MP- I01
AJI-I I
Distributed Centre|
System Testing
Dr. John P. Andersen
Simons-Eastern Consultants
An efficient method for doing
100% testing of distributed con-
trol systems (DC$) and their con-
figuration before installation at
the client's plant is needed. In the
past this was done with hond-
held signal generators, meters,
and pateh boards. This method is
nen3 time consuming and does not
test the response of the controls to
real-time conditions. Due to Si-
mons-Eastem's concern for the
quality of delivered systems, a
project to develop an ~ficient
testing program was started. The
system as developed allows simu-
lation of the process in real time.
This system is implemented using
a real-time expert system, which
provides the process simulation,
connected to a computer-based
I10 subsystem, which is hard-
wired to the control system being
tested. The expert system allows
the process simulations to be de-
veloped and changed quickly
while testing of the DCS is in
progress. This paper will describe
in more detail the design of the
system and its results.
iNTRODUC~ON
Part of Simons-Eastern's ser-
vices is the configuration and
sta~ng of control systems for its
clients. The ob~ctive of staging a
ISSN 0019-0578/91/02/004115/$2.50© ISA 1991
system is to verify the system con-
figuration, and applications soft-
ware and hardware, including all
I / O channels. In the past, several
different methods have been used
by vendors of control equipment
to verify equipment operation be-
fore installation at the plant site.
The objective of staging a system is to verify the
system configuration, and applications software and
hardware, including all I/O channels.
The most common method is
the use of hand-held meters to
monitor outputs and to supply
signals to inputs or dedicated
patch boards with patentiometers
and meters wired to the I/O. This
performs the job of checking all
I/O channels and the proper op-
eration of simple loops. This
method becomes very tedious and
time consuming when many in-
terlocks are involved, and it does
not check how the loops will re-
spond to process dynamics or
loop interaction. Because this
method is so cumbersome, some
vendors provide only a partial
random check of i / 0 on the sys-
tern floor as standard practice.
Another method configures
into the controllers simple simula-
tions that s o ~ w i ~ inputs and out-
O- 100%
7
puts together. As implied, this
method requires modification of
the configuration to be tested
(which is obg,cted to by some cli-
ents for obvious reasons) and that
the controller has enough remain-
ing space to implement the simu-
lation. This method can do a good
job of checking proper operation
of interlocked loops and some
process dynamics. It is also a
good technique to be used for ini-
tial operator training. This
method, however, does not verify
proper assignment or operation of
I / O channels and is not easily or
quickly chansed in many systems.
Another drawback is that it as-
sumes the controller software
modifications mcluired for simu-
lation will be accurately "undone"
or removed afterwards without
the inadvertent introduction of
new software errors that go un-
t~ted.
A tb~d Lecb_niqueis to develop
the process simulation in an exter-
nal computer and tie it to the con-
trol systems data highway. The
simulation computer then
VOLUME 30 ® NUMBER 2 * 1991 4~
DCS:SELECTION,IMPLEMENTATION,AND MAXIMIZATION
changes the inputs and reads the
outputs from across the highway.
This is not possible with all con-
trol systems and requires modifi-
cation of the c o n t r o l l e r
configurations. Simulations are
not easily changed by untrained
engineers, and physical I/O oper-
ation or assignment is not veri-
fied. It is very expensive in most
cases because it usually requires a
vendor-specific intelligent high-
way interface. This interface is re-
quired to allow reconfiguration of
the controllers to look to the high-
way for receipt of I/O instead of
its normal I/O cards and termina-
tions. Again, the result is that the
actual unmodified configuration
to be used in the plant is not the
same configuration tested.
Simons-Eastern configures
many different control systems
and is very concerned about the
quality and proper operation of
the systems delivered to the
client's site. It is very important
that all configuration errors and
hardware problems are found be-
fore start-up. The finding and
correcting of configuration errors
in the field is time consuming and
expensive because of the lost pro-
duction they may cause. A pro-
gram was started to develop an
efficient system that could be used
to test any control system. The
following sections will describe
the design of the system and its
Use.
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
The following requirements
were placed on the design of the
system:
(1.) The ability to be directly con-
nected to any control system's
I/O and require no DCS con-
f~guration modifications prior
to testing.
(2.) The ability to concurrently test
the interactions between multi-
ple analog and di_~r_ete !oo_ps-~
42 ISA TRANSACTIONS
(3.) The ability to do signal
filtering, engineering unit
conversion, and signal charac-
terization with minimal load-
ing of the simulation
computer.
(4.) Prewiring of the control sys-
tem beyond the I/O capacity
of the I/O subsystem and the
ability to move from one I/O
group to the next quickly.
(5.) The ability to automate the as-
signment of control system
I/O channels to the I/O sub-
system from the engineering
database and generate wiring
lists for prewiring the system.
(6.) The ability for any engineer
with minimal training to use
the system to develop simula-
tions for checkout purposes.
(7.) The ability to change simula-
tions on the fly without re-
compiling.
(8.) The ability to handle a wide
range of simulation/testing
objective~ from the insertion
of basic process models to full
dynamic unit process models
when needed.
HARDWARECONFIGURATION
The Advanced Systems Check-
out Simulator (ASCS) shown in
Figure 1 is designed to meet the
above criteria. The design inte-
grates standard components and
software from multiple vendors.
The base I/O subsystem is built
upon intelligent I / O data acquisi-
tion components similar to those
utilized in flight simulators. All
custom software to link the multi-
ple systems together was done
in-house.
Each t e r m i n a t i v n strip (16
channels) is wired to the control
system's I/O channels in exactly
the same manner as field sensors
and final control elements will be
connected in the field. This veri-
fies any jumper settings that have
to be set on the I/O cards of the
control system. The strips are for
both analog and discreto signals.
The signals are brought back to
the I / O c o n v e r s i o n / i s o l a t i o n
modules by a 19 twisted pair cable
with DB37 connectors. This al-
lows the control system to be pre-
wired to the termination strips,
and, w h e n testing begins, the
twisted pair cables are moved
from one termination strip to the
other as required.
Internally, the intelligent I/O
subsystem operates within -10 to
+10 volts at a 14 bit A/D, D / A
resolution. However, I / O conver-
sion modules can be inserted to
a c c o m m o d a t e almost a n y re-
quired DCS or field sensor signal
range. For example, the I / 0 con-
version modules on the analog
side can convert the 4-20 mA sig-
nals to 1 to 5 volts and, likewise,
the 0 to 10 volt outputs to 4-20
mA. The system can be set up to
look like either four-wire or two-
wire transmitters by simply plug-
ging in a personality plug in the
tern~,~aLion stl~p. Millivolt sig-
nals can also be provided, again
by plugging in a personality plug.
On the discrete side the isolation
modules convert 24-volt or 110-
volt signals to 5-volt level signals
for the ASCS system. Relay mod-
ules are used to simulate field
switches.
The system is currently con-
figured for 96 analog and 128 dis-
crete channels. IQ could
conceivably be expanded to a total
of 20,000 points. The .,ystem is
configured by an AT&T 6286
ATTM compatible. Whet, the I/O
control software is running, the
I / O information is transfe._~ed_be-
tween I / O subsystem and the AT
via a DMA card. This information
is then transferred to an AT&T
6386/25 AT compatible via
Ethernet. The 6386 is runnin~a~he
process simulation using G2 , a
real-time expert ~]~,-~-~,~.~...from
GENSYM®. G2 is suitable for
most routine simulation checkout
requirements and can serve as a
 DISTRIBUTEDCONTROL SYSTEMTESTING

