GAIL (INDIA) LIMITED

PATA, AURAIYA, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

SUMMER VOCATIONAL TRAINING

REPORT ON
DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSTEM

In Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the Degree

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar College Of Agricultural

Engineering And Technology, Etawah-206001 (UP)

Submitted to:- Submitted by:-

Dr. N K SHARMA SUYASH PATEL
H.O.D. (ECE) CT-2596/16 (ECE)
 PREFACE

Knowledge of something useful can become redundant the difference between a successful and
unsuccessful professional lies not only in the amount of knowledge one has, but how much he
can actually use in various situation.

It is with this objective that every student of B.tech has to undergo four weeks of summer
training in the corporate world to get the first-hand experience of working in an organization.

I was fortunate enough in doing my summer vocational training at GAIL, pata which is a
prestigious “MAHARATNA STATUS” company.

SUYASH PATEL
(CT-2596/16)

1
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

With deep sense of gratitude, I would like to thank GAIL (INDIA) LTD for allowing me to
attend vocational training at its GAIL, PATA. No work can be completed successfully unless
the path of wisdom is illuminated by the luminous and excellent guidance. Dozens of persons
have aided by devoting their help in preparing this project report.

I would like to express my gratitude to all those who gave me the possibility to complete this
project work.

I am deeply indebted to Mr. R K Radha Kirishnan (DGM, Inst.), Mr. R. K. Patel (Chief
Manager, Inst.) and Mr. Prashant Nigam (Senior Manager, Inst.), GAIL (India) Ltd,
PATA. whose help, stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped me in all the time of
our project work.

Also, I extend my sincere thanks to my guide Mr. V P Singh (Manager, Inst.), Mr. B C
Mishra (Manager, Inst.) and Mr. Brij Bhushan (Manager, Inst.) for their constant
interaction, help, valuable suggestions and support during my project period.

It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge my humble & sincere ineptness to Mr. P. K. Jain
(HR- Training & DCS) for providing encouragement and all help needed despite of his
multifarious responsibilities.

I am thankful to all of them.

SUYASH PATEL
(CT-2596/16)

2
 ABSTRACT

As electronics play a vital role in the Industrial growth. Instrumentation is also backbone of
any Process system. Nowdays technology is finding wide use in industries as it avoids the need
of extra man work like in automation.

Engineering is not only a theoretical study, but it is implementation of all we study for creating
something new and making things more easy and useful practical study. In the college
circulation we usually get the theoretical knowledge of industries, and a little bit of
implementation knowledge that how is it work? But how can we prove our theoretical
knowledge to increase the productivity or efficiency of the industry.

To overcome such problem we the student of Engineering Colleges are supposed to go on the
Practical Training of 30 days in our summer vacations as the time is predefined to be familiar
with industrial environment. I have taken my Practical Training at “GAIL INDIA LIMITED
PATA AURIYA”.

Last I can say that it was a great experience to work under such experienced Engineers and
Staff members. I gained a lot of knowledge and truly felt the industrial environment during my
training. Really without this practical training, only theoretical engineering nothing.

SUYASH PATEL
(CT-2596/16)

3
 INDEX
1. Introduction to GAIL……………………………………………….………..6
1.1. Introduction…………………………………………….………………..6
1.2. Infrastructure of GAIL…………………………….…………………….6
1.3. GAIL Pata plant………………………………………………………….7
1.3.1 Pata plant Description…………................................................7
2. Distributed Control System………….……………………………………..10
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………10
1.1 Distributed control system…………………………………………..10
1.2 Why it is called distributed………………………………………….10
2. History of DCS……………………………………………………………..11
2.1 Origins………………………………………..……………………….11
2.2 Development…………………………………………………………..12
2.2.1 The application – centric era of the 1990s................................13
2.2.2 Modern system …………..…………………………………..15
3. Structure of DCS……………………………………………………………15
4. Technical points of DCS……………………………………………………16
5. DCS System architecture …………………………………………………..17
5.1 DCS components……………………………………………………….18
5.1.1 Field Control Station…………………………………………18
5.1.2 Operator Station…………………………………………......18
5.1.3 Engineering Station…………………………..………………18
4.2 Basic loop of DCS system………………………………………………19
4.3 DCS block diagram……………………………………………………...19
6. Process control of DCS system……………………………………………...19
6.1 Analog control system………………………………………………......20
6.2 Digital control system…………………………………………………...20
6.3 Centralised control system………………………………………………21
7. Drawbacks of DCS……………………………………………….…………21
8. Process control unit of DCS ...…………………………………..…………..21

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9. Communication system……………………………………………………...22
10. Communication protocol……………………………………………..……23
10.1 PROFINET/Industrial Ethernet……………………………………...23
10.2 AS-I………………………………………………………………….24
10.3 Modbus………………………………………………………………25
10.4 HART………………………………………………………………..25
10.5 Field Bus…………………………………………………………….26
11. Working and operation of DCS…………………………………………..26
12. Smart devices…………………………………………………………….27
13. Typical application…………………………………………….................28
14. Advantages of DCS………………………………………………………28
15. Difference between SCADA and DCS…………………………………...29
16. Difference between PLC and DCS……………………………………….30
17. DCS system from different vendors ………………………………………31
18. Automation system used in GAIL, PATA…………………………………32
Conclusion
References

