How Fieldbus Works

How Fieldbus Works
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How Fieldbus Works

The re are two m ajor parts to the Fie ldbus syste m archite cture : inte rconne ction and application. Inte rconne ction re fe rs to the passing of data from one de vice to anothe r, m ay it be a fie ld de vice , ope rator console or a configurator. This is the com m unication protocol part of Fie ldbus. The application is the autom ation function the syste m pe rform s. By standardizing part of the application, Fie ldbus has gone furthe r than any othe r com m unication standard, e nsuring inte rope rability be twe e n conform ing products. Overview The Fie ldbus application archite cture supports distribution of autom ation task s to the de vice s in the fie ld which are inte rconne cte d by a ne twork . The m ost basic functions pe rform e d by a de vice are m ode le d as block s. The block s coope rate and are inte rconne cte d with e ach othe r, supporting the propagation param e te rs be twe e n de vice s, and the ope rator. The Fie ldbus inte rconne ction archite cture is base d on a thre e -laye r subse t of the archite cture from the O SI (ope n syste m s inte rconne ct) re fe re nce m ode l de ve lope d by ISO (Inte rnational O rganization for Standardization). The O SI application and syste m m anage m e nt, and like wise the Fie ldbus application archite cture , m ode ls are base d on O bje ct O rie nte d Program m ing (O O P) conce pts. Both O SI and O O P use m ode ls to sim plify unde rstanding of functionality. Both are also brie fly introduce d in this tutorial to achie ve a be tte r unde rstanding of Fie ldbus. OSI model The O SI re fe re nce m ode l is an inte rnationally re cognize d standard for ne twork archite cture on which ope n ne twork s are base d. The standard is de ve lope d as a m ode l for te le com m unications on all le ve ls. All the functions (facilitie s such as addre ssing, e rror che ck ing and e ncoding/de coding) of a ne twork have be e n groupe d into logical se ts calle d laye rs, altoge the r se ve n. The laye rs are pile d on top of e ach othe r and are toge the r calle d the protocol stack . A laye r only inte rface s with laye rs im m e diate ly above and be low in the stack . The stack inte rface s upwards to the application, and downwards to the transm ission m e dia. The part of the whole application pe rform e d by the syste m that is pe rform e d in a de vice is calle d the application process (AP). The AP consists of two parts, one use r portion, which is the functionality, and one com m unication portion. In Fie ldbus the use r portion is the actual de vice function, such as m e asure m e nt or control (function block s), or the use r inte rface .
Figure 2.1 OSI Protocol Stack Each laye r provide s se rvice s for the laye r above it, and com m unicate s with the corre sponding laye r in the stack of the othe r station -- its peer, calle d peer-to-peer communication. The se t of facilitie s a laye r provide s to the above laye r is calle d services. W he n transm itting data from one application to anothe r, the data is passe d from the
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top to the bottom of the stack , be ing proce sse d by e ach laye r obtaining the physical laye r frame. The fram e is passe d ove r the m e dia. O n the othe r e nd, whe n re ce iving, the data is passe d from the bottom to the top of the stack . The proce ssing pe rform e d by the laye rs in the transm itting e nd is re ve rse d by the re spe ctive laye r on the re ce iving e nd, through which it obtains the original application data. Laye rs 3 through 6 are not use d be cause Fie ldbus, (and m ost othe r LANs) has no inte rconne ction be twe e n ne twork s, which is the purpose of the se laye rs. This sim plification m ake s Fie ldbus faste r and e asie r to im ple m e nt in de vice s with lim ite d proce ssor powe r, such as fie ld instrum e nts. The thre e re m aining laye rs, and provide d functional and proce dural characte ristics are : 1. Physical Layer (PhL): m e dia inde pe nde nt activation, m ainte nance , and de activation of physical link s that transpare ntly pass the bit stre am for com m unication; it only re cognize s individual bits, not characte rs or m ulticharacte r fram e s. The standard de fine s type s of m e dia and signals, transm ission spe e d and topology including num be r of node s, and de vice powe r (only in Fie ldbus). 2. Data Link Layer (DLL): transfe rs data be twe e n ne twork e ntitie s; activation, m ainte nance and de activation of data link conne ctions, grouping of bits into characte rs and m e ssage fram e s, characte r and fram e synchronization, e rror control, m e dia acce ss control and flow control (allowing se ve ral de vice s to share the ne twork ). The standard de fine s type of m e dia acce ss control, fram e form ats, e rror che ck ing and station addre ssing*. 7. Application Layer (APP): give s acce ss to a se t of local and com m unication se rvice s for se rving the distribute d syste m -- inte rconne ction be twe e n the APs and the use r. Standard de fine s m e ssage form ats and se rvice s available to the AP. *Note: Addressing is actually part of the Network layer, which is not defined in Fieldbus, where it instead is done in the Data Link Layer. Som e of the functionality of laye rs 3 through 6 are within the Fie ldbus protocol, im ple m e nte d in the application laye r. The O SI ne twork m anage m e nt is an e x te nsion to the O SI laye rs, re aching ove r all the laye rs. Syste m m anage m e nt m onitors and controls ope ration of ne twork re source s. It is divide d into syste m m anage m e nt functional are as. For Fie ldbus, the m ost im portant functional are a is ne twork configuration. Syste m m anage m e nt is acce sse d from one station to anothe r. It is m ode le d as a m anaging syste m (playing the m anage r role ), a m anage d syste m ) that plays the age nt role ), which has a Manage m e nt Inform ation Base (MIB). MIB is the logical store for inform ation and re source s use d to support ne twork m anage m e nt The e nd-use r is prim arily conce rne d with the physical conne ction and the application. The physical laye r, as pre viously m e ntione d, is alre ady standardize d and will not change . It will sure ly e x pand to include othe r m e dia such as radio, but it will not change . Since all sugge ste d Fie ldbus protocols propose alm ost ide ntical solutions for the use r application, the Fie ldbus is 're ady' as far as the use r is conce rne d. Use rs m ay now go ahe ad and le arn the installation, application and ope ration aspe cts of Fie ldbus without be ing afraid of having waste d the ir tim e . The unce rtainty lie s in the application and data link laye rs, and in the m anage m e nt functions. Howe ve r, those are transpare nt to use rs, and only of conce rn to product de ve lope rs. OSI in Fieldbus O nly laye rs 1, 2 and 7 are use d by Fie ldbus, and the application is the functionality provide d by the function block s.
