Yokogawa Electric announced the release of an upgraded version of its STARDOM network-based control system that provides a number of functional enhancements.
The newly added enhancements improve STARDOM's competitiveness in the oil, natural gas, petrochemical, and other booming energy and raw material markets. Key features of the enhancements are an improved communication function for controlling widely-distributed production facilities and the capability to enhance control system reliability by using STARDOM in combination with other control devices in a large plant.
STARDOM is an open network-based control system comprising of function-specific control, operation and monitoring components that can be interconnected flexibly and on a scaleable basis using networking technology. The system features the same high reliability and supportability of a DCS while having the openness, versatility, and cost-effectiveness of systems that combine PCs and programmable logic controllers (PLCs).
As STARDOM is highly effective in controlling shared-use plant facilities, there is an increasing need to integrate it with Yokogawa's flagship CENTUM series integrated production control system, which is designed for main process control. When CENTUM is used in combination with STARDOM, the overall efficiency of oil refinery and petrochemical plants is significantly increased.
STARDOM's recent functional enhancements address these users' requirements.
Features include:
1. Improved communication function for wide-area distributed control. The DNP3 communication protocol is being increasingly employed in control systems for oil and natural gas extraction, pipelines, and other facilities that are dispersed over wide areas. In the previous revision, serial interfaces such as RS232C were prepared for DNP3. With this upgrade, Ethernet interface is provided. DNP3 refers to Distributed Network Protocol 3, a communication protocol that was originally developed for the electric utility industry in Europe. This protocol has recently been introduced in the wide-area distributed control of oil and gas drilling sites, pipelines, and water supply and sewerage systems.
2. Enhanced reliability for integrated control. When STARDOM is combined with other control devices to form a large-scale integrated control system, dual redundancy in the control network can be achieved. For instance, the integrated use of the CENTUM series control system for oil refinery facilities and STARDOM for shared-use facilities such as product storage tanks results in a more reliable control system.
The major target markets are the development of oilfields, gas fields, and other widely distributed facilities including water supply and sewerage systems. Also targeted are small to medium-scale process plants, including oil, chemical, iron and steel, and pulp and paper plants.
This product finds application in the overall operation, monitoring and control of facilities, and the remote control of production facilities.
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