Fieldbus

Wiring Guide
4th Edition

Relcom Inc.
www.relcominc.com


FieldbusWiringGuide
ThepurposeofthisFieldbusWiringGuideistoprovideinformationabouttheFieldbusinfrastructureso
thatitswiringsystemcanbedesignedandinstalledforcosteffectiveandreliableoperation.

TherearemanyusesforFieldbusandmanywaysitcanbeconfigured.Itisnotpossibletogivesimple
wiringrulesthatcoverallcases.Forthisreason,thisGuidewillfirstexplainhowFieldbusworkssothat
thewiringsystemcanbedesignedintelligentlytoachievethebestperformanceandmostreliable
operationwiththelowestcost.

FieldbusisdefinedinIECstandard611582.Detailedimplementationrequirementsbeyondthe
standardareavailablefromtheFieldbusFoundation,anindustryconsortiumthatpromotesFieldbus
technology.Thesemoredetailedspecificationsareneededsothatdevicesmadebydifferent
manufacturersareinteroperableinacontrolsystem.

ThereismoretoFieldbusthanthewiring.ForthosewantinginformationabouthowFieldbusworksto
controlaprocess,referto:

FieldbusesforProcessControl;JonasBurge,ISBN1556177607

FoundationFieldbus:APocketGuide;IanVerhappenandAugustoPereira;ISBN1556177755.

FieldbusFoundation
9005MountainRidgeDrive,BowieBldg,Suite200
Austin,TX787595316,USA
Tel:5127948890
www.fieldbus.org

RelcomInc.
2221YewStreet
ForestGrove,OR97116USA
Tel:5033575607
8003823765
Fax:5033570491
www.relcominc.com

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0i


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iiDoc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0


TableofContents
Chapter1:FieldbusNetworkConcept..........................................................................................................1
Chapter2:FieldbusConfiguration................................................................................................................3
Chapter3:Signals..........................................................................................................................................5
Chapter4:CableSelection,Installation,andTermination...........................................................................6
CableSelection..........................................................................................................................................6
CableInstallation......................................................................................................................................7
CableTermination.....................................................................................................................................7
Chapter5:Terminator..................................................................................................................................8
Chapter6:ConnectingDevices.....................................................................................................................9
NonIsolatedDeviceCouplers...................................................................................................................9
IsolatedDeviceCouplers.........................................................................................................................11
Chapter7:FieldbusPower..........................................................................................................................12
SelectingaFieldbusPowerSupply..........................................................................................................13
Chapter8:FieldbusSegmentDesign..........................................................................................................14
PowerDistribution..................................................................................................................................14
Distance...................................................................................................................................................14
ControlSystem........................................................................................................................................14
ProcessCriticality....................................................................................................................................15
AreaClassification...................................................................................................................................15
Chapter9:ReliabilityConsiderations..........................................................................................................16
SegmentMonitoring...............................................................................................................................19
Chapter10:HazardousAreas.....................................................................................................................20
DefiningtheHazardousAreas.................................................................................................................20
MethodsofProtection............................................................................................................................21
Division2/Zone2..................................................................................................................................21
Division1/Zone0,1...............................................................................................................................23
Chapter11:FISCO......................................................................................................................................25
WhychooseFISCO?................................................................................................................................26
AssemblingFISCOsegments...................................................................................................................26
Otherdesignconsiderations...................................................................................................................27
RedundantFISCOpowersupplies...........................................................................................................28
Chapter12:CurrentLimiters......................................................................................................................29
Chapter13:Grounding/Earthing................................................................................................................30
Chapter14:PreventingFieldbusPhysicalLayerProblems.........................................................................31
CommonPhysicalLayerProblems..........................................................................................................31
CausesofPhysicalLayerProblems.........................................................................................................31
PreventingPhysicalLayerProblems.......................................................................................................32
Training...................................................................................................................................................32
Supervision..............................................................................................................................................32
Monitoring..............................................................................................................................................33
Tools........................................................................................................................................................33
Examples.................................................................................................................................................35
PreventingPhysicalLayerProblems.......................................................................................................36

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TableofContents

Glossary.......................................................................................................................................................37
References..................................................................................................................................................39
ReferenceDocuments.............................................................................................................................39
CertifiedFoundationFieldbusTrainingCenters.....................................................................................40
Websites.................................................................................................................................................40
AppendixA:Signals.....................................................................................................................................41
AppendixB:AvailabilityCalculation...........................................................................................................44
AppendixC:FieldbusSegmentDesignCalculation.....................................................................................45

ivDoc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0


Chapter1:FieldbusNetworkConcept

Summary:FieldbusisaLocalAreaNetworkforprocesscontrolthatusesasinglewirepairforpowering
multipledevicesandcarryingsignalsbetweenthosedevices.

Manydifferentfieldbusesarecurrentlyavailable.ThismanualfocusesonFoundationTMFieldbusand
ProfibusPA,whichwillbereferencedfromhereonasFieldbus.Bothofthesenetworkssharethesame
wiringandpoweringscheme.Theyaresignificantlydifferentinthecommunicationprotocolarea,but
thatisoutsidethescopeofthisguide.

Inaconventional420mADistributedControlSystem(DCS),twowiresareusedtoconnecttoadevice
(normallyusingshieldedtwistedpaircable).Thedevicesmaybeinstrumentsforinputmeasurements
suchastemperatureorpressure.Devicescanalsobeoutputssuchasactuatorsandvalves.Thewires
carryelectricalpowertoadevice.ThedevicesignalsitsmeasuredvaluetotheDCSscontrollerby
varyingthecurrentitusesbetween4and20milliamps(mA).Thecontrollergathersthedatafroma
numberofdevicesviathededicatedI/Ocards,makesthenecessarycalculations,andsendscommands
byvaryingthecurrenttotheactuatororvalve.Forexample,4mAmaymeanthatthevalveistotally
closedand20mAmaymeanthevalveisfullyopen.Thisisreferredtoasananalogsystem,becausethe
datatransmittedvariescontinuouslybetween4mAand20mA.

Figure1.1:ConventionalDCS(420mAorHART)

Fieldbusalsousestwowirestocarrypowertothedevices,ascanbeseeninFigure1.2.Forsimplicity
thecableshieldisnotshownalthoughitisconsideredrequiredforFieldbus.Anumberofdevices
sharethesameFieldbuswires.Fieldbusdevicesvarythecurrentonthetwowirestosendsignals(See
Chapter3:Signals).Thesignal(data)isdigital.Thismeansthatthevaluestransmittedarediscrete(not
infinitelyvariable).Thisallowsanerrordetectionsystemtobeemployedtoensurethatthereareno
errorsinducedbythetransmissionofdatafromthedevice.

Becausedevicessharethewires,thedevicescansenddatatoeachotherwithoutaDCScontroller
(host).Fieldbusdatatransmissionshavemoreinformationthanjustasinglevariableabout
temperature,pressure,orvalveposition.Fromthedatasharedbetweenthedevices,thedevicescanbe
configuredtocontroltheprocess.Thehostthenonlysupervisestheoperation.Thisiscalledcontrol
inthefield.

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FieldbusNetworkConcept

Fieldbusisalocalareanetwork(LAN)forprocesscontrol.

Figure1.2:Fieldbus(FoundationFieldbusorProfibusPA)

Thetwowiresareatwistedpairsimilartotheusual420mAwiringusedforconventionaldevices.For
moreinformation,refertoCableSelection,Installation,andTerminationonpage6.

Forthesakeofsimplicityofwiringdiagrams,thewirepairswillbeshownasasinglelineinthe
remainderofthisdocument.

Figure1.3:WiringDiagramConvention

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Chapter2:FieldbusConfiguration

Summary:AFieldbussegmentswiringcarriespowertodevicesandsignalsbetweendevices.ADC
powersupplyandaFieldbusPowerSupplyareneededtoprovidepowertotheFieldbussegment.Two
Terminatorsarerequiredateachendofthesegment.

Fieldbusisaprocesscontrollocalareanetworkusedforinterconnectingsensors,actuators,andcontrol
devices.AcommontypeofFieldbusconfigurationisshownbelow.

Figure2.1:CommonFieldbusSegmentConfiguration

ATrunkcableconnectscontrolroomequipmentwithanumberofdevicesinthefield(forexample,
sensorssuchastemperatureorpressuretransducersandactuatorssuchasvalvepositioners).Multiple
fielddevicescanbeconnectedwithSpurcablestoaDeviceCoupler(usuallyinajunctionbox).Thisis
calledaChickenfoot,tree,orstartopology.DevicescanalsobeconnectedalongtheTrunkcablewitha
singledropDeviceCoupler.Thisiscalledabuswithspurstopology.Multipletopologiesmaybeusedin
asinglesegmentalthoughthemostcommonisasingleChickenfoot.

ATerminator(T)isrequiredateachendoftheFieldbusTrunkcabletoavoiddistortingsignalsandallow
thetwistedpaircabletocarrydigitalsignals.Forconvenience,Terminatorsareoftenincludedin
FieldbusPowerSuppliesandDeviceCouplers,eliminatingtheneedforseparateTerminators.

PowertothedevicesisprovidedbyaFieldbusPowerSupply.TheFieldbusPowerSupplyisneededto
separatethebulkDCpowersupplyfromtheFieldbuswiringsothatthesignalsarenotabsorbedbythe
bulkDCpowersupply.TheFieldbusPowerSupplyisnormallyinstallednearthecontrolroombutcould
alsobelocatedinthefieldorinamarshallingpanel.

ADCSwithanH1interfaceisusuallylocatedinthecontrolroom.Itsfunctionistooverseetheoperation
ofthecontrolsystem,madeupofthedevicesconnectedontheFieldbussegment.

Often,acompactFieldbussegmentinaboxisneeded.ItcombinestheFieldbusPowerSupply,Device
Coupler,andTerminatorsintooneboxandisusedonabenchtoporinthefieldtopowerdevicesfor
configurationorvalidation.Figure2.2illustrateshowthisisdone.TheDCPowerSupplyisusuallyawall
transformer,butmayalsobeabatterypackforuseinthefieldwhereACpowerisnotreadilyavailable.

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FieldbusConfiguration

Oneormoredevicesmaybeconnectedtotheunit.Aconfigurationdevicethatcanmanipulatethe
Fieldbusdevicesisalsoneeded.ThisisusuallyanEmerson375/475orlaptopwithNationalInstruments
hardwareandsoftware.

Figure2.2:FieldbussegmentinaboxusingtheRelcomF11PowerHub

OtherFieldbusconfigurationsarepossible.Allconfigurationsrequirebasicsignaltransmissionand
powerdistributioncapabilitiesprovidedbyashieldedtwistedpaircable,twoTerminators,anda
FieldbusPowerSupply.ThesecomponentsarecollectivelyreferredtoasaFieldbussegment.