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A Fie ldbus de vice has thre e APs: The function block application, ne twork m anage m e nt, and syste m m anage m e nt. Fieldbus Physical Layer C lose d loop control with pe rform ance like a 4-20 m A syste m , and variable spe e d drive s re quire high data transm ission spe e d. Since highe r spe e d m e ans highe r po we r consum ption, it the n clashe s with the ne e d for intrinsic safe ty in som e applications. The re fore one m ode rate ly high com m unication spe e d was se le cte d, and othe r faste r non-intrinsically safe options whe re also m ade available , cate ring to all applications. The syste m was de signe d to have a m inim um of com m unication ove rhe ad to m e e t control re quire m e nts e ve n with the low spe e d option. The re are se ve ral com binations for the physical laye r, e ach with the ir re lative m e rits. All de vice s on a bus m ust use the sam e options for m e dia, conne ction and transm ission rate . Howe ve r, bus or non-bus powe re d de vice s m ay be m ixe d, as we ll as intrinsically safe or nonintrinsically safe one s. Physical m e dia options: W ire Fibe r optics (pe nding) Radio (pe nding) Transm ission rate options: 31.25 k bit/s 1 Mbit/s 2.5 Mbit/s Common Media Characteristics The data are inte rchange d as a synchronous se rial half-duplex signal. A de vice transm its and re ce ive s on the sam e m e dia, but not sim ultane ously. The signal is se lf-clock ing, using Manche ste r (a.k .a. Biphase L) e ncoding. Since the transm ission is synchronous, no start and stop-bits are re quire d. In Manche ste r coding clock and data are com bine d so that a rising e dge re pre se nts logic 0 (ze ro) data, and a falling e dge re pre se nts logic 1 (one ) data.
Figure 2.2 Manchester encoding
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W he n transm itting, a preamble, e quivale nt to a phone 's 'ring' signal, is first transm itte d to synchronize the re ce ive rs of othe r de vice s. The be ginning and e nd of the m e ssage are indicate d by start and e nd delimiters re spe ctive ly. The de lim ite rs are not Manche ste r e ncode d, only data is, and can the re fore be unique ly ide ntifie d. The non-e ncode d bits in the de lim ite rs are calle d N+ (nondata positive ), and N- (nondata ne gative ). The pre am ble and the de lim ite rs adde d by the physical laye r in the transm itting de vice , are strippe d off by the physical laye r of the re ce iving de vice .
Figure 2.3 Fieldbus physical layer frame. Re dundancy m ay be achie ve d by duplication of physical laye r and m e dia. Voting (base d on tim e out and validity) controls which of the two m e dia a de vice is using. Wire Media Characteristics The wire m e dia use s e le ctrical signals on a norm al twiste d pair wire , and is alre ady approve d as an IEC /ISA standard since 1992. The m ax im um distance allowe d be twe e n two de vice s on wire m e dia de pe nds on the transm ission rate se le cte d. 31.25 k bit/s: 1,900 m 1 Mbit/s (voltage m ode ): 750m 1 Mbit/s (curre nt m ode ): 750m 2.5 Mbit/s: 500m The de vice m ust isolate the com m unication hardware , Media Attachment Unit (MAU), from
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ground to avoid e le ctrical ground loops whe n de vice s are m ultidroppe d. Bus topology (Figure 2.4), tre e topology (Figure 2.5) and point-to-point topologie s are supporte d. Tre e topology is only supporte d by the low spe e d ve rsion. The bus has a trunk cable with two terminators. The de vice s are conne cte d to the trunk via spurs. The spurs m ay be inte grate d in the de vice giving ze ro spur le ngth. A spur m ay conne ct m ore than one de vice , de pe nding on the le ngth. Active couplers m ay be use d to e x te nd spur le ngth. Active repeaters m ay be use d to e x te nd the trunk le ngth.
Figure 2.4 Bus Topology
Figure 2.5 Tree Topology The te rm inators are de signe d to have an im pe dance of 100 e ach around the transm ission fre que ncy. A de vice transm its by m odulating curre nt in the ne twork according to the Manche ste r e ncode d signal. Re ce iving de vice s se nse the voltage drop ge ne rate d ove r the two te rm inators as the curre nt is m odulate d. The m odulate d curre nt
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is 15 to 20 m A pk-to-pk for the low spe e d ve rsion, with a re ce ive r se nsitivity of 150 m V.
