SCADA (SUPERVISORY CONTROL AND DATA ACQUISITUION) SYSTEM

1) Definition: SCADA can be defined as an acronym that is formed from the first letters of the Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition. The generic definition could be: SCADA is the technology that enables the user to collect and monitor the data from one or more distant facilities and / or send the data or control signal instructions to those distant facilities.

What is SCADA?
SCADA stands for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition. As the name indicates, it is not a full control system, but rather focuses on the supervisory level. As such, it is a purely software package that is positioned on top of hardware to which it is interfaced, in general via Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), or other commercial hardware modules. It makes it unnecessary for an operator to be assigned or stay or to visit a remote process. SCADA system allow operator, in allocation center to a widely distributed process to make a set point changes on distant process controller, to open or close valves or switches to monitor alarms & to gather measurement information. SCADA systems are used not only in industrial processes: e.g. steel making, power generation (conventional and nuclear) and distribution, chemistry, but also in some experimental facilities such as nuclear fusion. The size of such plants range from a few 1000 to several 10 thousands input/output (I/O) channels. However, SCADA systems evolve rapidly and are now penetrating the market of plants with a number of I/O channels of several 100 K & near to 1 M I/O channels currently under development. SCADA systems used to run on DOS, VMS and UNIX; in recent years all SCADA vendors have moved to NT and some also to Linux.

2) History: Now before we study the SCADA systems in detail, it would be advantageous to take a quick look at the short history of evolution of the Process Control Systems. We will see the evolution stepwise. Relays & Switches: In the early 1960s industrial control systems were constructed from traditional electromechanical devices such as relays & switches. It had some inherent problems like relays are susceptible to mechanical failure, they require a large amount of energy to operate & generate electrical noise & chattering at the outputs. PLC: In late 1960s the need to design more reliable & flexible control systems leads to development of the conventional PLCs. PLCs are the programmable logic controllers. It was a solid-state replacement for the logic and switches. Instead of relays they use bits inside a memory circuit. The machine uses the solid-state outputs & inputs. The microprocessors in the late 1970s greatly enhanced the role of the PLCs. Direct Digital Control: The further development leads use of Digital Computers for process control due to their qualities like high speed, higher reliability, smaller size and reduced cost. In this all the process signals were multiplexed, digitized, & then stored in the computers memory. The outputs were computed & analog signals directly control the process without intervention of controllers. Due to the hardware complexities it was considered to be less reliable, effective as well as less flexible. Supervisory Control: This concept was developed as an effort to overcome the difficulties faced by the Direct Digital Control systems. In this type of arrangement, the analog signals would perform the primary loop control while the process & adjustment controller would control the set points. This improves the overall reliability of the system. Distributed & Hybrid Distributed Control: Distributed control systems in the dominant form of instrumentation were used for industrial process control. It is a developed form of DCS that divided the control functions & data acquisition among the no of independently operated controllers. All the controllers are linked together to the basic controller, under the control of main operator.

DCS is sometimes combined with supervisory computers and PLCs in Hybrid DCS Architecture to have better functionality & logical sequence control. SCADA: The case of SCADA came into being in the 1970s in describing two way circuited software, which involved data acquisition and control operation.

3) Basic Block Diagram (Hardware): In the setup of the SCADA systems generally a distributed process control system approach is used, where segregation of subsystems is carried out both functionally as well as physically. This results in advantages like amplified engineering & wiring, easy maintainability and reduction in cabling. Also will continue to work unhampered & generally replacement of faulty devices can also be done online i.e. without stopping the process. PROCESS