5
 GAIL (INDIA) LTD
1.1 INTRODUCTION
GAIL (India) Limited is the largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution
company in India. It has following business segments: Natural Gas, Liquid Hydrocarbon,
Liquefied petroleum gas Transmission, Petrochemical, City Gas Distribution, Exploration and
Production, GAILTEL and Electricity Generation. GAIL has been conferred with the
MAHARATNA Status on 1 Feb 2013, by the Government of India. Net financial turnover for
the year 2014-2015 was Rupees 56569 Crores and profit is Rupees 5620 Crores. Originally this
1800 Km long pipeline was built at a cost of Rs 1700 Crores and it laid the foundation for
development of market for natural Gas in India.

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is the most widely used domestic and commercial fuel in India.
Around 90 per cent of the LPG is consumed in India as fuel by the household sector, while the
balance is sold to industrial and commercial customers. GAIL has seven LPG Plants, two at
Vijaipur and one at Vaghodia, and one each in Lakwa (Assam), Auraiya (UP), Gandhar
(Gujarat) and Usar (Maharashtra). LPG is sold in bulk to LPG retailing companies such IOCL,
BPCL, HPCL and other liquid hydrocarbon products are sold to industries. GAIL is rated
among the top 30 Indian companies in terms of profits and revenue.

1.2 INFRASTRUCTURE
GAIL (India) Ltd. (erstwhile Gas Authority of India Ltd), India's principal gas transmission
and marketing company, was set up by the Government of India in August 1984 to create gas
sector infrastructure for sustained development of the natural gas sector in the country. The
2800-km Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur (HVJ) pipeline became operational in 1991. During
1991-93, three LPG plants were constructed and some regional pipelines acquired, enabling
GAIL to begin its regional gas distribution in various parts of India. GAIL began its city gas
distribution in Delhi in 1997 by setting up nine CNG stations, catering to the city's vast public
transport fleet. In 1999, GAIL set up northern India's only petrochemical plant at Pata. GAIL
became the first Infrastructure Provider Category II Licensee and signed the country's first
Service Level Agreement for leasing bandwidth in the Delhi-Vijaipur sector in 2001, through
its telecom business GAILTEL. In 2001, GAIL commissioned world's longest and India's first

6
Cross Country LPG Transmission Pipeline from Jamnagar to Loni. GAIL today has reached
new milestones with its strategic diversification into Petrochemicals, Telecom and Liquid
Hydrocarbons besides gas infrastructure.

1.2 GAIL PATA PLANT

GAIL owns and operates a gas based Petrochemical Complex at PATA, District Auraiya, near
Kanpur in UP (around 380 km from Delhi). GAIL has world class “Sclairtech” solution
polymerization process licensed from M/s Nova Chemicals, Canada to produce LLDPE and
HDPE, with a nameplate capacity of 2,10,000 MT/annum and has two slurry based
polymerization processes licensed from M/s Mitsui Chemicals, Japan to produce HDPE, each
with a nameplate capacity of 1,00,000 MT/annum. A new world class gas phase Unipol PE
Process of M/s Univation Technology, USA, with a nameplate capacity of 400,000 MT/
annum, has been commissioned at PATA to produce HDPE/LLDPE.

Gail Pata is the only HDPE/LLDPE plant operating in Northern India and has a dominant
market in north India. The primary thrust markets for the polymers had been Western India,
but with the entry of GAIL in the HDPE & LLDPE market verticals, today North India has
also witnessed a rapid and significant growth in the polymer downstream processing Verticals.
In a successful span of about a decades of establishing and marketing its grades under the brand
names G-Lex and G-Lene, GAIL has alongside augmented its name plate capacity of HDPE &
LLDPE to 410,000 MTPA by adding another dedicated downstream polymerization unit of
100,000 MTPA.

1.3 GAIL PLANT DESCRIPTION

 GAS SWEETENING UNIT

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The gas from the HVJ pipeline contains about 5 to 6% CO2 by volume which interferes with
C2-C3 recovery in GPU where deep cryogenic conditions are involved. In view of this it is
necessary to remove CO2 the feed gas down to 50 PPM level. The acid gas enters the bottom
of absorber where it contacts counter currently descending clean solution. The acid gas
component in the gas is absorb by the solvent and the sweet gas leaves from the top of absorber.

 C2-C3 EXTRACTION UNIT

The sweetened gas is compressed and cooled in feed gas cooler to separated moister this gas is
then passes through molecular dryer to dehydrate the dehydrated gas is net cooled pass through
three stage in first gas is cooled by de-methane is bottom reboiler, chiller1 & side reboiler.
Liquid Produced to C2& C3 storage gases from the top of de-methaniser column are cooled
down in condenser and the condensate is separated in reflux drum and pumped back to the
column.

 GAS CRACKER UNIT

In gas cracker unit the feed C2/C3 is cracked in hollow furnace tubes at high temperature in
the presence of steam. In this liquid from de-methaniser section is sent to de-ethaniser which
splits up the feed to ethane and ethylene top is processed for removal of acetylene and is there
after send to ethylene column for further separation.

