Instrumentation and Control Engineering

Power-system automation Power-system automation   is the act of automatically controlling the power system via instrumentation and control devices.   Substation   automation refers to using data from  Intelligent electronic devices   (IED), control and automation capabilities within the substation, and control commands from remote users to control power-system devices. Since full substation automation relies on substation integration, the terms are often used interchangeably. Power-system automation includes processes associated with generation and delivery of power. Monitoring and control of power delivery systems in the substation and on the pole reduce the occurrence of outages and shorten the duration of outages that do occur. The IEDs, communications protocols, and communications methods, work together as a system to perform power-system automation. The term “power system” describes the collection of devices that make up the physical systems that...

Programmable Automation Controller (PAC) Programmable Automation Controller or PAC is an easy to configure PLC style device. It has advanced capabilities and they are already built into its design. It can perform complex functions like loop control, latching, and data acquisition and delivery. They have other advantages too as open architectures are used in their manufacturing and they can connect to almost any device or business system present today. Characteristics of a PAC The term PAC was given by ARC and there were two reasons behind it. To help the users of automated hardware define the applications they need. Give the vendors a term to effectively communicate the characteristics and abilities of their product. ARC also made and explained a few rules or guidelines for a device to be considered as a programmable automation controller. Operate using a single platform : It should be true for single or multiple domains and in drives, motions and process controls. Em...

The Industrial Safety Systems and Their Types Industrial automation has minimized the human interaction with the machines but has not completely eliminated it. Industrial safety systems are introduced to protect the human who work in hazardous plants. Some examples of these are oil and gas, chemical and nuclear plants. The industrial safety systems not only protect the humans but also protect the environment and the plant itself from the chemical reactions. These systems do not control any process but in fact come into play when it is not possible to control a process through normal means. They are rather installed as a protective measure and are quickly becoming the need of every working environment. There are various types of safety systems in place and their use depends on the type of industry they are used in. Here is a look at some of them. Process Control Systems (PCS) They are installed for the monitoring of the manufacturing environment and they control the manufact...

CoDeSys  is the acronym of Controller Development System. It is a development program which enables the user to create visualizations of the operations and processes of the applications. CoDeSys contains an integrated visualization system which is unique and very useful. Its applications of programiming controllers are built according to the International indsutrial standadrs. CodeSys software is easy to install and is freely available from the company’s site. This software enables the operator to draw a visual chart of the controller’s data and can watch and assess the performance easily. No additional tools are required for this software. A manual comes with the software which contains all the information and it has integrated visual program. The credit of developing CoDeSys goes to the software company located in Germany and its most recent version was released by the company in 1994. Five programming languages are used in CoDeSys which enable the programming of diff...

 PROFIBUS PROFIBUS or Process Field Bus was introduced in 1989 and it is sometimes confused with PROFINET. It links plant automation modules with the process control. PROFIBUS uses a multi drop single cable to connect the devices. This method is cost effective especially for larger sites when compared to old methods. Its installation cost is low and it is easy to find faults as well because it is a single cable. Types of PROFIBUS There are two types or versions of PROFIBUS commonly known as 1.    PROFIBUS DP 2.    PROFIBUS PA Here is a brief introduction to both of these types. PROFIBUS DP It runs over two core screened cable that is violet sheathed and its speed varies from 9.6Kbps to 12Mbps. A particular speed can be chosen for a network to give enough time for communication with all the devices present in the network. If systems change slowly then lower communication speed is suitable and if the systems change quickly then effective ...

Analog Input/Output Modules Analog Input Modules To select an analog input module the consider the followings: *Voltage level. *Current input. *Conversion speed. There are two basic types of A/D converter. The first will perform a conversion every 20 ms (the period of the a.c. mains voltage), which gives a good clean reading free from worries of line frequency interference. The second will convert in 2-20 us, giving the possibility of measuring transient data. *At very high rates the PLC may only have time to act as a data logger, storing the data as it is read, and analyzing it some time after the event to report on or display it. Analog Output Modules *The conversion speed of an analog output is generally <100 us and rarely a problem. * Once the resolution of the module is selected we have only to consider the following points: Voltage level. Load resistance. Typically the minimum load resistance is 300 Ohm. Current output. It is often a...