors. For example, they are found in
industrial power drills, locomotives and cement
plants.
The principle is very simple. A variable speed drive
is basically an electric motor fitted with electronics to
vary the speed of its operation. As more pressure is
applied to the speed button of a power drill, for
example, an electronic controller alters the flow of
electric current through the drive. This in turn alters
the speed.
Variable speed drives are used in many devices
because they are both versatile and reliable. But, the
electronic module controlling the speed comes in
many shapes and sizes.
ABB realized the supply chain for these modules was
fragmented. Customers were having difficulty
swapping parts. So, the company set out to develop
new module technology that would allow a greater
degree of flexibility.
ABB developed the LoPak™ module, a smaller,
sleeker version of the controlling device inside
traditional industrial drives. The LoPak™ module
uses new semi-conductor technology that takes up
less space and cuts overall drive cost while
improving performance.
The semiconductors needed to run an electronic
controller like LoPak™ generate heat. In the past,
smaller modules had difficulty controlling heat levels.
In worst case scenarios, the heat damages or
destroys the device.
The new LoPak™ module features a transistor chip
called the IGBT, or integrated gate bipolar transistor.
This module is the basic part of LoPak™. It is smaller
and more efficient. More importantly, it reduces
height. The module offers more power for the cost
of the part. And, it addresses the heating problem by
running cooler.
Though unseen by users, LoPak™ will play a crucial
role in many of the machines that drive our
industries and economies.
ChangingtheVariablesNew drives for a new generation
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 43
Craftsmen working with metal have always needed
simple fan mechanisms to blow air for cooling.
Today, fans are present in a wide number of indus-
trial settings, ranging from furnaces to ventilation
systems and cooling mechanisms.
The basic requirement of a fan in these settings is
simple – blow a set volume of air with as little inter-
ruption and noise as possible. The fan must take up
as little space as possible to make room for other
important factory functions.
ABB has developed a fan that doubles efficiency,
drastically reduces noise and size, and cuts costs
through energy savings.
This tip driven integral fan (TDIF) changes a basic
principal of fan operation. It builds the motor into
the tip of the fan’s impeller, or rotating blade. The
electrical motor driving a fan usually sits in the
airflow or beside the fan. In the first design, air
pressure is lost. In the second, valuable factory
space is lost.
Conventional fans link the motor to the impeller
by belts and gears. This transfer of power requires
extra parts and often incurs mechanical break-
down. The TDIF cuts these losses by streamlining
fan design. Literally, two key parts – the rotor and
the impeller – become one.
The technology driving this achievement is unique.
Magnets are embedded in the end of the fan blade.
The outer ring of the fan has a magnet motor
design. This motor creates a magnetic field to start
the fan moving. So, the motor has been moved
from within the body of the axis. An intelligent
speed control and frequency controller are also built
into the fan housing.
The TDIF can achieve the same output as a radial
fan in half the space. This frees room for other
essential tasks. For example, this new fan can
be fitted in an equipment cabinet and leave more
space for the actual housing of equipment.
More, the design allows the user to operate at
different fan speeds. For example, the fan can run
at lower speeds during off-peak production times.
This delivers further energy savings to the user.
Much smaller impellers can now be used for
many high-pressure tasks. This flexibility allows a
manufacturer to adapt the fan to suit a wide range
of needs. ABB can also easily alter the design to
address a specific need in a customer’s factory.
Tipdriver Changing the principles of fan operation
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44 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Composite revolution
The aviation industry has long used composite
materials in the building and design of high-
performance aircraft.
ABB has found a way to bring these light and incred-
ibly strong materials to another growing market. In
1999, the company introduced the first generation of
high-pressure fans for use in the train industry.
The move away from using steel in radial fans brought
a number of compelling factors to light. A composite
radial fan can withstand substantially higher-pressure
ranges. This means the customer can expect far
greater performance. The materials also allow engin-
eers to radically change the basic design of the fan
itself. With these changes come remarkable price
declines, a big plus to operators everywhere.
To fully understand this design achievement, it’s
important to first understand the main job of a fan.
A fan creates gas movement with its rotating impeller.
For maximum performance, the fan needs to deliver
high impeller tip speeds. This may seem obvious,
but, the higher the speed, the greater the centrifugal
force exerted on the system.
Conventional fans for high-pressure tasks have to
be incredibly robust to withstand this inherent stress.
When made of steel, they become very heavy and
cumbersome. Customers had to rely on special,
heavy-duty radial compressor impellers for big jobs.
This meant further high costs for a series of
components – like shafts and bearings – to support
the heavy impellers.
The ABB composite impeller is made of a carbon
fiber matrix and an epoxy resin. The company
realized the excellent strength to weight ratios of
Stronger, lighter fans
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:02 Uhr Seite 44
ABB Group Technology Report 1999 45
composite materials and applied it to a new design.
The carbon fiber laminates give the impeller its
strength and the epoxy resins are the glue holding
the fibers in place.
The biggest breakthrough came with discovery that
composite materials can be designed and molded to
withstand loads from different directions. This at first
seems complicated. But, it is quite simple.
Metal materials, like steel, can only be designed
to withstand uniform levels of stress. For example,
loading on one side of a steel slab will exert the
same amount of stress as it would if it were loaded
on the other side. Composite materials can build
strength into different areas of the fan.
ABB took advantage of this unique benefit and
reduced the weight of the fan by 80 percent. The
fan can reach tip speeds that are 25 percent higher.
And, pressure can be increased by 50 percent without
needing bulkier and more costly bearings and shafts.
The composite fan itself can be thickened to operate
at pressure ranges common for compressors while
using low-cost impellers and bearings.
This new technology will not only replace conven-
tional fans, but will also allow building of composite
high-pressure fans to replace compressors.
The new fans reduce energy consumption by 27 percent,
noise by seven dB (A), weight by 27 percent and size by
20 percent. They are 20 times more resistant to fatigue.
As a result, they last longer and need less maintenance.
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46 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
The millennium bug posed a vast challenge to
businesses around the world. Both large and small
operations raced to achieve Y2k compliance as the
clock ticked down to January 1, 2000.
ABB’s installed base of 30,000 plants successfully
made the transition to the new year. The company’s
high-quality products and systems were a big part
of the success. More importantly, ABB worked with
customers for the better part of two years in advance
to remediate any potential problems.
