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Wireless Control Foundation: Continuous and Discrete Control for the Process Industry
Wireless Control Foundation: Continuous and Discrete Control for the Process Industry
Wireless Control Foundation: Continuous and Discrete Control for the Process Industry
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Wireless Control Foundation: Continuous and Discrete Control for the Process Industry

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In this book, the authors address the wireless communication concepts and terminology that are needed to apply wireless control in the process industry. The control system interfaces and wireless field devices described in this book are based on wireless standards for industrial settings and can be used in monitoring and control applications.
Wireless transmitters were initially used only to monitor the process, not control it. However, over the last six years, wireless measurements have earned high user confidence, and new control techniques have been devised to deal with the characteristics of wireless operation. Based on the broad acceptance of wireless transmitters, many manufacturers are in the process of developing and introducing wireless final control elements such as on/off and throttling valves.

The book details the recent technical innovations that address control using wireless measurements and final control elements. It presents how control can be structured to manage the slow and non-periodic measurement update rates provided by a wireless transmitter and to compensate for communication delay to the final control element. These new control techniques make it possible to use wireless measurements and wireless valves in closed loop control. The book also presents how wireless measurements may be utilized with model predictive control (MPC).

Multiple application examples are used to show what is required to utilize wireless control. Workshops are included in the book that explore key concepts associated with wireless control. The reader may view the workshop solution by going to the website that accompanies the book.

The book is written for the process or control engineer, who is familiar with traditional control but has little or no experience in designing, installing, checking out or commissioning control using wireless transmitters and/or wireless valves. The book provides comprehensive coverage of wireless control for both continuous and discrete applications in the process industry. Information is provided on commercially available analog and discrete wireless transmitters and on-off valves.

Since some readers may work with an existing distributed control system (DCS) that does not provide native support for wireless field devices, information is provided on how a wireless network may be integrated into a control system using supported serial and Ethernet interfaces. In addition, information is provided on how the PID modifications needed for wireless control may be created using tools supported by the DCS. One chapter of the book addresses how a dynamic simulation of the process and wireless field devices may be easily created in a DCS to support checkout and operator training on wireless control.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 25, 2015
ISBN9781941546598
Wireless Control Foundation: Continuous and Discrete Control for the Process Industry
Author

Terrence Blevins

Terrence “Terry” Blevins has been actively involved in the application and design of process control systems throughout his career. For more than 15 years, he worked as a systems engineer and group manager in the design and startup of advanced control solutions for the pulp and paper industry. Terry was instrumental in the establishment of Emerson Process Management’s Advanced Control Program. From 1998–2005, Terry was the team lead for the development of DeltaV advanced control products. He is the Fieldbus Foundation™ team lead for the development and maintenance of the Function Block Specification and editor of the SIS Architecture and Model Specifications. In this capacity, Terry is involved in the movement of Fieldbus Foundation function block work into international standards. Terry is the U.S. expert to the IEC SC65E WG7 function block committee that is responsible for the IEC 61804 function block standards. He is a voting member and chairman of ISA104-EDDL (Electronic Device Description Language) committee and is the technical advisor to the United States Technical Advisory Group (USTAG) for the IEC65E subcommittee. He is also a member of the USNC TAG (IEC/SC65 and IEC/TC65). Terry authored “An Overview of the ISA/IEC Fieldbus,” Section 11, Standards Overview, Fifth Edition of the Process/ Industrial Instruments and Controls Handbook and coauthored four sections in the Fourth Edition of the Instrumentation Engineer’s Handbook, Process Control and Optimization. He coauthored the ISA bestselling book Advanced Control Unleashed. He has 36 patents and has written over 65 papers on process control system design and applications. Terry received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Louisville in 1971 and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 1973. In 2004, he was inducted into Control Magazine’s Process Automation Hall of Fame. Presently, Terry is a principal technologist in the futurem architecture team of DeltaV Product Engineering at Emerson Process Management. Phone: (512) 418-4628 E-mail: terry.blevins@emerson.com

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    Wireless Control Foundation - Terrence Blevins

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    1

    Introduction

    The introduction of battery powered wireless field devices in September 2008 has enabled manufacturers in the process industry to add instruments to applications where the cost of wired field devices could not be justified. As a result, over the last six years we have seen the sale of wireless technology take off. The rate at which the technology has been adopted by the process industry has surprised manufacturers of traditional field devices. Those that have embraced this technology have been rewarded with new markets for their products.

