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INTRODUCTION TO DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSTEM

Single-loop Controllers

A single-loop controller (SLC) may be defined as a controlling device that solves control algorithms to
produce a single controlled output. SLCs often are microprocessor based and may be programmable or
have fixed functionality.
 Size
 Control Functions
 Self – Tuning
 Time Scheduling and Sequencing
 Others (Auto/Manual, Multi-setpoint, Self-diagnostics, Memory)
 Networking

Microprocessor-based single-loop digital controller for general-purpose

applications. (Moore Products Company.)

Microprocessor-based 1/4 DIN [96 by 96 mm (3.8 by 3.8 in.)

configurable controller. (LFE Instruments.)

Stand-alone programmer controller in a 1/8 DIN case [96 by 48mm(3.8 by 1.9 in.)]
features a dual light-emitting diode (LED) display, and seven dedicated LEDs areused to show
prompt legends during setup and the instrument status when a program is running.
(West Instruments.)

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Family of single-loop process controllers. These programmable controllers incorporate computational and control functions that can be
combined in the same manner as programming a pocket calculator.
(Johnson Yokogawa Corporation.)

Control system for several compressors by using a stand-alone programmable computing station. (Johnson
Yokogawa Corporation.)

Mathematical Functions that an SLC can do:

 Adder Subtractor
 Adjustable gain with bias
 Deviation
 Multiplier / Divider
 Other computation modules
o Lead/lag compensator
o Dual filter
o Ramp limiter
o Signal limiter
o Analog tracking
o Square-root extractor
o Signal selector (high/low)
o Signal selector (median)
o Peak picker
o Signal converters
o Thermocouples: iron/constantan, Chromel/Alumel, copper/constantan,
platinum/rhodium, Chromel/constantan
o Slidewire (nonisolated or isolated)
o Calculated relative humidity

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Definition of DCS

 Distributed Control System (DCS) is a type of receiving element that is multi-function,

computer-based system, using modular hardware, computer workstations for display and
operator actions.
 They are basically large-scale multi-loop controllers, multivariable indicators and recorders,
integrated in a network.
 The DCS is a control system which collects the data from the field and decides what to do with
them. Data from the field can either be stored for future reference, used for simple process
control, use in conjunction with data from another part of the plant for advanced control
strategies.
 Distributed control systems (DCS) are used in manufacturing and process industries such as
chemical, specialty chemical, petrochemical, refining, pharmaceutical, food and beverage,
power, cement, water and wastewater, oil and gas, pulp and paper, steel plants, and many
others.
 The provided automations are used for batch, fed-batch, and continuous processes.
 DCS installations can be used within a single site or compounded sites in the same area or
extended throughout a country or the world by the use of microwave, satellite, Internet, and
other technologies that incorporate remote locations. The most recent systems include options
for optical, wired, and wireless infrastructures.

Distributed Control System (DCS) has three essential qualities:

1. To distribute its functions into relatively small sets of semiautonomous subsystems, which are
interconnected via a high-speed communications network. These functions include:
 data collection
 process control
 presentation of information
 process analysis and supervision
 storage and retrieval of archived information
 presentation and reporting of information

The distribution of functions has several advantages over more classical process computer
architectures, including:
 lower exposure to component or subsystem failure and better isolation to facilitate
maintenance and upgrades
 better partitioning of application requirements for different process areas
 improved modularity for application development
 facilitation of geographical distribution, which reduces installation costs (reduced
wiring) and provides more localized operational supervision while offering global
access to information and control capabilities

2. To automate the manufacturing process by integrating advanced regulatory control, logic

and sequential control, and procedural languages into a cohesive application that is
integrated with a variety of advanced application packages ranging from Batch to Expert
Systems.

3. The systems aspect of a DCS organizes the command structure and information flow among its
constituent parts so as to have it act as a single automation system unifying the various
subsystems, including:
 process signal input and conditioning
 process actuator signal output
 regulatory, combinatorial, and sequence logic and procedural and supervisory control
 human readable process displays of current values, alarms, trends, and calculations
 human actions including setpoint changes, manual overrides and alarm handling
 application subsystems such as process optimization and manufacturing support
 information-storage subsystems
 communications subsystems

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History, Evolution and Trends

1940s - Ingenious mechanical and pneumatic devices controlled processes.

late 1950s - Electronic controllers were introduced.
mid-1960s - Process computers made their debut.
early 1970s - Analog systems architectures were introduced.
1970s - The synthesis of systematized instrumentation and process computers became the goal of
distributed control systems.

Spec 200 Architecture (courtesy of The Foxboro company).

mid-1970s - Advances in microprocessor and software technology, coupled with the commercial
availability of process control and operations software, made process computers affordable and useful
tools for process control engineers.

TDC 2000 architecture (courtesy of Honeywell).

mid-1970s - Advances in microprocessor and software technology make it practical

and affordable to replace operational amplifiers with digital circuitry.
mid-1970s - Programmable logic controllers (PLC) also made their debut onto the market during this
time frame.
mid-1970s - The cathode ray tube (CRT)-based operator workstations made their debut in the mid-
1970s as well.