ABB decided to offer customers an additional safety
net for the transition. Plant operators with concerns
or questions were connected with experts within 30
minutes. ABB did this by linking customers to more
than 280 call centers around the world. The service
was available for all products and systems, regardless
of when they were delivered.
This was done to ensure customer support during the
whole life cycle of our products.
The call centers allowed customers to access tailored
service in their own language. The main element of
the centers is a service called SolutionsBank. This
Internet-based database takes information for servic-
ing products and systems and stores it in simple,
searchable areas.
So, when a customer calls with a concern about a
specific product, a powerful search engine tracks it
down and provides a solution to the problem. More
serious problems were transferred to ABB engineers.
ABB developed another unique tool for processing
these situations. SupportLine, a Lotus Notes-based
system of eight databases, was created for easy
searches to access product and plant experts. All of
these situations were logged in SolutionsBank to
better assist future queries later in the rollover. More,
the database will be maintained on an ongoing basis
to answer simple questions or remedy seemingly
complex problems.
During the two-day Y2k transition, ABB received
283 customer calls. Most calls were for information.
About 10 percent of calls merited escalation to a
support center. And, all calls were directed to the
right expert within 30 minutes. None of the calls
posed a risk to customer processes.
Knowledge-based online support for customers will
continue to grow at ABB. The support service and
SolutionsBank are now a powerful tool to assist
customers in the future.
Y2k–Turning a problem into an innovative customer care program
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 47
The benefits of robotics in manufacturing are
spreading quickly and will soon be available to the
smallest companies.
ABB is launching a “little robot” to serve manufactur-
ers of small metal parts. The IRB 140 is a powerful,
low-cost arc-welding cell. This highly mobile machine
is no larger than a bed. It can be moved to perform
welding tasks wherever required on the shop floor.
And it provides an adaptable, ready-to-use, plug-and-
play solution for the automation needs of small
companies.
The big challenge entering this market was to design
a flexible robot that could deliver the cost and
quality benefits of a mass-produced solution.
Small companies are faced with many of the same
demands as large companies. They are constantly
searching for a better and more economical way to
deliver parts. At the same time, the parts need to
have excellent tolerances in modest quantities.
The IRB 140 has a front arm formed with a single
strut instead of the two-strut design common to large
robots. The two-strut design is reinforced to cope
with much higher mechanical forces. This cumbersome
design is what prevented smaller industries from
taking advantage of automation technology.
The “little robot” single strut design enjoys a much
larger degree of movement. The welding gun is
precise and fast. And, like bigger robots built by
ABB, the new system is easy to operate. It features
windows-style communications, with pull-down
menus, function keys and on-screen messaging.
More, the robot-welding cell has its own metal base
plate. No foundation is required in the factory. Its
bed size dimensions are 2.1 by 1.3 meters, so it can
fit into the smallest of shop floors.
In the past, small firms were forced to install a fixed
welding cell within the factory and adapt the
production line accordingly. Now, the “little robot”
can be moved by forklift truck to another location
and configured to do another, very different job.
The new robot can also be used for aluminum dye
spraying, injection molding and small parts assembly,
among other applications.
Variants of the system will be available to suit
different types of environments. For example, special
protection can be built into a model made for use in
a foundry. ABB expects the “little robot” to add more
than 10 percent to their share of this very important
market.
Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are
expected to develop their own equipment on the
foundation of ABB’s globally-acknowledged lead.
TheLittle Robotcomesto theSmallFirm
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48 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
n 1999, one of the largest companies of
Outokumpu, the Finnish metals group with
global sales of US$ 3 billion, agreed to a long-
term partnership that sees ABB managing its plant
maintenance operations.
The company, a metallurgical business focusing
on base metals production, stainless steel and copper
products, required a service provider with a strong
commitment to reducing maintenance costs and
improving production.
Jukka Järvinen, the company’s managing director,
said: “Our core competence is the art of producing
copper and nickel. Our expertise is the process of
metal production and we require 100 percent reliable,
high-performance equipment. We rely on our partner
to make sure that our machines and infrastructure
operate at peak efficiency at all times. We are
delighted that ABB, a world-class professional in
industrial service, is that partner.”
The deal is one example of ABB’s ability to provide
knowledge-based plant management expertise every-
where around the globe.
The ABB service offer revolves around the powerful
Computerized Maintenance Management System,
Maintech, and harnesses the company’s expertise
in knowledge management.
Computer-based tools are used to automatically
analyze the overall effectiveness of equipment in
a customer’s production plant. Data for this sophis-
ticated analysis is taken from the client’s existing
automation system or, if not available, from
individual machines.
Efficiency levels of a factory can be constantly
monitored on-site, or remotely, from an ABB expert’s
desk via the company’s online worldwide service
network. Either way, any reduction in efficiency is
immediately and automatically pinpointed, and
returned to full performance.
ABB’s knowledge of rotating machinery allows the
system to monitor performance of motors, generators,
gears and so on. Once alerted to any malfunction or
reduction in efficiency, the system automatically
IService Standards
ABB shows the way to best performance
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:02 Uhr Seite 48
registers a problem and, where possible, provides
data for preventive maintenance work. As a result,
the cost of maintenance is reduced significantly.
A major advantage to ABB’s customers is that
Maintech opens a window to a whole industry by
providing a permanent comparison of equipment
efficiency against ‘best-in-class’ performers. As well
as data from the customer’s plant itself, hundreds of
failure mode models are stored electronically in the
system, representing knowledge of the whole
industry relevant to the plant concerned.
There are features of the system that are unique
to the industrial service market. First, it is operated
by “maintenance methodology centers” located
around the globe. Experts in the different subsystems
of a production line collect the performance data
and put it, enriched with their own user-specific
knowledge, in the Maintech. This allows the
knowledge of the best specialists to be available
and globally-accessible at any point in time. More,
the system gets data from a number of plug-on
devices for monitoring individual machines at a
customer’s plant.
Best practices like these in professional plant main-
tenance are equally relevant to effectively manage
buildings and their infrastructures. Managing and
operating buildings is another ABB specialty because
the process shares a common technology platform
with the industrial plant maintenance service.
Service personnel for facilities are equipped with a
personal computer linked to the facility management
system. For example, the data for performance
and service requirements on a ventilation and climate
system are immediately available – a system tailor-
made for travelling servicemen.
This is a good example of why ABB is a global
leader in the installation of systems for buildings of
all sizes – ranging from private houses to extremely
large complexes such as shopping centers and airports.
