Oil production takes place not only on land and in shallow coastal waters but also on the high seas. In shallow waters such as the Gulf of Mexico production platforms are firmly anchored to the sea-bed. In deep-sea applications, where oil exploration platforms can tap into deposits at depths of up to 3500 m it is not possible to anchor the platforms.
Oil exploration platforms suitable for the high seas must keep their position above the bore hole with engine power in spite of wind and currents. Position must be kept accurate to a few metres with engine power so that the boring rods do not break. The highest demands are placed on the operational reliability of the dynamic position control because should the platform drift off position there is the danger of great environmental damage and downtime. Converteam designed a control system for the Transocean Sedco Forex platforms that meets the highest safety demands. As well as other safety precautions the control components are designed with multiple redundancy and networked with fail-safe fibre-optic cables.
The Sedco Express oil platform
Platform position is recorded by satellite with GPS and by sonar buoys fixed on the seabed. The platform position is maintained by powerful electromotors on the four corners of the platform. Each of these 7 MW motors can rotate through 360°. The dynamic position maintenance control system and the associated Fieldbus network must meet high realtime and reliability requirements.
For the Transocean Sedco Forex express class platforms Converteam required a bus system that would operate in realtime, provide error monitoring and alarm indication and be error tolerant such that no single point of failure would render it inoperational. The system was required to maintain a positioning accuracy of better than 5 m in ocean currents of up to 3,5 knots, wind speeds of up to 60 knots and wave conditions of up to 9 m. The solution Converteam opted for comprised World FIP Fieldbus protocol running on an all-fibre network with four hierarchically structured Fieldbus rings and incorporating Hirschmann's fibre-optic cable repeaters.
Some of the reasons for this selection were the high realtime capability of World FIP, the capability of Hirschmann's LWL repeater ring and very fast switchover time on ring failure.
Why secure industrial communication depends on deployment as well
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The Industrial Security Harmonisation Group has released a joint industry perspective highlighting a critical truth in industrial cybersecurity: secure communication is not determined by protocols alone, but by how they are deployed and managed in real-world environments.
Read more...A single platform for all automation functions Beckhoff Automation
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The introduction of TwinCAT in 1996 marked a decisive evolutionary step for PC-based control. Today, the TwinCAT platform combines all automation functions in a strictly deterministic real-time environment, from PLC and motion control through CNC and measurement technology and beyond, to vision, robotics and pioneering AI tools.
Read more...Loop signature Part 2-4: Feedforward Control: Part 3 Michael Brown Control Engineering
Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
In the previous articles in this series, the basic theory behind feedforward control was discussed, and it was also shown how to apply feedforward in practice. In this article, it will be shown how well feedforward can work in practice by giving a couple of examples.
Read more...Control Station and Dimension Software partner to connect control performance monitoring with enterprise operations intelligence
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Control Station has entered into a strategic technology partnership with Dimension Software, a leading provider of industrial operations management platforms. The collaboration connects Control Station’s PlantESP control loop performance monitoring platform with Dimension Software’s Asset Intellect operations intelligence environment, enabling manufacturers to operationalise control performance insights across their organisations.
Read more...Precise, synchronised control for automated steel mesh handling system
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Automation specialist Hambi Maschinenbau has developed a world-first system that automates the cutting, handling and stacking of heavy reinforcing steel mesh – a task that previously required up to six human operators.
Read more...Loop signature Part 2-3: Feedforward Control: Part 2 Michael Brown Control Engineering
Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Feedforward control tuning is not nearly as critical as feedback tuning, and fairly simple models are usually fine for the purpose in hand.
Read more...Upgrading radiological surveillance systems in nuclear facilities Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Nuclear plant operators face an uncomfortable reality. Many of the control and monitoring systems still in use today were never designed to support the full operational lifespan of the facilities they serve.
Read more...Next-level CAN Software enables easy access to CAN XL Industrial Data Xchange (IDX)
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
With the release of its PCAN-Explorer 7, PEAK delivers a major update that adds full support for CAN XL, multiple symbol files per connection, Python scripting and flexible licensing including floating licenses.
Read more...Loop signature Part 2-2: Feedforward Control: Part 1 Michael Brown Control Engineering
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Feedforward control is a powerful technique that can dramatically improve control variance in cases where load changes cause big deviations from setpoint and the actual process dynamics are too slow to allow the feedback controller to operate fast enough to catch these disturbances.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version