 HIGH DENSITY POLY ETHYLENE PLANT

The high density polyethylene plant uses the slurry process for making polyethylene. The
process consists of feeding ethylene to reactors containing catalyst, by hydrogen and propylene
or butane-1 along with hexane for making tailor made PE products to suit customs application
requirement.

 LLDPE/HDPE SWING PLANT

The process in linear low density polyethylene / high density polyethylene swing plant utilizes
solution phase reaction system for polyethylene manufacture.

Solvent cyclohexane & monomer butane-1 are pumped to absorber cooler ethylene is fed to
form reactor feed solution. The reactor operates at high pressure and temperature to yield PE.
The control of the properties of polymer is normally achieved by varying the feed quantity and
injection of catalyst and hydrogen.

8
The solution is them preheated before passing through an absorber for the removal of the
deactivate catalyst. The absorbed material is depressurized in two stage, at intermediate
pressure separator and low pressure (LPS) for flashing off of unreacted ethylene solvent and
co-monomer, which are recycled for recovery.

The bottom product from HB column is sent to the RB column from where low molecular
weight polymer is taken out as grease.

 BUTENE-1 PLANT
The process in butane-1 plant involves demoralization of ethylene in to butene-1. It is used as
co-monomer in LLDPE/HDPE swing plant. Feed ethylene along with recycled ethylene is fed
to the reactor where reaction is takes place in presence of catalyst and butene-1 is produced.
The reactor outputs are vaporized in stream exchange and sent to flash drum.

 LPG PLANT
Liquid hydrocarbon from GPU is fed to LPG plant C2-C3 distillation column to have C2-C3
as top product and propane and heavier hydrocarbon as bottom withdrawal. This bottom liquid
is fed to propane recovery column where top product is propane and bottom withdrawal is C3
and heavier hydrocarbons. This bottom hydrocarbon mixture is then fed to LPG as top product
and natural gasoline as bottom product.

9
 UTILITIES
The utilities requirement for GAIL, Pata include power, raw water, steam, Cooling water, DM
water, Fire water plant, air instrument and nitrogen.

 WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANT

A number of effluent stream generated from various source via, process waste stream (GCU,
GPU), spent caustic waste stream, cooling water, blow down, DM plant effluent, boiler blow
down and sanitary waste stream. The total quantity of waste water generated from the above
mentioned source amounts to 150 M3/hr. M/S GAIL have installed a combined waste water
treatment plant(WWTP) for the treatment of these effluents. The major units of WWTP are grit
chamber, Oil separator, tank, bio-tower, Accretions tank, thickener.

DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSTEM

1. INTRODUCTION
 A distributed control system (DCS) is a computerised control system for a process or
plant usually with a large number of control loops, in which autonomous controllers are
distributed throughout the system, but there is central operator supervisory control. This is
in contrast to systems that use centralized controllers; either discrete controllers located at
a central control room or within a central computer.
 The DCS concept increases reliability and reduces installation costs by localising control
functions near the process plant, with remote monitoring and supervision.
 Distributed control systems first emerged in large, high value, safety critical process
industries, and were attractive because the DCS manufacturer would supply both the local
control level and central supervisory equipment as an integrated package, thus reducing
design integration risk.
 Today the functionality of SCADA and DCS systems are very similar, but DCS tends to be
used on large continuous process plants where high reliability and security is important,
and the control room is not geographically remote.

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1.2WHY IT IS CALLED DISTRIBUTED?
As is apparent from the abbreviation, the word ‘Distributed’ supports following
functionalities.

 Physical Distribution- Nodes or subsystems can be distributed i.e. located physically

apart.
 Functional Distribution- Specific functionality is imparted for a Node basing on the
combination of hardware and software used. For e.g. Application work-processor with
Historian, Application work-processor with control configuration software.
 Structural Distribution- Different Structural hardware platforms (Application
Workstation processor, Workstation processor, control processor,) are used to achieve the
required functionality.

2. HISTORY OF DCS
With the coming of electronic processors and graphic displays it became possible to replace
these discrete controllers with computer-based algorithms, hosted on a network of input/output
racks with their own control processors. These could be distributed around plant, and
communicate with the graphic display in the control room or rooms. The distributed control
system was born.

The introduction of DCSs allowed easy interconnection and re-configuration of plant controls
such as cascaded loops and interlocks, and easy interfacing with other production computer
systems. It enabled sophisticated alarm handling, introduced automatic event logging, removed
the need for physical records such as chart recorders, allowed the control racks to be networked
and thereby located locally to plant to reduce cabling runs, and provided high level overviews
of plant status and production levels.

