Vol.54 No.2 (2011)

Yokogawa periodically publishes the Yokogawa Technical Report, which contains articles that take a detailed look at the technologies employed in Yokogawa's products. At this site you will find links to all of the reports that have been published since 1997 as well as links to PDF files containing the full text of selected articles from each issue.

New Progress of Control System

CENTUM-History

  • Nobuaki Konishi*1

*1 : Vice President, Industrial Automation Systems Business Headquarters, Yokogawa Electric Corp.


New Progress of Control System

  • Hideyuki Ozawa*1

*1 : Process Automation Product Marketing Dept., Industrial Automation Systems Business Headquarters

VigilantPlant is Yokogawa’s concept for achieving safe, reliable, and profitable plant operations. With the key platform of the CENTUM VP integrated production control system, ProSafe-RS safety instrumented system and STARDOM network-based control system, Yokogawa provides customers with solutions that help them achieve operational excellence in their plants, aiming to become the leading company in the IA business. This paper introduces the evolution of the latest control systems and their applications.


FFCS-V High Performance Controller

  • Hideharu Yajima*1
  • Kenji Habaguchi*2
  • Noriko Kase*1
  • Kiyotaka Kozakai*2

*1 : Process Controller Development & Engineering Dept., Industrial Automation Systems Business Headquarters
*2 : Hardware Development & Engineering Dept., Industrial Automation Systems Business Headquarters

In recent years, the advanced functionality embedded in field instruments and the evolution of the field network require the field control station (FCS) to process a wide variety of information (field instrument data) such as instrument information of field instruments and diagnostic information of facilities, in addition to a large amount of process data. FFCS-V, a newly developed FCS for the CENTUM VP integrated production control system, has four times faster computing performance than the previous model (AFV10?) and can gather a large amount of field instrument data.


FCN-RTU Controller for Oil and Gas Wellheads

  • Yousuke Kawabata*1
  • Toyoaki Yokoi*2
  • Yuuji Takabayashi*3
  • Toshiyuki Miyata*1

*1 : Hardware Development & Engineering Dept., Industrial Automation Systems Business Headquarters
*2 : Yokogawa Electric Asia Pte. Ltd.
*3 : Architecture Development & Engineering Dept., Industrial Automation Systems Business Headquarters

We have developed the FCN-RTU low-power autonomous controller for oil and gas wellheads. FCN-RTU is based on the core technology of the FCN (Field Control Node)/FCJ (Field Control Junction) autonomous controller, and offers low power consumption and improved environmental resistance. With these functions, FCN-RTU can operate with solar power and under harsh conditions while retaining the same high reliability as STARDOM FCN/FCJ, thus satisfying the needs for oil and gas wellheads. This paper outlines FCN-RTU and describes its technical features such as operating specifications (-40 °C to 70 °C, altitude of 3000 m), low power consumption, and high reliability, and its applications.


Security Measures for Production Control Systems

  • Masahiro Hashiguchi*1
  • Katsuhiro Takamatsu*1

*1 : Planning & Open Control Systems Development & Engineering Dept., Industrial Automation Systems Business Headquarters

Many companies and organizations have introduced information technology (IT) to improve the efficiency of operations and to centralize high-density information into their information system. As a result, they need to take thorough measures to ensure the security of the information system. Production control systems also need similar security measures because they closely work together with the information system, but existing measures are not enough. This report describes the importance of security measures for production control systems, methods to check for potential threats and analyze vulnerabilities of the system, and other security measures in the IT environment.


Achieving an Innovative Unified Operation Environment
Using the Unified Gateway Station (UGS)

  • Keisuke Sawada*1

*1 : Planning & Open Control Systems Development & Engineering Dept., Industrial Automation Systems Business Headquarters

Recently, the demand for an integrated operation and monitoring of distributed controllers across the field is increasing to improve the efficiency of plant operation. To meet this demand, conversion between the CENTUM VP protocol and other control protocols, capability to handle a huge system, and maintainability are required. This paper introduces the Unified Gateway Station (UGS), which can seamlessly connect FCN/FCJ autonomous controllers of STARDOM and third-party controllers to CENTUM VP and achieve a single operation environment for operators.


SAT145/SAR145 Temperature Input Modules Satisfying Safety Integrity Level (SIL) 3

  • Yuya Itagaki*1
  • Atsushi Terayama*1
  • Koji Nakaya*1
  • Junichiro Katsu*1

*1 : Field I/F Development & Engineering Dept., Industrial Automation Systems Business Headquarters

We have developed two types of temperature input module as the I/O function of the ProSafe-RS safety instrumented system. These modules conform to the safety integrity level (SIL) 3, which is defined in the IEC61508 international functional safety standard, and achieve fast response and high reliability. This paper introduces their functions in the safety system and describes how the functions are achieved.


NFAF135 Frequency Input Module for Wind Power Generation System

  • Takahiro Mutou*1
  • Takaharu Saitou*1
  • Takeshi Seki*1
  • Manabu Furutsuki*2

*1 : Hardware Development & Engineering Dept., Industrial Automation Systems Business Headquarters
*2 : International Sales Promotion Dept., Industrial Automation Systems Business Headquarters

As an I/O module for STARDOM FCN/FCJ, we have developed the NFAF135 frequency input module for wind power generation systems, which are attracting attention as a source of renewable energy. The STARDOM controllers with this module will help build highly reliable and accurate wind power generation systems, enabling a steady power supply. This paper introduces the technical features of NFAF135, which can accurately and reliably measure the rotation speed in a frequency bandwidth used in wind power generation control systems, and its application.


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