jects. The interface objects trans-

AT&T 6386/25 fez" I/O information between G2
UNIX and the ASCS system using GSI
(G2 Standard Interface). The oon-
tml objects manipulate the signals
Etkernet TCP/IP from the control system and send
them back (through an interface
object) as inputs to simulate Izans-
mitter responses. Example objects
IDAq I D ~ J ! [ Data are delay, lead/lag, multiplier, in-
Collection
Subroutines ]A] ~A Prooessor tegrator, signal source generators,
DOS 3.3 etc. These simple objects can then
• T & T 6286 be used to build process simula-
tions by placing them on a work-
RPC space and connecting them
together on the screen (Rgure 2).
G2 performs the operations de-
fined by each object in real time.
Next is process objects such as

-o j I -ob:
Coow~td~mma
#l 16 Clmmme~
Cea~stea/l.miatlen
81 16
tanks, valves, pumps, etc. The ob-
jects perform the same functions
as control objects but are specific

F #2

#4
. ---'-'J
#2

#4
,,
r~
n
to the type of process equlpm~t
each defines. For example (Figure
3), a valve object could be con-
nected to an input interface object.
The flow attribute of the valve ob-
--.- P r s o m ~ / ~ Flu z ject would be calculated based on
the value of the input object. This
valve could be connected to a tank
I -,..l:l:l:tllll'lllJlllllJlJltlllllll,h,:l
I I object, which would calculate the
level in the tank based on the dif-
ference of the flow into and out of
the tank. The tank object would
then be connected to a output in-
l m e l h ~ Dam Aoqm.~uauSystem terrace object, which would send
FimzlmeffnceAdal~r
Seas] D~m Link the level signal to the control sys-
Re,M~ ~ C~
32 CbmmelAmlogC=nl tem. Process simulations are put
6t Cmnnel Dt.~-~e Cml together for checking out the
staged control systems by using
thc-se three object types.