Figure 2.6 Wire media signal modulation 31.25 kbit/s wire media characteristics The lowe st spe e d wire m e dia option, 31.25 k bit/s, is the m ost ve rsatile and e x pe cte d to be the m ost wide ly use d type . It offe rs ve rsions for intrinsic safe ty and de vice powe ring by bus. The num be r of de vice s is lim ite d by this choice . Intrinsically safe / nonintrisically safe Bus powe re d / Se parate ly powe re d The typical num be r of de vice s is indicate d in table 2.1, the actual num be r varie s from de vice type to de vice type .
Table 2.1 Maximum number of network nodes In intrinsically safe syste m s, the safe ty barrie r should be place d be twe e n the powe r supply and the powe r supply e nd te rm inator. De vice s m ay be powe re d by the bus, only re quiring two wire s for supp ly and com m unication. A single powe r supply, com m on to all de vice s, is conne cte d to the ne twork at e ithe r e nd of the trunk . The voltage m ay be in the range 9-32 VDC . The im pe dance of the powe r supply m ust be a m inim um of 3 k around the transm ission fre que ncy in orde r not to short circuit the com m unication signal. A Manche ste r code d signal has a duty-cycle of e x actly 50% and can be se e n as a AC signal. The DC powe r consum ption (powe r drawn) of a de vice is the re fore constant. Fieldbus Data Link Layer -- FDL
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The Fie ldbus Data Link Laye r consists of two sublaye rs: the lowe r portion is the Fie ldbus Me dia Acce ss C ontrol (FMAC ) and the uppe r portion is the Fie ldbus Data Link C ontrol (FDLC ). A de vice on the Fie ldbus ne twork is e ithe r one of two station type s: Maste r station Siave station A m aste r station has the right to acce ss the m e dia (initiate com m unication). Slave s only have the right to re spond to a re que st from a m aste r. Fieldbus Media A ccess Control The Fie ldbus m e dium acce ss is a fusion of the Toke n- passing and Polling principle s. Se ve ral de vice s on a ne twork m ay be m aste r stations. O nly the station that has the toke n is pe rm itte d to initiate com m unication. The m aste r m ay poll (m aste r re que sts, slave re sponds) the slave de vice s while it has the toke n. The toke n is passe d to the ne x t m aste r in a spe cial fram e . The de vice s are give n individual station addre sse s. All fram e s contain the de stination addre ss (DA) and the source addre ss (SA) for the m e ssage . The Fie ldbus has se rvice s that fre e the use r from the re sponsibility of assigning and ke e ping track of addre sse s. A re quire m e nt for re liable control is re liable data. A two-byte Fram e C he ck Se que nce (FC S) is calculate d on all fram e data using a polynom ial in the transm itting de vice , and adde d to the fram e . The re ce iving de vice pe rform s the sam e calculation and com pare s the re sult with the FC S, the re by de te cting any e rror. The FC S is e quivale nt to the parity-bits and C yclic Re dundancy C he ck s of asynchronous protocols. W he n the above laye r re que sts the FDL to pass a m e ssage , the m e ssage priority is passe d along with it. The re are two prioritie s: high, e .g., alarm s, and low, e .g. configuration and diagnostics data. The FDL transm its the high priority m e ssage s first. Fieldbus Data Link Control The FDLC provide s various possibilitie s for the application laye r to se nd data to othe r stations. The re are two m e ssage type s that can be ide ntifie d in a Fie ldbus syste m : O pe rational Back ground O pe rational traffic is data transfe rre d be twe e n de vice s as part of the control strate gy, e .g. proce ss variable s. It is characte rize d as low volum e , tim e critical and cyclic. Back ground traffic is data transfe rre d be twe e n a de vice and the ope rator inte rface , e .g. configuration and diagnostics. It has the opposite characte ristics of ope rational traffic: high volum e , not tim e critical and is acyclic (sporadic). Object Oriented Design W he n de aling with a com ple x syste m such as a Fie ldbus application, the whole m ay appe ar unfathom able . By de com posing it to parts, and e ve n m ore prim itive e le m e nts in a hie rarchic nature , to a suitable le ve l of abstraction (re cognizing e sse ntial characte ristics), com ple x inte racting parts are brought to orde r and the syste m be com e s e asie r to grasp. That is achie ve d since one only ne e ds to com pre he nd a fe w sim ple
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parts. A te chnique , calle d O bje ct O rie nte d De sign (O O D), was use d to de sign the application laye r and the function block application proce ss. The re are m any 'ke ywords' in O O D. Howe ve r, for Fie ldbus study, O bje ct and C lass are sufficie nt. O bje cts are e ntitie s with a we ll de fine d be havior. Syste m s are broke n down to obje cts which can be said to be 'parts of' the syste m . In O O D, software is base d on obje cts that do things or change whe n one se nds the m m e ssage s or ope rate s upon the m . The re fore , O O D is not base d on algorithm s (e xe cution ste ps). O bje cts ofte n re pre se nt e ntitie s in the re al world, e .g. a file . O bje cts m ay be classifie d according to the ir function and othe r prope rtie s the y have in com m on. A class de fine s various 'k inds of' obje cts. Unique prope rtie s of an obje ct de fine s an instance of the class. To orde r or rank abstractions, both obje cts and classe s are organize d in a hie rarchy (le ve ls of abstraction or com ple x ity). O ne be ing built on top of the othe r, e ach le ve l is unde rstandable on the ir own. Inhe ritance is class hie rarchy -- a subclass (lowe r class) share s structure and be