Decoupled Process Controllers for Open-Protocol Plant Automation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional industrial process control and automation systems have closed and vendor-specific controllers, limiting interoperability and flexibility, as they require dedicated servers for supervisory control and engineering databases, which can lead to communication disruptions and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
Decoupling process controllers from supervisory servers by integrating control applications and engineering databases into the controller's memory, allowing them to operate using an open platform data communication protocol, such as OPC UA, enabling independent execution of control strategies and data communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If process controllers are integrated with supervisory servers in a closed proprietary system, then system integration and uniform operations are achieved, but interoperability and flexibility are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into independent process controllers that can operate autonomously and connect to multiple supervisory servers through open protocols. Each controller is divided into functional modules (control application module, data communication module, engineering database module) that can be independently configured and deployed, enabling both reliable control functions and flexible interoperability.
Solution Approach 2:
The process controllers are designed with universal open platform data communication protocol capabilities, allowing them to interface with multiple different supervisory servers from various vendors. The controllers can serve multiple functions including local control execution, data communication with multiple servers, and maintaining engineering databases, thereby achieving both integration reliability and interoperability flexibility.
2Ease of operation
If dedicated supervisory servers are used for control applications and engineering databases, then centralized control management is achieved, but system complexity and dependency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control applications and engineering databases are extracted from dedicated supervisory servers and embedded directly into the process controllers. This extraction eliminates the mandatory dependency on centralized servers, allowing controllers to execute control functions locally while reducing system architecture complexity and the number of required components.
Solution Approach 2:
Process controllers are equipped with self-service capabilities to execute control strategies and manage their own engineering databases locally without requiring continuous communication with supervisory servers. This self-service approach simplifies the system by eliminating mandatory centralized management while maintaining operational ease through autonomous controller functionality.
3Adaptability or versatility
If open platform protocols are implemented for communication, then interoperability and flexibility are improved, but communication reliability and real-time performance may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic communication capabilities where process controllers can adaptively select and switch between different communication protocols based on real-time requirements. The controllers dynamically manage communication sessions with multiple supervisory servers, ensuring reliable real-time control data exchange while maintaining flexibility to interface with diverse systems using appropriate protocols for each communication context.
4Reliability
If process controllers operate independently with local execution capability, then system resilience and flexibility are improved, but integration harmony and coordinated behavior may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The process controllers implement feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor control process states and communicate with supervisory servers to maintain system-wide coordination. The controllers receive feedback from multiple servers and adjust their local control execution to maintain harmonious coordinated behavior across the distributed system, ensuring both resilience through independent operation and stability through active coordination feedback.
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus is disclosed that is used in an industrial process control and automation system that operates using an open platform data communication protocol. The apparatus includes a processor and a memory, and a communications interface connected to at least one process instrument and arranged to transmit instructions to and receive data from the at least one process instrument and to a data network of the industrial process control and automation system that communicates using the open platform data communication protocol. The apparatus memory contains a system repository file containing process data information sent to the apparatus from the at least one process instrument, a stored function block definition file containing function blocks that define a control strategy for controlling the at least one process instrument and an engineering repository containing the characteristics and parameters for the function blocks associated with the at least one process instrument. The processor operates to communicate the process data from the system repository file to the industrial process control and automation system using the open platform data communication protocol and to receive instructions from the industrial process control and automation system to execute the control strategy.