SCADA

SCADA stands for supervisory control and data acquisition . It generally refers to an industrial control system: a computer system monitoring and controlling a process. The process can be industrial, infrastructure or facility -based as described below:
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Industrial processes include those of manufacturing, production, power generation, fabrication, and refining, and may run in continuous, batch, repetitive, or discrete modes. Infrastructure processes may be public or private, and include water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, oil and gas pipelines, electrical power transmission and distribution, Wind Farms, civil defense siren systems, and large communication systems. Facility processes occur both in public facilities and private ones, including buildings, airports, ships, and space stations. They monitor and control HVAC, access, and energy consumption.

Systems concepts

The term SCADA usually refers to centralized systems which monitor and control entire sites, or complexes of systems spread out over large areas (anything between an industrial plant and a country). Most control actions are performed automatically by Remote Terminal Units ("RTUs") or by programmable logic controllers ("PLCs"). Host control functions are usually restricted to basic overriding or supervisory level intervention. For example, a PLC may control the flow of cooling water through part of an industrial process, but the SCADA system may allow operators to change the set points for the flow, and enable alarm conditions, such as loss of flow and high temperature, to be displayed and recorded. The feedback control loop passes through the RTU or PLC, while the SCADA system monitors the overall performance of the loop.

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DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM

Data ac uisition systems, as the name implies, are products and/or processes used
to collect information to document or analyze some phenomenon. In the simplest form, a technician logging the temperature of an oven on a piece of paper is performing data ac uisition. As technology has progressed, this type of process has been simplified and made more accurate, versatile, and reliable through electronic e uipment. E uipment ranges from simple recorders to sophisticated computer systems. Data ac uisition products serve as a focal point in a system, tying together a wide variety of products, such as sensors that indicate temperature, flow, level, or pressure. Some common data ac uisition terms are shown below:
Data acquisition (abbreviated DAQ) is the process of sampling of real world physical conditions and conversion of the resulting samples into digital numeric values that can be manipulated by a computer. Data ac uisition and data ac uisition systems (abbreviated with the acronym DAS) typically involves the conversion of analog waveforms into digital values for processing. The components of data ac uisition systems include:
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Sensors that convert physical parameters to electrical signals. Signal conditioning circuitry to convert sensor signals into a form that c an be converted to digital values. Analog-to-digital converters, which convert conditioned sensor signals to digital values.

Data ac uisition applications are controlled by software programs developed using various general purpose programming languages such as BASIC, C, Fortran, Java, Lisp, Pascal. COMEDI is an open source API (application program Interface) used by applications to access and control the data ac uisition hardware. Using COMEDI allows the same programs to run on different operating systems, like Linux and Windows. Specialized software tools used for building large scale data ac uisition systems include EPICS. Graphical programming environments include ladder logic, Visual C++, Visual Basic, MATLAB and Lab VIEW.

DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSTEMS (DCS)

Distributed control systems (DCS) use decentralized elements or subsystems to control distributed processes or complete manufacturing systems. They do not re uire user intervention for routine operation, but may permit operator interaction via a supervisory control and data ac uisition (SCADA) interface. Distributed control systems (DCS) consist of a remote control panel, communications medium, and central control panel. They use process-control software and an input/output (I/O) database. Some suppliers refer to their remote control panels as remote transmission units (RTU) or digital communication units (DCU). Regardless of their name, remote control panels contain terminal blocks, I/O modules, a processor, and a communications interface. The communications medium in a distributed control system (DCS) is a wired or wireless link which connects the remote control panel to central control panel, SCADA, or human machine interface (HMI). Specialized process -control software is used to read an I/O database with defined inputs and outputs. Selecting distributed control systems (DCS) re uires an analysis of network protocols. Ethernet is a local area network (LAN) protocol that uses a bus or star typology and supports data transfer rates of 10 Mbps. To handle simu ltaneous demands, Ethernet uses carrier sense multiple access / collision detection (CSMA/CD) to monitor network traffic. Field bus is a bi -directional communications protocol used for communications among field instrumentation and control systems. Network protocols for distributed control systems (DCS) also include controller area network bus (CAN bus), control network (Control Net), DeviceNet, INTERBUS (Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co), and PROFIBUS (PROFIBUS International). The
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process fieldbus (PROFIBUS) is a popular, open communication standard used in factory automation, process automation, motion control, and safety applications. Distributed control systems (DCS) differ in terms of complexity and applications. Smaller implementations may consist of a single programmable logic controller (PLC) connected to a computer in a remote office. Larger, more complex DCS installations are also PLC -based, but use special enclosures for subsystems that provide both I/O and communication. In terms of applications, some distributed control systems (DCS) are used in electrical power grids or electrical generation facilities. Others are used in environmental control systems, wastewater treatment plants, and sensor networks. Distributed control systems (DCS) for petrole um refineries and petrochemical plants are also common. Fully-distributed systems enable remote nodes to operate independently of the central control. These nodes can store all of the process data necessary to maintain operations in the even of a communica tions failure with a central facility. A distributed control system (DCS) refers to a control system usually of a manufacturing system, process or any kind of dynamic system, in which the controller elements are not central in location (like the brain) but are distributed throughout the system with each component sub -system controlled by one or more controllers. The entire system of controllers is connecte d by networks for communication and monitoring. DCS is a very broad term used in a variety of industries, to monitor and control distributed e uipment.
Elements

A DCS typically uses custom designed processors as controllers and uses both proprietary interconnections and communications protocol for communication. Input and output modules form component parts of the DCS. The processor receives information from input modules and sends information to output modules. The input modules receive information from input instruments in the process (a.k.a. field) and transmit instructions to the output instruments in the field. Computer buses or electrical buses connect the processor and modules through multiplexer or demultiplexers. Buses also connect the distributed controllers with the central controller and finally to the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) or control consoles. See Process Automation System. Elements of a distributed control system may directly connect to physical e uipment such as switches, pumps and valves or may work through an intermediate system such as a SCADA system.
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Applications

Distributed Control Systems (DCSs) are dedicated systems used to control manufacturing processes that are continuous or batch -oriented, such as oil refining, petrochemicals, central station power generation, pharmaceuticals, food & beverage manufacturing, cement production, steelmaking, and papermaking. DCSs are connected to sensors and actuators and use setpoint control to control the flow of material through the plant. The most common example is a setpoint control loop consisting of a pressure sensor, controller, and control valve. Pressure or flow measurements are transmitted to the controller, usually through the aid of a signal conditioning Input/Output (I/O) device. When the measured variable reaches a certain point, th e controller instructs a valve or actuation device to open or close until the fluidic flow process reaches the desired setpoint. Large oil refineries have many thousands of I/O points and employ very large DCSs. Processes are not limited to fluidic flow th rough pipes, however, and can also include things like paper machines and their associated variable speed drives and motor control centers, cement kilns, mining operations, ore processing facilities, and many others. A typical DCS consists of functionally and/or geographically distributed digital controllers capable of executing from 1 to 256 or more regulatory control loops in one control box. The input/output devices (I/O) can be integral with the controller or located remotely via a field network. Today s controllers have extensive computational capabilities and, in addition to proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) control, can generally perform logic and se uential control. DCSs may employ one or several workstations and can be configured at the workstation or by an off -line personal computer. Local communication is handled by a control network with transmission over twisted pair, coaxial, or fiber optic cable. A server and/or applications processor may be included in the system for extra computational, data collection, and reporting capability.