RTU

RTU

RTU

BUS

MTU

HMI

USER

The above figure shows the basic block diagram of SCADA consisting the major components: a) RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) b) MTU (Master Terminal Unit) c) HMI (Human Machine Interface) d) Communication Links a) RTU (Remote Terminal Unit): The RTUs are situated at the remote stations near the field process. RTUs collect the data from all the field parameter values & stores it into its memory. This storage is only temporary. The MTU scans the RTU for data. RTU communicates with MTU by modulated signal on cables or radios. A system can contain from one to several hundred RTUs. Various sensing instruments are mounted at the field, which sends various parameters continuously. These field devices are connected to RTU. The connections may be hardwired or may be using fiber optic cables. RTU scans all the devices one by one to get the process information. The remote terminal unit works as per the command of the central station or MTU. RTU can also be programmed to take some serious steps on its own, without getting command from central station in case of any emergencies. The RTUs are comprised of: Power Supply card 1) Supplies Power Supply to the Sensors & Actuators. 2) Generally it is of 12Vdc, 24Vdc, 48Vdc, 230Vac, etc Input-Output cards 1) RTU can handle Digital as well as Analog Inputs & Outputs. 2) Analog signal ranges are of 4-20mA and 1-5Vdc. 3) Inputs & Outputs are Optoisolated to avoid malfunctioning due to surges & noise. RTU Controller cards. 1) It consists of the CPU (microprocessor/Microcontroller) & Memory and is responsible for operation of RTU using software program. 2) The CPU is interfaced with the digital & analog input & output modules. Serial Input-Output Controller cards 1) This module looks after the communication of the RTU, like long distance communication between MTUs & RTUs. 2) The output of the RTU is either 8 or 16 bits.

 Modem 1) As distance of communication increase the signal destruction increases especially in case of analog than digital, so Modem come into picture for communication. 2) Modem uses the different pulse modulation techniques. b) MTU (Master Terminal Unit): All RTUs report to a single master terminal unit (MTU), the communication is of master-slave. MTU can monitor & control the field even when an operator is not present, with the help of built in scheduler. In general the hardware configuration of the MTU is similar to that of RTU, but of greater capacity. The main hardware features of MTU are as follows: Hot standby CPU & memory for very high reliability. Duplicate power supply with static change over. Battery backup RAM to restore all application programs & databases in the memory, in case of shutdown of the system. Three types of communication links: a) High speed links to input-output system modules. b) Asynchronous links for inter-MTU, & MTU-MMI communication. c) RS232 serial link for communication with external PC & auxiliary devices like printer. In case of big plants the MTU is divided into the 2 parts they are: 1) Front End System (FES): - Which generally handles the scanning of the RTUs for raw data & communication functions. 2) Back End System (BES): - Which performs the scanning & processing of acquired data & analysis of the present field condition and control function. # Functions of MTU: Scanning & collecting of raw data from RTU. Storage of all the field data in the database for processing & presentation. Initialize & control the communication systems and equipments. Analysis of collected data which involves: 1) Checks for crossing of alarm limits. 2) Carrying out validation checks on analog data. 3) Provides an interface to allow supervisory commands from the operator. 4) Control the HMI.

c) HMI (Human Machine Interface): -

The HMI itself is divided into 3 parts i.e. HMI, Trending, and Alarming, which can be seen in the software architecture shown bellow.

# HMI: - The operator (user) accesses the system by means of an operator interface device. This is the Human Machine Interface. Users are allocated to groups, which have defined read/write access privileges to the process parameters in the system and often also to specific product functionality. The HMI generally has the following hardware configuration: 1) Color graphic VDUs with controller, keyboards & mouse. 2) Printers & hardcopy units for printing alarms, events, reports & graphic displays. 3) Hard disk drives to store long term events & reports. 4) Floppy & CD-ROM drive. 5) Communication links between MTU-buses. The products support multiple screens, which can contain combinations of synoptic diagrams and text. They also support the

concept of a "generic" graphical object with links to process variables. These objects can be "dragged and dropped" from a library and included into a synoptic diagram. Most of the SCADA products that were evaluated decompose the process in "atomic" parameters (e.g. a power supply current, its maximum value, its on/off status, etc.) to which a Tag-name is associated. The Tag-names used to link graphical objects to devices can be edited as required. The products include a library of standard graphical symbols, many of which would however not be applicable to the type of applications encountered in the experimental physics community. Standard windows editing facilities are provided: zooming, resizing, and scrolling. On-line configuration and customization of the HMI is possible for users with the appropriate privileges. Links can be created between display pages to navigate from one view to another. The different Types of Displays that can be developed are: 1) Process displays. 2) Overview displays (summarized tabular displays concerning a group of equipments). 3) Group displays (detailed tabular display concerning one particular equipment). 4) Object displays (graphic displays showing details of one parameter). 5) Alarm & Event displays containing tabular lists of up to 200 latest alarms & events. 6) System status displays indicating healthiness of the MTU stations. 7) Trends and report displays. 8) Sequence and interlock displays. # Trending: The products all provide trending facilities and one can summarize the common capabilities as follows: The parameters to be trended in a specific chart can be predefined or defined on-line A chart may contain more than 8 trended parameters or pens and an unlimited number of charts can be displayed (restricted only by the readability) Real-time and historical trending are possible, although generally not in the same chart Historical trending is possible for any archived parameter Zooming and scrolling functions are provided Parameter values at the cursor position can be displayed

