Dr. B.R.

Ambedkar National Institute of Technology

Jalandhar

Highway Addressable
Remote Transducer

Index

What is HART ?
What are smart devices ?
Why HART?
HART Principles
Network configurations
Communication modes
HART commands
Establishing communication

What is HART ?
HART is a digital protocol that
enables two way digital
communication with SMART field
devices. With advancements in
technology , it has become the
de facto standard for
communicating with SMART
devices as it allows the user to
realize the full potential of
SMART devices while preserving
the 4-20 mA signal.

What are SMART Devices

?
Transducers are devices that covert
a physical variable into a
corresponding electrical signal.
SMART refers to Signal Modulation
and Rearranging
Transducer.
SMART devices are intelligent
transducers with integrated electronics
and are composed of transduction
element, signal conditioning device

Functions of SMART
Devices
To perform logic functions
To make decisions
To provide two way communication

Why HART ?
HART provides two way digital
communication with smart instruments
without disturbing the 4-20 mA analog signal
i.e. both the digital and analog signals
can be transmitted simultaneously over
the same wiring.
HART is compatible with the existing
systems unlike other digital communication
technologies.

Benefits of HART

Low - risk and highly accurate

Cost effective
Easy to use and understand
Supported by most industry devices
and suppliers
Operational flexibility
Digital communication

HART Data
Device data: Device tag, supplier,
device type and revision, serial
number
Calibration data: Upper and lower
range values, last calibration date
Process variables: Primary variable
plus secondary variable
measurements
Status / Diagnostic alerts: Device
malfunction, configuration change

HART Principles
The HART protocol makes use of the bell 202
frequency shift keying (FSK) standard to
superimpose digital signals on top of analog signals .

Digital signal is
made up of two
frequencies1200 Hz and 2200
Hz representing
bits 1 and 0
respectively.

 Sine waves of 1200 Hz and 2200 Hz

are superimposed on the analog
signal cables to provide
simultaneous analog and digital
communication
The digital communication signal has
a response time of 2-3 digital
updates per second from a field
device without affecting the analog
signal
It is generally operated in one of the
two network configurations:
Point to Point

Point - to - Point
The digital signals are overlaid on the 4-20
mA current loop
The traditional 420 mA signal is used to
communicate one process variable, while
additional process variables,configuration
parameters, and other device data are
transferred digitally using the HART
protocol
Only one instrument can be put on each
instrument cable signal pair

 Two masters (primary and

secondary ) can be used. This allows
secondary masters to be used
without interfering with

Multi Drop
Only digital signals are used and
analog loop current is fixed at a
minimum value (usually 4 mA)
Up to 15 instruments can be used on
one cable
Each instrument is given unique
polling address (from 1-15)
Safety barriers and auxiliary power
source are used

It is used for supervisory control

installations that are widely spaced,
such as pipelines, custody transfer
stations, and tank farms

Communication Modes
One of the following two modes is
adopted for operation
Master slave mode
Burst mode

Master Slave Mode

During normal operation , each slave is
initiated by a master communication device
Two masters can connect to each HART loop
The primary master is usually a distributed
control system or a programmable logic
device
The secondary master can be a handheld
terminal or another PC
Slave devices include transmitters , actuators
and controllers that respond to masters

Burst Mode
Burst mode enables faster communication
i.e. 3-4 updates per second
In this mode the master instructs the slave
to broadcast a standard HART reply
continuously
Master receives information at a faster rate
until it instructs slave to stop bursting
It is used to enable more than one passive
device on the HART device to listen to
communications on the HART loop

HART Commands
The HART command set provides
uniform and consistent
communication for all field devices.
The command set includes three
classes:
Universal
Common practice
Device specific
Host applications may implement
any of the necessary commands for a

Universal Commands
They must be implemented by all HART
devices and provide interoperability among
products from different suppliers
Universal commands are:
Read primary variables and units
Read manufacturer and device
type
Read current output
Read sensor serial number and
limits

Common Practice
Commands
Common practice commands provide
functions implemented by many, but
not necessarily all, HART
communication devices
Some common practice commands
are
Read selection of upto four
variables
Set fixed output current
Write transmitter range

Device Specific Commands

(user specific)
Device specific commands represent
functions that are unique to each field device
Information on device specific commands is
available from device manufacturers
Device specific commands include:
Read/ write construction material
info
Write PID set point
Read/write alarm relay set point

HART Frame Format

FIELD NAME

LENGTH (bytes)

PURPOSE

Preamble

5-20

Synchronization and carrier

detect

Start Byte

Specifies master number

Address

1-5

Specifies slave , master and

burst mode

Command

Numerical value for command to

execute

Byte Count

Indicates size of data field

Status

Master(O) Slave(2) Execution and health reply

Data

0-253

Data associated with command

Checksum

XOR of all bytes of data from

Establishing
Communication
Each HART device has a 38-bit address that
consists of the manufacturer ID code, device
type code, and device-unique identifier
A unique address is encoded in each device at
the time of manufacture. A HART master must
know the address of a field device in order to
communicate successfully with it
Address can be learnt by issuing : Command 0
Command 11

Command 0 (read unique

identifier)
Command 0 is the preferred mode
because it enables the master to
learn the address of each slave
without user interaction.
Each polling address (015) is
probed to learn the unique address
for each device
Command 11(read identifier by
tag)

Device Description
Language
Device description language (DDL) allows
a slave product developer to create a
description of his instrument and all
related characteristics such that it can be
represented in any host (master) device
DDL is used to write the device
description (DD) that combines all of the
information needed by the host
application into a single structured file

Device Description
DD includes all the information required by a
host device to fully communicate with the field
device
The DD identifies which common practice
commands are supported as well as the format
and structure of all device-specific commands
DDs eliminate the need for host suppliers to
develop and support custom interfaces and
drivers
DD source files for HART devices resemble files
written in the C programming language

Conclusion
A practical digital communication
tool for analog installations
Reduces wiring costs by using
multidrop mode
Improves plant safety through its
multivariable operation which can be
used to calculate mass and energy
balance
Simple design
Easy to maintain and operate

Bibiliography
HART application guide- HCF LIT 34
HART field communication protocolAtefeh Saberi
Smart transducer interface for
sensors

Any
Questions
???

Thank You for

your time and
attention