Year 1999
Jarkko Sonninen

Data Communication of a Process Analysis System with the Process Measurement Information in the Pulp and Paper Industry

Productivity and quality of a process could be increased with the help of process analysis. The communication of the process analysis system with systems offering process data is essential to make an analysis possible. Nowadays process data in pulp and paper mills are offered by distributed control systems and process databases.

KCL Development Oy has developed the KCL-WEDGE process analysis system, which has been successfully utilized solving and analyzing many problems in processes in both pulp and paper mills.

The objective of the thesis was to survey sources of process data in pulp and paper mills and to consider different interfaces to acquire those data. In the experimental part of the thesis, a new process data interface of the process analysis system and distributed control system was developed.

In the literature part of the thesis, common process measurements, which are utilized in process analysis, are first introduced. The next chapter deals with distributed control systems and after that different process data sources are discussed. Data sources are grouped according to a typical hierarchy found in distributed control systems. The data sources were grouped in the following way in the thesis: direct interfaces to process, interfaces to control network, interfaces to plant network, interfaces to process databases and other interfaces such as OPC. Data sources are also evaluated according to their openness to data acquisition. Distributed control systems are developing into more open systems. Openness is based on standards such as OPC which is becoming the standard for process data acquisition and communication. The number of different process data interfaces will decrease in future, as more open and general standards for process data communication are being developed. Some process analysis

systems including KCL-WEDGE are introduced. KCL-WEDGE system and its data acquisition process are further analyzed. Finally fieldbus technology is discussed and two common fieldbuses Profibus and Foundation Fieldbus are introduced.

In the experimental part of the thesis, a new process data interface was developed. The interface between KCL-WEDGE and Siemens PCS 7 system was implemented by OPC (OLE for Process Control). OPC Data Access ver1.0A was utilized. Programming was done in Microsoft Windows NT and Unix. The data interface was installed to acquire process data from PCS 7 system which controls a new paper machine.

The interface, which was done in the experimental part, has been working well. The interface is continuously collecting process data from five OPC servers every 10 seconds.

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