Althoughthedefineddevicelimitis32,therearegenerallylessthan16devicesonanysingleFieldbus
segment.Inalargeprocessplant,theremaybeseveralhundredsegments.Eachsegmentispowered
byitsownFieldbusPowerSupply.Thesegmentsarelinkedtogetherinanoverallcontrolsystem
throughasoftwareconfigurationwithintheDCSsystemthatisbeyondthescopeofthisGuide.

LargeprojectscantakeadvantageofmultipairFieldbuscables.Asinglemultipaircablesupports
multipleFieldbusTrunks.Themultipaircableisruntoastrategicallyplacedjunctionbox.Fromthere,
theindividualTrunksarethenruntojunctionboxesinthevicinityoftheindividualdevices.ADevice
CouplerinthejunctionboxfacilitatesconnectionoftheSpur(s)totheFieldbusdevices.This
configurationhelpsreducetheoverallcableinstallationcost.

Figure2.3:MultiplesegmentsinstalledusingMultipaircable

4Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
Chapter3:Signals
Summary:DevicesonaFieldbussegmenttransmitdigitalsignalstoeachotheroverthesamewiresthat
powerthedevices.Eachtransmissiononthesegmentisreceivedbyalldevices.Onedeviceonthe
segment(theLAS)determineswhichdevicemaytransmitnext.

ADCbusvoltage(nominally24Vbutcanbefrom932VDC)issuppliedtothedevicesonthesegmentby
theFieldbusPowerSupply.AFieldbusdevicedrawsaconstantamountofcurrentwhennot
transmitting.Totransmitinformation,thedevicevariestheamountofcurrentitdrawsfromthe
segmenttocreateasignalridingonthe24VDC.DigitaldataissentontheFieldbusatarateof31.25
Kbits/second.

Thesignalwaveformisshownbelow.Notethatthesignalisaboveandbelowthe24voltnon
transmittinglevelonthesegment.AtypicalFieldbussignalis750mVpeaktopeak,butcanrangefrom
150mVto1000mVpeaktopeak.

Figure3.1:FieldbusSignal

IfanoscilloscopewereusedtoobservethesignalsontheFieldbus,thedisplaywouldshowframeswith
gapsofsilencebetweenthem,asshownbelow:

Figure3.2:MultipleFieldbusFrames

HowFieldbusisusedforconveyingspecifictypesofprocessinformationisbeyondthescopeofthis
Guide.
MoredetailedinformationaboutFieldbussignalingiscontainedinAppendixAonpage41.

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Chapter4:CableSelection,Installation,and
Termination

Summary:Fieldbususesshielded,twistedpaircable.ForreliableFieldbussegmentoperation,usecable
withtheFoundationFieldbusCheckmark,whichdemonstratescompliancewiththeFF844standard
(alsoknownasTypeAFieldbuscable).UseofFoundationFieldbuscheckmarkedcableisalso
recommendedforProfibusPA.

CableSelection

Fieldbususestwistedpairwires.Atwistedpairisused,ratherthanapairofparallelwires,toreduce
introductionofexternalnoiseontothewires.Ashieldoverthetwistedpairfurtherreducesnoise.The
twistedpairwires,theshield,andtheircoveringjacketarecalledacable.

Figure 4.1: Fieldbus Cable (Pencil shown for size comparison)

TheFieldbusFoundationreleasedFieldbuscablespecificationFF844toprovideFieldbususerswith
guidanceinselectingcable.Thestandardrequiresrobustcableratedforhightemperaturesandwires
thataretinnedtotolerateharshenvironments.

ForinstancesinwhichexistingcableisintendedtobereusedforH1communications,itshouldbe
thoroughlytestedtoensureitissuitableforusewithFieldbusandingoodcondition.

BeyondtheFF844standardrequirements,itisworthconsideringthefollowing:

Conformancetoexistingplantstandards,suchasthewireinsulationcolors
Roundnessofthecabletogetgoodsealingwithcableglands
Easeofremovingthecablesjackettoreducethechanceofcabledamageduringconstruction.
Multipaircablesthatcanreduceinstallationcost
16AWGcableisnormallyusedfortheTrunkbecauseitsupportslongerdistances
18AWGiscommonlyusedfortheSpurcablesbecausetheyareshort

GoodFieldbuscableiscriticalforreliableoperationoftheplant.Thepriceofgoodcableisrelatively
low;thecostofanerraticFieldbussegmentoperationcausedbyuseofsubstandardcableisexpensive.
Thecostofreplacingcheapcableisextremelyexpensivebecausenotonlymustthecablebereplaced
buttheplantwillalsobeidlewhilethisworkisbeingdone.

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 CableSelection,Installation,andTermination

ForalistofFieldbuscableswiththeFoundationcheckmarkgotowww.fieldbus.org.

CableInstallation

CableisthebaseinfrastructureforaFieldbussegment.Deficienciesintheinfrastructurewill
causeissueswithcommunication.Theseissuescanbedifficulttopinpointwhenthesystemis
upandrunning.Forthisreason,itisextremelyimportanttovalidatethattheinstallationwas
doneproperly.Herearesomeimportantthingstowatchfor:

Protectfromphysical/environmentaldamage(conduitorcabletray)
Ensurethatthecableisnotdamagedduringinstallation
Payattentiontothemanufacturersminimumbendradius
KeepFieldbus(lowvoltage)cablesseparatedfromhighvoltage(energy)cablessee
thetablebelow:

Minimum Distance from a

Type of Cable
Fieldbus Cable
Fieldbus Cable 0 inches
60VDC or 25VAC and < 400VAC 4 inches
> 400VAC 8 inches
Subject to any electromagnetic exposure
such as from a VFD (Variable Frequency 20 inches
Drive)

Table4.1:Recommendedcableseparationdistances(multileveltray)

CableTermination

Whencableinstallationiscomplete,thenextimportantthingisproperlyterminatingthecable.Justlike
propercableinstallation,propercableterminationwillensureareliablesegmentformanyyearsto
come.Somethingstoconsiderare:

Useagoodcablejacketstrippertomakethisprocessquickwithoutnickingtheconductor
jackets.
Agoodqualitywirestripperwillremovethewirecoveringwithoutnickingthecopperstrands.
Useferrulesonthestrandedwiretopreventstraywirestrandswhichmaylatercauseashort.
Useahighqualitycrimpingtoolsizedproperlyfortheferrules.
Applypropertorquetoscrewterminalsusingatorquelimitingscrewdriver.Mostpeopleare
amazedattheamountoftorqueittakestomeetthescrewterminalmanufactures
specifications.Undertorqueingcanlaterresultinalooseconnection.

ContactRelcomforrecommendedinstallationtools.

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 7
Chapter5:Terminator

Summary:ATerminatorisneededateachendoftheFieldbussegmentTrunkcable.

TwoTerminatorsarerequiredoneachFieldbussegment.Generally,oneTerminatorisatthecontrol
roomendofthecableandtheotherTerminatorisinthejunctionboxinthefield.

TheTerminatorcanbeaseparatepart,oritmaybepartofaDeviceCoupleroraFieldbusPowerSupply.
TheTerminatorshouldbeclearlymarkedsothatitcanbeidentifiedinaninstalledsystem.

Figure5.1:TerminatorExamples

AFieldbussegmentwithouttwoTerminatorswillnothavetheproperlyshapedsignals.Asegmentwith
onlyoneTerminatormayappeartofunctionproperly,butwillhavedistortedsignalswithincreased
amplitude.

AsegmentwiththreeormoreTerminatorswillhavedecreasedsignalamplitude,anddevicesmaylose
theabilitytocommunicatewithoneanother.AnextraTerminatorwilltypicallycausea300mVdropin
signallevelandamissingTerminatorwillcauseasimilarincrease.

8Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
Chapter6:ConnectingDevices

Summary:FieldbusDeviceCouplersmakewiringeasierandmorereliable.OnlyDeviceCouplerswith
theFoundationFieldbusFF846checkmarkshouldbeused.CheckmarkedDeviceCouplersshouldalso
beusedforProfibusPA.

DeviceCouplersaretheindustrystandardmethodofwiringdevicestoaFieldbussegment.Device
Couplersprovideshortcircuitprotectionthatpreventstheentiresegmentfromfailingifonedeviceor
Spurcableisshorted.

TheFieldbusFoundationcreatedtheFF846standardforDeviceCouplers.DeviceCouplersthatmeet
theFF846standardsareawardedacheckmark.CompliancewithFF846ensuresminimumstandards
aremetforDeviceCouplerperformance,includinginputimpedance,reactiontimetoashortcircuit,
voltagedrop,etc.

ThereareseveralwaystoterminatecabletotheDeviceCoupler.Thisincludesscrewterminals,
pluggablescrewterminals,andpluggablespringclamps.Atthetimeofthiswriting,themostpopular
methodisthepluggablescrewterminal.

TwodifferenttypesofDeviceCouplersareavailable:nonisolatedandisolated.

NonIsolatedDeviceCouplers

NonisolatedDeviceCouplersareusedinthemajorityofFieldbusinstallationswhereisolationisnot
required.TheseinstallationsaretypicallyclassifiedDivision2,Zone2,ornonhazardous.Isolationmay
berequiredforDivision1orZone1,0hazardousareainstallations.SeetheisolatedDeviceCouplers
sectionformoreinformation.

Figure6.1showstwononisolatedDeviceCouplersandaTerminatorinajunctionbox.Theblack
connectorsarefortheTrunkcable.

Figure6.2showsthisarrangementschematically.TheTrunkcableisattachedtotheupperlefthand
terminalofthe8SpurDeviceCoupler.Theotherendofthe8SpurDeviceCouplerisconnectedtothe
4SpurDeviceCouplerwithashortjumpercable.Theotherendofthe4SpurDeviceCoupleris
connectedtotheTerminator,(T).ThegroundconnectionontheTerminatorisforsurgeabatementand
isafeatureofthatparticularTerminator(notanessentialpartofaTerminatorsfunction).

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ConnectingDevices

Figure6.1:DeviceCouplerExample

Figure6.2:DeviceCouplerExampleconnectiondiagram

10Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
 ConnectingDevices

Thisexampleshowshow12Fieldbusdevicesareinterconnectedinajunctionbox.IfthetwoDevice
Couplershadbeenintwoseparatejunctionboxes,thejumpercablewouldsimplybealongercable
betweenthejunctionboxes.

Usingpluggablescrewterminals,thecablecanbepreparedandattachedtotheplugwithoutreaching
intotheoftentightspacesofajunctionbox.TheplugistheninsertedintotheDeviceCouplerand
fastenedsothatitdoesnotvibrateoutorbecomedisconnectedifcablesaremoved.