havior of a supe rclass (highe r class). Multiple inhe ritance is possible , and com m on. Aggre gation is obje ct hie rarchie s: obje cts are built from subobje cts. For e x am ple : In a large control syste m one can find m anage m e nt syste m , supe rvisory syste m and fie ld e quipm e nt; all parts of the control syste m . A fie ld de vice m ay have subparts such as se nsor, e le ctronics and casing. In a syste m the re m ay be a LD302, which is a k ind of pre ssure transm itte r which is a k ind of transm itte r, which is a k ind of fie ld e quipm e nt. The LD302 inhe rits the prope rtie s and be havior of the pre ssure transm itte r class. The re fore , an ope rator fam iliar with pre ssure transm itte rs can ope rate the LD302 in a m atte r of m inute s, only having to le arn the unique prope rtie s of the LD302. O O D yie lds sm alle r syste m s through this re use of com m on m e chanism s, aggre gation and inhe ritance . Mode ls are use d e x te nsive ly in Fie ldbus and in all e ngine e ring be cause the y m ake abstraction, de com position and hie rarchical orde ring e asie r. OOD in Fieldbus The Fie ldbus control syste m has be e n de com pose d down to the so calle d simple variables which is a suitable le ve l of abstraction. Ex am ple s of those are float, inte ge r and string. Sim ple variable s are use d on the ir own but also as parts of data structures such as the function block l/O param e te rs and function block link s. Again the se data structure s are parts of the function block data type which is also a data structure . Function block s are part of the function block application proce ss, which is part the fie ld de vice which finally is part of the syste m . Variable s m ay be classifie d in m any ways: float, inte ge r or string, static or dynam ic re ad or write e tc. Variable s is only one of m any type s of obje cts, but the m ost im portant, de fine d in Fie ldbus. Since the y e x ist in the AP, the y are calle d Application Process Objects (APO). Fieldbus A pplication Layer
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The distribute d application proce sse s in the syste m ne e d to com m unicate . The Fie ldbus provide s logical com m unication paths (channe ls) be twe e n the application proce sse s. Various type s of conne ctions with various com binations of characte ristics are available to m e e t the various com m unication ne e ds. Se ve ral conne ctions m ay e x ist sim ultane ously, e nabling m ultivariable acce ss. The Fie ldbus conne ctions are m ode le d in two ways: C lie nt-se rve r m ode l Publishe r-subscribe r m ode l The clie nt-se rve r se rve r m ode l is use d to de scribe acyclic data transfe r. From a com m unication point of vie w a client is an AP which is using a re m ote AP's functionality. The re m ote AP is calle d the server. For e x am ple , if the ope rator console wants to re ad a tuning param e te r in a controlle r in the fie ld, the AP in the console is the clie nt, and the AP in the controlle r is the se rve r. The publishe r-subscribe r m ode l is use d to de scribe cyclic data transfe r. From a com m unication point of vie w a subscriber is an AP which is using a re m ote AP's functionality. The re m ote AP is calle d the publisher. The publishe r is actually producing (publishing) data, a subscribe r is consum ing that (subscribing to) that data. For e x am ple , a transm itte r is publishing a proce ss variable which is consum e d by a controlle r. The controlle r is publishing an output which is consum e d by an actuator. Transm ission is controlle d by a third party, the requestor, which issue s a re que st to the publishe r to publish its data. Note: The publisher-subscriber model is derived from the more common producerconsumer model. As m e ntione d in the O O D introduction, a Fie ldbus syste m is broke n down into variable s. The re is a se t of se rvice s that le ts an AP use the functionality of an AP in anothe r de vice , such as ge tting the value of a variable or othe rwise m anipulate the obje ct. The prim ary inte ntion of Fie ldbus is to build the application using function block s. This would be done in the Function Block Application Proce ss (FBAP). Howe ve r, within a Fie ldbus de vice it is possible to have othe r type s of APs, e .g. ladde r logic or structure d te x t, though no such de finition has be e n m ade ye t. From a Fie ldbus point of vie w, a de vice is not its hardware parts as the y are to hum ans. For e x am ple , a pre ssure transm itte r is not an asse m bly of pre ssure se nsor, e le ctronics and a housing, but a ne twork node containing param e te rs. This ne twork vie w is calle d the Virtual Fie ld De vice (VFD). A de vice (station) contains only one FBAP. The FBAP m ay contain se ve ral VFDs to de vice a de vice 's application into individual loops to m ake it e asie r for the ope rator to ove rvie w. The VFD is the Inte rface be twe e n protocol stack and function block AP. The VFD is the part of the re al application that is visible and acce ssible through the ne twork , the com m unication obje cts such as variable s and block s e tc. Be fore a de vice can acce ss com m unication obje cts (e .g. variable s) in anothe r de vice , it m ust first k now which obje cts are available . and the ir structure . Knowing the structure is im portant be cause the re is no point in ask ing for a variable if you do not k now how to inte rpre t the answe r, if it is e .g. a float or inte ge r. This inform atio n m ay be pre -configure d or obtaine d from the com m unication partne r. The re are two type s of such se rvice s: ope rational se rvice s to m anipulate obje cts, and se rvice s for m anipulation of the ir de scriptive attribute s All obje cts (variable s, e tc.) have an inde x for e asy re fe re nce . Eve ry param e te r in the