The trending feature is either provided as a separate module or as a graphical object (ActiveX), which can then be embedded into a synoptic display. XY and other statistical analysis plots are generally not provided # Alarming: Alarm handling is based on limit and status checking and performed in the data servers. More complicated expressions (using arithmetic or logical expressions) can be developed by creating derived parameters on which status or limit checking is then performed. The alarms are logically handled centrally, i.e., the information only exists in one place and all users see the same status (e.g., the acknowledgement), and multiple alarm priority levels (in general many more than 3 such levels) are supported. It is generally possible to group alarms and to handle these as an entity (typically filtering on group or acknowledgement of all alarms in a group). Furthermore, it is possible to suppress alarms either individually or as a complete group. The filtering of alarms seen on the alarm page or when viewing the alarm log is also possible at least on priority, time and group. However, relationships between alarms cannot generally be defined in a straightforward manner. E-mails can be generated or predefined actions automatically executed in response to alarm conditions. d) Communication Links: The SCADA systems can be developed only if a communication link can be established between the central site & the remote site for proper transmission. The vital communication links used in a SCADA system are: Field bus link between control center computer & input-output modules. This is high-speed link using Intels bit bus protocol. Connection and disconnection of the device can be done online & reconfiguration is automatic. Master bus link between the MTUs and link between MTU & HMI. This is an asynchronous communication link. This link is of poled type, where there is one master on the bus & the other is the slave. Redundancy is used to avoid the failure in the communication & modem is used to have noise immunity. RS232 links are very well known as slow speed serial interface devices. Generally used for connection with external computer. Now a day, the CAN (Control Area Network) protocol is also supported by many SCADA systems. Also Ethernet protocol is supported by some SCADA systems.

The communication media useful for SCADA may be of following type: Land line: -- In the form of electrical cables or the fiber optic cables (Suitable for short distances). Radio telemetry: -- Through air as a medium, using microwave or radio signal (Suitable for short distances). # Interfacing: Application Interfaces / Openness: The provision of OPC client functionality for SCADA to access devices in an open and standard manner is developing. There still seems to be a lack of devices/controllers, which provide OPC server software, but this improves rapidly as most of the producers of controllers are actively involved in the development of this standard. OPC has been evaluated by the CERN-IT-CO group [4]. The products also provide An Open Data Base Connectivity (ODBC) interface to the data in the archive/logs, but not to the configuration database, An ASCII import/export facility for configuration data, A library of APIs supporting C, C++, and Visual Basic (VB) to access data in the RTDB (Real Time Data Bases), logs and archive. The API often does not provide access to the product's internal features such as alarm handling, reporting, trending, etc. The PC products provide support for the Microsoft standards such as Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) which allows e.g. to visualize data dynamically in an EXCEL spreadsheet, Dynamic Link Library (DLL) and Object Linking and Embedding (OLE). Database: The configuration data are stored in a database that is logically centralized but physically distributed and that is generally of a proprietary format. For performance reasons, the RTDB resides in the memory of the servers and is also of proprietary format. The archive and logging format is usually also proprietary for performance reasons, but some products do support logging to a Relational Data Base Management System (RDBMS) at a slower rate either directly or via an ODBC interface.