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Photo of a central control room, , using panelboard instruments

(courtesy of the Foxboro Company). Photo of a CRT console as a panel board replacement
(courtesy of the Foxboro Company).

late 1970s to early 1980s - The second generation of distributed controllers greatly extended the use
of software links between functional control elements.
mid-1980s - Computer hardware and software technology had reached the point where DCSs could
address expanded issues concerning real-time information, and the emphasis shifted from automatic
control to constructing tools to facilitate the production process:
 batch: product recipe management
 production scheduling and dispatching
 plantwide information collection, storage, retrieval, and reporting
 statistical process control
 manufacturing execution systems
 process accounting, including material and energy flow reconciliation
 process modeling and model reference control
 expert systems

late 1980s and early 1990s - A hybrid offering would be created, supporting both traditional and
component-based subsystems with investment continuing to support the traditional design in all
aspects of the offering.
early 1990s - Most suppliers were repositioning their DCS offerings from panelboard replacement to
being the real-time component of a manufacturing enterprise system utilizing distributed computing
architectures.
mid-1990s - The market appetite for increasingly specialized application solutions for a widening
diversity of market niches began growing exponentially.

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PLC (Programmable Logic Controller)

 A PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLER (PLC) is an industrial computer control system that

continuously monitors the state of input devices and makes decisions based upon a custom
program, to control the state of devices connected as outputs.
 A PLC consists of following main parts:

INPUT OUTPUT

Sensing Devices Valves

Switches and Pushbuttons Solenoids
Proximity Sensors Motors
Limit Switches Actuators
Pressure Switches Pumps

PLC Operations consist of four steps:

1. Input Scan: Scans the state of the Inputs

2. Program Scan: Executes the program logic
3. Output Scan: Energize/de-energize the outputs
4. Housekeeping

SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition)

 SCADA stands for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition.

 It is a purely software package that is positioned on top of hardware to which it is interfaced,
in general via Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC's), or other commercial hardware modules.
 Traditionally, SCADA systems have made use of the Public Switched Network (PSN) for
monitoring purposes.
 Today many systems are monitored using the infrastructure of the corporate Local Area
Network (LAN)/Wide Area Network (WAN). Wireless technologies are now being widely
deployed for purposes of monitoring.

DCS vs PLC

• 10- 15 years ago, PLC is the KING of “Machine” controls while DCS dominates “Process” control
• High speed control = PLC
• Complex Control = DCS
• DCS performed hundreds of “Analog” measurements and controlled dozens of analog output,
using multi-variable Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) control
• PLC replaced conventional relay/solid-state logic in machine control. It dealt with contact IO
and Start/stop motors by performing “Boolean” logic
• Most DCS offer redundant controllers, network, and IOs. Most give you “built-in” redundancy
and diagnostic features with no need for user-written logic
• DCSs allow centralized configuration from the operator or engineering console in the control
room. You can change programming offline, and download without restarting the system for
the change to be effective.
• The controllers execute control strategies as independent tasks; thus, making changes to part
of the control logic has no impact on the rest.
• The typical DCS has integrated diagnostics and standard display templates that automatically
extend/update when your database changes. This database is central to the system-you don't
have different databases sitting in the controllers
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• DCSs have user-friendly configuration tools, including structured English, control block
libraries, SFC (sequential function chart).
• An important difference between DCSs and PLCs is how vendors market them. DCS vendors
typically sell a complete, working, integrated, and tested system; offering full application
implementation. They offer many services: training, installation, field service, and
integration with your (IT) systems. The DCS vendor tries to be your "one-stop shop."
• The PLC is more of a "do-it-yourself" device, which is sometimes simpler to execute.
• When PLCs were solely replacements for hard-wired relays, they had only digital I/O, with no
operator interface or communications.
• Simple operator interfaces appeared, then evolved into increasingly complex interfaces as PLCs
worked with increasingly complex automation problems. We went from a panel of buttons and
I/O-driven lamps to PLC full-color customized graphic displays that run on SCADA software
over a network.
• PLCs now have many DCS-like control functions (e.g., PID algorithms) and analog I/O. They've
moved past their birthplace: the digital world
• Typical PLC Relay Ladder Logic (RLL) languages include function blocks that can perform
complex control and math functions (e.g., PID algorithms).
• Complex multi-loop control functions (e.g., cascade management and loop initialization) are
not typical.
• The user-written logic is typically one big RLL program, which means you may have to take the
whole PLC off-line to make a change of any size. You also run into database synchronization
problems because of the separation of PLCs and the Man Machine Interface (MMI) software
packages, as opposed to the central databases of DCSs.
• PLC will run in a stand-alone configuration. A DCS controller normally expects an operator
interface and communications, so it can send alarms, messages, trend updates, and display
updates.
• Many PLC installations use interface software from third-party vendors for improved graphics
and various levels of alarming, trending, and reporting - SCADA.
• “PLC + SCADA” = “DCS”
• A PLC may have a third-party package for operator interfaces, LAN interface to PCs, PLC data
highway or bus, redundant controllers with local and distributed I/O. The PLC would have
redundant media support, BUT NOT the redundant communication hardware or I/O bus
hardware you'd find in a DCS.
• Decision between PLC and DCS often depends on “business issues” rather than “technical
features”; factors to consider are:
 The internal expertise to execute the project,
 Level of support available from a vendor/integrator,
 Long-term maintainability, and
 Life-cycle costs.
• When deciding between the two, know who will deliver and who will support your system,
and how they will do it.