DeviceCouplersoftenhaveadditionalfeatures,suchasaDINrailmountingclipandanindicatorlight
thatshowsifFieldbuspowerisbeingsuppliedtotheDeviceCoupler.ThebiggestbenefitofDevice
Couplersisthattheyhavecurrentlimitersbuiltintothem,whichpreventashortontheSpurconnection
frombringingdowntheentiresegment.

Figure6.3:DeviceCouplerShowingCurrentLimiters

IfadeviceortheSpurcableisshorted,thecurrentislimited.TheparticulardeviceontheSpurdoesnot
function,butthedevicesontherestoftheFieldbussegmentcontinuetowork.Fortroubleshooting
purposes,theDeviceCouplerhasanindicatorlightthatshowstheshortedSpur.Formoreinformation
onthistopicrefertoReliabilityConsiderationsonpage16.

IsolatedDeviceCouplers

IsolatedDeviceCouplers(alsoreferredtoasFieldbusbarriers)provideelectricalisolation,voltage
limiting,andcurrentlimitingbetweentheTrunkandeachSpur.IsolatedDeviceCouplersaretypically
usedinZone1,0,andDivision1hazardousareainstallations.RefertoHazardousAreasonpage20
formoreinformation.

OneotherimpactofisolatedDeviceCouplersisthatthedesignmustincludeisolatingcircuitry;
therefore,onlinediagnostictoolsinstalledontheTrunkwillnotbeabletoviewand,hence,monitorall
thesegmenthealthparametersforeachoftheSpurs.

ItshouldalsobenotedthatthecharacteristicsofeachmanufacturersIsolatedDeviceCoupleris
different.Toaccuratelydeterminebusconditions,calculationsmustbemadefromthatmanufacturers
data/programinsteadofusingagenericsegmentcalculatortool.

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 11
Chapter7:FieldbusPower

Summary:FieldbuscannotbepowereddirectlyfromaDCpowersupply.AFieldbusPowerSupply
providestherequiredisolationandpowerconditioningtopoweraFieldbussegment.FieldbusPower
SupplieswiththeFoundationFieldbuscheckmarkshouldbeusedforbothFoundationFieldbusand
ProfibusPA.

FieldbusPowerSupplyrequirementsareidentifiedinFoundationFieldbusspecificationFF831.
FieldbusPowerSuppliesthatmeettheserequirementsearntheFoundationFieldbuscheckmark.
Checkmarkedpowersuppliesmeetminimumspecificationsfornoise,impedance,jitter,andother
importantparameters.

TheimportantcomponentsofaFieldbusPowerSupplyareIsolation,PowerConditioning,andCurrent
LimitingseeFigure7.1below:

Figure7.1:FieldbusPowerSupply

Isolation

ItiscommonpracticeforBulkDCPowerSupplies(usually24V)tobegroundedinanindustrialplant.
Fieldbusisrequiredtobeisolatedfromground(toimprovenoiseimmunity).ThisiswhyFieldbusPower
Suppliescontainanisolationstage.

PowerConditioning

AlthoughFieldbusdeviceswillpowerupwithanormalpowersupply,theywillnotsustain
communication.ADCpowersupplysjobistoregulatetheoutputvoltage(sayat24VDC).Itdoesitsjob
sowellthatitabsorbsanydigitalsignalthatadevicewouldtrytotransmit.APowerConditionerallows
powertoflowtotheFieldbus,butblocksthedigitalcommunicationsignalfromflowingtotheIsolator
orDCpowersupply.Itslikeaonewayvalve.

12Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
 FieldbusPower

CurrentLimiting

AcurrentlimiterisprovidedintheFieldbusPowerSupplytopreventdamagefromashortcircuitor
overloadcondition.ThisalsopreventstheFieldbusPowerSupplyfromdemandingtoomuchcurrent
fromtheDCpowersupply.

SelectingaFieldbusPowerSupply

AslongasaCheckmarkedFieldbusPowerSupplyisused,thereareonlyfourthingstoconsiderwhen
selectingtheexactFieldbusPowerSupplyforaparticularsegment:

HazardousArea
Voltage
Current
Redundancy

HazardousArea

Ifanypartofthesegmentgoesintoahazardousarea,theselectionoftheFieldbusPowerSupplymay
beaffected.Whetheritisaffectedornotdependsonwhatmethodofprotectionisgoingtobeused.
Formoreinformation,seeHazardousAreasonpage20.

Voltage

Fieldbusdevicesrequirebetween9and32VDCtooperate(caution:someFieldbusdevicesrequire
morethanthe9VminimumspecifiedbytheFieldbusstandard).Becauselongdistancesareinvolvedin
asegmentinstallation,thereisasignificantvoltagedropfromtheFieldbusPowerSupply(normallynear
thecontrolroom)totheFieldbusdevices.FieldbusPowerSuppliesareavailablewithvariousoutput
voltages,andonemustbechosentosufficientlysupplythefarthestFieldbusdevice.

Current

TheFieldbusPowerSupplymustbeabletosupplyallofthecurrentrequirementsofthesegmentwith
somemargintothesupplysratedoutputcurrent.FurtherinformationisavailableintheSegment
Monitoringsectiononpage19.

Redundancy

Forinstallationswithhighreliabilityrequirements,redundantFieldbuspowersuppliesaredesirable.
Seepage16forfurtherinformationonredundancy.

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 13
Chapter8:FieldbusSegmentDesign

Summary:Power,distance,controlsystem,processcriticality,andareaclassificationlimitthesizeofa
Fieldbussegmentandthenumberofdevicesthatcanbeinterconnected.

PowerDistribution

ThenumberofdevicesthatcanbeonaFieldbussegmentislimitedbytheFieldbusPowerSupply
voltage,theresistanceofthewiresinthecable,andtheamountofcurrentdrawnbythedevices.

Thepowerdistributioncalculationquicklybecomescomplicatedwhenmultipledevicesareattachedto
thecableatdifferentplaces.

CalculatorsareavailablefromsomeFieldbusPowerSupplymanufacturers,anumberofControlSystem
suppliers,andtheFieldbusFoundationformakingtheseFieldbussegmentcalculations.TheFieldbus
devicecharacteristics,FieldbusPowerSupply,cabletype,andcablelengthsareenteredintothe
calculator.Thecalculatorindicatesifthesegmentdesignisgood,marginalorbadanddisplaysthe
voltageateachdevice.

SeeAppendixConpage45foranexamplesegmentdesigncalculation.

Distance

TheFieldbusstandardidentifiesdistancelimitationsofFieldbuscables.

Thetotallengthofallcablesonthesegment(Trunklength+Spurlengths)mustbelessthan1900m.
ThemaximumSpurlengthis120m.Additionallimitationsmayapplybasedonthesegmentshazardous
arealocation.

ControlSystem

MostFoundationFieldbuscontrolsystemssupportamaximumof16devicesoneachFieldbusI/O
card.

ProfibusPAspecifiesalimitof32devicespersegment.

Thecontrolsystemisrarelythelimitingfactorwhendeterminingthemaximumnumberofdevicesona
segment.

14Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
 FieldbusSegmentDesign

ProcessCriticality

Plantsoftenhavedesignrequirementslimitingthenumberofdevicesandcontrolvalvesonanyone
segment.Thisusuallydictatesthemaximumnumberofdevicesonthesegment.

AreaClassification

Installationinhazardousareascanalsolimitcablelengthsandthenumberofdevicesonasegment.See
HazardousAreasonpage20forfurtherinformationonhazardousarealocationconsiderations.

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 15
Chapter9:ReliabilityConsiderations

Summary:SinceFieldbususessharedwiring,reliabilityprecautionsneedtobetakenforsegmentsused
incriticalapplications.ReliabilityenhancementincludesshortcircuitprotectorsonSpurcables,
protectedTrunkcable,redundantpowersupplies,andsurgeprotectors.

Figure9.1:Fieldbussegment

ThesharedwiringandtheFieldbusPowerSupplyarecriticalresources,becauseallthedevicessharethe
samecableandpowersupply.Ifthesefail,thenthewholesegmentisinoperative.ThemainFieldbus
reliabilityissuesare:

Spurshortcircuits
Trunkfailures
Powerfailures
Surges
Segmentmonitoring

SpurShorts

SinceFieldbuswiringisshared,ashortcircuitinoneofthedevicesorinitsSpurcabledisablesthe
segmentandthewholeprocessthatdependsonit.Thiscanhappenwhenanewinstrumentis
installed,aninstrumentisserviced,orthedevicebecomeswaterlogged.

ThispotentialproblemcanbeovercomebyusingacurrentlimiterbetweentheTrunkcableandthe
Spurcable.ThesearebuiltintoaDeviceCoupler.Thecurrentlimiteronlyallowsagivenamountof
currenttobeusedbyeachdevice.IfaSpurisshorted,thecurrentwillbelimitedwithinafew
microseconds.Onlytheshorteddeviceisaffected;therestofthedevicescontinuetooperate.

16Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
 ReliabilityConsiderations

Figure9.2:SpurShortCircuitProtectionwithActiveCurrentLimit

CurrentlimitersarealwayssetatahighervaluethantheFieldbusdevicecurrent.Forthisreason,
alwaysaddthecurrentfromoneshortedSpurtothetotalcurrentneededbythesegment.Thisensures
thatenoughcurrentisavailabletosupplyalldevicesandthevoltageatthefurthestdeviceisaboveits
minimumrequiredvoltage.Manysegmentcalculatorsperformthisfunctionautomatically.

TrunkCableFailures

AnothervulnerabilityofthesystemistheTrunkcable.Ifitiscut,thenthepowertothefieldislost.
Whilethisistrue,Trunkcablevulnerabilityissomethingthatisalsoaproblemintraditional420mADCS
systemsbecauseoftheuseofmultipaircables.

Intheend,ifsystemreliabilityisaconcern,theTrunkcableneedstobeprotectedinaconduitora
sturdycabletray.

PowerSupplyFailure

IfFieldbussegmentpowerfails,theentireFieldbussegmentistakendownandcontrolislost.
Redundantpowersuppliesmakethispossibilityverysmall.

ThecomponentpartsofaredundantFieldbusPowerSupplyareshownbelow.TheFieldbusPower
Supplysinputcomesfromtwobatterybackedbulkpowersuppliesthatprovide24Vpowertovarious
otherpiecesofequipmentinthecontrolroom.Theinput24VpowerfeedstwoindependentFieldbus
PowerSupplies.TheoutputsofthetwoFieldbusPowerSuppliesarecombinedtofeedtheFieldbus
segment.

