The basic idea of our project is to automate industrial process and its monitoring & control. The monitoring and control is done both at remote terminals as well as at CMS (Central Monitoring Station). There is a hybrid concept of Distributed Control System (DCS) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) introduced here. For communication between Remote Units (RTUs) and Central Monitori
ng Station (CMS) wired link is used. At remote site a model of a boiler is automated such that it is kept at a certain desired temperature. When the temperature of boiler falls below certain soft limit (threshold temperature minus some constant) an electric rod is turned ON until the temperature reaches the threshold temperature. Similarly if the boiler is over heated due to external factor or some other reason (for example an exothermic reaction taking place in it) an electric rod will turn off and it will dissipate heat naturally until it reaches its threshold temperature. All this automation is controlled by a RTU (using a microcontroller). Certain controls for example temperature adjustment is done at this RTU using a computers keypad or by using cursor. The temperature being adjusted and the boiler temperature are displayed meanwhile on computers LCD. There is another model of water tank in which water is maintained at a certain level. When water level falls below a certain soft limit water pump 1 turns on to fill the tank until the threshold level is reached. When water level increases a certain soft limit another pump named pump2 turns on to expel water out of the water tank. Water level is shown graphically on a LCD of the Remote Terminal Unit
Now all these processes are also being monitored/controlled at a central monitoring station. For monitoring, real time data comes via wired link. Data is being processed and analyzed by software called LabVIEW. LabVIEW can be used for data acquisition,instrument control, and industrial automation. All data is displayed on a single screen (Interface). Using the Interface Panel of LabVIEW one can adjust the required temperature range and water level.