2.1 ORIGINS
Early minicomputers were used in the control of industrial processes since the beginning of the
1960s. The IBM 1800, for example, was an early computer that had input/output hardware to
gather process signals in a plant for conversion from field contact levels (for digital points) and
analog signals to the digital domain. The first industrial control computer system was built
1959 at the Texaco Port Arthur, Texas, refinery with an RW-300 of the Ramo-Wooldridge
Company. In1975, both Honeywell and Japanese electrical engineering firm Yokogawa

11
introduced their own independently produced DCS's - TDC 2000 and CENTUM systems,
respectively. US-based Bristol also introduced their UCS 3000 universal controller in 1975. In
1978 Valmet introduced their own DCS system called Damatic (latest generation named
Valmet DNA). In 1980, Bailey (now part of ABB) introduced the NETWORK 90 system,
Fisher Controls (now part of Emerson Electric) introduced the PROVoX system, Fischer &
Porter Company (now also part of ABB) introduced DCI-4000 (DCI stands for Distributed
Control Instrumentation). The DCS largely came about due to the increased availability of
microcomputers and the proliferation of microprocessors in the world of process control.
Computers had already been applied to process automation for some time in the form of
both direct digital control (DDC) and setpoint control. In the early 1970s Taylor Instrument
Company, (now part of ABB) developed the 1010 system, Foxboro the FOX1 system, Fisher
Controls the DC2 system and Bailey Controls the 1055 systems. All of these were DDC
applications implemented within minicomputers (DEC PDP-11, Varian Data
Machines, MODCOMP etc.) and connected to proprietary Input/Output hardware.
Sophisticated (for the time) continuous as well as batch control was implemented in this way.
A more conservative approach was setpoint control, where process computers supervised
clusters of analog process controllers. A workstation provided visibility into the process using
text and crude character graphics. Availability of a fully functional graphical user interface was
a way away.

2.2 DEVELOPMENT
Central to the DCS model was the inclusion of control function blocks. Function blocks
evolved from early, more primitive DDC concepts of "Table Driven" software. One of the first
embodiments of object-oriented software, function blocks were self-contained "blocks" of code
that emulated analog hardware control components and performed tasks that were essential to
process control, such as execution of PID algorithms. Function blocks continue to endure as
the predominant method of control for DCS suppliers, and are supported by key technologies
such as Foundation Fieldbus today.

Midac Systems, of Sydney, Australia, developed an objected-oriented distributed direct digital

control system in 1982. The central system ran 11 microprocessors sharing tasks and common
memory and connected to a serial communication network of distributed controllers each
running two Z80s. The system was installed at the University of Melbourne.

12
Digital communication between distributed controllers, workstations and other computing
elements was one of the primary advantages of the DCS. Attention was duly focused on the
networks, which provided the all-important lines of communication that, for process
applications, had to incorporate specific functions such as determinism and redundancy. As a
result, many suppliers embraced the IEEE 802.4 networking standard. This decision set the
stage for the wave of migrations necessary when information technology moved into process
automation and IEEE 802.3 rather than IEEE 802.4 prevailed as the control LAN.

2.2 THE APPLICATION CENTRIC ERA OF THE 1990S

The drive toward openness in the 1980s gained momentum through the 1990s with the
increased adoption of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and IT standards.
Probably the biggest transition undertaken during this time was the move from the UNIX
operating system to the Windows environment. While the realm of the real time operating
system (RTOS) for control applications remains dominated by real time commercial variants
of UNIX or proprietary operating systems, everything above real-time control has made the
transition to Windows.

The introduction of Microsoft at the desktop and server layers resulted in the development of
technologies such as OLE for process control (OPC), which is now a de facto industry
connectivity standard. Internet technology also began to make its mark in automation and the
world, with most DCS HMI supporting Internet connectivity. The 1990s were also known for
the "Fieldbus Wars", where rival organizations competed to define what would become the
IEC fieldbus standard for digital communication with field instrumentation instead of 4–20
milliamp analog communications. The first fieldbus installations occurred in the 1990s.
Towards the end of the decade, the technology began to develop significant momentum, with
the market consolidated around Ethernet I/P, Foundation Fieldbus and Profibus PA for process
automation applications. Some suppliers built new systems from the ground up to maximize
functionality with fieldbus, such as Rockwell PlantPAx
System, Honeywell with Experion & Plantscape SCADA systems, ABB with System
800xA, Emerson Process Management with the Emerson Process Management DeltaV control
system, Siemens with the SPPA-T3000 or Simatic PCS 7, Forbes Marshall[13] with the
Microcon+ control system and Azbil Corporation with the Harmonas-DEO system. Fieldbus
technics have been used to integrate machine, drives, quality and condition monitoring
applications to one DCS with Valmet DNA system.

13
The impact of COTS, however, was most pronounced at the hardware layer. For years, the
primary business of DCS suppliers had been the supply of large amounts of hardware,
particularly I/O and controllers. The initial proliferation of DCSs required the installation of
prodigious amounts of this hardware, most of it manufactured from the bottom up by DCS
suppliers. Standard computer components from manufacturers such as Intel and Motorola,
however, made it cost prohibitive for DCS suppliers to continue making their own components,
workstations, and networking hardware.