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syste m is unique ly ide ntifie d by its inde x plus the conne ction. This is the m e thod use d to re que st data once a Fie ldbus syste m is up and running. The use r doe s not have to worry about ke e ping track of inde xe s and addre sse s That is done by the ne twork and m ay be totally transpare nt to the use r, de pe nding upon the type of use r inte rface . A m an m achine inte rface like a hand he ld te rm inal ne e ds inform ation about the obje ct m ore than just for com m unication purpose s. For e x am ple , it m ust k now how to pre se nt the inform ation to the use r (e .g. in a m e nu), whe n it m ust be update d dynam ically, if the re is a ce rtain proce dure involve d be fore writing the variable . This inform ation m ay be store d in the de vice , or m ay be supplie d se parate ly on m agne tic m e dia, for e x am ple . Ex am ple s of se rvice s re le ase conne ction re ad de vice status re ad de vice m anufacture r, type and ve rsion re ad e ntire or part of configuration re ad variable write variable notify an e ve nt instantiate block ('cre ate ') find O D inde x for a param e te r de le te block System and Network Management The purpose of ne twork m anage m e nt is to provide se rvice s for ce ntral configuration and control of the ne twork protocol stack , such as m ainte nance and start-up of the Fie ldbus syste m . For e x am ple , the ne twork m anage m e nt m anage s the conne ctions. The syste m m anage m e nt is split into two parts: a ke rne l which provide s the basic functionality that a control application can be built upon, and a part that provide s optim ization of ope ration and diagnostics of proble m s. It coordinate s functions in all laye rs, controls ove rall de vice ope ration and startup. The purpose with syste m m anage m e nt ke rne l is to provide functions for: De vice Tag assignm e nt Station addre ss assignm e nt C lock synchronization Sche duling of distribute d APs Function block binding In a syste m , e ach of the above functions can only be m anage d by one de vice (though one de vice m ay handle m any of the m ), the othe rs act as age nts. In case a m anage r fails, one of the age nts will assum e the m anage r role . For the syste m m anage m e nt to
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pe rform its task , it m ust coope rate with the syste m m anage m e nt in othe r stations on the ne twork . A sim ple de vice m ay im ple m e nt only a part of the syste m m anage m e nt functions. Physical Device Tag assignment Be fore a de vice is put on the ne twork , the use r m ust first assign a physical de vice tag to the de vice (i.e . it is done off-line ). The tag m ay be up to 16 characte rs, typically in accordance with norm al instrum e ntation practice s, e .g. PT-10270. Station address assignment Autom atically assigns and e nsure s that e ach de vice on the ne twork has a unique addre ss. An 'uninitiate d' de vice has a de fault addre ss. C onfiguration de vice s de te ct ne w de vice s and will assign a station addre ss, afte r che ck for duplicate tags. bringing the de vice to the 'standby' state . A te m porary de vice such as a hand he ld configurator se le cts its own addre ss if the re is no traffic on the ne twork . Function block binding The ne twork autom atically finds the de vice (station addre ss) for a give n function block . It che ck s for m ultiple tags. This function is use d whe n re solving link s be twe e n block outputs to inputs (ide ntifie d by the block 's tag, and the param e te r nam e ) to the short addre ss and inde x re fe re nce . Clock synchronization For the Fie ldbus syste m to pe rform sche duling and othe r tim e re late d functions such as tim e stam ping of alarm s and e ve nts, the re is a distribute d tim e base (clock ) in e ach de vice , providing a com m on se nse of tim e am ong all de vice s -- 'syste m tim e .' Syste m m anage m e nt provide s a m e chanism for synchronization of the tim e in e ach de vice . This is done from a 'm aste r clock ' which provide s the corre ct tim e . Scheduling The purpose of sche duling is to m inim ize de lays due to com m unication. Such de lays are pure de ad tim e which m ake control difficult. Sche duling also insure s that variable s are sam ple d and function block s are e xe cute d on a pre cise ly pe riod basis, so that the de lay is constant. A constant de lay is a m ust, since a change in de lay would re quire re -tuning. This way, tight close d loop control is achie ve d with tim e le ft ove r for back ground traffic. Sche duling also insure s accurate tre nding and pre dictable alarm de te ction. The re are thre e sche dule d functions: Back ground Traffic O pe rational Traffic Function Block Exe cution The synchronization is base d on syste m tim e . A macro cycle is a pe riod of block e xe cution which is divide d into an inte ge r num be r of phase s -- clock units. All function block s are e xe cute d, and all ope rational traffic is passe d during the m acro cycle (se e fig 2.7). The Function Block Exe cution starts the e xe cution of the function block s at the be ginning of a phase by inform ing the FBAP at the prope r tim e . Note that transduce r block s are not sche dule d to e nable spe cial se nsing te chnique s or m e asure m e nt whe n a sam ple is available . The use r m ay de te rm ine in what orde r the block s should be e xe cute d in orde r to m inim ize de lays due to param e te r propagation. Back ground Traffic is sche dule d to be passe d during the phase s not use d for Function Block Exe cution or O pe rational Traffic.