    Because of the conservative nature of the process industry, wireless analog and discrete field devices were initially installed to better monitor process operation. However, as plants have gained experience with wireless technology there has been growing interest in using wireless measurement and wireless actuators in closed loop control. The cost advantages along with the proven reliability of wireless communication are key factors behind this change in attitude. In this book we will address techniques that may be easily applied to most control systems to enable successful closed loop control using wireless field devices.

    The authors’ work in the design, development and field testing of wireless control began in 2004 during the initial work within the HART (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer) Communication Foundation to develop a specification for wireless field devices based on the HART protocol. The WirelessHART specification that evolved from this work has since been approved as the first international standard, IEC 62591 Industrial communication networks - Wireless communication network and communication profiles - WirelessHART™, for wireless field devices used in the process industry. WirelessHART™ has also been adopted as the China National Standard, GB/T 29910.1-6-2013.

    In the early development of the WirelessHART™ specification, considerable thought was given to how this technology would be used in closed loop control. Many of the features of WirelessHART™, such as encryption of all messages for secure communication, automatic establishment of a mesh network for redundant communication paths, and deterministic scheduling of communication provide a sound footing for wireless control applications. However, to effectively apply wireless technology in closed loop control, it is necessary to re-examine many of the underlying assumptions that were made in the initial development of digital control in the mid-‘70s. The high-speed sample rates that allowed wired digital control systems to mimic analog controllers cannot be supported by battery powered devices. A new approach in control is needed to effectively use the slower, non-periodic sample rates that are common in wireless environments. This book provides a fresh look at how closed loop control may be successfully implemented in a wireless environment.

    In our work in wireless control, the authors have benefited from the insights of many people we have worked with over the years who have pioneered the development of wireless field devices. Our goal in writing this book is to address concepts and terminology that are needed to understand and apply wireless control.

    Today, the process control systems installed in the process industry can be quite large and complex in design. Thus, a person who is familiar with traditional control techniques may be reluctant to take the time needed to explore how wireless measurement and wireless final control elements may be used in closed loop control. This is unfortunate because wireless control techniques can be easily implemented in most traditional distributed control systems (DCS). The wireless control examples in Chapters 5–8 are designed to address multiple aspects of the design, implementation and commissioning of wireless control solutions and to show how wireless control techniques compare to traditional control techniques.

    The chapters in this book can be read in any order. If the reader has previously installed wireless devices for monitoring process operation, it is possible to read only those chapters that address the topics on control using a wireless device. Even so, it is a good idea to at least review all chapters and associated workshops to gain a better appreciation of the many aspects of installing and using wireless devices. In most cases, features that will make it easier and faster to commission wireless control have been provided by manufacturers. Many of the concepts introduced in the first portion of the book establish a basis for understanding the wireless control techniques presented in later sections of the book. Also, the material presented in the book makes clear that wireless control can be applied in a wide variety of applications within the process industry.

    In each chapter on specific wireless control techniques, examples are used to show a typical application interface that is used to configure and commission wireless control. When these control techniques are standard features in the control system, the engineering and operator interfaces to the wireless control may be fully integrated into the distributed control system. Also, in some cases example displays are shown that illustrate how an operator interface has been modified to access wireless control.

    A significant part of the operator interface is directly tied to the wireless control strategy. For example, the alarm system is often carefully designed to focus operator attention on the highest priority alarms first. Although the overall design of operator interface displays for wireless control implementation is beyond the scope of this book, many of the examples illustrate the working relationship between the wireless control strategy and the operator interface displays.