4) SCADA Specification: -

1. Number of I/Os: - Analog & Digital Inputs & Outputs in the process. 2. Existing system specifications: - communication & technology support or up gradation, Tag Numbers, etc. 3. Control schemes: a) Number of RTUs. b) Number of close loops c) Types of controllers/control required for loops. d) Specification sheet of individual Instrument. e) MTU specifications. f) PLC specifications. 4. SCADA server system configuration: - the server required for Database & HMI. 5. Communication links: a) Buses / Interfaces. b) Protocols. c) Special drivers requirement for Third Party devices if any. d) Communication media. 6. Wiring details: a) Type of wires: UTP, STP, coaxial, etc. b) Feruling. c) Color scheme, etc. Control Panel details: - layout device placement, etc. Motor Control Centers: - MCCs if required / existing their specifications. 7. Displays: a) Types. b) Location / no. of VDUs c) MIMIC: - Mosaic tile, Touch screen, etc. 8. Softwares: a) Operating systems recommended: - generally Windows NT for network support b) SCADA softwares: - development tools 9. Alarms: a) Types: - Absolute, Rate, Derivative, etc. b) Handling. c) Annuntuators d) Event sequence recording & logging. 10.Trends: a) Types: - Historical, Persistent, Real time, etc. b) Handling. 11.Redundancy: - hot / cold, Communication links, MTU, HMI, etc.

12.Power Supplies: - 12Vdc, 24Vdc, 230/110Vac, 1 /3 , etc. 13.Networking: - Topology, etc. 14.Safety Aspects: - Compliance with codes (UL, FM, BASEFA). 15.Diagnosis / maintenance capabilities: a) Chip level. b) Module level. c) Card level. 16.Hazardous area classification: - Class, Division. 17.Environment: - Corrosive, vibrations, EMI / EMC, noise, etc. 18.Security / Administration: - Level of access. 19.Up gradation & flexibilities: - provision for Software & Hardware up gradation & their flexibilities. 20.Interoperability / Open Protocols. 21.User friendliness & Training: - Documentation Provided.

# Need for SCADA: The need for SCADA results from the fact that all process is affected by changes in the form of disturbances. Now some of these disturbances may be calculable or measurable or both. But some of these disturbances may not be calculable or measurable. Hence it is always advantageous to change the set points of the certain loops so as to improve & increase the efficiency of the systems. Such a decision to alter one set point may necessitate the alteration of many other loop set points because of the interactive effects. To accomplish this change in a purely analog system requires monitoring process parameters constantly while operations are being established. To perform this manually requires constant human monitoring invites the need for an operator to monitor the process continuously. This job will not only be monotonous for the operator but also with time it can cause human errors. Instead, it performs these operations automatically while still performing other activities in the process.

5) Configuration: The development of the applications is typically done in two stages. First the process parameters and associated information (e.g. relating to alarm conditions) are defined through some sort of parameter definition template and then the graphics, including trending and alarm displays are developed, and linked where appropriate to the process parameters. The products also provide an ASCII Export/Import facility for the configuration data (parameter definitions), which enables large

numbers of parameters to be configured in a more efficient manner using an external editor such as Excel and then importing the data into the configuration database. However, many of the PC tools now have a Windows Explorer type development studio. The developer then works with a number of folders, in which each contains a different aspect of the configuration, including the graphics. The facilities provided by the products for configuring very large numbers of parameters are not very strong. However, this has not really been an issue so far for most of the products to-date, as large applications are typically about 50K I/O points and database population from within an ASCII editor such as Excel is still a workable option. On-line modifications to the configuration database and the graphics are generally possible with the appropriate level of privileges. # Development Tools: The following development tools are provided as standard: A graphics editor, with standard drawing facilities including freehand, lines, squares circles, etc. It is possible to import pictures in many formats as well as using predefined symbols including e.g. trending charts, etc. A library of generic symbols is provided that can be linked dynamically to variables and animated as they change. It is also possible to create links between views so as to ease navigation at run-time. A data base configuration tool (usually through parameter templates). It is in general possible to export data in ASCII files so as to be edited through an ASCII editor or Excel. A scripting language generally VBA (Visual Basic for Application) An Application Program Interface (API) supporting C, C++, VB A Driver Development Toolkit to develop drivers for hardware that is not supported by the SCADA product.