As the suppliers made the transition to COTS components, they also discovered that the
hardware market was shrinking fast. COTS not only resulted in lower manufacturing costs for
the supplier, but also steadily decreasing prices for the end users, who were also becoming
increasingly vocal over what they perceived to be unduly high hardware costs. Some suppliers
that were previously stronger in the PLC business, such as Rockwell Automation and Siemens,
were able to leverage their expertise in manufacturing control hardware to enter the DCS
marketplace with cost effective offerings, while the stability/scalability/reliability and
functionality of these emerging systems are still improving. The traditional DCS suppliers
introduced new generation DCS System based on the latest Communication and IEC Standards,
which resulting in a trend of combining the traditional concepts/functionalities for PLC and
DCS into a one for all solution—named "Process Automation System" (PAS). The gaps among
the various systems remain at the areas such as: the database integrity, pre-engineering
functionality, system maturity, communication transparency and reliability. While it is
expected the cost ratio is relatively the same (the more powerful the systems are, the more
expensive they will be), the reality of the automation business is often operating strategically
case by case. The current next evolution step is called Collaborative Process Automation
Systems.

To compound the issue, suppliers were also realizing that the hardware market was becoming
saturated. The life cycle of hardware components such as I/O and wiring is also typically in the
range of 15 to over 20 years, making for a challenging replacement market. Many of the older
systems that were installed in the 1970s and 1980s are still in use today, and there is a
considerable installed base of systems in the market that are approaching the end of their useful
life. Developed industrial economies in North America, Europe, and Japan already had many
thousands of DCSs installed, and with few if any new plants being built, the market for new
hardware was shifting rapidly to smaller, albeit faster growing regions such as China, Latin
America, and Eastern Europe.

14
Because of the shrinking hardware business, suppliers began to make the challenging transition
from a hardware-based business model to one based on software and value-added services. It
is a transition that is still being made today. The applications portfolio offered by suppliers
expanded considerably in the '90s to include areas such as production management, model-
based control, real-time optimization, plant asset management (PAM), Real-time performance
management (RPM) tools, alarm management, and many others.

2.3 MODERN SYSTEMS (2010 ONWARDS)

The latest developments in DCS include the following new technologies:

1. Wireless systems and protocols

2. Remote transmission, logging and data historian
3. Mobile interfaces and controls
4. Embedded web-serve

Increasingly, and ironically, DCS are becoming centralised at plant level, with the ability to
log into the remote equipment. This enables operator to control both at enterprise level ( macro
) and at the equipment level (micro) both within and outside the plant as physical location due
to interconnectivity primarily due to wireless and remote access has shrunk.

As wireless protocols are developed and refined, DCS increasingly includes wireless
communication. DCS controllers are now often equipped with embedded servers and provide
on-the-go web access. Whether DCS will lead IIOT or borrow key elements from remains to
be established.

Many vendors provide the option of a mobile HMI, ready for both Android and iOS. With these
interfaces, the threat of security breaches and possible damage to plant and process are now
very real.

3. STRUCTURE OF DCS
The accompanying diagram is a general model which shows functional manufacturing levels
using computerised control.

15
Referring to the diagram;

 Level 0 contains the field devices such as flow and temperature sensors, and final control
elements, such as control valves.
 Level 1 contains the industrialised Input/Output (I/O) modules, and their associated
distributed electronic processors.
 Level 2 contains the supervisory computers, which collect information from processor
nodes on the system, and provide the operator control screens.
 Level 3 is the production control level, which does not directly control the process, but is
concerned with monitoring production and monitoring targets
 Level 4 is the production scheduling level.

Levels 1 and 2 are the functional levels of a traditional DCS, in which all equipment are part
of an integrated system from a single manufacturer.

Levels 3 and 4 are not strictly process control in the traditional sense, but where production
control and scheduling takes place.

4. TECHNICAL POINTS OF DCS

The processor nodes and operator graphical displays are connected over proprietary or industry
standard networks, and network reliability is increased by dual redundancy cabling over diverse
routes. This distributed topology also reduces the amount of field cabling by siting the I/O
modules and their associated processors close to the process plant.

The processors receive information from input modules, process the information and decide
control actions to be signalled by the output modules. The field inputs and outputs can

16
be analog signals e.g. 4–20 mA DC current loop or 2 state signals that switch either "on" or
"off", such as relay contacts or a semiconductor switch.

DCSs are connected to sensors and actuators and use set point control to control the flow of
material through the plant. A typical application is a PID controller fed by a flow meter and
using a control valve as the final control element. The DCS sends the set point required by the
process to the controller which instructs a valve to operate so that the process reaches and stays
at the desired set point. (see 4–20 mA schematic for example).

Large oil refineries and chemical plants have several thousand I/O points and employ very
large DCS. Processes are not limited to fluidic flow through pipes, however, and can also
include things like paper machines and their associated quality controls, variable speed
drives and motor control centers, cement kilns, mining operations, ore processing facilities,
and many others.

DCSs in very high reliability applications can have dual redundant processors with "hot" switch
over on fault, to enhance the reliability of the control system.

Although 4–20 mA has been the main field signalling standard, modern DCS systems can also
support fieldbus digital protocols, such as Foundation Fieldbus, profibus, HART, Modbus, PC
Link etc., and other digital communication protocols such as modbus.

Modern DCSs also support neural networks and fuzzy logic applications. Recent research
focuses on the synthesis of optimal distributed controllers, which optimizes a certain H-
infinity or the H 2 control criterion.

