Highway Addressable Remote Transducer Research Articles

Application of hart concentrator to save the number of input analogue channel usage in PLC PAC system on SCADA cimplicity

The types of inputs and outputs of a control system that exist today are quite varied with their respective advantages and disadvantages that can be adapted to existing needs. So with the complexity of the system, the price is also very expensive. As one option to overcome this problem is to utilize Highway Addressable Remote Transducer (HART) data through the application of the HART Concentrator System (HCS). HART data has four variables, namely Primary Value (PV), Secondary Value (SV), Third Value (TV) and Fourth Value (FV). All this data can be sent simultaneously to HCS and collected. Then the data on the HCS will be sent via RS485 serial communication to the Modbus Gateway TCPIP. At this Modbus TCPIP gateway, Modbus data can be sent via an Ethernet network so that it can be accessed flexibly by SCADA.

Case-Study-Based Overview of Methods and Technical Solutions of Analog and Digital Transmission in Measurement and Control Ship Systems.

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of possible solutions to improve the performance of measurement and control processes in maritime engineering applications. This improvement can be basically provided by adopting techniques to enhance the reliability of measurement/control systems based on the 4–20 mA analogue standard. This aspect will be discussed through a Simscape Simulink model illustrating methods of noise and ground loops elimination for pressure measurement of a 4–20 mA current loop in the tank level measurement system on a bulk carrier commercial ship. Alternatively, improved measurement and control processes can be rendered by utilizing smart transmitters based on wired hybrid analogue–digital (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer (HART)), wired digital (Foundation Fieldbus (FF)) or wireless (wireless HART) communication protocols. A brief theoretical description of these protocols will be presented in this article. As an example of using smart transmitters, a simulation-based case study will analyze the possible options to implement non-intrinsically safe as well as intrinsically safe FF models for the tank level measurement system on a bulk carrier commercial ship. Conclusions obtained through analysis of the simulation results will characterize the behavior of FF segments in safe as well as explosive hazardous areas, highlighting the characteristics of field barriers and segment protectors used in conjunction with the HPTC (High-Power Trunk Concept) intrinsically safe model.

New Standards Initiatives on Ultrawideband [Standards

The IEEE 802.15 Working Group on Wireless Specialty Networks is a working group of the IEEE 802 LAN/ MAN Standards Committee of the IEEE Computer Society. It is chartered to develop interoperability standards addressing wireless networking for emerging Internet of Things applications. Among the many standards the working group has been developing, IEEE 802.15.4, IEEE Standard for LowRate Wireless Networks, is one of the popular ones whose technology is used for many different higher-layer standards, such as ZigBee, Wireless Highway Addressable Remote Transducer (HART), and 6LoWPAN. IEEE 802.15.4 defines the physical layer (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) sublayer specifications for low-data-rate, low-power, and lowcomplexity wireless connectivity with fixed, portable, and moving devices with no or very limited battery consumption requirements. In addition, it defines operating modes that support precision ranging capability, which can be accurate to 1 m.

Digital Communication Links Cooperating with the Analog 4-20 mA Standard for Marine Applications

Abstract The maritime industry makes a significant contribution to the globalized economy. One of the most important parts of the maritime industry is transport. Maritime transport by ships is the dominant means of transport for industrial products and food. Modern ships are increasingly automated. A characteristic feature of automation systems is the use of distributed monitoring and control systems with large distances between field devices and controllers. Among many methods of signal transmission, both in measurement and control, the dominant role in related to continuous signals is played by the two-wire 4-20 mA current standard. Despite its advantages, this standard has limitations mainly due to one-way transmission of information representing one measurement quantity. Programmable transducers are an alternative to analogue solutions. This carried out research concentrates on the full assessment of the properties of the considered methods of information transmission used so far with particular reference to the two-wire 4-20 mA standard. This assessment also takes into account the negative factors characterizing the sea-going ships, such as environmental conditions or problems resulting from the use of an isolated power grid. Additionally, a description of the available digital methods used for communication in ship automation systems will be presented. Firstly, description will be provided for HART protocol (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer), Foundation Fieldbus, Profibus PA and Modbus as communication protocols adopted by modern smart transducers as alternatives for classical analogue 4-20 mA transducers. Moreover, serial communication interfaces such as RS232, RS422 and RS485 will be discussed as means of communication between automation stations. In order to demonstrate the positive contribution for smart transmitters in measurement and control process, an experimental research has been conducted at the laboratories of Gdynia Maritime University, results of which will be discussed in detail in this article. Eventually, illustration will be provided for tank level measurement systems on a commercial ship as an example for measurement and control system mainly based on classical 4-20 mA current signal. Description will be provided for the problems associated with the system and their causes. Based on the conducted discussions, there will be recommendations of suggested solutions for such problems.