6) Installation Procedure, Engineering & Commissioning: Whilst one should rightly anticipate significant development and maintenance savings by adopting a SCADA product for the implementation of a control system, it does not mean a "no effort" operation. The need for proper engineering can not be sufficiently emphasized to reduce development effort and to reach a system that complies with the requirements, that is economical in development and maintenance and that is reliable and robust. Examples of engineering activities specific to the use of a SCADA system are the definition of:

A library of objects (PLC, device, subsystem) complete with standard object behavior (script, sequences...), graphical interface and associated scripts for animation, Templates for different types of "panels", e.g. alarms, Instructions on how to control e.g. a device... A mechanism to prevent conflicting controls (if not provided with the SCADA), Alarm levels, behavior to be adopted in case of specific alarms

The general Installation Procedure adopted is: a) Initially individual Control loops are installed & commissioned. b) Then the RTUs are installed & commissioned, as RTU may contain number of loops. c) Then the MTU & HMI computers are installed with all required Software installations d) The copying of the pre-configured Displays, Trends & Alarms is done or the Configuration can be done On-Site also. e) Then the Communication links are installed & the Tag Number Addresses are assigned. f) Then the Commissioning of total System is made to have first raw batch of the product.

7) Maintainability: a) Modular construction must be used for easy replacement of faulty parts. b) For replacement recommended Sufficient stoke of Spares should be available like the I/O cards, & other instruments at the site. c) The system should be self-configuring; to avoid lengthy reconfiguration procedures each time device is removed or inserted into the system. d) Adequate spares should be available with the supplier within the country for future development in SCADA systems. # Precautions: a) If failure of sub-system or the operator occurs, the operator must not be made blind regarding process information. Thus the duplication of VDUs & printers is available to ensure that the system remains available to him even under such conditions.

b) Failure of a section of the input-output of the system should not result in the non-availability of all the information regarding its inputs & outputs. c) The system design should permit, to avoid possible online replacement of faulty devices. d) If touch screens are used then touch to the screen should be of clean device or hand to increase their life

8) Review Questions: 9) Comparison & selection criteria of DCS & SCADA: Before studying the Comparison of DCS & SCADA lets take look at the different Functionalities of any Process Automation. There are basic three Functionalities, they are: 1. Control: - This functionality gives the type of control used for the process i.e. PID, PLC, or Multivariable, etc. 2. HMI: - This functionality gives the interface of the operator with the process through MIMICs. 3. History: - The history is nothing but the values of the different variables with respect to the time, i.e. Different types of Trends & Alarms. # Comparison: Feature DCS SCADA
Necessity Due to various disadvantages of DDC systems like reduced speed, huge I/O handling complexity & lack of Redundancy. DCS is nothing but the Distribution of Intelligence depending upon the functionality (HMI, Control, History) having separate p/ c for each functionality. All Three i.e. HMI, History, & Control. More Suitable for Due to the fact that all the disturbances are not calculable and/or measurable, so need to change set point, for this requirement of continuous monitoring. SCADA is the technology that enables the user to collect and monitor the data from one or more distant facilities and / or send the data or control signal instructions to those distant facilities. Only two i.e. HMI & History are supported & Control is generally taken care by PLC Not much suitable

Definition

Functionalities supported Analog Processing &

Control Integration Modularity Redundancy #Selection Criteria

Processing instead of control. More beneficial Increased, as close loops are distributed among p Generally most company provide Hot backup of all communication. Mostly selected for the processes having More Analog Loops & less Digital loops as analog processing is by Software, so reduce Hardware hence flexible 1.Pharmaceutical Industry 2.Fertilizer industry

though Analog Modules are provided. Not so beneficial than DCS Not so much than DCS Less Redundant Mostly selected for more number of Digital loops & less Analog loops as analog processing is by Hardware, so less flexible 1.Steel Plant 2.Power generation and Distribution 3.Hydroelectric Generation 4.Oil Production. 5.Pipelines for gases, oil, water or chemical 6.Packaging plant, etc. 20 : 80 90% for communication 10% for control

#Typical Cases of the Application

Analog to digital I/O ratio Scan time division

80 : 20 10% for communication 90% for control