Field Device Burst Mode Configuration for HART Network Data Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
In industrial plants, existing field device configurations face challenges in efficiently managing and retrieving process variables and diagnostic results due to prioritization of network access by control systems, leading to delayed or cancelled requests from plant asset management systems, especially in HART™ communication protocols.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a processor-based retriever, comparator, and transmitter that retrieves and compares field device parameters for burst mode and event notification settings, enabling or disabling automated transmissions of process variables and diagnostic results based on configuration files, allowing for timely and efficient data retrieval without polling, and supporting multiple communication protocols like HART™, Foundation Fieldbus, and ISA100.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the control system has priority access to the network bus for communication, then the control system communication reliability is improved, but the plant asset management system requests are delayed or cancelled
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by configuring field devices to enable burst mode transmission and event notification capabilities before actual data retrieval is needed. This allows the field devices to proactively transmit data at predetermined intervals or upon status changes, eliminating the need for polling requests that would be delayed by control system priority access to the network bus.
Solution Approach 2:
The field devices serve themselves by autonomously determining when to transmit data based on predetermined conditions such as status changes or elapsed time intervals. The devices self-manage their communication without requiring external polling requests, thereby eliminating the dependency on network bus availability and control system priority access.
2Ease of operation
If polling is used to retrieve data from field devices, then data retrieval is simple to implement, but data retrieval efficiency is reduced due to network bus unavailability
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using polling-based periodic action that depends on network bus availability, the system implements periodic action at the field device level through burst mode transmission. Field devices automatically transmit data at predetermined intervals regardless of network bus status, maintaining periodic data retrieval efficiency without being affected by control system communication priorities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where field devices monitor their own status changes and automatically trigger data transmission when predetermined conditions are met. This feedback-driven approach replaces inefficient polling with event-triggered communication, significantly improving data retrieval efficiency while maintaining implementation simplicity through standardized protocol support.
3Speed
If burst mode transmission is enabled for all field devices, then data transmission timeliness is improved, but network traffic and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly enabling burst mode transmission for all field devices, the system applies local quality by configuring burst mode and event notification capabilities selectively based on individual device characteristics, data importance, and network conditions. This targeted approach improves data transmission timeliness for critical parameters while avoiding unnecessary complexity for devices that do not require frequent transmissions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts transmission parameters such as burst mode interval and event notification thresholds based on process conditions and data priority. By changing these parameters adaptively rather than using fixed configurations, the system optimizes data transmission timeliness while minimizing network traffic and device configuration complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system includes, but not limited to, at least one processor, a retriever configured to retrieve a first field device parameter belonging to burst mode settings from at least one field device connected to a field network, and a transmitter. The transmitter is configured to transmit a second field device parameter belonging to burst mode settings to the at least one field device, based on at least a configuration file. The second field device parameter being associated with the first field device parameter. The first field device parameter includes, not limited to, a first determiner that determines whether to enable or disable a first automated transmission of a first process related variable of the field device, the first process related variable is one of a process variable and a diagnostic result in a burst mode. The retriever, the comparator and the transmitter are implemented by the at least one processor.