Fioure1-SimulatorHardwareConfiguration
sophisticated expert system shell idly prototype systems using a
to even more powerful differen- structured, natural language in an
tial equation solving simulation intuitive, graphic-oriented envi-
packages when large, full unit ronment. Built into G2 is also a
process models are needed. simulator that can solve algebraic,
difference, and first-order differ-
ential equations in real time. This
SOFTWARE
simulation capability is used
IMPLEMENTATION
heavily in this project.
G2 is an advanced tool used for Three primary types of objects
developing real~fime expert sys- have been defined for this project:
*.~.~n.~.=! t allows a deve!or--~r~,to rap- interface, control, and_ proce~ o ~
CONTROLSYSTEMTESTING
An e n g i n e e r i n g database
(DbaseVMon PCs or PowerhouserM
on the VAXm), which contains all
of the control system fags, termi-
nations, wire tags, engineering
units, instrument specifications,
etc., is maintained on most jobs.
This database maintains all of the
in/ormatioa u,a~
. . . . is required by
'both the electrical and process
control depar _~m.ents,

VOLUME 30 • NUMBER 2 s 1991 43

 DCS:SELECTION.IMPLEMENTATION,AND MAXIMIZATION

UP - I01 Fr-101 I/P-102 LT-102

AII-11 AOl- 1 AII-12 A01-2

object

flow (gpm)
E3 0- ~00%
oetpet
object
t
O- 100% T

Lead/Lag Unit
Conversion

D flow (gpm)

flow (gpm)
'xD INT

Figure 2-Tenk Level ~mulation

D
Te~k
Size

The first step in beginning to

test a control system is running a I/P- 102 LT-102 I/P-101 Fr-lOl
database program to extract all AII-I1 A01-1 AII-12 AOI-I
input and output signals from the
engineering, database and assign-
ing them to the simulator's I / O
c~'~annels in a predefined pattern
based on the type of control sys-
tem being tested. The program
breaks the total number of control
system points down into groups
that the simulator I/O subsystem
can handle. It then generates a
wiring list and point definition
files. The point definition files are
loaded into G2, defining the inter-
face object point attributes (point
tag, zero, and span).
The control system is then pre- ll
wired to the termination strips.
When the first group is wired,
t ~ n g can _begjn. A p_wdefined
generic simulation knowledge
base is loaded, and then the point k'im|lFA q Teu~l* | A U ~ I ~ l m , * l ~ t l ~
i
I IWUlW ~ l g | l R L ~ V ~ I ' ~ I I I I U I G | I U I I

~-~ USATRANSACTIONS

defirdtlon file i ; leaded. The pre-
defined simulation simply ties
outputs to inputs through a
l e a d / l a g or d e a d time plus
lead/lag blocks for initial testing.
For many simple flow, pressure,
and temperature loops these are
sufficient process models for DCS
checkout. For more complicated
loops and loops that interact, the
simulations are built up from pre-
defined control blocks and pro-
cess e q u i p m e n t definitions.
Likewise, motor control and other
discrete loops can be tested via
simple time delay models or more
elaborate simulations where com-
plex batch sequences need testing.
Testing continues until all points
in the group are verified. The
simulations can be modified as
they are running by simply add-
ing or deleting objects and recon-
necting the signal paths.
When testing on a group is
completed, I / O cab!es are moved
to the next group of termination
strips. This process continues
until all groups are checked. The
system can simulate approxi-
mately 15 to 20 loops in real time
depending on their complexity.
All I / O is updated once per sec-
ond. The system would not be
able to simulate processes that re-
spond more quickly than this.
CONCLUSION
During the testing process the
simulations look as if the real pro-
m ,
DISTRIBUTEDCONTROLSYSTEMTESTING
The first step in beginning to test a control system is
running a database program to extract all input and
output signals from the engineering database and as-
signing them to the simulator's IlO channels in a
predefined pattern based on the type of control sys-
tem being tested.
cess is there. Because of this, we The system has been used to ver-
encourage our clients to be pres- ify the controls for a paper ma-
ent during the final testing pro- chine, three CTMP lines, three
o e ~ They help in identifying pressurized grinders, and a recov-
operating problems that may not ery boiler. It is currently sched-
have been accounted forin the de- uled to be used to check out the
sign. They may also identify controls for a chlorine dioxide
those problems that may have plant and an entire kraft bleach
come about because of misunder- pulp mill.
s t a n d i n g s d u r i n g the design
In the future, we plan to use
phase. It is significantly more cost
more of the AI capability of the
effective to fix the p o b l e m s at
expert system to further automate
checkout ~ther than on-site. The
the testing process, for example,
basic simulations are not exact
models of the process but do a letting the system generate pro-
cess disturbances and watching
good job of identifTh~g many con-
figuration problems that may not for the corrective control actions
have been found using the other to occur. If the control actions are
described techniques. More exact incorrect, then the expert system
unit operations models can also be could log it with any suggestions
inserted into file ASCS system for corrective action to be taken.
when their development is war- Also, as the industry begins to
ranted. convert to smart transmitters, the
We have founo! the system to system will be modified to acquire
be very benefici~ for conlxol sys- and transmit the I / O using those
tem checkout, operations, and communications protocols also.
maintenance training prior to This system will continue to grow
start-up. It successfully verifies as more process models are devel-
the control system I/O, and con- oped and as control systems con-
troller and display configurations. tinue to change.
VOLUME 30 = NUMBER 2 = 1991 45