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 17
ReliabilityConsiderations

Figure9.3:RedundantFieldbusPowerSupply

However,redundancyaloneisnotenough.Theremustbealarmingaswell.Withoutalarmingan
operatorisunawareofthefirstfailure.Asecondfailurecanthentaketheredundantsystemdown.The
alarmingshownabovemonitorstheinputpowerandeachoftheFieldbusPowerSupplies.Thealarm
itselfcanbeasimplenormallyclosedrelaycontact.ThisrelayisconnectedtotheDCSandnotifiesthe
operatorthatthereisaproblem.Indicatorlightsontheredundantpowersupplyshowmaintenance
personnelwhichmoduleofthesupplyisdefective.ThefaultyFieldbusPowerSupplymodulecanbe
hotswappedwithnodisruptiontotheoperationoftheFieldbussegment.

ThetablebelowshowsanexampleMeanTimetoFailure(MTTF)ofthecomponentsofaredundant
FieldbusPowerSupply.

Component Mean Time To Failure

Fieldbus Power Supply 54 years

module

Fieldbus Power Supply 88000 years

backplane and alarming
circuits leading to failure of
Fieldbus segment

Table9.1:RedundantFieldbusPowerSupplyMeanTimetoFailure

AmoreusefulfigureforthecontrolengineeristheAvailabilityofasystem.

TheAvailabilityforaFieldbussegmentduetotheredundantFieldbusPowersupplysystemcanbe
99.9999989%orevenhigher.ThismeansthataFieldbussystemcouldbedownduetoredundant
powersupplyfailuresonaveragefor0.3seconds/year.

FordetailsontheAvailabilitycalculation,seeAppendixBonpage44.

18Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
 ReliabilityConsiderations

LightningSurges

Thereisnoprotectionagainstadirectlightningstrike.Theenergyinvolvedistoogreat.Thestruck
devicesimplydisintegrates.

Lightningstrikesalsohaveeffectsatgreatdistancesfromthestrikepoint.Thevoltagebetweenearth
pointsthatarenormallyconsideredatthesamepotentialbecomeslarge.Ifacableconnectsdevices
thatareatsomedistancefromeachother,thegroundpotentialdifferencecantraveloverthecableand
breakdowntheelectricalisolationofFieldbusdevices.SincemanyFieldbusdevicessharethesame
cable,alightningsurgecanadverselyaffectallofthem.

Thegeneralruleisthatifthehorizontaldistancebetweendevicesisgreaterthan100morvertical
separationgreaterthan10m,lightningsurgeprotectionshouldbeused.GiventhatFieldbusdevicesare
unlikelytoallbemountedwithinafewmetersofeachother,thevoltagedevelopedbetweenanytwo
devicescouldbelargeenoughtobreakdowninsulationandproducedamage.

Installationsmustalsoconsiderthatwiththeincreaseduseofhighvoltage,highfrequencyequipment
suchasvariablespeeddrivestherearealsoincreasedrisksofharmonicsandotherinducedvoltagesas
sourcesofsurgecurrentsonasegment.

ForfurtherinformationonSurgeProtection,seetechnicaldataavailablefrommanufacturersofSurge
ProtectionequipmentforFieldbus.NotethatitisimportantthattheSurgeProtectiondevicesare
specificallydesignedforFieldbus.

SegmentMonitoring

Anotherwaytoimprovesegmentreliabilityistocontinuouslymonitorthesegmenttogetearlywarning
ofpotentialissues.Diagnosticproductsareavailabletomonitor:

DCvoltage
Devicesignallevels
Noiselevels
Shortstotheshield
Communicationhealth

Thisinformationcanbetrackedbytheassetmanagementsystemfortrendanalysis.Withthis
information,itispossibletoreducethenumberofunexpectedfailures.

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 19
Chapter10:HazardousAreas

Summary:TherearemanygoodsolutionsforinstallingFieldbusinahazardousarea.Choosingone
methodinvolvescompanypolicyandananalysisofthebenefitsandcostsofeachoption.Special
installationanddesignpracticesmayneedtobefollowedforthehazardousarea.

DefiningtheHazardousAreas

ThemajorityofhazardousareasinwhichFieldbusisinstalledcontainhazardousgasesthatmaybe
presentatdifferentfrequencies(hoursperyear).Ourdiscussionwillfocusonthiscategory.Figure10.1
illustratesthathazardousareasarecategorizedintwodifferentways:Divisionsaretypicallyusedin
NorthAmerica,whileZonesareusedintherestoftheworld.

Figure10.1:HazardousAreaClassifications

Definitions:

NormalOperatingConditions Theconditionthattheapparatusisexpectedtooperatein.
Thisincludesopens,shorts,andgroundingofanywiring
connectedtotheapparatus.
MethodofProtection Themethodusedtoprotectfromanignitioninahazardous
area.
Energylimited Anapparatusoutputorwiringthatdoesnotcontainenough
energytocauseanignitionevenifopened,shorted,or
grounded.
Nonincendive Anapparatusorwiringthatwillnotcauseanignitionunder
normaloperatingconditions.Thisdoesnotnecessarilymean
itisenergylimited.Ifanapparatusoutputshighenergybutis
protectedinsomeway(fromshorts,opens,andgrounding),it

20Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
 HazardousAreas

NonincendiveFieldWiring
NonArcing
canstillbecallednonincendive.
AphraseusedintheU.S.toindicatethattheapparatusoutput
orwiringisenergylimitedandwillnotcauseanignitioneven
whenopened,shorted,orgrounded.
Theapparatusorwiringisnotcapableofgeneratingaspark
orhotsurfaceundernormaloperatingconditions.Typically
highenergyexiststhatcouldcauseaspark,butsomemethod
isbeingusedtoprotectagainstanignition(protectfrom
shorts,opens,andgrounding).

MethodsofProtection

WhenplanningtoinstallFieldbusinahazardousarea,thefirstthingthatmustbedeterminedisthe
methodthatisbeingusedtoprotectfromanignition(explosion).Themethodchosenmayhavetodo
withcompanypolicy,butinmostcasesisafunctionofinstallationcostandoperationalmaintenance.

ExplosionProofisamethodthateitherpreventsthegasesfromgettingtotheelectricalenergy,or
preventsanignitionfrompropagating(bycontainingitwithintheExplosionProofenclosure).This
methodofprotectionmaybeusedinallhazardousareasanddoesnotputanyrestrictiononthe
equipmentused.EquipmentonlycertifiedforGeneralPurpose(nonhazardous)installationcanbeused
withthismethod.Theremainingmethodsofprotectiondifferdependingonthehazardousarea.The
followingwillnowfocusonthetwomainhazardousareas.

Division2/Zone2

MethodofProtection Trunk Spurs

NonArcing NonArcing NonArcing
HighenergyTrunk NonArcing EnergyLimited
FNICO(FISCOic) EnergyLimited EnergyLimited

Table10.1:Div2/Zone2MethodsofProtection

NonArcing

ForDiv2/Zone2,anonArcingmethodofprotectionmeansthatthewiringandelectricalapparatusdo
notgeneratesparksorhotsurfacesthatcouldcauseanignitionundernormaloperatingconditions.In
thiscase,thewiringmustbeadequatelyprotectedtopreventopen,shorts,andgrounding.Ingeneral,
thesystemcannotbeworkedonwhilepoweredunlesstheareaissniffedtoensurenohazardous
gasesarepresent.

Beyondthephysicalprotectionofthewiringanddevices,nootherspecialdesignrequirementsare
imposedontheFieldbusequipment.AslongastheequipmentiscertifiedasnonArcing,itcanbe
installedasifitwereinanonhazardousarea(subjecttothehazardousareaspecificinstallation
requirements).

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 21
HazardousAreas

HighEnergyTrunk(Div2/Zone2)

ThetermHighEnergyTrunkisusedtoindicatethattheTrunkcarriesanincendivelevelofpowerand
mustbeprotectedasinthenonArcingcase,buttheSpursareenergylimitedinthiscasebythe
DeviceCoupler.

Figure10.1HighEnergyTrunksegment(Div2/Zone2)

ThisisthemostpopularwaytoinstallFieldbusinaDiv2/Zone2hazardousarea.Duetothehigh
powerontheTrunk,thenumberofdevicesandlengthofthesegmentarenotlimitedduetobeingin
thehazardousarea.CurrentlimitationisprovidedintheDeviceCouplerwhichlimitstheenergyonthe
SpurandtotheFieldbusdevice.TheSpursmaythenbeworkedonwhilepowerisappliedwithout
gettingagasclearancepermit(subjecttolocalcodes).SincetheTrunkishighenergy,itiscommonfor
theseinstallationstouseRedundantFieldbusPowerSuppliesforhighreliability.

RefertoCurrentLimitersforNonIncendiveProtectiononpage29formoredetailsaboutusingthis
methodofprotection.

FNICO(FISCOic)

FNICOstandsforFieldbusNonIncendiveCOncept.ItistheZone2versionofFISCO(Fieldbus
IntrinsicallySafeCOncept).Recently,thestandardshavechangedandaddedaZone2specificationto
FISCO,calledFISCOic.Eventually,thetermFNICOwilldisappear.

FNICOhereimpliesthattheFieldbusPowerSupplyiscertifiedasaFNICO(orFISCOic)device.Assuch,
itsoutputislimitedinenergysuchthatashort,open,orgroundingofthewiringwillnotcausean
ignitioninthepresenceofhazardousgases.So,inthiscase,theentiresegment(fromtheFNICOsupply
uptoandincludingtheFieldbusDevices)isenergylimited.Thishastheadvantageofbeingabletolive
worktheentiresystem.Thedisadvantageisthat,becauseofthelimitedenergy,thecablelengthwillbe
shorterthanthepreviousmethodsdiscussed,andthenumberofFieldbusdevicesonthesegmentwill
beless.

22Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
 HazardousAreas

Division1/Zone0,1

MethodofProtection Trunk Spurs

IncreasedSafety NonArcing NonArcing
HighenergyTrunk NonArcing IntrinsicallySafe
FISCO IntrinsicallySafe IntrinsicallySafe

Table10.2:Div1/Zone0,1MethodsofProtection

IncreasedSafety

IncreasedSafetyisanonArcingtechniqueforZone1.SincegasesaremorelikelytobepresentinZone
1thaninZone2,therequirementsontheequipmentcertifiedandinstalledunderIncreasedSafetyare
highertoreducetheprobabilityofanignition.Notethatthismethodofprotectionisnotavailablefor
Divisions.

DetailsofanIncreasedSafetyinstallationarebeyondthescopeofthisguide.However,asinDiv2/
Zone2nonArcing,aslongasthecertificationrequirementsaremet,theFieldbussegmentisinstalledas
ifitwerenonhazardousinotherwords,withlotsofpower,cablelength,andFieldbusdevices.

