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how we can simulate any ff transmitter with a field communicator (0 100%) without injecting process variable?
By habeeb on 15 June, 2012 - 2:24 am
HART transmitter we can simulate 4 to 20 ma with HART communicator. what about foundation fieldbus
instruments? how we can simulate with communicator to dcs 0 to 100% without process variables?
By David
on 18 June, 2012 - 10:50 pm
At a local ISA meeting about a year ago, I sat through a typical power point slide presentation on the benefits
of FF, all aimed at reduced wiring costs. OK.
Since I have to keep things running in the plant, I naively asked the same question as the OP and got the same
brush-off, "I don't know but trust me, FF is wonderful and will never let you down". Uh-huh.
I don't know why the OP asked the question but a loop check is a standard practice in the analog 4-20mA
HART world to verify loop functionality. It would be nice to know how the same thing is accomplished in FF,
even if the most wonderful comprehensive all-encompassing diagnostics are available somewhere,
interpretable by someone with a Captain Midnight decoder ring.
Ironically, someone on LinkedIn recently asked the same question, and because I don't know how restricted
LinkedIn is, I copied the question and the answer and pasted them below to blow away some of the smoke
around this arcane and esoteric issue.
--------------Question: I was wondering if you are able to simulate in Foundation Fieldbus ? I do not see it in the Transducer
Block menu on the 475? can anyone help?
Answer: There's a "simulate" value and enable bit (?) in the input blocks, like an AI for example. We don't use
it very much. You can also put AI's in "Manual" mode, where you can set the output and status to whatever you
please. Unless - you set the option bit "Uncertain if Manual Mode" . . . you can still make the output whatever
you want, but the status can't be set to "good".
I can see a few reasons to use the AI's MAN mode instead of Simulate. For one, I can set the output in the
engineering units I've configured for the host. Seems to me the "simulate" value is in units of XD_Scalce or
Field_val_percent (?) - and may not be linearized i.e. the output may be the square root of your "simulate"
input if that's what you've selected for linearization.\
--------------It might not be a comprehensive answer, but it's a start.
. Fieldbus devices do not have analog output and the system interface card has no analog input so there can be
no current calibration mismatch
. Fieldbus devices use digital communication. It does not get distorted, non-linear, limited, or offset etc. If bits
are distorted, this is detected by the communication error checking
However, if you want to simulate the PV to test your control strategy (direct/reverse action), alarm trips,
response to failures, display in face plates, graphics, and historian etc. simulation is indeed possible. It is done
from the AI function block (not from the transducer block).
If you could post the link to the Linkedin posting I would be grateful. I'd like to jump into the conversation to
clarify
Cheers,
Jonas
By David
on 26 June, 2012 - 5:35 pm
Thank you, Mr. Berge, for that clear and concise explanation.
I'll go back and look for the LinkedIn discussion link.
By David
on 26 June, 2012 - 10:17 pm
The comments were made on a discussion in the LinkedIN Foundation Fieldbus Users Forum Group:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/I-was-wondering-if-you-79953.S.122863916
(take out any spaces the forum inserts into the URL)