ABB Group Technical Report 1999 49
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50 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Connected
The process of wiring large buildings for power is
complicated by the need for detailed electrical design
work and complex connections between the power
source and outputs within a power distribution
board.
Electrical installers have a wide range of choices
to deal with when they start their task. The wiring
and plugging in of many devices is both tedious and
time-consuming. Entire wall systems must be cobbled
together from an array of parts.
ABB has designed a system that packages all of these
parts together in one unit. The Connect System™
is a self-contained distribution board. It is basically a
flush-mounted wall box filled with solutions.
The system eliminates the need for complex connec-
tions between the power source and outputs within
the distribution board. Where an electrical installer
once had to choose parts and arrange them to feed
power from the outside, now the installer has all
parts and plugs in one place.
The speed of process this new system offers will
save time and bring greater value to the customer.
The all-in-one solution offers electrical installation
companies the chance to think in new ways about
how they power up their home and commercial
buildings alike. They will be able to rethink how to
plan, how to cut time and costs, and how to improve
safety and functionality on-site.
The Connect System™ comes in six basic units.
They cover a wide range of domestic electrical
installations and can be used in many commercial
settings. For example, they can be used in detached
houses, blocks of flats, apartments, office buildings,
shopping centers and laboratories.
The new plug-in Safe Connect System™ has under-
gone successful trials in a key European market.
The concept defines a new way of thinking about
traditional installation markets.
An all-in-one power installation for the home
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 51
After a century of sturdy service, the conventional
power transformer is facing a radical challenge.
ABB has developed a successor that is safer, more
efficient and friendlier to the environment. It
has been created in two forms: the Dryformer™,
for power transmission applications, and the
Boosterformer™, for electrical railway applications.
The revolutionary Dryformer™ is a high-voltage
trans-former that minimizes the risk of fires,
explosions and oil leaks because it does away with
conventional oil insulation. More, it is safe enough
to operate in or near dense urban areas to deliver
high-voltage power where it is needed most with
minimum energy loss.
The Dryformer™ builds on technology developed
last year for Powerformer™, ABB’s unique high-
voltage generator that returned to the optimal electric
field distribution of round conductors. Powerformer™
reduces the total cost of power generation over the
life cycle of a power plant by 30 percent. Before
Powerformer™, engineers refused to move away
from rectangular shapes in building key components.
To make a long story short, ABB uses cables instead
of rectangular copper bars. The cables have a cross-
linked polyethylene-insulating sheath coated with a
semi-conductive layer. This unique safety shield does
not affect the magnetic field, allowing Dryformer™
and Boosterformer™ more efficient power transfor-
mation without risk of sudden arcing and breakdown.
The concept for Dryformer™ is a blend of conven-
tional high-voltage cable technology and traditional
transformer technology going back 100 years. The
result promises a new generation of oil-free, air-
cooled, high-voltage devices, which will set industrial
and environmental standards for the new century.
The real breakthrough comes in the transformer
windings. Conventional construction uses paper-
insulated coils for the windings, which are immersed
in flammable oil. Dryformer™ uses air-cooled, dry
polymer-insulated cables, which, in the event of
internal arcing, minimize any risk of fire or explosion.
The system can also be coupled to underground
transmission cables – the common form of distribu-
tion in urban areas. This frees electricity distribution
from a dependence on overhead power lines.
Another type of transformer is mainly used in railway
applications to recuperate electrical energy from loco-
motives. It is called the Booster transformer. Here
ABB’s cable technology leads to very efficient, compact
and reliable transformer types, called Boosterformer™.
These unique power transformers apply ABB know-
ledge to the ever-changing demands of growing
markets.
Nature’s way The transformer transformed
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:03 Uhr Seite 51
52 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
ABB’s move to a technology-based company has
put software at the core of many traditional business
practices.
The company’s engineers are making it a priority
to capture digitally all the Group’s knowledge and
expertise. As a result, Internet technologies and
eCommerce has grown tremendously. Applying
the business tools is both challenging and exciting.
The automation business, for example, is undergoing
a major transformation. ABB’s growing use of
software and combined software/hardware systems
reflects that change.
Software plays a key role in all ABB operations –
from applications that boost the quality of in-house
product designs and get them to market faster, to
embedded software for production of smart
products. Pure software applications are now tailored
to customer needs.
Investment in what ABB terms a ‘virtual product design
laboratory’ is a good example of software in engi-
neering design. For example, ABB has re-engineered
the design process and established integrated soft-
ware tools in areas such as rotating machines and
electrical switchgear. As a result, the design cycle of
complex machinery was accelerated by a factor of
four. The open framework of such tools permits
them to be used in a range of design applications.
The marine oil and gas market increasingly uses
floating concepts for deep sea drilling and shuttle
tankers. Due to ABB’s unique position as a supplier
of advanced software solutions and electrical power
equipment, a new real-time simulator for power and
TheSmartHeartSoftware drives ABB’s business
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:03 Uhr Seite 52
ABB Group Technology Report 1999 53
automation systems was established. This so-called
Integrated Vessel Simulator enables fast, in-house
verification of new concepts and control strategies
without expensive full-scale trials.
Embedded software adds functionality and flexibility
to many ABB products, reducing the need for hard-
ware development and significantly lowering costs.
Software now provides customers with convenient
24-hour access to ABB products. If you need a low-
power electrical drive, visit the company’s specialist
AC site (www.comp-ac.com). The drive will be
delivered within hours.
Even when a product has been commissioned and
delivered, software solutions and Internet technolo-
gies enable ABB engineers to provide cost-effective
online support. For example, after modifying an
automated pulp and paper plant, ABB engineers can
remotely monitor performance and adapt controller
tuning to optimize productivity.
ss
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54 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Furthermore, outage restoration crews with service
work (e.g. meter connect and disconnect, emergency
calls, gas, and water) are interconnected and brought
together with the new ABB Mobile Crew Management
System. The combination of various communication
media (voice, data and positioning) enables real-time
two-way transmission of service calls, equipment and
customer data; event-based audio and visual alerts
and confirmations; dynamic map generation and
delivery to crews over wireless networks; as well as
crew vehicle tracking by GPS support.
Some areas of ABB are software-only operations for
which external software license sales and mainten-
ance agreements are the main revenue source. For
example, when the California electricity market was
liberalized in 1998, ABB and two partner companies
were able to provide an Internet-based energy
trading floor which became the heart of the market.