HighEnergyTrunk(FieldbusBarriers)

InsimilarfashionforDiv2/Zone2,HighEnergyTrunkforZone1hasanincendiveleveltrunkwhichis
usuallyinstalledusingIncreasedSafetytechniques.ThesegmentthencontainsanIsolatedDevice
Coupler,morecommonlycalledaFieldbusBarrier,inthefieldtoseparatetheTrunkfromtheSpurs.
TheSpursarethenIntrinsicallySafe(entityorFISCO).

AFieldbusbarrierusesacombinationofnonArcingandFISCOtechniquestoallowFieldbusdevicesto
workinahazardousarea.ATrunkcablegoingthroughaDiv1orZone1areacarriesFieldbuspower
betweenaFieldbusPowerSupplyinthecontrolcentertotheFieldbusbarrier.SincetheTrunkishigh
energy,itispossibletouseRedundantFieldbusPowerSupplieswithFieldbusbarriers.

ThefunctionoftheFieldbusbarrieristoprovidegalvanicisolationbetweentheTrunkcableandthe
Spurcables.ItalsoreducesthevoltagetoeachSpurtoanacceptablevalueandlimitsthecurrentto
eachdevice.TheFieldbusbarrieralsoprovidesawayforsignalstotravelbetweentheTrunkandthe
Spurs.

ThediagrambelowshowsthegeneralFieldbusbarrierarrangement.AFieldbusbarriergenerallyserves
fourtosixFieldbusdevices.MultipleFieldbusbarriersmaybeonthesameTrunkcable.

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 23
HazardousAreas

Figure10.2HighEnergyTrunk(Div1/Zone1)

TheFieldbusdevicesandtheSpurcablesmaybeworkedwithoutdeterminingiftheareawheretheyare
locatedissafe(subjecttolocalcodes).TheTrunkcable,however,cannotbeliveworked,andthearea
mustbedeterminedtobesafebeforeanyworkisdone.

ItisimportanttorememberthatsincetheFieldbusbarriercontainsactivecomponents,therequired
inputvoltageatthebarrierwillneedtobegreaterthan9volts.Inaddition,becauseeach
manufacturersFieldbusbarrierhasuniquecharacteristics,aSegmentCalculatortoolprovidedbythat
manufacturerMUSTbeusedwhendesigningthesegment.

FISCO

FISCOstandsforFieldbusIntrinsicallySafeCOncept.Pleaseseechapter11fordetailedinformationon
FISCO.

TheconcepthereissimilartoFNICOexceptinDiv1/Zone1areas,energylimitedmeansIntrinsically
Safe.EnergyislimitedtoalowerlevelthanFNICO.So,likeFNICO,boththeTrunkandSpursare
protectedbyaFISCOFieldbusPowerSupplythatlimitstheenergytomeettheDiv1/Zone1
requirements.Thismeansthatcablelengthandnumberofdevicesonthesegmentisfurtherreduced
fromFNICOlevels.However,theadvantageisthattheentiresegment(beyondtheFISCOsupply)may
beliveworked.Recently,aRedundantFISCOSupplyhasbeendevelopedtoimprovesystemavailability.

24Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
Chapter11:FISCO

TheFieldbusIntrinsicallySafeCOncept(FISCO)istheresultofexperimentalworkthatwaspromptedby
practicallimitationsoftheoriginalFF816Entityconceptfor31.25kbits/sintrinsicallysafe(IS)bus
networks.Thisresearchshowedthat,providedtheinductanceandcapacitanceperunitlengthoffield
cablesarekeptwithindefinedlimits,theriskofsparkignitiondoesnotincreasewiththetotallength.
ThesefindingshavebeenusedtosimplifythedesignanddocumentationofISFieldbusandtosupport
moreFieldbusdeviceswithgreatercablelengthsthanwaspossibleundertheEntitymodel.To
assembleaFISCOFieldbussystem,theFISCOFieldbusPowerSupply,fielddevices,cables,andwiring
componentsneedtocomplywithFISCOdesignrules,asdefinedinIECstandard6007927.

AtypicalFISCOsystemincludesapowersupplyandconditioner(containingtheISbarrier)toprovide
powertothebus,andcertifiedwiringcomponentstomakeconnectionsbetweentheTrunkandSpur
cables.Figure11.1showsatypicalarrangement.

Figure11.1:TypicalFISCOsegment

FISCOstrengthensthecaseforafullyISapproachbyincreasingtheavailablecurrentand,hence,the
numberoffielddevicesthatcanbesupported.Itthereforedeliversanumberofbenefitsoverthe
earlierEntitymodelforIntrinsicallySafefieldbus:

Theeliminationofcableparametercalculationsthroughoutthewholesegment,includingTrunk
andSpurs.Thismeansthatmodifications,suchastheadditionofafielddevice,maybe
undertakenwithoutreassessingthewholecombinationofdevicesandinterconnectingcable.
TheopportunitytoprovidehigherlevelsofoutputcurrentinIECGroupIIB/NorthAmericanC,
DgasgroupsthataremorecommonlyoccurringthanIIC/GroupsA,B.PracticalFISCOpower
suppliesforIIB/GroupsC,Dhaveanoutputvoltageof13.1Vandamaximumcurrentashighas
265mA.

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 25
FISCO

WhychooseFISCO?

UserswhohaveselectedFISCOhavedonesoforoneormoreofthefollowingreasons:

1. Internationallyrecognized
TheIEC6007927standardthatdefinestherulesforselecting,installingandmaintainingFISCO
apparatusisinternationallyrecognizedandadoptedintothenationalstandardssystemsof
manycountriesworldwide.TheFISCOstandardisalsorecognizedbytheFieldbusFoundation
andiscomprehensivelysupportedintheFoundationsapplicationguides,suchasAG163(for
31.25kbits/sIntrinsicallySafeSystems).

2. Familiar,established,safe
TheentirefieldsegmentofaFISCOinstallationincludingTrunkandSpursisintrinsicallysafe,
meaningthatconventionalISmaintenancepracticecanbeapplieduniversally.Thismaybe
especiallyimportantforenduserswhoaremakingthetransitionfromconventionalpointto
pointwiringtoFieldbus,andwhowishtotransferfamiliarandestablishedISpracticewithout
theneedforretrainingofinstrumenttechnicians.Intrinsicsafetyisalsowelldocumentedin
theinstallationcodesofallindustrializednations,andbenefitsfromclearlydefinedrulesforthe
openingoffieldenclosuresandmaintenanceofcircuitswhileenergized.

3. Simplerisbetter
TheonlyitemrequiredtobeinstalledinthefieldinaFISCOsegmentisanintrinsicallysafe
DeviceCouplerorMegablockanditsassociatedenclosure,which,dependingontheapplication,
mayaccommodateupto12fielddeviceconnections.

AssemblingFISCOsegments

ToensurecompliancewithFISCO,thepowersupplyandfieldbusinstrumentsmustnotonlybecertified
toconventionalISstandards(appropriatetotheZoneorDivisionofuse),buttheymustalsocomply
withtheIEC6007927standardandbemarkedFISCO.Furtheranalysisofthesafetyparametersisnot
necessary,sincecompatibilityisautomaticallyguaranteedbythecertificationprocess.Thesafety
parametersforFISCOpowersuppliesandFieldbusinstrumentsaregiveninTables12.1and12.2,
respectively.TheDeviceCouplerandTerminatorsmustalsocarryIScertificationandhaveinputsafety
parametersthatarecompatiblewiththeoutputofthesupply.

Maximumoutputvoltage,Uo 17.5V
Maximumoutputcurrent,Io 380mA
Maximumoutputpower,Po 5.32W (excluding Ex ic power
supplies)
MaximumunprotectedinternalcapacitanceCi 5nF
MaximumunprotectedinternalinductanceLi 10H
Table11.1FISCOsafetyparametersforFieldbusPowerSupplies

26Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
 FISCO

InputvoltageparameterUi 17.5V
InputcurrentparameterIi 380mA (excluding Ex ic Field
devices)
InputcurrentparameterPi 5.32W (excluding Ex ic Field
devices)
MaximumunprotectedinternalcapacitanceCi 5nF
MaximumunprotectedinternalinductanceLi 10H(20HforExic)
Table11.2FISCOsafetyparametersforFieldbusDevices

BecauseFISCOisbasedonexperimentaldata,thetotalcablelengthofthesystemislimitedtoa
maximumof1,000minIIC/GroupsA,Bgasesand1,900minIIB/GroupsC,D(limitedbyFF831and
thereforeidenticaltoanyFieldbussystem).ThemaximumSpurlengthforanyFISCOinstallationis60m
perSpur.Iftheselengthrestrictionsareadheredto,theIEC6007927standardpermitsthecable
parametercalculations(normallyassociatedwithIScircuits)tobeomitted.

TheIEC6007927standardalsorequiresthatcablesusedinaFISCOsegmentconformtospecifications
forresistance,inductance,andcapacitanceperunitlength.TheseparametersarestatedinTable11.3.
TypicalFieldbuscablehasparametersof50ohms/km,0.8mH/km,and120nF/km,sotheselimitsarenot
restrictive.Complianceshouldnormallybedemonstratedbyobtainingaspecificationfromthecable
manufacturer.However,theparametersarenotrestrictivesincetheyaremetbymostcablesthatare
designedspecificallyforFieldbusapplications.Ifexisting,installedcablesaretobeused,orifno
specificationisavailablefromthecablemanufacturer,compliancemaybeshownbymeasurement.

Loopresistance 15150ohms/km
Loopinductance 0.41.0mH/km
Loopcapacitance 45200nF/km
Table11.3FISCOCableParameters(fromIEC6007927:2004)

Otherdesignconsiderations

SetagainsttheadvantagesofFISCOarethetechnicalboundariesthatareimposedbydesigningfor
intrinsicsafety.Themostsignificantconstraintisthereducedoutputvoltageattheterminalsofthe
FISCOpowersupply,whichmustbeconsideredcarefullywhendesigningtheFieldbussegment.

Influenceofoutputvoltageonsegmentlength

TheminimumoutputvoltageofatypicalFISCOpowersupplyforIIC/GroupsA,Bgasesis12.4V,andis
13.1VforIIB/GroupsC,D.FieldbusinstrumentsarerequiredbytheFieldbusFoundationtooperateata
minimumof9.0V,andamarginontheoperatingvoltageissometimesapplied.Thepermitteddistance
andthenumberofinstrumentssupportedfollowOhmslaw:themoredevices,thegreaterthetotal
currentconsumptionandthehigherthevoltagedropontheTrunk.

Inpractice,atypicalIIC/GroupsA,BunitcanpoweraFieldbussegmentcomprising10Fieldbusdevices
withaTrunkcablelengthofupto400m,withSpursatupto60mlength.AIIC/GroupsC,Dpower

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 27
FISCO

supplycantypicallysupport6FieldbusdeviceswithTrunklengthsinexcessof500m.Bothexamples
assumeanaveragefielddevicecurrentof17mAandtheuseoffieldbuscablewith0.8mm2cross
sectionalarea,butbyusinghighercrosssections(suchas1.5mm2)withcorrespondinglowerresistance
permeter,theTrunklengthcanbeincreasedsignificantly.