Evaluation of Suitability of Current Industrial Standards in Designing Control Applications for Internet of Things Healthcare Sensor Networks

Internet of Things (IoT) holds great promises for industrial, commercial, and consumer applications. While wireless techniques have matured with time and have gained the users’ confidence in relaying data containing qualitative as well as quantitative information, cynicism still exists on trusting them for applications involving control. The wireless protocols and techniques used for industrial control have proved their robustness. In this work we have attempted to test some aspects of feasibility on the use of wireless control involving such protocols for IoT healthcare sensor networks (IoT-HSNs). We conceptualized and simulated a 24-channel IoT-HSN model that includes biosensors as well as bioactuators. Currently, no protocol supporting control in such networks has been standardized. We tried to fit in the widely used WirelessHART (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer) industrial protocol for sensing as well as control in the model to test if it would work for a healthcare sensor network. We probed the performance of the model with respect to network parameters such as channels, bandwidth, Quality of Service (QoS) requirements, payload, transmission delays, and allowable errors. For the parameters considered, the results obtained from the model were encouraging, suggesting that WirelessHART fits the IoT-HSN control requirements according to this initial probe. The findings could provide useful insights for researchers working in the field of control in IoT-HSNs and for designers and manufacturers of IoT-HSN equipment.

Proactive and Predictive Maintenance Strategies and Application for Instrumentation & Control in Oil & Gas Industry

Instrumentation & Control Systems have gone through various revolutions in the oil and gas industry. The start of the industry was based on pneumatic controllers, operating with instrument air or instrument gas at 0.2 to 1.0 barg and the Instrument Protective System (IPS) was relay based. This system provided almost zero information or data that can be used to predict failure and had a higher unrevealed failure. The next phase of instrumentation was migration into the electronics era. This allowed for the migration from a pneumatic system to the application of electronics field device operation on 4-20mA connected to Distributed Control System (DCS) and IPS. Further development of 4-20mA communication protocol allowed for the development of digital superimpose communication called Highway Addressable Remote Transducer (HART). The data that is transmitted in HART protocol provides sufficient data and information to predict the health and functionality of the instrumentation. Changes in the maintenance philosophy from reactive maintenances to proactive or predictive maintenances, resulted in reduced downtime by scheduling maintenance to optimize the working window. This work process allows for greater productivity of assets, both human and capital. Dashboards are developed and utilised to alert fault detection and loss of redundancy, whereby data is relayed from DCS and IPS to a web-based system. Available tools being developed in the industry and application of IoT within the industry allows for real-time field device health monitoring and an engine to predict deviations. The strength and weakness of the various proactive or predictive maintenance strategies are compared and summarized, including scope for future research and application in the industry.

Adaptive Freeshape Clustering for Balanced Energy Saving in the WirelessHART Networks

The frequent data convergecasting from the sensor nodes to the gateways may cause imbalanced energy consumption in the Wireless Highway Addressable Remote Transducer (WirelessHART) networks, yielding a short network lifetime and frequent failures in the data acquisition. Existing solutions always tend to tradeoff between the hardware cost, routing complexity, and energy consumption, making the sensor nodes suffer from expensive hardware investment, overloaded network computation, or imbalanced energy consumption. In this paper, an Adaptive Freeshape Clustering (AFC) protocol is developed for saving and balancing the energy consumption in the WirelessHART networks. In AFC, the Region of Interest (RoI) is first divided into several fan-shaped clusters. The sensor nodes in each fan-shaped cluster compete for the positions of Cell Node (CN), and the nodes that have succeeded in the competition adjust the radius of their coverages to cover the fan-shaped clusters adaptively with the minimum overlapped areas. In this way, each fan-shaped cluster can be subdivided into several freeshape zones regarding each CN’s coverage, and the CN in each cluster takes charge of convergecasting the data to the CH. The simulations show that AFC can prolong the network lifetime by 37% compared with other related schemes, e.g., HEED, FLOODING, and DIRECT, whereas it can reduce the degree of energy imbalance by 1.29%.