Similarly, the ABB software product GimsPlus™, is an
enterprise asset management system designed to
enable a Generation Company to operate effectively
in a competitive wholesale energy market. Another
example is the ABB software product MerchantPlus™,
which enables an Energy Service Provider to trade
in the competitive market for retail electricity and
facilitates management of the risks of the retail
trading operation.
This year ABB set up a company-wide initiative to
encourage innovation, speed-to-market and high
quality standards in recognition of the vital nature of
software development. The resulting ABB Software
Process Initiative (ASPI) aims to capture best
practices in software development by creating formal
channels of communication between the group’s
managerial, engineering and support areas, and the
shop floors of individual ABB software-focused
companies.
ABB’s automation business benefits from a common
process model for software research and
development projects. Internally this is dubbed Total
Optimization of Processes (TOPs). The aim is to
make software projects easier to plan and track, to
increase productivity, and to radically reduce
postrelease errors.
In parallel ABB uses ‘experience factories’ to boost
software development practices throughout its
companies. These are groups of software engineers
who work separately from product development.
Their role is to regularly study software development
projects, package experience to good practices and
manage the exchange of software engineering
knowledge. Evaluations are based on the Capability
Maturity Model (CMM) for software development
established by Carnegie Mellon University.
Through CMM, groups can identify ways of
improving software development processes and
enhance software quality.
In addition to Carnegie Mellon University, the
University of Maryland, Stanford University and
RWTH Aachen provide software process knowledge
and training for ABB engineers. External consultants
provide advice to reduce business risk in software
product development.
ABB is also a member of a software engineering
center consortium, in conjunction with the
Fraunhofer Institute, Motorola and Daimler-Chrysler.
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:03 Uhr Seite 54
ABB Group Technology Report 1999 55
Standard circuit breakers are very reliable for
opening and closing a switch on a power grid.
Unfortunately, this process creates overvoltage and
high current transients in the system. In simple terms,
these peaks, often termed “electric noise” in a power
grid, lower system efficiency. It is a problem we have
lived with for many years. The peaks cause undue
wear and tear and stresses the overall system,
increasing costs and safety concerns for operators
and the public.
ABB has solved the problem caused by randomly
distributed switching moments by creating a
synchronous circuit breaker (SCB). Based on earlier
magnetic actuator technology, it is an intelligent
breaker providing operators the unique feature
of being able to control the point in time a switch
makes or breaks the current. This all sounds very
complicated. But, switching moments are already
controlled to the microsecond in very special cases.
It has until this point been too expensive to
duplicate for more general use.
By controlling the switching moment,
transients and contact wear are reduced.
Also, operating and maintenance costs are
decreased as the system is simplified,
helping to reduce overall power system
costs.
The SCB is a plug-in, multi-purpose
device designed to work within all
medium-voltage switchgear.
A controller permanently computes the
optimal tripping instant for the SCB by
analyzing preset network characteristics
and the components to be switched.
The speed of the electric contact is then
adapted to suit this specific switching operation.
Currently, if the switching takes place at the wrong
time, the system becomes infected. In turn, power
supply is poor and the system is prone to surges
and damaging restrikes. Equipment needs frequent
maintenance and monitoring. The SCB ensures the
right conditions prevail to deliver “clean electricity”
in the most efficient and least costly fashion.
The SCB is also simple to use. The operator selects
the type of switched load and the optimal switching
sequence is automatically selected. Synchronized
switching means the disturbing peaks and troughs,
so-called “electric noise,” are removed.
Tests reveal that the SCB reduces current interference
by a factor of 10 and switching ambients to negligible
levels.
Synchronize yourswitchesMaking intelligent breakers
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56 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Environmental performance is a key consideration
when developing new technologies at ABB.
Last year, President and CEO Göran Lindahl
introduced the idea of developing Environmental
Declarations – clear quantified environmental goals
and programs for core products and strategies.
This year, the idea has come to fruition. In line with
ABB’s global ISO standards, the company has based
all technology developments on Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) studies. The studies carefully
measure the environmental impact of ABB products,
from design and manufacturing to operation,
eventual disposal and recycling.
For example, in China, ABB has set up an alliance
with several universities and institutions to study
ways of reducing the environmental impact of energy
systems in Shandong province. This area remains
heavily-dependent on fossil fuels for expanding its
energy needs.
ABB is taking the declarations principle to all areas
of business, including:
Automation – increasing the efficiency of diverse
industrial processes; cutting raw materials, energy
consumption, emissions and waste from the
production of food, pulp and paper, chemicals,
cement and power, among other things.
ABB’s control systems have an impact on economics
and, in turn, environmental performance. For
example, new systems for paper machines allow
settings to be changed faster. A 70 percent time
reduction eliminates a great deal of wasted paper.
The world’s first sensor for online measuring of
carbon content in fly ash reduces power station
emissions. And, new soft switching technology
reduces power losses in converters by 50 percent.
Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals – reducing the impact
of offshore oil and gas production. ABB is
developing systems to extract from subsea reserves
without disturbing the environment.
For example, SUBSIS equipment separates water
from hydrocarbons at the seabed and reinjects
separated water at the well. Efficient processes like
GreenDrive
Environmental performance is a key business goal
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:03 Uhr Seite 56
ABB Group Technology Report 1999 57
this, alongside later natural gas treatments, bring
resources to the consumer with less environmental
impact.
Petrochemicals need just the right catalyst for
improved conversion. ABB is developing new
catalysis procedures aimed at reducing the amount of
waste produced.
Transmission and Distribution – developing new
technologies to make DC transmission more efficient.
ABB is driving down basic transmission costs to
make alternative and renewable sources of energy
more plausible. At this point, these alternatives are
more expensive than conventional power generation
systems.
Two key examples of technology leaps in this area
are: ABB is working with new materials like silicon
carbide to reduce energy losses in transmission
networks; and ABB is eliminating the need for
overhead power lines by moving them underground.
More, the power lines needed for overhead
productions have been reduced in size to lessen
environmental impact.
Several new transformer types have been developed
this year. The Dryformer™ builds on last year’s
Powerformer™ technology to produce high-voltage
power without using flammable insulating fluids.
In more conventional transformers, ABB developed a
new biodegradable insulating fluid called BIOTEMP®.
The fluid also has safety and thermal properties far
superior to traditional mineral oils.
Noise control is an important area for ABB.
Innovative new fan and motor designs are drastically
reducing noise levels in factories and workspaces
around the world.