NotethattheoutputofsomeFISCOpowersuppliesisExib,whichrestrictsthefieldwiringtoZone1
inIECapplications.SpurconvertersareavailablewherefieldinstrumentsneedtobelocatedinZone
0.IndividualSpursmaysimilarlybeadaptedtoaccommodateEntitycertifiedfieldinstruments.

Multidropcapability

SomeFISCOpowersuppliesfunctionnotonlyasaFieldbusPowerSupplyandintrinsicsafetybarrier,but
alsoasaFieldbusrepeater.Normally,repeatersareassociatedwithextendingthelengthofaFieldbus
segmentbyseriallyrecreatinganewsegmentendtoendwiththefirstone.Analternativeuseisto
createparallelsegmentsbymultidroppinganumberofFISCOpowersuppliesfromthesameDCSH1
connection,therebycreatingmultiplehazardousareasegments.ThisisillustratedinFigure11.2.The
techniquehasthefollowingpotentialbenefitsthathavebeenexploitedinexistingFISCOinstallations:

Inapplicationswherethenumberoffielddevicespersegmentislimitedduetointrinsicsafety
constraints(suchasinIIC/GroupsA,BwheretheoutputvoltageandcurrentoftheFISCOpower
supplyaremorelimited),combiningseveralsegmentscantakefulladvantageofthelogical
capacityoftheDCSsystemsinterfacecard.ThisyieldshardwarecostsavingsintheDCSsystem.
Forexample,iffourfielddevicesaresupportedoneachofthreemultidroppedhazardousarea
Trunks,thentheDCSH1cardseestwelvedevices.
ThescopeoflossisreducedintheeventoffailureofanysingleFISCOpowersupply,sinceother
suppliesonthesamesegmentwillcontinuetooperate.

Figure11.2:FISCOpowerSuppliesinMultidropconfiguration

RedundantFISCOpowersupplies

ThisdiscussiononFISCOhassofarassumedthatthepowersuppliesarenotredundant.Redundant
FISCOpowersupplymodulesarenowavailabletoincreasetheoverallsystemavailabilitybyeliminating
singlepointsoffailure.

28Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
Chapter12:CurrentLimitersforNonIncendive
Protection

Summary:SincecurrentlimitersareusedontheSpurconnectionsfromtheDeviceCoupler,the
connectedSpursandFieldbusdevicesinaDiv2orZone2areacanbeliveworkedwithoutpermitsifthe
design/installationisdonecorrectly.

NotonlydocurrentlimitersinDeviceCouplersprotectasegmentfromashortcircuitonaSpur,they
alsopermitaFieldbusdevicetobeconnectedordisconnectedfromasegmentinahazardousarea
withoutturningoffthepowertothesegmentorhavingtodeterminebysniffingiftheareaissafe.

ThisisonlyapplicabletoDiv2orZone2areasandonlyinplacesthatallowliveworking(notinCanada,
forexample).Inaddition,sincetheFieldbusPowerSupply,DeviceCoupler,SpurCables,andFieldbus
DevicescanallaffectwhethertheSpurissafetolivework,eachonehasspecificrequirements:

1. TheFieldbusPowerSupplysonlyrequirementistolimitthevoltagetotheTrunk.Itmusthave
acertifiedmaximumoutputvoltage.IftheSpursaretobeExic(IntrinsicsafetyforZone2),
thensomethingupstreamoftheSpurmustlimitthevoltageaccordingtoIEC6007911.This
couldbetheFieldbusPowerSupply,DeviceCoupler,orsomeotherapparatus.Suppliersofthis
equipmentwillbeabletoprovidethenecessaryinformation.
2. TheDeviceCouplermustbecertifiedforthistypeofprotectionandhaveoutputparametersto
ensuresafety.ThecurrentlimiterintheDeviceCouplerislimitingthecurrenttoasafelevel.
Typically,somethingupstreamoftheDeviceCouplerislimitingthevoltage.Thenet
combinationlimitsthepowerand,hence,theenergytomaketheSpurssafetolivework.
3. Spurcablesaretobelessthan120m(60mforFISCOic).Thislimitsthecapacitanceand
inductancetoalevelthatisnotaconcernforsafety.Thisinformationwillstillneedtobe
documentedtoshowthatthesystemissafe.
4. Finally,theFieldbusdevicesmustalsobecertifiedwithentityparametersorasaFISCOdevice
forExicinstallations.AnimportantthingnottooverlookisthattheFieldbusdevicemust
havetheseentityparameterswithamaximuminputvoltagethatisnotexceededbythe
FieldbusPowerSupply(unlesssomeothercertifieddevicebetweentheFieldbusPowerSupply
andtheSpurisfurtherlimitingthevoltage).

Note:DeviceCouplersmaynotbeconnectedtoordisconnectedfromtheTrunkcablewithout
determiningthattheareaissafeorwithoutturningoffthepowertothesegment.

FormoreindepthcoverageofNonincendive,pleaseseethedocument502145,Nonincendive
FieldbusforSimplifiedMaintenanceontheRelcomInc.website:www.relcominc.com.

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 29
Chapter13:Grounding/Earthing

Summary:Theshield(orscreen)wireontheFieldbuscableshouldbegrounded(earthed)inoneplace
typicallyneartheFieldbusPowerConditioner(whichisusuallyneartheDCS).

TheFieldbusstandardisveryclearthatthetwistedpairmustNOTbegrounded.Fieldbusisintendedto
beisolatedfromgroundtoimprovenoiseimmunity.

Theshield(orscreen)wiremustbegrounded.WerecommendgroundingtheshieldatONLYONE
POINT,andthatthatpointshouldbeneartheDCSorFieldbusPowerSupply.Careshouldbetakento
preventintentionaloraccidentalgroundingoftheshieldatanyotherlocation.Acommonmistakeisto
leavetheshieldexposedintheFieldbusdevice.Thiscancauseanintermittentground,resultingin
intermittentcommunicationerrorswhichareveryhardtotrace.Makesurethattheshieldwiresarecut
andtapedoffintheFieldbusdevices.

Therearethosewhoadvocateothermethodsofgrounding.Bothoftheothermethodsinvolve
groundingtheshieldinmultiplelocationseitherdirectlyorcapacitively.Thisisnotsomethingwe
recommend.Formoreinformation,seetheFoundationFieldbusdocumentAG181,System
EngineeringGuidelines,foradetaileddiscussionofearthingandgrounding.AG181isavailableasa
freedownloadfromtheFieldbusFoundationwebsite,www.fieldbus.org.

30Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
Chapter14:PreventingFieldbusPhysicalLayer
Problems

Fieldbusishighlyreliablewhencorrectlyinstalledandmaintained.Thekeyisinknowingwhatmustbe
donetostartwith,andtomaintainareliableFieldbussegment.

Thepurposeofthischapteristo:
IdentifycommonFieldbusphysicallayerproblems
Discussthecausesoftheproblems
PresentmethodsforpreventingFieldbusphysicallayerproblems

ForhelpwithdiagnosingproblemswithaFoundationFieldbussegment,seetheFieldbusPhysicalLayer
TroubleshootingGuide,availableatwww.relcominc.com.

CommonPhysicalLayerProblems

RelcomhavevisitedandhelpedtotroubleshootFieldbusphysicallayerproblemsformanyyears.Some
problemsclearlystandout.Themostcommonproblemsinclude:

MissingorextraTerminators
Impropergroundingofthecableshield
Water/condensationincables,junctionboxes,devices,splices,etc.
NonisolatedFieldbussegments
Connectorsnotsecurelypluggedin
Damagedcableorwires
Straywirestrandsatwireterminations
Screwterminalsandholddownscrewsinadequatelytighteneddown

CausesofPhysicalLayerProblems

AfteranalyzingthelistofcommonFieldbusphysicallayerproblems,itiseasytoblameinstallersand
MotherNature.However,therootcausesaredeeperthanthat:

Inadequatetraining
Inadequatesupervision
Inadequatetools
Inadequatemonitoring

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 31
PreventingFieldbusPhysicalLayerProblems

PreventingPhysicalLayerProblems

Theseproblemscanbedrasticallyreduced.Thestepstominimizetheseproblemsseemexpensiveat
firstglance;however,troubleshootingjustonephysicallayerproblemcantakedaysorweeks,resulting
inlargeamountsofovertime,plantdowntime,ruinedproduct,andlostsales.Fieldbusinstallations
thatarecorrectfromthestartsavemoney.MonitoringthehealthoftheFieldbussegmentsandproper
maintenancetechniquessaveevenmore.

Training

Trainingisnotjustcritical,itisessential.Propertrainingpriortoinstallationisthefoundationfora
Fieldbusthatistroublefreeforyears.

StartwiththeengineersdesigningtheFieldbus.TraintheFieldbussegmentdesignersonproper
segmentarchitectureanddesign,includinghowmanyTerminatorsareinstalledoneachsegment,
wheretheTerminatorsareinstalled,howlongtheFieldbussegmentandSpurscanbe,theneedfor
isolatedFieldbusPowerSupplies,andpropershieldgrounding.

Installersandsupervisorsmustknowhowtousethetoolsnecessaryforinstallation,wheretoroute
cables,howtomountDeviceCouplers,andhowtoproperlyterminatecables(attheFieldbusPower
Supply,DeviceCouplers,anddevices).

Supervisorsmustbeinstructedonhowtoinspectthecablingandconnections.Theymustknowhowto
identifycommonphysicallayerproblems.

Supervision

Supervisionstartsinthedesignstage.ConductareviewoftheFieldbussegmentdesignby
knowledgeablepeople.Thesepeoplemaybecoworkersoranoutsidecontractor.

Beforesegmentinstallationstarts,supervisorsmustensurethatpeopleworkingontheprojectare
properlytrainedandhavetherighttoolstodothejob.

PeoplewhosuperviseFieldbusinstallationsmusteitherinspecttheinstallationthemselvesorensure
thatathoroughinspectionismadebyaknowledgeableperson.Theinspectormustbeproperlytrained,
asmentionedabove,andwalkthecablerunstocheckforproblems.Theymustpullonwiresandcables
toverifytheyaretight,lookfordamagedcablingandconnectors,confirmtheshieldisproperly
grounded,andverifyLEDsareappropriatelylitontheDeviceCouplersandFieldbusPowerSupply.

Followinginstallation,supervisorsshouldestablishaprogramtomonitortheFieldbussegmentsand
makesurethemonitoringiscarriedout.

32Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
 PreventingFieldbusPhysicalLayerProblems

Monitoring

OneofthestrengthsofFieldbusisthediagnosticcapabilityavailabletohelpidentifyanddiagnose
problems.Inmanycases,identifyingearlysymptomscanpreventplantdowntime.Thatiswhyregular
monitoringispartoftheroutineatplantsthatwanttomaximizeprofitability.

SomeFieldbusPowerSupplies,suchastheF800seriesofpowersuppliesfromMTL/Relcom,provide
pluginFieldbusphysicallayerdiagnosticmodules.TheF809FdiagnosticmoduleplugsintotheFieldbus
PowerSupplycarrierandconstantlymonitorsthesegmentsconnectedtothepowersupply.Alarmscan
besetuptoactivatewhenthemodulediscoversameasurementthatisoutofthedesiredrange.The
F809Fmeasurementscanbereviewedtoidentifythecauseofthealarmsothatitcanbecorrected.

Anotherapproachistouseportablediagnosticequipment,suchastheFBT6FieldbusMonitor,to
measurecriticalsegmentparameters.Asetofdataiscollectedwhenthesegmentisoperatingcorrectly
asabaselinereport.ThereportistransferredtoaPCforstorageorprinting.TheFBT6canbeused
every6monthsorsotogenerateanotherreporttocomparewiththebaselinereportandlookfor
changesthatindicateapotentialissue.Ifaproblemissuspected,theFBT6canbeusedasa
troubleshootingtooltohelpisolateandeliminatethecause.

Tools

Wheninstallersandmaintenancepersonneldonothavethepropertoolstodoajob,theyoftencome
upwithcreativewaystogetitdone.However,makeshifttoolsandmethodsoftenresultinproblems
later.

ManytoolsareavailabletohelpdeterminethehealthofaFieldbussegmentandensureproper
installation.Hereisalistofthemoreimportantones.

DigitalMultimeter(DMM)

AgoodDMMcantakeresistance,voltage,andcurrentmeasurements.
Measurementsofbusvoltageandshieldresistancetoground(continuity)
canbetakenanytime.Resistancebetweenwiresandshieldcanonlybe
measuredwhenthesegmentiswithoutpower,suchaswhenthesegment
isinitiallysetuporwhendownformaintenance.

WireStripper

Goodwirestrippershelpavoidcuttingstrandsinwirefora
stronger,morereliableconnection.Theyalsohelpavoid
excessivewirestrippingbycuttingtoafixedlength.Thisreduces
thepossibilityofshortsandwirecorrosion.

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 33
PreventingFieldbusPhysicalLayerProblems

FerrulesandCrimper

Ferrulesaremetalsheathswithaplasticprotectorthatare
squeezedontostrippedwireswithacrimpingtool.Ferrulesforma
reliableelectricalconnection.Theyprotectwiresbyreducing
breakageduetovibration,bending,andstress.Theyalsoprevent
straywirestrandswhichcausecableshorts.

TorqueScrewdriver

Tomakesurescrewterminalsareadequately
tightened,useatorquescrewdriver.The
amountofforcethatshouldbeappliedtothe
screwterminalssurprisesmostpeople.
Withoutatorquescrewdriver(TheWiha
TorqueFix28503screwdriverandreplaceable285373.0mmslottedbladeisanexample),screw
terminalsaremostoftenundertorqued.Relcomproductsusescrewterminalsthatshouldbetightened
to5inchpounds(in/lbs)oftorque.Torquescrewdriversareexpensive(~$85USD),butmuchcheaper
thanplantdowntime.

FBT6FieldbusMonitor

TheFBT6isahandheldtoolthatmeasuresbusvoltage,noise,
andthenumberofdevicesonthesegment,andindicateswhen
devicesareaddedorremovedfromasegment.Thenoise
measurementissplitinto3bands:theFieldbusfrequencyband,
belowthat,andaboveit.Inaddition,itcountsretransmissionsto
devices,checksforthepresenceofshieldshortstothe(+)or()
Fieldbuswire,specifiestheaddressandsignallevelofeach
device,andidentifieswhichdeviceistheLinkActiveScheduler
(DCS).Thedatacollectedfromasegmentcanbesavedin
memoryandthendownloadedtoaPCviaaUSBport.

FBT5FieldbusWiringValidator

FieldbuswiringcanbetestedusingtheFBT5WiringValidator.ItputsaDCvoltageandFieldbussignals
onthewirepair.AFieldbusMonitor,theFBT6,isusedtotestthevoltage,signallevels,andnoiseon
thewiring.Thesetestscanbeperformedonexistinginstrumentationwiring,newlyinstalledFieldbus
cable,oraFieldbuswiringsystemwithDeviceCouplersandTerminatorsalreadyinstalled.TheFBT5is
notforuseonoperatingsegmentsandcannotpowerasegmentwithFieldbusdevices.

34Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
 PreventingFieldbusPhysicalLayerProblems

Examples

ThissectionprovidespicturesofcommonFieldbus
problemsencounteredinthefield.

Thispictureillustrates3problems.

1. Thecableexitingtheglandatthetopofthe
deviceisexceedingitsbendradius.
2. Thecableexitingtheglandatthetopofthe
deviceispointedstraightuptowardthesky.
Eventually,waterwillgetin.
3. Thecableglandatthebottomofthedevicehas
bothacableandagroundwireexitingfromit.
Cableglandswillnotformapropersealwith
morethanonecablegoingthroughthem.

Thecablejackethasbeenstrippedandtheindividual
wiresputthroughthecablegland.Waterislikelyto
enterboththecableandthedevice.

WateringressintoaFieldbusdevicehas
corrodedthewiresandcontacts,likelycausing
thewiringtoshortoutorthedevicetofail.

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 35
PreventingFieldbusPhysicalLayerProblems

Thisisaverynicelookingwiring
stripinstallation.Cablesare
labeledandcolorcoded.The
terminalsarenumbered.
However,thewireswerenot
properlycrimpedintothe
ferrulesandtheyeasilypulled
out.

PreventingPhysicalLayerProblems

PreventionisthekeytoareliableFieldbussegment(i.e.,propertraining,tools,andsupervisionduring
installationandmaintenance).Usequalitycableandcertifiedproductsfromreputablecompanies.Save
asetofdataasabaselinewhentheFieldbusisoperatingproperly(usinganFBT6forexample).
Performregularsegmentchecks,comparingcurrentdatawithbaselinedatatolookforsignificant
changes.Whenproblemsareencountered,takeanewsetofdataandcompareittothebaseline.

36Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
Glossary

Term Definition

Attenuation Asignalgettingsmallerasittravelsonthecable.

Barrier Adeviceforinterconnectingcircuitsbetweenasafeareaandahazardous
areathatpreventselectricalpowerfromthesafeareafromcausingan
ignitioninthehazardousarea.

BitCell Thetimedurationforonedigitalbitinthesignal.

Cable(Fieldbus) Signalwires(oneormoretwistedpairs),shield,andcoveringjacket.Each
twistedpairshouldhaveitsownshield.

Chickenfoot AcommondistributionpointformultipleSpurcables,usuallyinajunction
box.

Controlinthefield(CIF) AcapabilityofFoundationFieldbusthatallowsthefielddevicesto
controltheprocesswithouttheHost(DCS)beingdirectlyinvolved.

DeviceCoupler AwiringblockforFieldbusthatincludesshortcircuitprotectionforthe
connectedSpurs.

DistributedControlSystem(DCS) Acomputerbasedcontrollerusedtocontrolaprocess.

Fieldbus Forthepurposesofthisguide,Fieldbusisdefinedasthephysicalpartofa
FoundationFieldbusorProfibusPAsegment.

FISCO AnacronymforFieldbusIntrinsicallySafeCOncept.Itisasetofrules
(empiricallyderivedthroughtesting)thatexpandsthecapabilitiesofa
FieldbussegmentbeyondthenormalIntrinsicallySafestandards.

FoundationFieldbus Anopen,interoperableFieldbusstandardfordigitalcommunicationand
controlofaprocess.

H1 ThehardwaredesignationforFieldbusat31.25kHz.Alsoincludesbitlevel
communication(wrapper),butexcludesthedatacontainedinthe
transmittedpackets.

HART A1.2kHzdigitalcommunicationprotocolthatissuperimposedoverthe
420mAanalogsignalofatransmitter,valve,etc.

HazardousArea Aplacewherevolatilevaporsorgasesmayexistsuchthattheycould
igniteorexplode.

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 37
 Glossary

HighEnergyTrunk TheconceptofanincendivelevelofpoweronaTrunkcableandanon
incendive(orIntrinsicallySafe)levelontheSpursofaDeviceCoupleror
FieldbusBarrier.

HomeRun Themaincablebetweenthecontrolroomandajunctionboxinthefield.
AlsocalledTrunk.

Host Thedevice,usuallyinthecontrolroom,thatcontrolsormonitorsthe
Fieldbussegment.

LinkActiveScheduler(LAS) AdevicethattellsotherdevicesonaFoundationFieldbussegment
whentheyareallowedtotransmit.

LocalAreaNetwork(LAN) Acollectionofdevices,wiredtogetherinalimitedgeography,whichcan
communicatewitheachother.

Network Forthepurposesofthisguide,agroupofFieldbussegmentsconnected
togetherinsomeway.

NonIncendive Adeviceorcablethatwillnotcauseanignitionundernormaloperating
conditionswheninthepresenceofhazardousgases.Mayormaynotbe
energylimited;ifnot,disturbingthedeviceorwiringisnotallowed
withoutprecautions.

NonIncendiveFieldWiring Adeviceorcablethatwillnotcauseanignitionundernormaloperating
conditionswheninthepresenceofhazardousgases.Inthiscase,the
energyislimitedandmaybeworkedwhilelive(whereallowedbylocal
codes).

PowerConditioner ThefilterbetweenapowersupplyandFieldbuswiring.Normally,itispart
ofaFieldbusPowerSupply.

ProfibusPA AFieldbusthatconnectstoahigherlevelProfibusNetwork(ProfiNet,
ProfibusDP,etc.).Itsprotocolisdifferentandmorelimitedthan
FoundationFieldbus.

Segment AFieldbusinfrastructurewhichconsistsofaFieldbusPowerSupply,two
Terminators,cable,Fieldbusdevices,andaDCSH1interface.

Spur AcablebetweentheTrunkcableandaFieldbusdevice,usuallyconnected
totheTrunkviaaDeviceCoupler.

Terminator Adeviceonasegmentthatshapesthetransmittedsignalsandprevents
signaldistortion.

TrunkCable Themaincablebetweenthecontrolroomandajunctionboxinthefield.
AlsocalledHomeRun.Usuallythecablebetweenthetworequired
Terminators.

TwistedPair Twowirestwistedtogetherfornoisecancellationpurposes,usually
withinacablejacket.

38Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
References

Thereareawiderangeofadditionalresourcesavailabletohelpyouincreaseyourknowledgeabout
Fieldbus.Belowareanumberofreferencedocumentsandwebsiteswheremoreinformationcanbe
found.Allreferenceswereaccurateatthetimeofprintingofthisdocumentand,alongwithallURL
addresses,aresubjecttochange;however,asearchbydocumentnameandtitleislikelytofindthe
mostcurrentversionofthereference.

ReferenceDocuments
FieldbusFoundation

ThedocumentsbelowareaccessiblefromtheFieldbusFoundationwebsiteat
http://www.fieldbus.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=326

AG140 WiringandInstallation,31.25kbits/sVoltageModeWireMedium
AG163 31.25kbit/sIntrinsicallySafeSystems
AG181 SystemEngineeringGuide

AnotherexcellentresourcefromtheFieldbusFoundationistheFieldbusForum,forwhichyouneedto
createafreeaccount.TheForumcanbeaccessedathttp://forums.fieldbus.org/.Itisavenuewhere
presentationsarepostedandasearchableopendiscussionforumwherequestionsandanswerscanbe
found.

RelcomInc.

ThedocumentsbelowareaccessiblefromtheRelcomIncwebsiteat
http://www.relcominc.com/fieldbus/fbapnotes.htm.

500988 HighSystemAvailabilityforFoundationFieldbus
500989 TheImportanceofIsolationforFoundationFieldbus
501380 FieldbusPhysicalLayerTroubleshootingGuide
501386 PreventingFieldbusPhysicalLayerProblems
501375 TestingFieldbusCablewithFBT6andFBT5
502145 NonIncendiveFieldbusforSimplifiedMaintenance

MTL

Thefollowingapplicationnotesareavailablebyvisitingwww.mtlfieldbus.com.

MTLApplicationNoteAN9026FISCOIntrinsicallySafeFieldbusSystems
MTLApplicationNoteAN9027FNICONonIncendiveFieldbusSystems
MTLApplicationNoteTAN1010Lightning&SurgeProtectionforFieldbusSystems

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 39
References

ISABooks

ISAhaspublishedtworeferencebooksrelatedtoFoundationFieldbustechnology.
FoundationFieldbus,3rdEdition,byIanVerhappenandAugustoPereira,providesapracticalguideto
thevariousaspectsofaFoundationFieldbusproject/system.Thisbookcanbeaccessedfrom:
http://www.isa.org/Template.cfm?Section=Books3&template=/Ecommerce/ProductDisplay.cfm&Produ
ctID=10041

Asecond,moreindepthbook,FieldbusesforProcessControl:Engineering,Operation,and
MaintenancebyJonasBerge,canbefoundat:
http://www.isa.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_Books1&template=/Ecommerce/ProductDisplay.cfm&
ProductID=7563

CertifiedFoundationFieldbusTrainingCenters

ForthosewhorequireamoreindepthknowledgeofFoundationFieldbus,thereareanumberof
trainingcentersinvariouspartsoftheworldthathavebeencertifiedbytheFieldbusFoundation.
completionofacertifiedtrainingcoursemeansyouhavemetaminimumrequirementthatisverified
againstaFieldbusFoundationstandard.

LeeCollege,Texas,USA:http://knowthebus.org/fc/index.html
SAIT,Alberta,Canada:http://www.saittraining.com/programs.html
STCBrielle,Netherlands:http://www.stcgroup.nl
TrineUniversity,Indiana,USA:http://www.trine.edu/

Websites

AnumberofusefulwebsitesexistwithinformationonFoundationFieldbus,includingthefollowing:

ICEweb:http://www.iceweb.com.au/Instrument/fieldbus.htm
Romilly'sHARTandFieldbusWebSite:http://www.romilly.co.uk/
FieldbusReferenceList(RonHulsebos):http://www.enodenetworks.com/Links.htm

TrainingCD

FoundationFieldbusConcepts

DanDumdie
HightechMultimediaTutorials
POBox1927
PortAngeles,WA98362
+1(360)9289549
www.hmtutorials.com

40Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
AppendixA:Signals
Thetwistedpaircables,Terminators,andtheFieldbusPowerSupplyworktogetherasawiringsystem
thatcancarrysignalsbetweenFieldbusdevices.

Whennottransmitting,adevicedrawspowerfromthecableforitsinternaloperation.Whenthedevice
transmitsahighsignal,itdraws10mAlesscurrent.Thisincreasesthevoltagebetweenthewires.
Whenthedevicetransmitsalowsignal,itdrawsanextra10mAfromthewires,resultinginavoltage
decrease.Thesignalwaveformisshownbelow.Notethatthesignalisaboveandbelowthe24volt
nontransmittinglevelonthesegment.

FigureA.1:FieldbusSignal

DigitaldataissentontheFieldbusatarateof31.25Kbits/second.Thus,eachbitcellis32microseconds
long.ThedigitaldataonesandzerosisrepresentedasaManchestercode.Azeroisapositivesignal
transitioninthemiddleofabitcell;aoneisanegativetransitioninthemiddleofabitcell.

Thesignalvoltagechangeistypically750mVpeaktopeak.BecauseitisaManchesterencodedsignal,
thetransition,ratherthanthemagnitude,ofthesignalisusedforcommunication.Signallevelsaslow
as150mVandashighas1000mVareallowedbythestandard.

AsequenceofManchesterencodedonesandzeroswouldlooklikethis:

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 41
AppendixA:Signals

FigureA.2:ManchesterCodeSignal

Whenadevicebeginstransmitting,itputsoutatleastonepreamble,an8bitsequencewithalternating
onesandzeros.

FigureA.3:Preamble

Thispatternisusedbyreceivingdevicesforsynchronizationtobitcellboundaries.

Besidesonesandzeros,therearealsotwonondatasymbols.ThesenondatasymbolsareN+,ahigh
levelduringthewholebitcell,andN,alowlevelduringthewholebitcell.Thesesymbolsareusedto
makean8bitstartdelimiterthatshowswhererealdatastartsandan8bitenddelimiterthatshows
wheredatatransmissionstops.

FigureA.4:StartandEndDelimiters

42Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0
 AppendixA:Signals

Whenadevicetransmits,thedifferentpartsarecombinedtoformadataframe:

FigureA.5:FieldbusFrame

TheDataportionoftheframecontainsinformationsuchastheaddressofthedeviceforwhichthe
frameisintended,identificationofthetypeofframe,measurementvalues,etc.TheDataportionofa
framecanbeupto266byteslong.

ThedelimitersareverydifferentfromanysignalpatternthatmightbeintheDataportionoftheframe.
ThisdifferenceallowstheDataportionoftheframetobeunambiguouslyidentifiedandallowsData
corruptedbynoisetobedetectedusingaFrameCheckSequence(FCS).TheFCSistheverylastpartof
theDataportionoftheframe.ThisfeaturemakesFieldbusmuchmorerobustthanmanyothercontrol
networks.

Becausealldevicessharethecable,onlyonedeviceshouldtransmitatanygiventime.Otherwise,there
wouldbechaosonthecable,withallthetransmittedsignalsinterferingwithoneanother.

ForFoundationFieldbus,aspecialdevicecalledtheLinkActiveScheduler(LAS)selectswhichsingle
devicecantransmit.TheLASallowseachdevicetotransmitbysendingoutaspecialframetoeach
deviceinturn.AframemightbetheLASaskingadevicetotransmitdata,adevicebroadcastingitsdata
tootherdevices,adevicereportinganerrorcondition,etc.

ProfibusPAusesamaster/slavearchitectureratherthananLAS.Themastercontrolswheneachdevice
onthesegmenttransmits.

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 43


AppendixB:AvailabilityCalculation

ThefollowingisbackgroundinformationonhowtheAvailabilitywasdeterminedfortheexampleon
page18.

Tocalculateavailability,wealsoneedtoknowtheMeanTimeToRepair(MTTR).TheMTTRforafailure
whichraisesanalarmistypicallytakenas8hours(1shift)tocoverthetimetakentorecognizethe
alarm,getthenecessaryauthorizationstoworkonthesystem,collectasparefromstores,and
completethereplacement.

TheAvailabilityis

TocalculatetheavailabilityoftheFieldbussegmentduetothepowersupply,weneedtoconsider:

TheMTTFoftheisolatorandpowerconditioningmodulesand
TheMTTFofthecommoncomponentsonthebackplanewhosefailurewouldresultinthe
failureoftheFieldbussegment.

Withtwopowersupplymodulesoperating,theUnavailability(1Availability)oftheredundantpower
supplyistheprobabilityofbothmodulesbeingunavailableatthesametime.Thisiscalculatedasthe
productoftheindividualpowermoduleunavailabilities.

TheUnavailabilityfortheFieldbussegmentisbasedon:

Boththeisolationandpowerconditioningmodulesfailingatthesametime,or
Thecommonbackplanecomponentsfailingwhichaffectsegmentavailability.

TheUnavailabilityoftheFieldbussegmentisthesumofthesetwounavailabilities.

44Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0


AppendixC:FieldbusSegmentDesign
Calculation

Thefollowingexampleshowshowtocalculatethemaximumnumberofdevicesthatcanbeattachedat
theDeviceCoupler.

TheFieldbusPowerSupplyminimumoutputis22Voltstothesegment.
Thecableusedis18gaugeandhasaresistanceof22Ohms/kmforeachconductor.TheTrunk
cableis1kmlong.Thecombinedresistanceofbothwires(roundtrip)is44Ohms.
EachdeviceattheDeviceCouplerdraws17mA.

AlthoughtheminimumvoltageforaFieldbusdeviceis9V,wewantasafetymarginof2V.Thisleaves11
voltsthatcanbedroppedbythecable(2292).ThetotalcurrentthatcanbesuppliedattheDevice
Coupleris:

Voltage/Resistance=Currentavailable
11Volts/44Ohms=250milliamps

WewanttoallowaSpurtobeshortedandstillhave11voltsattheDeviceCoupler.Wealsowanttobe
abletoconnectahandheldtestertotheDeviceCoupler.Finally,thecurrentdrawoftheDeviceCoupler
mustalsobetakenintoaccount.Thisleavesacurrentof175mAavailablefordevices(25060105).
Sinceeachdevicedraws17milliamps,themaximumnumberofdevicesattheDeviceCouplerofthis
exampleis:

Currentavailable/Devicedraw=Numberofdevices
180mA/17mA=10devices

BeawarethattherearemanySegmentCalculatorsavailablefrommanufacturersofFieldbusequipment,
aswellasonethatisavailablefromtheFieldbusFoundation(www.fieldbus.org).

Doc.No.:501123Rev.:E.0 45


Fieldbus
WiringGuide





Relcom Inc.
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