5. DCS SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

As the name suggests, DCS has three main qualities. The first one is the distribution of various
control functions into relatively small sets of subsystems, which are of semiautonomous, and
are interconnected through a high speed communication bus. Some of these functions include
data acquisition, data presentation, process control, process supervision, reporting information,
storing and retrieval of information.

These attributes of DCS can be observed in its architecture shown in the diagram below. The
basic elements comprised in a DCS include engineering workstation, operating station or HMI,
process control unit or local control unit, smart devices, and communication system.

17
 BASIC CONFIGURATION OF A DCS SYSTEM
5.1DCS COMPONENTS

DCS System consist minimum of the following components.

5.1.1FIELD CONTROL STATION: It consist of input/output modules, CPU and

communication bus.

5.1.2 OPERATOR STATION/WORK STATION: This is used to operate, monitor

and control plant parameters. It can be a PC or any other monitoring device that has a separate
software tool on which operator can view process parameter values and accordingly to take
control action. Operating stations can be a single unit or multiple units where a single unit
performs functions like parameter value display, trend display, alarming, etc. while multiple
units or PCs performs individual functions such as some PCs display parameters, some for
trend archives, some for data logging and acquiring, etc.

18
5.1.3 ENGINEERING WORK STATION: It is the supervisory controller over the
entire distributed control system. It can be a PC or any other computer that has dedicated
engineering software (for example, control builder F engineering station in case of ABB
freelance distributed control system).This engineering station offers powerful configuration
tools that allow the user to perform engineering functions such as creating new loops, creating
various input and output points, modifying sequential and continuous control logic, configuring
various distributed devices, preparing documentation for each input/output device, etc.

5.2 BASIC LOOP OF DCS SYSTEM:

5.3 DISTRIBUTED CONTROL SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM:

19
6. PROCESS CONTROL OF DCS SYSTEM:

1) ANALOG CONTROL SYSTEM

2) DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEM
3) CENTRALISED CONTROL SYSTEM

6.1 ANALOG CONTROL SYSTEM

Analog control system block diagram as shown in the figure below-

6.2 DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEM

Digital control system block diagram as shown in the figure below-

20
6.3 CENTALIZED CONTROL SYSTEM

Centralized control system block diagram as shown in the figure below-

7. DRAWBACKS OF DCS:

I. If the CPU fails the entire plant gets affected.

II. Redundancy concept is not available.
III. Redundancy is having two controllers. One would be active and the other would be
standby. If the active controller fails, the standby controller takes over.

8. PROCESS CONTROL UNITS OF DCS:

It is also called as a local control unit, distribution controller, or process station. A distributed
control system can consists of one or more process stations that can be extended with different
types of I/O units. These controllers consist of a powerful CPU module, field bus or
communication module with extended field bus capability and either direct or remote
connected I/Os.

The field devices like sensors ad actuators are connected to I/O modules of this unit. Some
field devices can be directly connected to field bus (such as Profibus) without any I/O module,
which can be termed as smart field devices.

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These units acquire the information from various sensors via input module, analyze and process
it based on the control logic implemented and sends the output signals via output modules to
have control on actuators and relays.

This unit consists of a power supply along with CPU section, Ethernet section, Profibus section
and remote communication interface unit for I/Os interfacing as shown in the figure where first
module is AC 800F unit and other one is remote I/O (also called as communication interface
module).

9. COMMUNICATION SYSTEM:

The communication medium plays a major role in the entire distributed control system. It
interconnects the engineering station, operating station, process station and smart devices with
one another. It carries the information from one station to another. The common
communication protocols used in DCS include Ethernet, Profibus, Foundation Field Bus,
DeviceNet, Modbus, etc.

It is not mandatory to use one protocol for entire DCS, some levels can use one network
whereas some levels use different network. For instance, consider that field devices, distributed
I/Os and process station are interconnected with Profibus while the communication among

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engineering station, HMI and process station carried though Ethernet as shown in the figure
below

The major advantage of DCS is the redundancy of some or all levels of the control area. Most
of the cases critical processes are installed with redundant controllers and redundant
communication networks such that problem in main processing line should not affect the
monitoring and control functions because of the redundant processing section.

10. COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL:

In Distributed control systems there are multiple communication protocols are used based on
instruments, controller and environmental Zone. So here we will see some of very important
communication protocols which are widely used to establish DCS network. So these are the
communication protocols used in Industrial networking.
10.1 PROFINET/INDUSTRIAL ETHERNET:

PROFINET IO uses traditional Ethernet hardware and software to define a network that
structures the task of exchanging data, alarms and diagnostics with Programmable Controllers
and other automation controllers. PROFINET is communicating fastest up to 100MBPS speed.

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 Profinet/Industrial Ethernet Cable
Industrial Ethernet is just as it sounds – Ethernet applied to an industrial setting, which often
requires more rugged connectors, cables and – most importantly – better determinism.
Industrial Ethernet uses specialized protocols in conjunction with Ethernet. The more popular
Industrial Ethernet protocols are PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, SERCOS III and
POWERLINK. With Industrial Ethernet, data transmission rates range from10 Mbits/s to
1GBPS. However, 100 Mbit/s is the most popular speed used in Industrial Ethernet
applications.