Traditional systems are being redesigned with
superior sound buffers. Air-friendly buffers are
replacing mineral-wool sound insulators – long the
bane of the industry because of particle build-up
inside the system.
These technological leaps will shape energy
production for years to come. To learn more about
ABB and the environment, refer to the Environ-
mental Management Report.
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58 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Technologies in ABB Automation
Lars Krantz
“We have the broadest range of automation
equipment and technical solutions of any company
in the world,” reflects Lars Krantz, ABB’s Senior
Vice President for Automation Segment Technology.
“What we’re seeing increasingly is the client’s need
to optimize every asset in the plant over the whole
life cycle, from design to operation, servicing, up-
grading, optimization and continuous improvements.
That means a lot of advanced control, simulation
and services opportunities.”
ABB Automation is the biggest of the company’s six
business segments, accounting for about 33 percent
of ABB’s revenues last year. It has evolved from
ABB’s pioneering developments in control and
robotics in the 1970s. Today it is a US$ 8.3 billion
business that spans a broad spectrum of industries.
“We see it as the sector with the greatest potential
for growth,” said Lars, a Swedish engineer of 48 who
brings to the technology long experience of ABB
business management in automation.
ABB has a large international portfolio of technology
developed in the last two decades to meet many
automation needs. It serves industries as disparate as
electricity generation and distribution, sub-sea oil and
gas recovery, refining, chemical and pharmaceutical
processes, consumer goods, metals, pulp and
papermaking, marine propulsion, robotics and manu-
facturing technology. “Our aim is to try to repackage
the best into reusable solutions for the industries we
serve,” Lars said.
It’s an ambitious challenge, demanding extensive
innovation in both electro-technology and software
engineering. The goal is to achieve the flexibility
and versatility required to design generic products
and systems, while continuing to add solutions and
services on top. For example, new technical oppor-
tunities are showing up in model-based control,
microminiaturization and nanotechnology.
In addition, the wider use of Commercially Off The
Shelf (COTS) products like PC’s, related software and
Internet technologies in automation is changing the
delivery of many products and systems.
The Automation segment has a vision of what it
calls “Industrial IT,” or enterprise automation, where
products are integrated into advanced systems using
these new information technologies. “Industrial IT”
runs right through all processes – from automation
to production management and everyday business
systems. The future of the segment will see the
boundaries of each process disappear, blending
together in one seamless operation.
“We’re changing the rules of the game,” are words
often spoken in ABB. Take the “Factory of the
Future” (see also page 14), a highly-automated,
Internet-based system for processing orders for
distribution transformers.
The factory was designed and assembled as a full-
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 59
scale demonstration of just how versatile the latest
ABB automation technology can be in terms of coping
with many different product specifications. It is one
of the High-Impact, High-Risk (HIPS) projects ABB
runs to boost innovation. “It’s a good example of the
capability of ABB in designing and delivering an
automation solution,” Lars said.
The pulp and paper industry is another good example
of ABB’s supplier reputation. “We have a fantastic
combination of automation facilities working in
China this year,” Lars said. At Dagang near Shanghai,
ABB Automation has completed what he believes
is the world’s biggest composite contract for a pulp
and paper mill for Asia Pulp & Paper.
Another burgeoning area of automation for ABB
is marine propulsion, where Lars believes new
concepts for energy optimization on ships can yield
dramatic savings. Automating the propulsion of
cruise vessels, says Lars, is one of ABB’s fastest-
growing activities. “It’s a good example of how we
see ABB Automation growing.”
The Automation segment’s vision of “Industrial IT”
for enterprise automation requires a major manage-
ment effort. The transformation to a knowledge and
software-based company requires a global initiative
to protect intellectual property and integrate R&D
into software engineering.
The Elsag Bailey acquisition strengthened ABB’s
software capabilities considerably. In addition,
the Automation segment has three major centers
of software development: in Sweden, Germany and
the U.S. and several other smaller centers. “We are
making this activity truly global and transparent –
global R&D, global products, global sourcing. It’s not
easy to run because of inherent differences between
countries and cultures, but it gives us an unmatched
opportunity of experience, skills and customer
relations,” said Lars.
“Our job,” Lars said, “is to take our technology and
harden it to run round-the-clock, 365 days a year, in
an industrial environment, with maximum payback
for the customer.”
Examples of major product launches 1999
■ Oil Production Management SW Suite
■ C-MAC Terminal Management SW
■ Global Function Packages for Flexible Manufacturing, Flex Arc, FlexBender, FlexPalletizer®, RoboDeflusher
■ High Duty Petrochemical Control Valves (AB2000)
■ Pulverized fuel meter for utility applications
■ New generation of Medium Size Induction Furnaces based upon ACS600
■ Automatic off line Rolling Mill Drive tuner
■ Turbochargers with variable turbine geometry
■ Dynamic Pulp & Paper Process Simulator
■ ULMA Nti, Gray scale imaging
■ Integrated Air Control for Paper Machines
■ Synchronous motor drive with IGCT and DTC for Metals and Mining applications
■ New DC motors in the range 30–600 kW
■ Unitrol 5000® – new static excitation system
■ RADAR – System for remote diagnosis of Power plants
■ S.P.I.D.E.R. Emergency Control Center
■ RANGER Neural Network Load Forecast
■ Mobile Crew Management System (MCMS)
The interviews in this section were conducted by David
Fishlock, who writes and publishes R&D Efficiency, an
executive letter for research managers. He was science
editor of the Financial Times from 1967 to 1991.
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60 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Rune Strömquist
“The winning move of the future is to get paid by
the value we add to the client and not by the hour,”
says Rune Strömquist, Senior Vice President
Technology, for the Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals
Segment. “The future of ABB is as a solution
provider. It’s our ability to provide a total solution
that we want to sell.”
Rune, 45, is a naval architect who has spent his
career in the oil and gas industry since qualifying at
the Norwegian Institute of Technology, Trondheim,
with an MSc in 1979. In 1994, he joined ABB and
began work with Markus Bayegan, then director of
the corporate R&D center at Billingstad, Norway.
Rune’s role was to advise on how to bring R&D to
bear on some of the big commercial challenges
confronting the oil and gas industry.
“My background in R&D is from the business end.
I’ve done a lot of development and innovation as an
engineer, much more than basic research.”
As with other ABB segments, the new strategy of the
Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals (OGP) segment is to see
future opportunities less in terms of discrete products
or specific services, and much more in terms of sys-
tems and solutions. In this case, OGP is focusing on
integrated systems for customers like oil companies
and governments.