Toward Cloud-Assisted Industrial IoT Platform for Large-Scale Continuous Condition Monitoring

Process industries cover a wide set of industries, in which the processes are controlled by a combination of distributed control systems (DCSs) and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). These control systems utilize various measurements such as pressure, flow, and temperature to determine the state of the process and then use field devices such as valves and other actuating devices to manipulate the process. Since there are many different types of field devices and since each device is calibrated to its specific installation, when monitoring devices, it is important to be able to transfer not only the device measurement and diagnostics but also characteristics about the device and the process in which it is installed. The current monitoring architecture, however, creates challenges for continuous monitoring and analysis of diagnostic data. In this paper, we present the design of an Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT) system for supporting large-scale and continuous device condition monitoring and analysis in process control systems. The system design seamlessly integrates existing infrastructure [e.g., highway addressable remote transducer (HART) and WirelessHART networks, and DeltaV DCS] and newly developed hardware/software components (e.g., one-way data diode and IoT cellular architecture) together for control network data collection and streaming of the collected device diagnostic parameters to a private cloud to perform streaming data analytics designed for fault identification and prediction. A prototype system has been developed and supported by Emerson Automation Solutions and deployed in the field for design validation and long-term performance evaluation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ever publicly reported effort on IoT system design for process automation applications. The design can be readily extended for condition monitoring and analysis of many other industrial facilities and processes.

MAC Layer Protocols for Internet of Things: A Survey

Due to the wide variety of uses and the diversity of features required to meet an application, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies are moving forward at a strong pace to meet this demand while at the same time trying to meet the time-to-market of these applications. The characteristics required by applications, such as coverage area, scalability, transmission data rate, and applicability, refer to the Physical and Medium Access Control (MAC) layer designs of protocols. This paper presents a deep study of medium access control (MAC) layer protocols that are used in IoT with a detailed description of such protocols grouped (by short and long distance coverage). For short range coverage protocols, the following are considered: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Near Field Communication (NFC), Bluetooth IEEE 802.15.1, Bluetooth Low Energy, IEEE 802.15.4, Wireless Highway Addressable Remote Transducer Protocol (Wireless-HART), Z-Wave, Weightless, and IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ah. For the long range group, Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT), Long Term Evolution (LTE) CAT-0, LTE CAT-M, LTE CAT-N, Long Range Protocol (LoRa), and SigFox protocols are studied. A comparative study is performed for each group of protocols in order to provide insights and a reference study for IoT applications, considering their characteristics, limitations, and behavior. Open research issues on the topic are also identified.

Cross-Layer Lifetime Optimization for Practical Industrial Wireless Networks: A Petroleum Refinery Case Study

This paper studies how to maximize the lifetime of ISA100.11a and Wireless highway addressable remote transducer (WiHART) compatible sensor networks for a petroleum refinery scenario. When accounting for the energy consumption of a typical refinery process sensor and the node microprocessor, only a relatively small percentage of battery energy on average is spent on wireless communication. However, this paper will demonstrate that optimizing network operation can still considerably extend network lifetime. The longest lifetimes are achieved using a new network optimization approach that accounts for the frame structure of ISA100.11a/WiHART. Results are generated using a full network protocol stack simulation that incorporates three different network optimization approaches and includes the energy consumption of the wireless transceiver, sensor, and microprocessor.

Enhancing Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources (CIKR) Level-0 Physical Process Security Using Field Device Distinct Native Attribute Features