10.2 AS-I :
The AS-I (Actuator Sensor Interface) is matched to the requirements in the lowest level . AS-I
operates actors and sensors with the first control level and replaces them with cable harnesses,
distributor cabinets and connecting terminal plates. Since then, the AS-I is an open
standard. In the meantime, many manufacturers offer intelligent, AS-I compatible actors and
sensors in order to be able to transfer more information than only 1/0. As a result, the
installation can then be accomplished by people without any expertise.

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10.3 MODBUS :-
MODBUS is a Master/Slave communications protocol . The protocol provides for one master
device and up to 247 slave devices on a common line. Each device is assigned an address to
distinguish it from all other connected devices.The MODBUS protocol comes in 2 versions

1. ASCII transmission mod- Each eight-bit byte in a message is sent as 2 ASCII

characters.
2. RTU transmission mode - Each eight-bit byte in a message is sent as two four-bit
hexadecimal characters

Modbus Cable

10.4 HART :-
Highway Addressable Remote Transducer. HART is a hybrid communications technology in
which a modulated, two-way digital signal is imposed on the industry-standard 4–20 mA
analog signal carrying the primary process variable.

The digital signal conveys additional process variables, device status and diagnostics
information that can be routed to asset management, process control and safety systems. This
means that HART provides two simultaneous communication channels on the same wire–the
industry standard 4–20 mA channel for fast, reliable and robust control (PV) and a digital
channel for real-time communication of additional process/device information. HART (Hiway
Addressable Remote Transducer) protocol enhances these operations by transmitting digital
data along with the 4-20 ma signal – without interfering with it.

HART Modem Cable

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10.5 FIELD BUS:-
Field Bus is a bi-directional digital communication that interconnects smart field devices
to control system or to instrument located in the control room. Field Bus is based on the OSI
(Open System Interconnect), which was developed by the ISO (International Standard
Organization) to represent the various functions required in any Communication network.

It was discovered by Indian Engineer Mr. Ram Ramchandran (M.S in Com Tech- Texas) The
OSI model consists of seven layers. However for real time application layers 3 to 6 are not
considered since they deal with transference of data among networks. For such application
following layers are used:

Fieldbus Cable

11. WORKING AND OPERATION OF DCS:

The operation of DCS goes like this; Sensors senses the process information and send it to the
local I/O modules, to which actuators are also connected so as to control the process
parameters. The information or data from these remote modules is gathered to the process
control unit via field bus. If smart field devices are used, the sensed information directly
transferred to process control unit via field bus.

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The collected information is further processed, analyzed and produces the output results based
on the control logic implemented in the controller. The results or control actions are then carried
to the actuator devices via field bus. The DCS configuring, commissioning and control logic
implementation are carried at the engineering station as mentioned earlier. The operator able
to view and send control actions manually at operation stations.

12. SMART DEVICES:

The intelligent field devices and field bus technology are advanced features of DCS technology
that replaces traditional I/O subsystems (I/O modules). These smart devices embed the
intelligence required for simple sensing and control techniques into the primary sensing and
actuating devices. And hence it replaces the need for a DCS controller to perform routine
sensing and control process.

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These field devices can be directly connected to field bus so that sourcing of multiple
measurements to the next higher level control station is possible via digital transmission line
by eliminating extraneous hardware such as local I/O modules and controllers.

13. TYPICAL APPLICATIONS:

 Chemical plants petrochemical (Oil) and refineries pulp and paper mills.

 Quality control systems (QCS) boiler controls and power plant systems.

 Water treatment plants.

 Nuclear power plants.

 Environmental control Systems.

 Sewage treatment plants.

 Automobile manufacturing.

14. ADVANTAGES OF DCS:

I. Control function is distributed among multiple CPUs (Field Control Stations). Hence
failure of one FCS does not affect the entire plant.

II. Redundancy is available at various levels.

III. Instruments and interlocks are created by software.

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 IV. Generation and modifications of the interlocks are very flexible and simple.

V. Information regarding the process is presented to the user in various formats.

VI. Field wiring is considerably less.

VII. Maintenance and trouble shooting becomes very easy.

VIII. Cost effective in the long run.

15. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCADA AND DCS (DCS vs

SCADA):
Although both DCS and SCADA are monitoring and control mechanisms in industrial
installations, they have different goals. There exist some commonality between DCS and
SCADA in terms of hardware and its components, however, there are certain requirements by
the end applications that separates a robust and cost-effective DCS from the viable SCADA
system. Some of the differences between DCS and SCADA are listed below.

1. DCS is process oriented, whereas SCADA is data-gathering oriented. DCS emphasizes

more on control of the process and it also consists of supervisory control level. And as a
part of doing so, it presents the information to the operator. On the other hand, SCADA
concentrates more on acquisition process data and presenting it to the operators and control
centre.

2. In DCS, data acquisition and control modules or controllers are usually located within a
more confined area and the communication between various distributed control units carried
via a local area network. SCADA generally covers larger geographical areas that use
different communication systems which are generally less reliable than a local area network.

3. DCS employs a closed loop control at process control station and at remote terminal units.
But in case of SCADA there is no such closed loop control.

