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...