The need for improved critical infrastructure and key resource security is unquestioned and there has been minimal emphasis on level-0 (PHY process) improvements. Wired signal distinct native attribute finger-printing is investigated here as a non-intrusive PHY-based security augmentation to support an envisioned layered security strategy. Results are based on experimental response collections from highway addressable remote transducer differential pressure transmitter devices from three manufacturers (Yokogawa, Honeywell, and Endress+Hauser) in an automated process control system. Device discrimination is assessed using time domain (TD) and slope-based FSK (SB-FSK) fingerprints input to multiple discriminant analysis, maximum likelihood and random forest (RndF) classifiers. For 12 different classes (two devices per manufacturer at two distinct set points), both classifiers performed reliably and achieved an arbitrary performance benchmark of average cross-class percent correct of %C > 90%. The least challenging cross-manufacturer results included near-perfect %C ≈ 100%, while the more challenging like-model (serial number) discrimination results included 90% <; %C <; 100%, with TD fingerprinting marginally outperforming SB-FSK fingerprinting; SB-FSK benefits from having less stringent response alignment and registration requirements. The RndF classifier was most beneficial and enabled reliable selection of dimensionally reduced fingerprint subsets that minimize data storage and computational requirements. The RndF selected feature sets contained 15% of the full-dimensional feature sets and only suffered a worst case %C Δ = 3% to %C Δ = 4% performance degradation.

An RTOS based Industrial Wireless Sensor Network using Multiprocessor Support

Real Time Operating System) is a Process which is done between hardware and application in order to provide time constraints. Each industry has their own priority among the various tasks according to their process. RTOS is used here to assign the priorities. The values obtained in plant have to be transmitted to the control room. These values are sent in the form of packets. Packets have to be sent at particular time. During the packets transmission some collision may occur. To overcome this collision wireless HART (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer) is used. This project is implemented in two sections as prototype. First one runs with RTOS and LPC2148 as master node and another as normal data acquisition node to which sensors are connected. Second section contains a controller as per the need. Communications between two nodes are accomplished through wireless HART. The basic view of this technique is to reduce the possibility of collision (and thus increase the communication reliability), and to meet the critical requirement of industrial applications. This is essential to increase the communication reliability, and to meet the requirement of timing determinism of industrial applications. To do this, all the nodes must be synchronized precisely. Also, the stack designer must guarantee that the node can finish everything within the time slot. It offers benefits in terms of platform independency, product life cycle, safety and security, system integration complexity, and performance scalability.

HART PROTOCOL ANALYSER BASED IN LABVIEW

Analysis of Highway Addressable Remote Transducer (HART) protocol is important in reliability evaluation of HART based systems. The present work proposes a virtual instrument based solution for HART signal analysis that includes a digital oscilloscope with GPIB interface, a HART modem, a PC with a GPIB interface board and a RS232 port, and a software component developed in LabVIEW. The HART analyser permits the visualisation of signals that correspond to the HART protocol, gives access to data coming from field instruments and has the ability to analyse and modify field instrument performance.

Implementation of WirelessHART in the NS-2 simulator and validation of its correctness.

One of the first standards in the wireless sensor networks domain, WirelessHART (HART (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer)), was introduced to address industrial process automation and control requirements. This standard can be used as a reference point to evaluate other wireless protocols in the domain of industrial monitoring and control. This makes it worthwhile to set up a reliable WirelessHART simulator in order to achieve that reference point in a relatively easy manner. Moreover, it offers an alternative to expensive testbeds for testing and evaluating the performance of WirelessHART. This paper explains our implementation of WirelessHART in the NS-2 network simulator. According to our knowledge, this is the first implementation that supports the WirelessHART network manager, as well as the whole stack (all OSI (Open Systems Interconnection model) layers) of the WirelessHART standard. It also explains our effort to validate the correctness of our implementation, namely through the validation of the implementation of the WirelessHART stack protocol and of the network manager. We use sniffed traffic from a real WirelessHART testbed installed in the Idrolab plant for these validations. This confirms the validity of our simulator. Empirical analysis shows that the simulated results are nearly comparable to the results obtained from real networks. We also demonstrate the versatility and usability of our implementation by providing some further evaluation results in diverse scenarios. For example, we evaluate the performance of the WirelessHART network by applying incremental interference in a multi-hop network.