4. DCS is process state driven where it scans the process in regular basis and displays the
results to the operator, even on demand. On the other hand, SCADA is event driven where
it does not scan the process sequentially, but it waits for an event that cause process
parameter to trigger certain actions. Hence, DCS does not keep a database of process

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 parameter values as it always in connection with its data source, whereas SCADA maintains
a database to log the parameter values which can be further retrieved for operator display
and this makes the SCADA to present the last recorded values if the base station unable to
get the new values from a remote location.

5. In terms of applications, DCS is used for installations within a confined area, like a single
plant or factory and for a complex control processes. Some of the application areas of DCS
include chemical plants, power generating stations, pharmaceutical manufacturing, oil and
gas industries, etc. On the other hand SCADA is used for much larger geographical
locations such as water management systems, power transmission and distribution control,
transport applications and small manufacturing and process industries.

In spite of these major differences, the modern DCS and SCADA systems come with common
standard facilities while dealing process plant automation. However, the choice between DCS
and SCADA depends on its client and end application requirement. But if the client choice
between these two, by gaining equal requirement from the process, DCS is the economical
choice as it help to reduce the cost and offer better control.

16. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLC AND DCS (DCS vs PLC):

To differentiate between PLC & DCS, there are five key factors to consider, They are:-

1) RESPONSE TIME:

PLCs are fast, which make the PLC an ideal controller for real-time actions such as a safety
shutdown or firing control. A DCS takes much longer time to process data, which made it not
the right solution when response times are critical.

2) SCALABILITY:

A few thousand I/O points can be handled by a PLC whereas DCS can handle many thousands
of I/O points and accommodate new equipment, process enhancements, and data integration.
DCS can be preferred when advanced process control is required and contain a large facility
that’s spread out over a wide geographic area with thousands of I/O points.

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3) COMPLEXITY:

The advanced process control capabilities of the DCS are required to carry out the complex
nature of many continuous production processes such as oil and gas, water treatment and
chemical processing.

4) FREQUENT PROCESS CHANGES:

PLCs are used for processes that will not change often. And, a DCS is the better solutions when
the process is complex and requires frequent adjustments or must analyze a large amount of
data.

5) VENDOR SUPPORT:
To provide integration services and implement process changes, DCS vendors require users to
employ them. System integrators perform similar functions for PLC-based systems. It has also
become common for PLC vendors to offer support services through their network of system
integrator partners.

Overall, DCS tends to be used in large continuous process plants where high reliability and
security is important, and the control room is not geographically remote.

17. DCS SYSTEMS FROM DIFFERENT VENDORS:

Some of the available DCS systems include -

 ABB- Freelance 800F and 800 Xa

 Yokogawa- Centum CS 3000 and 1000
 Honeywell-TDC 3000
 Emerson- Delta V Digital Automation
 Siemens- Simatic PCS 7
 Allen- Bradley- NetLinx

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18. AUTOMATION SYSTEM USED IN GAIL, PATA:-

CENTUM DELTA V HONYWELL’S ABB

VP EXPERION
PLANT GCU-1, GCU-2, HDPE-2 Nitrogen
LLDPE-1 Power Plant
plant-2,
LLDPE-2

PLATFORM Windows iFix Windows XP Windows 7

Vista based based

ARCHITECTURE Field Control Client- Client-Server Client-

Stations Server Server

COMMUNICATION FF, HART, FF, HART, HART HART

PROTOCOLS Profibus-DP, Wireless- Modbus Modbus
Modbus, HART, OPC OPC
OPC Modbus Profibus-
Over TCP/IP DP,
OPC
Modbus

NO. OF I/O 13Nodes per 120 64 96

MODULE PER Field Control
Unit(FCU)
PROCESSOR

PROCESSOR VR532 MX C200(TX- PM861

UNITS Controller PRS021)
VE3007

TEMPRATURE
RANGE -200 to 600c -400 to 700c 00 to 600c 00 to 550c

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 CONCLUSION

The summer vocational training at GAIL (India) Limited give me the insight into wide variety
of instrumentation, communication between instrumentation and operations at large scale.

The plant visits made at each stage were helpful in understanding functioning of individual
section. The project allotted also helped in dealing with individual plants to gain deeper
understanding and knowledge of particular section. Industrial training and internships are the
opportunity for an engineering student to get acquainted with the industries and I feel that I am
doing my best ability.

Interacting with engineers in the control room as well as in the field was really inspiring.

The projects helped me put my knowledge of electronics engineering to proper and in best way
to use.

THANKS…

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REFERENCES-
1. D'Andrea, Raffaello (9 September 2003). "Distributed Control Design for Spatially
Interconnected Systems". IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 48 (9): 1478–
1495. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.100.6721. doi:10.1109/tac.2003.816954.
2. Massiaoni, Paolo (1 January 2009). "Distributed Control for Identical Dynamically
Coupled Systems: A Decomposition Approach". IEEE Transactions on Automatic
Control. 54: 124–135. doi:10.1109/tac.2008.2009574.
3. “ABB System 800×A – process, electrical, safety, telecoms in one system”.
www.abb.com
4. “Introduction of Gail ”, www.gailonline.com
5. Wikibooks and GAIL training module.

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