    The authors assume that although the reader may not have worked with wireless field devices, he or she has a solid understanding of conventional control techniques and software tools for traditional control implementation within distributed control systems. Background material on the technical basis for wireless control communication is included in the first part of the book. Examples are used to illustrate techniques showing the various ways wireless field device may be incorporated into an operating plant and integrated into a traditional DCS. Thus, each chapter covers concepts and terminology that are helpful in working with wireless control. For example, the chapters on wireless control address the basic principles that must be understood when addressing wireless control. Where the control system does not include tools for wireless control, information is provided that may be used to build this capability into a traditional DCS.

    After establishing a background in basic concepts and terminology, the book then addresses specific wireless control techniques such as PIDPlus and alternate techniques such as PID with an observer in wireless control. Later chapters address advanced techniques such as how measurements provided by wireless field devices may be used in a model predictive control application that was originally designed to work with wired transmitters. As we address these new areas, the advantages of wireless field devices in control will become obvious.

    There are many aspects of wireless control, and this book is structured to allow engineers, managers, technicians and others who are new to wireless control to quickly get up to speed on the technology and to understand how it is applied. Experienced control engineers who are familiar with traditional control products will benefit from the wireless control examples and the solutions to workshops included in the book. The workshops are presented in a manner that is independent of the field device and control system manufacturer. The workshop solutions can be viewed using a web browser to access the website that has been created for this book. The workshop solutions are provided on the website http://www.wirelesscontrolfoundation.com/ and can be accessed without password. In the Appendix, we provide detailed directions on how to navigate the website. These workshops are designed to reinforce learning of the material in each chapter and are structured to be fun as well as informative.

    After viewing the workshop solution, readers may find it helpful to review the chapter if the workshop solution was not clearly understood. A dynamic process simulation is built into each of the book’s workshops to show a realistic representation of the type of process response that may be achieved with the wireless control techniques presented in this book. The authors have found that during the pre-commissioning checkout of a wireless control system, it is often helpful to create a dynamic process and wireless communication simulation that interacts with the control system. When a reasonable process and communication simulation is tied to the control system, the wireless control operation and the process response will usefully simulate those encountered in actual plant operation. Chapter 11 is dedicated to techniques that can be used to create a process and wireless communication simulation using the same tools that are commonly available within most process control systems.

    After the wireless control techniques that are most commonly used in industry and implemented in PIDPlus are covered in Chapters 5–7, alternate techniques that can be used to address wireless control are discussed in Chapter 8. Some of the common issues that must be addressed in applying these alternate techniques in wireless control are discussed in these chapters. In Chapter 10 examples are used to illustrate how wireless control can be implemented using tools that are commonly available in existing control systems.

    Throughout the book, wireless control techniques are introduced and the manner in which each technique can be applied to various process control requirements is illustrated with process examples and workshops. It should become clear by studying the examples how wireless control techniques can be applied to other processes with similar requirements. It is our hope that the understanding achieved by reading this book and viewing the workshop solutions will set a foundation for addressing wireless control in a wide variety of applications.

    Whether the reader is working as a process control engineer in a manufacturing plant, in a controls group within an engineering department or in an instrumentation department within a manufacturing plant, the information in this book sets a solid foundation for implementing wireless continuous and discrete control in the process industry.

    Readers should feel free to contract the authors at their email addresses if they have questions about the book or about the use of the web-based workshops.

    All royalties from this book will be given directly to universities and educational programs to promote and enhance the understanding of wireless control. A beneficiary of each year’s royalties will be chosen by the authors.

    2

    History and Background of WirelessHART Technology

    When a new technology emerges from the IT (Information Technology) field, practitioners in the industrial automation industry pay attention and soon see if the IT technology has application in the automation industry. This phenomenon is showcased by the wireless network technologies. We can trace the source of wireless in industrial automation back to the start of IEEE 802.15.4 (see IEEE link and Gutierrez, 2011), the physical and Medium Access Control (MAC) layer standard for wireless Personal Area Networks (PAN), first published in 2003. Almost at the same time, the Wireless Industrial Networking Alliance (see WINA link) was formed to promote the advancement of wireless solutions for industry. Its charter is to identify, recommend and certify appropriate wireless technologies; focus on customer requirements; promote effective standards, regulations and practices; and quantify and communicate the benefits and potential impacts of wireless technologies.