The OGP segment, created in 1998, had revenues in
1999 of around US$ 3.1 billion, about 12 percent of
the Group total.
Rune is the segment’s first technology director. He
has seen an incredible rate of technology change in
OGP because of low and unstable oil prices and
exploration at increasing sea depths. Oilfields are
increasingly complex and demand ever-higher levels
of reliability. To be profitable, new fields must
extract oil for US$ 8–10 a barrel. “In the prevailing
business climate operators are eager to test new
ideas – it’s simply a matter of survival,” he said.
OGP has identified three strategic goals, which are
heavily dependent on cutting-edge technology
development:
■ To be best in providing subsea systems, including
intelligent wells
■ To be best in providing pressure containment
equipment for subsea wells
■ To be best in providing deep-water fully
integrated production systems, including
miniaturized down-hole processing and floating
production systems.
Rune encapsulates these three goals in three
“visions”, each based on integrating ABB products,
processes and technology in novel ways to create
highly innovative systems.
For example, Rune has a vision for subsea tieback –
controlling the subsea installation from a distant
Technologies in ABB Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 61
platform or the shore, perhaps 200 kilometers away.
Subsea oil and gas processing will create new
challenges in the industry, and ABB is well positioned
to address these challenges.
The company has all the core competencies in-house,
such as subsea production systems, process and flow
assurance, power distribution, instrumentation and
control.
OGP well technology includes the next generation of
“Xmas trees” – the specialized valves that control the
flow from the wells.
Rune’s vision of deepwater production includes
automation of the production control to get more
from a given reservoir. He said, “It will really be a
commercial hit if we can combine our technologies
successfully.”
Some of these technological targets are already
supported by the Group’s High Impact Projects,
including ADMARC (ADvanced Monitoring And
Reservoir Control), and FPS 2000 (Floating
Production System).
“We’re putting a lot of emphasis on creating new
business out of our R&D effort,” Rune said. “Time to
market is really important in creating a competitive
position.” He tries to get fast market feedback to
researchers by bringing them into the early discus-
sions of a client’s needs.
Rune also firmly believes in the importance of
persuading a “client champion” to take a long term
view of the way technology is evolving, in
partnership with ABB.
Early in 1999, the Norwegian Government decided to
support an industry initiative to use new technology
to enhance the profitability of Norway’s oilfields. The
Department of Energy put up NKr 200 million (about
US$ 25 million) for DEMO 2000, and appointed Rune
chairman of its board of management.
“For ABB, the key message is that if we keep up on
R&D, we have the potential to be earning more than
a billion U.S. dollars from new products in this sector
by the year 2002,” Rune said.
ABB is also leading the way in oil and gas
conversion technology with petroleum refining and
petrochemicals. In refineries, for instance, cost-
effective upgrading of diesel fuel can now be
achieved by applying SynShift/SynSat™ technology.
With this innovative technology, high quality diesel
can be manufactured to stringent environmental
specifications. ABB also provides technology
solutions for bottoms upgrading, reformulated fuels
and high octane blending components.
“From oil discovery to chemicals manufacturing,
ABB is leading the way toward a future with better
technology.”
Examples of major product launches 1999
■ Unique single-stage vacuum deaerator on the VARG FPSO
■ Waste Gas Disposal System on Asgard B platform
■ New integrated Catofin production process
■ Combined hydrogenation and distillation system for ethylene plants
■ Binary refrigeration system for ethylene plants
■ Very high-capacity deepwater wellhead system
■ High-pressure, high-temperature horizontal Xmas tree
■ Downhole Optical Gauge
■ Single Column Deepwater Floater
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62 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Technologies in ABB Transmission and ABB Distribution
Georg Schett
“We want electricity to be the best and most efficient
way to transmit and distribute energy,” says Georg
Schett. “And to make electricity distribution invisible
and environmentally friendly.” Georg is Senior Vice
President Technology in the segments Power
Transmission and Power Distribution, which had
revenues of around US$ 3.7 billion and US$ 2.9
billion respectively in 1999, 15 percent and 12 percent
respectively of total ABB sales.
Swiss-born Georg, 40, has spent his career in electro-
technology since graduating from the technical
University of Zurich (ETH) with an MSc in electrical
engineering in 1982. He believes the electricity
supply business is poised for even faster and more
dramatic change globally in the next few years,
catalyzed by deregulation and privatization of what,
for a century, has been run mostly as public mono-
polies throughout the world. ABB, Georg says, has
a rich inventory of solutions, inventions and ideas
for the changing utility business environment.
“Previously utility management had very clear
ideas and rules on how to build and operate their
electricity grids, and tight specifications for their
suppliers,” Georg said. Most were reluctant to accept
alternative solutions from suppliers. Today, utlity
managers see their responsibilities quite differently,
with much greater emphasis on what can be done
rather than how it is done.
Nowadays, being able to do things differently is
more and more a key competitive advantage. Take
the cable transformer, or Dryformer™, an ABB
invention based on advances in cable technology.
Georg is convinced it will help revolutionize thinking
about public safety of electricity supply. The
traditional oil-filled power transformer that reduces
the high voltage of electricity from the long-distance
power transmission line to the lower distribution
voltages needed by end users has to be very
carefully designed to cope with all the safety and
environmental requirements.
From ABB’s Powerformer™ family of novel technology
using round-section copper cable comes a transformer
whose windings are already fully insulated and
need no oil – no containment at all. The prototype
Dryformer™ was first demonstrated at the corporate
R&D center in Sweden early in 1999 (see also page
51). The first Dryformer™ has been put into service.
“With this invention the utility can put the transformer
wherever it wishes to – even in the basement of a
building in the heart of a city,” Georg said.
This and many other inventions lie at the core of an
ABB quest to make transmission and distribution
infrastructure less and less intrusive; the sprawling
forest of electrical paraphernalia from which towns
and factories draw their electricity. And the inven-
tions will also simplify production processes and
shrink factories.
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 63
Today, Georg agrees, substations are widely regarded
as unsightly. For more than a decade ABB R&D has
been engaged in shrinking their size – by eliminating
the thousands of electro-mechanical relays once
needed, for instance, by integrating functions into
one single device and by miniaturizing equipment.
Georg points out the special importance of high-
power semiconductors, which, by shrinking the size
of all kinds of high-power electrical equipment, will
impact transmission and distribution more than we
can imagine today.