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Figure 2.7 Scheduling In the e x am ple in figure 2.7 a sim ple control loop consisting of input (Al), control (PID) and output (AO ), with the Al and PID in the sam e physical de vice . No inte rde vice conne ction is ne ce ssary for the proce ss variable . In this e x am ple , the e xe cution pe riod for the AO block is shorte r in orde r to illustrate that block e xe cution tim e de pe nds on block . C om m unication is sche dule d in the m aste r de vice which controls traffic and re que sts com m unication. Function block s are sche dule d in the individual de vice . Equation 2.1 Execution period/time, where x is a signed integer: -128 to 127. For example. x = -3 results in 125 ms Function Block A pplication Process The Function Block AP (FBAP) is whe re the use r configure s the ir m e asure m e nt and control application. Parts of it is distribute d to the various de vice s in the fie ld. It is not e xe cute d in a single control card as it is done in a DC S. The functionality of a Fie ldbus de vice is m ode le d as obje cts. The block obje ct has thre e classe s which again have sub-classe s unde r which the various block s are groupe d. Block obje ct Function block obje ct Input function block O utput function block C ontrol function block C alculate function block Transduce r block obje ct Input transduce r block O utput transduce r block Display transduce r block
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Physical block obje ct Alarm obje ct Eve nt obje ct Tre nd obje ct Display list
Figure 2.8 FBA P architecture The part of the FPAP, which is standardize d by Fie ldbus, is calle d the function block shell. For e x am ple , the block algorithm s are not standardize d. For e ach block the re is a se t of param e te rs that, to a ce rtain e x te nt, de fine s what m inim um functionality a block will have . Howe ve r, the m anufacture r m ay im ple m e nt such block in the ir own way. For e x am ple , in the PID control block the re m ust be a GAIN param e te r and the re fore , the m anufacture r m ay use this param e te r as gain or proportional band. Function Block The block s m ode l the use r configurable part of the e ntire application. Typically, the se functionalitie s we re pre viously available in individual physical de vice s. Now, se ve ral are include d in form of software block s in a single de vice . Toge the r in a Fie ldbus syste m the diffe re nt type s of function block s provide all the functionality ne ce ssary for m ost control syste m s. The use r can build control strate gie s suitable for the ir application by link ing the se function block s.
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In ge ne ral, function block s can be said to use an algorithm and containe d param e te rs in orde r to proce ss input param e te rs, and producing as re sults, output param e te rs. Again, the block is just an abstraction of software and data. The re are no block s inside the de vice to be se e n. The function block conce pt was de signe d around the PID block since it is the m ost com ple x block . The conce pt of local/re m ote se tpoint, autom atic/m anual output, cascade (re m ote se tpoint) and the algorithm has be e n carrie d on to othe r block s, which m ay have appe are d strange at first. A particular se le ction of se tpoint and output is calle d the block m ode . The algorithm doe s not re fe r to the PID algorithm in the PID block alone , but in ge ne ral to the proce ssing function of all block s. Each block is ide ntifie d in the syste m by a tag assigne d by the use r. This tag m ust be unique in the Fie ldbus syste m . Each param e te r in a block has a nam e that cannot be change d. All param e te rs in the syste m are unique ly de fine d by the block tag plus param e te r nam e . Inputs from othe r block s arrive asynchronously. W he n a block is e xe cute d a 'snap shot' of the inputs is the re fore take n. This also pre ve nts input data to change during block e xe cution. Afte r e xe cuting the block algorithm , its outputs are update d and broadcaste d on the ne twork and re ad by inputs of block s using this inform ation. This way, the output has to be com m unicate d only once , e ve n if it is conne cte d to m any inputs. The e xe cution tim e for the block is e x pre sse d just like the e xe cution pe riod in e quation 2.1. C onfiguration is basically assignm e nt of tags and building of the control strate gy by se le cting block s (installation), link ing the m and adjusting the containe d m ay be done by a sim ple hand he ld configurator or through the use of a com pute r with a graphical use r inte rface , which allows use rs to draw the configuration as a control diagram . C onfiguration m ay be done in advance or during ope ration.
Analog input block Provide s the functionality of what is k nown as a transm itte r. It m ake s the m e asure m e nt pe rform e d by a de vice available to the Fie ldbus syste m . It also optionally applie s calibration, dam ping, and a transfe r function such as a square root of a m e asure d diffe re ntial pre ssure , e nabling infe rre d m e asure m e nts like flow (in this case ) in a diffe re ntial pre ssure transm itte r. It also provide s proce ss variable alarm . PID control block Provide s the functionality of the PID controlle r. This e nable s a de vice to ope rate as a controlle r distribute d to the fie ld in a transm itte r or valve , typically for the pre ssure , flow or le ve l it m e asure s or actuate s upon. It also provide s proce ss variable and de viation alarm , UR and A/M station, ove rride and fe e d-forward. Analog O utput block Provide s the functionality of what is k nown as an actuator such as a valve . It m ake s the calculate d control output available to the actuator hardware . It also optionally applie s signal re ve rsing and actual position fe e dback .
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Figure 2.9 A nalog input function block Function block links By link ing function block outputs to inputs of othe r function block s, control strate gie s can be built. W he n such a link is m ade the input 'pulls' the value from the output, the re by obtaining its value . Link s can be m ade be twe e n function block s in the sam e de vice or in diffe re nt de vice s (se e figure 2.10). An output m ay be conne cte d to m any inputs. The se link s are pure ly software , and the re is basically no lim itation to how m any link s can trave l along a physical wire . Link s cannot be m ade with containe d variable s. Analog value s are passe d as floating point in e ngine e ring unit, but are scale d to pe rce ntage (e .g., in the PID control block ) to e nable dim e nsionle ss tuning param e te rs. Digital value s are passe d as Boole an, 0 or 255. The analog scaling inform ation m ay also be use d in ope rator inte rface s to provide a bar-graph re adout. An output value is always accom panie d by a status inform ing if, e .g., a value re ce ive d from a se nsor (forward path) is suitable for control or as the fe e dback (back ward path) inform ing if, e .g., the output doe s not m ove the final control e le m e nt. The status is de te rm ine d by the source . Note that the pull syste m is use d for back ward paths as we ll. This way, the re ce iving function block can take an appropriate action. Link s are unique ly de fine d by the nam e of the output param e te r and the tag of the function block it com e s from . It is the re fore ve ry e asy for a use r to ide ntify link s. Syste m m anage m e nt re solve s the block tag+param e te r nam e construct into the short re fe re nce addre ss+inde x to m ake com m unication faste r. Link s m ay also be pre -configure d dire ctly using addre ss and inde x . The link m anage m e nt autom atically e stablishe s the conne ctions upon powe r on.