WirelessHART Versus ISA100.11a: The Format War Hits the Factory Floor

The first decade of the new millennium has been a stage for the rapid development of wireless communication technologies for low-cost, low-power wireless solutions capable of robust and reliable communication [1]. IEEE Standard 802.15.4 for low-rate wireless personal area networks (WPANs) [2] has been the enabling technology for numerous applications within the field of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) [3], and more recently, wireless instrumentation. Although WSNs quickly found their way into a wide variety of applications, the adoption of wireless technology in the process automation and manufacturing industries has been slow. None of the industrial solutions based on standards such as IEEE 802.11 [4], Bluetooth [5], ZigBee [6], and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) over low-power wireless personal area networks (6L0WPAN) [7] have yet to achieve a breakthrough a widely adopted wireless solution for industrial applications. A major reason for this is believed to be the lack of an open, international standard fulfilling the industrial requirements [8]. This changed in September 2007, when the Highway Addressable Remote Transducer (HART) Communication Foundation (HCF) released the HART Field Communication Protocol Specifi cation, Revision 7.0, which included the definition of a wireless interface to field devices, referred to as Wireless HART [9].

WirelessHART field devices

In this paper, the Wireless Highway Addressable Remote Transducer (WirelessHART, WH) Protocol which has evolved from the HART Protocol is presented. It is one of the most prominent industrial wireless mesh network communications protocols for process automation applications. We describe how the protocol copes with RF link difficulties. A case study of the network behavior is given using a previously developed FD with commercial tools and analysis software developed by the authors for use in industry to obtain network data.

Automated calibration aids smooth turnover of new plants

Accurate documentation of instrument calibration saves time and money in the completion of construction projects. There are thousands of newly arrived instruments that must be checked and calibrated and then documented prior to installation in new plants. Such an extended effort was not necessary at the recently completed Front Range Power Station, a 480-MVV combined cycle power plant constructed by The Industrial Company (TIC) near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Instead, one technician printed out calibration certificates in an orderly fashion for more than 60 turnover packages. Ultimately, more than 1,200 HART (highway addressable remote transducer) and conventional devices were documented, and not a single calibration document was subsequently questioned or returned. Even better, no additional costs were incurred for recalibrating the instruments or reworking the documentation, providing an estimated savings of up to US$50,000 in avoided costs. These savings - and the accurate documentation that made them possible - were accomplished through the use of a software tool, the AMS Suite: Intelligent Device Manager software created by Emerson Process Management. This package was originally designed to help end users reduce instrument startup and maintenance costs by accessing diagnostic information from smart field instruments. The database that functions as an integral part of this predictive maintenance technology is also suitable for use by instrument technicians, making instrument calibration easier by saving them time before and after the actual testing and calibration. Furthermore, a record is automatically generated every time an instrument is calibrated or a configuration parameter is changed. Loaded into a PC in a control room or maintenance shop, this software communicates with smart field instruments on the control network, capturing diagnostic information generated by those devices. The massive amount of data obtained in this way is integrated into a single database, organized, processed, and presented on the PC monitor for use by engineers and technicians to streamline and simplify their work.

YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE HART

HART stands for Highway Addressable Remote Transducer and refers to the protocol (basically the signalling method, message structure and transaction rules) used for digital communication amongst “smart” process instruments and their control room counterparts. But why a special protocol for the process field?

An improved multipurpose pipe coupling for use down to 2 K

Apart from ZigBee, there are other standards that adopt the IEEE 802.15.4 PHY and MAC layers to offer a wireless networking protocol. This chapter provides an overview of two such standards (6LoWPAN and Wireless HART) that reuse the IEEE 802.15.4 PHY and MAC layers as part of their wireless networking protocol. The 6LoWPAN standard is developed specifically for the nodes that have limited memory space and processing capabilities. The IPv6 requires support of packet sizes much larger than the largest IEEE 802.15.4 packet size. The IPv6 packets need to be fragmented by the transmitter and reassembled by the receiver to accommodate the requirements of both standards. The adaptation layer in 6LoWPAN is responsible for fragmenting and reassembling the packets. One of the advantages of this is that a 6LoWPAN node is capable of communicating with other IP-enabled devices. Furthermore, Highway Addressable Remote Transducer (HART) is a communications protocol for applications such as process control, equipment and process monitoring, advanced diagnostics, and closed loop control in wired industrial networks. WirelessHART is a wireless networking standard based on HART that adds wireless flexibility to an existing HART network. WirelessHART operates at the 2.4 GHz ISM band and is backward compatible with existing HART devices, commands, and tools. WirelessHART supports mesh networking. Both ZigBee and WirelessHART can be used in industrial monitoring and control applications. If a wired HART network is present, WirelessHART can be a better choice than ZigBee because of backward compatibility with the HART network.