The quantum leap ABB achieved with the compact
and affordable HVDC Light™ is only the beginning
of a fundamental change. We will see much more
direct current transmission and distribution, and
perfect control of the grid, with low losses and very
high quality of supply.
Another important advance in power electronics is a
system under development that cleans up the power.
Power quality is becoming increasingly important to
industry as its reliance on power-sensitive automation,
control and monitoring systems grows. Aberrations in
power quality – fluctuations in voltage and frequency
– can be introduced at source, by nature (lightning
strikes), or by industrial operations such as welding
or simply when an old device in the grid fails.
Miniaturized power electronics will eliminate the
damaging voltage spikes or short interruptions and
deliver guaranteed quality, Georg says.
Historically, distribution has been the less favored
area of public power supply, deprived of both tech-
nical and financial resources. Large parts of many
public networks, even in the richer economies, remain
poorly monitored. That means it can take hours –
even days – to locate and rectify flashovers or short
circuits. ABB is developing ways to automate this
process so that operators can instantly pinpoint faults
in distribution.
Once the physical requirements are fulfilled, full
control of the distribution system is a question of an
integrated software solution. Equipped with the right
meter, electricity customers can better monitor their
consumption and in a liberalized market even
choose the most appropriate supplier.
The demand for modernizing distribution systems is
huge. ABB is well positioned with its technology to
meet it.
Examples of major product launches 1999
■ Mach I I, world’s fastest control and protection system for HVDC Light™ and SVC Light™
■ HEC 7/8: Generator circuit breaker for 36 kV / 24 kA / 160 kA
■ eCommerce Palm Top software for condition assessment of substations
■ 150 kV HVDC Light™ system
■ 500 kV XLPE cable
■ Plug arresters for GIS and metal-clad switchgear (to 36 kV)
■ Monitoring system for surge arresters
■ New transformer generation: Dryformer™, Boosterformer™
■ Modules with Integrated Power Quality for Distribution Systems
■ Intelligent Ring Main Unit for Automated Distribution Cable Rings
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64 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
ABB Building Technologies
Jürgen H.Fuchs
When you enter a modern building – an office
building for example – you rarely recognize that a
sophisticated infrastructure is installed inside the
walls, in the floor or the ceilings. The lighting
system, the heating, climate and ventilation system,
the electrical supply in each room, the data
communication backbone, without them a modern
building would not work.
“We have built up a tremendous knowledge on
how to use buildings”, says Jürgen Fuchs, 46, Senior
Vice President Building Technologies Segment.
With this knowledge ABB is one of the few
companies that can offer the complete spectrum of
technical solutions: electrical installations, ventilation,
communication networks, security system, up to full
facility management service.
Efficient knowledge management has become a
key competitive edge. The Internet is used, for
example, to monitor several large buildings in a wide
area and alert local service personnel only in case
of need. This means high quality and low cost
service for the owners and operators of the
buildings, says Jürgen.
With the right control system in a building significant
energy cost savings can be achieved, by controlling
the climate system, the blinds at the windows and
the lighting of the rooms. “Buildings have become
intelligent,” Jürgen said.
Jürgen compares the full service concept in industry
to traditional Chinese notions on medical advice,
when people paid their doctors to keep them well.
“In the past ABB has been paid when a motor broke
down and got repaired. Now we’re inviting our
customers to pay us to keep their whole production
running efficiently.”
Full Service is a good example, Jürgen says, of
the “tremendous change” in ABB’s Building
Technologies Segment. “It’s a change that needs
knowledgeable people and the right technology
and methods – and we’ve got to understand
our customers’ processes.
“The basis for our Full Service offer is a long-term
partnership agreement which enables us to design,
execute and manage the entire asset base including
plant equipment, related personnel and maintenance
activities.
“With our long tradition in designing and producing
electrical equipment, we are able to provide excellent
products for electrical installations and controls,”
Jürgen said. “The INSUM system for example, an
intelligent motor protection, monitoring and
communication system, controls low-voltage power
distribution to a large number of motors. INSUM was
one of the first systems on the market and has been
developed to the state-of-the-art of today.”
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 65
Jürgen is an electrical engineer who specialized
in automation. He has spent his career with the
company since 1977 except for a brief period in
the U.S. German-born, he is based in Heidelberg,
Germany, where he was managing director of
an ABB company making low-voltage electrical
equipment until his appointment to head the
segment’s technology development.
Jürgen estimates the intellectual capital in ABB’s
breaker factory in Heidelberg – one of the best in the
world – is much higher than the value of the fixed
assets.
“It is the wide range of technologies in our Segment
– from high volume production of breakers to Full
Service capabilities – that make my job so interesting
and challenging today,” Jürgen said.
“Air handling is one of those technologies influenc-
ing the overall performance of a building or
process,” he added. Large or small, ventilation
equipment is invariably associated with noise,
much of it from the fan moving the air, balancing
dampers and high velocities in the ducts across
the ventilation system.
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), the computer
modeling of the complex behavior of air flowing at
high speed, has begun to pinpoint the sources of
noise. A new science of active noise control together
with new designs, has started to dramatically reduce
noise and dampen what noise remains. The
whispering fan and the silent ventilation system may
be within reach.
New materials for fans like lightweight polymers
reinforced by carbon fibers (see also page 44) and
new design of integrated motors in the fan impellers
(see also page 43) are good examples of segment-
driven research. Manufacturing all those components
to order, some of them with more than a million
pieces per year, is another challenge.
And here again, in the tiny components, without
which nothing would work, we see the next
technical revolution taking place. Micromechanical
systems integrated with electronics on one chip will
gradually replace present technology.
The Segment, which generates around 26 percent
of ABB’s revenues in 1999, is not only well prepared
for all those changes. Jürgen said: “We are as a
technology leader among the active drivers for this
technical revolution.”