    The ZigBee Alliance (see Zigbee link) soon defined upper layers on top of IEEE 802.15.4. The Zigbee Alliance has had great success with smart metering and home automation products. Although late to the race, the industrial automation industry has also demonstrated the huge impact of wireless networks. Wireless networks have matured to the point that they can now be safely applied in various industrial monitoring, control and asset management applications (Willig, 2008; Caro, 2004). Wireless technology provides a cost-effective, simple and reliable way to deploy new points of measurement and control without wiring costs or the need to completely change existing systems. It also provides an infrastructure for both central and mobile users to access their process and process equipment, which is collectively referred to as pervasive sensing (see ISA100 link).

    Three prominent standards that address the more restrictive security and reliability requirements of the automation industry are WirelessHART (see HART link; Song, 2008), ISA100.11a (see ISA100 link) and WIA-PA (see WINA link). From a technology perspective, all three are similar, and their similarities are described in this book. Although we use WirelessHART in this book when exploring the details, we remind readers that what we describe is mostly representative of all three standards. When we do not mention WirelessHART in particular, we refer to wireless technology in the industry automation in general.

    In the next section we use WirelessHART as an example argument for the legitimacy of wireless technology in industrial automation. Section 2.2 describes the architecture of an industrial wireless network, including each communication layer and the data management and network management functions. Section 2.3 presents a case study of a WirelessHART network in the Separations Research Program (SRP) at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus (PRC) of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Section 2.4 provides some comments and we conclude the chapter with a workshop.

    2.1About WirelessHART

    The HART™ (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer) fieldbus standard has been in existence since the late ’80s. It is a bi-directional communication protocol that provides data access between smart field devices and host systems. It is administrated by the HART Communication Foundation (HCF). In its initial release the HART Field Communications Protocol was superimposed on a 4–20mA signal, providing two-way digital communications with smart field instruments without compromising the integrity of the measured data. In 2007 HCF ratified WirelessHART, which expanded the capabilities of the existing HART protocol while protecting the global installed base. With the latest evolutionary enhancement to the global HART standard, the Foundation took the proven field communications, networking and security protocols and integrated them into a simple, reliable and secure wireless standard. In 2010 WirelessHART, IEC 62591, became the first IEC standard for industrial wireless networks.

    As shown in Figure 2-1, the HART protocol has evolved from a 4–20mA based protocol to the current wired and wireless-based technology with extensive features supporting security, unsolicited communication of field device parameters, event notifications, block mode transfers and advanced diagnostics. Diagnostics now include information about the device, the equipment the device is attached to, and in some cases, the process that is being monitored.

    Figure 2-1. Evolution of HART

    The WirelessHART standard leverages existing standards such as the HART standard, the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, the AES-128 encryption standard (AES, 2001) and the Data Description Language (DDL)/Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) IEC 61804 standard (see EDDL link).

    Three words define industrial wireless technology: simple, reliable and secure:

    Simple: The network’s self-organizing and self-healing features simplify installation and maintenance of a wireless installation. The network can automatically adjust to changes in plant infrastructure; for example, when a new instrument is added to the network. Reduced wiring leads to lower material costs and easy installation and commissioning. Without wires, the network can be easily extended to remote areas. Instruments can be mounted on moving assets and on rotating stationary equipment.

    Reliable: The WirelessHART standard includes many features in different communication layers to provide reliable communications. At the physical layer, the WirelessHART standard uses both Direct Sequence and Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (DSSS and FHSS) techniques to spread communications among different transmission frequencies. At the data link layer, the WirelessHART standard employs CCA (Clear Channel Assessment) tests on the targeted channel before transmission. Acknowledgement and retransmission mechanisms are applied to ensure on-time reliable message exchange.

    At the network layer, a WirelessHART network is a true mesh network with multiple access points. It monitors paths for degradation and repairs itself, finds alternate paths around obstructions and randomly communicates on different channels. If an obstruction is introduced into the network, data will continue to flow because the obstructed device already has other established paths. During the lifetime of the mesh network, it constantly adapts itself to changes in the environment. The adaptation makes use of health reports and diagnostic information, which are continually reported by all devices in the network.

    Secure:

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