Figure 2.10 Simple control application
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All function block link s re pre se nt publishe r/subscribe r conne ctions. The function block s are de fine d to take action if com m unication is lost (e .g., publishing m anage r failure ). Transducer blocks The transduce r block s are re sponsible for the inte rface be twe e n the function block s and the de vice l/O hardware . The re is one transduce r block for e ach hardware point, such as se nsor. I/O te rm inal or display. The standard itse lf doe s not spe cify any param e te rs for the transduce r block s, but the use r group has ide ntifie d param e te r for various de vice type s. Nor are the transduce r block s sche dule d; the m anufacture r m ay the re fore control e xe cution of the transduce r block to, e .g., suit his se nsing te chnique , ofte n faste r than function block e xe cution. The inte rface to the function block s (input or output class) is m ade de vice inde pe nde nt by the transduce r block s. Transduce r block s cannot be linke d using function block link s, all the ir param e te rs are containe d within. The y inte rface to the function block s through e num e rate d hardware channe ls, and only with block s in the sam e physical de vice . The corre sponding function block spe cifie s the hardware channe l.
Figure 2.11 A nalog input transducer block (pressure) Input transduce r block : Re sponsible for the proce ssing characte rization and trim . of the se nsor signal such as te m pe rature
O utput transduce r block : Re sponsible for proce ssing of the actuator and the fe e dback signal such as trim . Display transduce r block : Re sponsible for the local display and ke yboard or e quivale nt. Physical block The re is only one physical block in a de vice . It is re sponsible for m onitoring the ope ration of the whole de vice , such as se lf diagnostics. It also contains d e vice inform ation such as final asse m bly num be r and m ate rials. The physical block cannot be linke d using function block link s, all its param e te rs are containe d within. The physical block m ay also contain param e te rs that are 'global' which m ay be use d by any block in the de vice . For e x am ple , a single se t of line arization data m ay be use d by se ve ral analog input block s. The function block is not sche dule d. The m anufacture r m ay control e xe cution to suit de vice ne e ds. Block parameters As m e ntione d in the O O D se ction, the archite cture is de com pose d down to sim ple variable s. For variable s the re are two m e ta type s: Sim ple variable
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Re cord (data structure ) For e ach m e ta type , the re are m any subtype s. For e x am ple , a sim ple variable m ay be a float, inte ge r, or a string, e tc. Data structure s are logical groupings of re late d sim ple variable param e te rs. For e x am ple , the m ode data structure is a colle ction of the targe t, actual and norm al m ode s. An alarm data structure is a colle ction of status/priority, cause , causing value and tim e stam p. The block is also a type of data structure . Sim ple variable s m ay be use d on the ir own or as e le m e nts of data structure s. The advantage of data structure s is that param e te rs ne e de d toge the r can be acce sse d in a single re que st, rathe r than having to re pe ate dly having to re que st for e ach e le m e nt. The re are m any classifications of the param e te rs use d in the block s, and a param e te r m ay be part of m ore than one classification: Use Storage Hie rarchy Acce ss The re are thre e classifications de pe nding on use of the param e te r in a block : Input -- m ay be linke d to a function block output to re ce ive that value . For e x am ple , the proce ss variable of a PID block . An input m ay be se t by the ope rator if it is not linke d. Input param e te rs consist of a value and a status. O utputs -- m ay be linke d to a function block input to propagate the value . It is calculate d by the block , or m ay be se t by the ope rator in ce rtain m ode s. For e x am ple the m anipulate d variable (output) of the PID block . O utput param e te rs consist of a value and a status. C ontaine d -- m ay not be linke d but is available for use r inte rface such as configuration, ope ration and diagnostics. The containe d param e te rs control the ope ration of the block . De pe nding on the block m ode , it is e ithe r calculate d by the block or se t by the ope rator. For e x am ple . the tuning param e te rs of the PID block . Transduce r block s and the physical block only have containe d param e te rs. The re are thre e classifications de pe nding on how the param e te r is store d: Static -- writing to this variable incre m e nts the static re vision counte r. The value is re m e m be re d through a powe r cycle . For e x am ple , an alarm lim it. Non-volatile -- writing to this variable doe s not incre m e nt the static re vision counte r. The value is re m e m be re d through a powe r cycle . For e x am ple , the se tpoint of a PID block . Dynam ic -- the value is calculate d by the function block or re ce ive d as a block input. The use r doe s not write this variable . The value doe s not incre m e nt the static re vision counte r and is not re m e m be re d through a powe r cycle . For e x am ple , block inputs and outputs. The re are two classifications de pe nding on how the param e te r m ay be acce sse d: Write -- the variable m ay be both re ad and writte n. Re ad only -- the variable m ay be re ad but not writte n.
