Therness ForgeSense — A PWHT Temperature Record for Every Piping Joint
Therness ForgeSense records the joint temperature through post-weld heat treatment (PWHT). It is built first for electrical-resistance PWHT on refinery piping; furnace heat treatment and induction heating come next. It logs the whole cycle — heating, soak and cooling — with a Type-K thermocouple on the joint and a compact edge unit nearby. Every sample is timestamped, chained and signed, so the cycle each joint actually went through can be read back, checked against your procedure and added to the quality file.
Therness monitors every weld; ForgeSense carries that record past the weld itself. The product is in its pilot phase: every specification on this page carries its status — verified, in test or to be completed — and only verified figures are quoted as product data.
Every weld, right through heat treatment
A PWHT cycle that is only shown on a controller display is gone once the joint cools down. ForgeSense keeps it: a timestamped record of the cycle for each monitored joint, with the CSV of every sample, ready to be read back, explained and filed.
1. Resistance PWHT on refinery piping
The main application. The thermocouple sits on the pipe joint under the heating pads; the edge unit stays nearby, outside the hot zone. Each monitored joint gets its own cycle record.
2. Furnace PWHT
Next: the thermocouple on the part inside the furnace, the edge unit outside it. The same heating, soak and cooling record per monitored joint.
3. Induction heating
Then induction: the edge unit is not galvanically isolated, so it stays outside the coil field while the thermocouple reads the joint.
The three phases of the cycle, checked against your procedure
You enter the procedure parameters from your WPS; ForgeSense does not choose them. Each phase is computed from the timestamped samples and checked against those limits.
Heating
- Heating rate in °C/h, from a moving-window fit on the samples
- Alarm when the rate exceeds your limit
- Status: in test on a real cycle
Soak
- Band and target temperature; only time in band counts toward the hold
- Excursions listed with start, end and peak value
- Over-temperature alarm: verified on real data; full soak cycle: in test
Cooling
- Cooling rate checked after the soak, down to your control temperature
- Alarm when the rate exceeds your limit
- Status: in test on a real cycle
Thermocouple → converter → edge unit → control tower
Input: a Type-K thermocouple on the joint. Output: a signed, timestamped record and a cycle report. Each element below carries its current status.
Type-K thermocouple and converter
- Role: temperature input on the joint, converted to a digital reading
- Wiring and live reading: verified at room temperature
- Reading during heating: in test
Edge unit
- Timestamps every sample (UTC, network-synchronised clock) and stores it locally in an append-only log
- Continuous 1 sample per second: verified at room temperature
- Keeps logging if the network drops and sends the backlog later: in test
Control tower
- Web view of every unit and every running treatment, live
- Cycle check against the procedure and integrity check on demand: verified
- Alarms with acknowledgement: over-temperature and data gap verified on real data; the others in test
- Action log: in test
Cycle record and report
- Report (HTML and PDF), CSV of every sample, manifest with checksums
- Result per cycle: pass, fail or incomplete
- Report, CSV and manifest: verified at room temperature; on a real PWHT cycle: in test
Specifications and their status
Only verified figures are quoted as product data. Converter figures come from the component datasheet; system figures come from tests on the pilot unit.
Measurement
- Sensor: Type-K thermocouple only (verified)
- Converter range: 0 to 1,023.75 °C, resolution 0.25 °C (verified, datasheet)
- Converter error: ±2.0 °C (0–700 °C), ±4.25 °C (700–1,000 °C) at 25 °C ambient, plus ±3.0 °C cold junction (verified, datasheet)
- Installed-system accuracy (probe, cable, converter): to be completed with a calibration test
- Sampling: 1 sample per second (verified)
Installation
- Channels: 1 thermocouple per edge unit (verified)
- Several units on one control tower: in test
- Connections: Wi-Fi or LAN, HTTPS to the control tower (verified)
- Not galvanically isolated: keep the edge unit outside the induction coil field (verified)
- Power supply, enclosure and protection rating: to be completed
Data and integrity
- Each sample chained to the previous one with SHA-256; batches signed by the unit (verified)
- Integrity check on demand in the control tower (verified)
- Joint traceability fields (weld ID, material, thickness, WPS reference): in test
- Retention on the unit: 30 days by default; long-term archive: to be completed
- Multi-thermocouple uniformity and QMS/MES connectors: roadmap
Three checks before scaling
The pilot runs on your PWHT station. Measurement and persistence are validated first; the product is scaled only on what the pilot verified.
1. Recognisable wiring
Thermocouple, converter and edge unit wired and identifiable at the joint.
2. Repeatable live reading
The live temperature reading is checked and repeated on your station, during heating.
3. Shareable cycle record
The first cycle report is opened and reviewed together, so you see the record you would file.
From kit to service
Start with one station. Scale when the pilot has proved the measurement and the record.
Entry: edge kit + pilot
- Type-K thermocouple, converter and edge unit
- Assisted setup on one PWHT station
- First cycle reports reviewed together
Recurring: software + report
- Control tower, cycle report and export of the record
- More joints, stations and teams
- Packaging defined after the pilot
Roadmap
- Validate measurement on real cycles and calibrate the installed system
- Isolated multi-channel input for several thermocouples on one joint
- Make the service replicable across stations and teams
Request a Therness ForgeSense PWHT pilot
Tell us how you heat-treat (resistance heating on piping, furnace or induction), the soak temperature and the number of joints per cycle. A Therness engineer replies within one business day and confirms whether the pilot kit covers your cycle before anything is installed.
Frequently asked questions
What is Therness ForgeSense?
Therness ForgeSense is a temperature logger for post-weld heat treatment (PWHT). Its main application is electrical-resistance PWHT on refinery piping; furnace PWHT and induction heating come next. A Type-K thermocouple at the joint feeds a converter and a compact edge unit, which timestamps every sample through heating, soak and cooling, keeps it in a tamper-evident log and sends it to a web control tower for the cycle report.
Why record the PWHT cycle for each joint?
The heat treatment is only as good as the cycle each joint actually saw. A timestamped record of heating, soak and cooling per monitored joint gives quality, production and the customer the same evidence to check, instead of a set-point or a reading that was only on a display.
Is Therness ForgeSense available today?
Therness ForgeSense is offered as a pilot on your PWHT station. The edge unit, the control tower and the cycle report (HTML/PDF, CSV and manifest) have been verified at room temperature; a full PWHT cycle on a real joint is the first thing the pilot checks. Specifications on this page are marked verified, in test or to be completed.
What temperature range, accuracy and number of channels does it have?
The converter reads Type-K thermocouples from 0 to 1,023.75 °C with 0.25 °C resolution, which covers PWHT soak temperatures with margin. Its datasheet error is ±2.0 °C from 0 to 700 °C and ±4.25 °C from 700 to 1,000 °C at 25 °C ambient, plus ±3.0 °C cold-junction error. The accuracy of the installed system (probe, cable and converter) is to be completed with a calibration test. Each edge unit has one channel; several units can report to the same control tower.
Does Therness ForgeSense control the heat source?
No. It measures and records. The heat source — resistance heating, a furnace or an induction coil — stays under your existing control; ForgeSense checks the recorded cycle against the procedure parameters you enter and raises alarms when the cycle leaves them.
Does Therness ForgeSense certify compliance with a PWHT code or standard?
No. ForgeSense checks the cycle against the parameters you enter from your procedure (WPS); it does not choose them and does not certify compliance with any code or standard. The record supports your own quality process and the documents your procedure requires.
Scope Therness ForgeSense for your line
Send the joint, the process and the cell constraints. A Therness engineer replies within one business day with a deployment path, not a sales deck.