Examples of major product launches 1999
■ Scoope: on-line measurement of Overall Equipment Effectiveness
■ Dirivent 2000: Optimized ventilation system
■ EC Mini Air Handling Unit
■ Plug-in-fan for air handling units
■ Light low-voltage switchgear system “MNS Sprint”
■ SafeLine OTP: safety switches in plastic enclosures
■ Molded case circuit breaker S2X 80 with built-in motor protection
■ Electronic relays and digital measurement instruments for DIN-rail mounting
■ “clino opt 99” a Hospital indicator lamp system
■ Infrared movement detector “Busch watchdog”
■ Power line communication unit with 60 percent less power consumption
■ “ARCO Electronica” IR System for remote control of lighting
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66 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Aluminum dye spraying: A process to build structures from
aluminum by spraying the material into forms
Arced reflection: The pattern of reflected light in the form of
an arc
Arc-welding cell: An area of a factory set up to weld metal
parts using electric arcs
Bandwidth: A parameter of a communication system
describing the amount of information per second that can be
transmitted
Boiler: A hollow body with a combustion process in its
center to heat a steam flow generated in its walls
Capability Maturity Model (CMM): A measuring tool used
to describe the performance of a software production
process
CIA: Abbreviation for Carbon In Ash, describing the amount
of unburned coal in a combustion process
Current: The flow of electric charges in an electric circuit
Deregulated electricity markets: Markets in which the
provision and trading of electrical power is regulated by the
market forces, rather than state legislation
Dielectric fluid: A fluid with electric properties
Dry polymer: Polymers that can be processed without using
liquid components
Electric field: A property of space caused by electric
charges. The electric field is the reason for forces between
the charge
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): The exchange of data
between companies using electronic channels
Fiber orientation: The three dimensional direction of thin
fibers in paper
Fly ash: The residue of a combustion process
Generator: A rotating machine that produces electrical power
Hard automation: A process that requires great strength
and precision, but is limited in flexibility because the systems
are often heavy and fixed
High current transients: Short peaks of high electrical
current in a grid
Impeller: The part in the a fan, often called a blade, that
generates the air flow
Injection moulding: A process to produce parts by
spraying materials into forms
Insulator: A material that cannot conduct electric currents
Lights-out factory: An automated factory that, because no
people work in it, requires no light
Microwave diagnostic system: A system using the
interaction of microwaves with dielectric material to measure
the material’s concentration
Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs):
A manufacturer whose products are used as components in
larger systems
Overload: A load (for example, an electric power) too high to
be managed by a system
Pad-mounted: Systems mounted on a pad like transformers
in rural areas
Polyethylene: Material with excellent properties for electrical
insulation
Product configurator: A software system to set up and
combine all components needed to design a product
Radio wave control: A communication between systems
that uses radio waves
Restrike: An electrical discharge between metallic parts in a
grid
SCADA system: A system to control equipment that is
physically-distributed: Supervisory Control And Data
Acquisition
Short circuit: an unforeseen electric contact between parts
in a grid, which causes a very high current
Glossary
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ABB Group Technology Report 1999 67
Transformer: A device that uses magnetic fields to change
the voltage and current levels of electric power
Transformer windings: Turns of electrical wires to generate
a magnetic field in a transformer
Turnkey: A way of delivering products and systems to
customers that are ready to use by “turning the key”
Voltage: The driving force in an electric circuit to make
electrical charges move
XLPE: A special form of polyethylene, in which the
molecules are closely linked together: cross linked
polyethylene
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68 ABB Group Technology Report 1999
Group Management
Group R&D and Technology Markus Bayegan
Technology Planning Friedrich Pinnekamp
Corporate Programs Gernot Gessinger
Technology Evaluation Klaus Ragaller
Intellectual Properties Katarina Lundblad Vannesjö
High Impact Projects Even Bakke
Controlling Håkan Åström
Segment Technology
Automation Lars Krantz
Oil, Gas and Petrochemicals Rune Stroemquist
Power Distribution Georg Schett
Power Transmission Georg Schett
Building Technologies Jürgen Fuchs
Corporate Programs
Automation Technologies Peter Terwiesch
Electronics, Sensors, Dagfin BrodtkorbCommunication and Instrumentation
Electric Power Technologies Arne Hjortsberg
Power Electronics Christer Ovren
Oil and Gas Upstream Hugh Clayton
Catalysis and Chemical Frits Dautzenberg
Processing Charlotte Brogren
Engineering Systems Harsh Karandikar
Mechanics Chun-Yuan Gu
Manufacturing Technologies Mika Kuhmonen
Software Engineering Peter Kolb
High-Voltage Electromagnetic Mats LeijonSystems
Energy and Global Change Baldur Eliasson
Corporate Research Centers
Finland Juhani Pylkkänen
ABB Corporate Research Oy Tel +358 10 224 2304
Virtavilva 9E / P.O. Box 608 Fax +358 10 224 1045
FIN-65101 Vaasa
Germany Kurt-Volker Boos
ABB Corporate Research Tel +49 6221 59 6100
Speyer Strasse 4 Fax +49 6221 59 6103
P.O. Box 101332
D-69003 Heidelberg
Italy Giandomenico Testi
ABB Ricerca S.r.I. Tel +39 02 262 32159
Viale Edison, 50 Fax +39 02 262 32160
I-20099 Sesto San Giovanni (Milan)
Norway Jan Bugge
ABB Corporate Research Tel +47 66 84 3349
Bergerveien 12 Fax +47 66 84 3540
P.O. Box 90 N-1361 Billingstad
Poland Marek Florkowski
ABB Corporate Research Tel +48 12 429 5027
13 A Starowislna Street Fax +48 12 422 4906
PL-31-038 Krakow
Sweden Harry Frank
ABB Corporate Research Tel +46 21 32 3001
Gideonsbergsgatan 2 Fax +46 21 32 31 57
S-72178 Västerås
Switzerland Peter Terwiesch
ABB Corporate Research Tel +41 56 486 8211
Segelhof Fax +41 56 593 5401
CH-5405 Baden-Dättwil
United States Jaime Trevino
Electric Systems Technology Tel +1 919 856 3853
1021 Main Campus Drive Fax +1 919 856 2458
Raleigh, North Carolina 27606
Associated Laboratories
ABB Vetco Gray Ian Calder
12221 North Houston Rosslyn Tel. +1 281 847 4627
Houston, Texas
ABB Lummus Global Frits Dautzenberg
Technology Development Center Tel. +1 973 893 3319
1515 Broad Street Fax +1 973 893 2745
Bloomfield, NJ 07003
Technology Management
en_TechReport 17.02.2000 8:03 Uhr Seite 68
ABB LtdCorporate R&D and TechnologyP.O. Box 8131 CH-8050 Zurich Switzerland Phone +41 (0)1 317 7111Telefax +41 (0)1 317 7991
ABB LtdCorporate CommunicationsP.O. Box 8131 CH- 8050 ZurichSwitzerland Phone +41 (0)1 317 7111Telefax +41 (0)1 317 7958
Internet addresswww.abb.com
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