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The re are four classifications de pe nding on the hie rarchical le ve l of the param e te r: Unive rsal -- m andatory in all function block s. For e x am ple , all block s have a tag and m ode param e te r. Function -- m andatory in ce rtain function block s as de fine d by the standard. For e x am ple , an analog input block m ust have dam ping, and a PID control block m ust have a se tpoint. De vice -- m andatory in a ce rtain de vice type agre e d upon by the use r group. For e x am ple all pre ssure transm itte rs m ust have a param e te r for proce ss conne ction, and all te m pe rature transm itte rs m ust have a param e te r for se nsor type . Manufa cture r -- optional and spe cific to the de vice as de fine d by the m anufacture r. Allows a m anufacture r to put in additional param e te rs to cove r unique fe ature s of his de vice . For e x am ple , adjustable square -root cutoff.
Figure 2.12 Parameter hierarchy The inhe ritance of param e te rs plays an im portant role for inte rope rability. A conform ing de vice will as a m inim um have the param e te rs and associate d functionality de fine d as De vice param e te rs. A lert Object Many of the function block s have a built-in alarm function to de te ct high and low proce ss variable and de viation alarm s. W he n alarm s and othe r critical e ve nts occur an ale rt obje ct autom atically notifie s the use r. Thus, the ope rator inte rface doe s not have to pe rform pe riodic polling to de te rm ine if the re is an alarm condition. The physical and transduce r block s de te ct failure s in hardware and ove rall ope ration status. The ale rt obje ct alle viate s the block s from the ale rt handling so that its e xe cution re m ains unaffe cte d. An ack nowle dgm e nt m e chanism is also provide d for by the ale rt obje ct to
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k now that the ope rator has be e n inform e d. If a re ply is not re ce ive d within a spe cifie d tim e , the ale rt notification is re pe ate d. The use r is also inform e d whe n an alarm condition disappe ars. Ex am ple s of e ve nts are : Mode is be ing force d for som e re ason Block tag has be e n change d Locke d output/fail-safe conditions Fe e dback doe s not m atch de sire d output For the alarm s, the use r m ay configure the trip le ve l and, priority le ve l and de ad-band. The ale rt notification to the console include s: tim e stam p, re ason, priority, pre se nt status (the alarm m ay alre ady have disappe are d), and the trip value . If a change is m ade to the configuration an ale rt notification containing priority, configuration re vision le ve l, change d param e te r and tim e stam p will be issue d. All ale rts will also inform which de vice and block is the source of alarm , ale rt ke y for sorting by plant division and a type code ide ntifying e num e rate d m e ssage s to the ope rator. The m e ssage m ay be am ong standard m e ssage s or othe rs spe cifie d by the m anufacture r. For e ach block the re is also an alarm sum m ary of up to 16 ale rts, sum m arizing: pre se nt status, if the alarm has alre ady be e n ack nowle dge d, if not succe ssfully re porte d to the ope rator. or if it is disable d. Trend object Tre nding m ay be done by the de vice itse lf using the tre nd obje ct. This way, pe riodic tim e critical com m unication is not ne ce ssary. Data is colle cte d from 20 sam ple s and are acce sse d in a single com m unication. This re duce s com m unication and ne twork ove rhe ad, le aving m ore tim e for tim e -critical transfe rs. Display list object Re m ote ope rator inte rface s provide m onitoring and actuation of variable s, such as proce ss variable and se tpoint. Such inte rface s ne e d acce ss for configuration and diagnostics. The se variable s have be e n groupe d into four groups, de pe nding on usage , and m ay be acce sse d in a single com m unication rathe r than se ve ral individual one s. This re duce s the num be r of acce sse s and the re by, the ne twork ove rhe ad. All ope rator inte rface data are sche dule d as back ground traffic. Dynam ic ope ration data -- e .g., proce ss variable Static ope ration data -- e .g., pe rm itte d m ode All dynam ic data -- all inputs and outputs O the r static data -- e .g., all alarm configuration A ccess rights The ope rator at the console has the possibility to grant or de ny acce ss to four se ts of param e te rs in a block to a local inte rface or a highe r le ve l de vice , such as a batch program . To the function block , a djustm e nts done from the console , locally or by a batch program will appe ar the sam e .
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The four groups are : for a highe r le ve l de vice Program -- m ode , se tpoint and output Tune -- tuning param e te rs Alarm -- alarm param e te rs for a hand-he ld te rm inal or local inte rface Local -- m ode , se tpoint and output Optimization The low spe e d ve rsion of Fie ldbus was se le cte d in orde r to m e e t the re strictions on proce ssing powe r im pose d by the ne e d to m e e t intrinsic safe ty re quire m e nts. To m e e t the ne e d of tight close d loop control re stricte d by the low com m unication bandwidth, the use of the ne twork has be e n optim ize d in ways alre ady de scribe d above , which are worth sum m arizing: sche duling short re fe re nce s standard param e te r de finition configuration change ale rt Display list obje ct Ale rt obje ct Tre nd obje ct Sche duling m ake s sure that the ne twork is ne ve r idle , waiting for som e param e te r to arrive . The use r frie ndly, but long, block tags and param e te r nam e s are conve rte d to addre ss and inde x . Param e te rs are standardize d and do not have to be 'de code d' in m any diffe re nt ways. W he n a change is m ade in a fie ld de vice , the host is autom atically inform e d whe re the change was m ade , ne e ding to update only that param e te r. It doe s not have to m ake continuous che ck s to se e if the configuration has change d. The tre nd obje ct and display list obje ct re duce the num be r of com m unications ne ce ssary for acce ss of data. The re fore , m ore tim e is le ft for tim e -critical task s. The ale rt obje ct m ake s sure that host doe s not have to load the ne twork by fre que nt polling for alarm status, whe n an alarm status change s, it is autom atically notifie d.
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