Abstract
The interconnection between sensors, controllers and instruments through a communication network plays a vital role in the performance and effectiveness of a control system. Since its inception in the 90s, the Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control (OPC) protocol has provided open connectivity for monitoring and automation systems. It has been widely used in several environments such as industrial facilities, building and energy automation, engineering education and many others. This paper presents a novel OPC-based architecture to implement automation systems devoted to R&D and educational activities. The proposal is a novel conceptual framework, structured into four functional layers where the diverse components are categorized aiming to foster the systematic design and implementation of automation systems involving OPC communication. Due to the benefits of OPC, the proposed architecture provides features like open connectivity, reliability, scalability, and flexibility. Furthermore, four successful experimental applications of such an architecture, developed at the University of Extremadura (UEX), are reported. These cases are a proof of concept of the ability of this architecture to support interoperability for different domains. Namely, the automation of energy systems like a smart microgrid and photobioreactor facilities, the implementation of a network-accessible industrial laboratory and the development of an educational hardware-in-the-loop platform are described. All cases include a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to automate and control the plant behavior, which exchanges operative data (measurements and signals) with a multiplicity of sensors, instruments and supervisory systems under the structure of the novel OPC architecture. Finally, the main conclusions and open research directions are highlighted.
Highlights
Supervision, monitoring and automation of technological processes, both for industrial and non-industrial environments, require effective data transmission over communication networks
The protocol OPC plays an essential role in the field of measurement, monitoring and automation, enabling systems for role both in hardware andofsoftware levels
The management of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), SGs, etc.) that rely onissue effective acquisition andand transmission
Summary
Supervision, monitoring and automation of technological processes, both for industrial and non-industrial environments, require effective data transmission over communication networks. It uses the OPC abstraction layer as a means to effectively communicate data between field devices and supervisory systems in a vertical integration scheme Such an architecture has been developed in order to implement efficient automation systems applied in different scopes. Application cases related to automation of energy systems like a smart microgrid and a photobioreactor plants, implementation of an industrial networked remote laboratory and development of an educational hardware-in-the-loop platform are reported Such systems show the OPC standard as an effective medium of integration of networks of controllers, sensor and instruments, regardless of the particular nature of the automated/supervised process.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.