An introduction to SCADA

Introduction: distribution system automation is built on 5 pillars which are computer

programming, computer aided design & drafting (CADD), system supervisory & data
acquisition systems (SCADA), local networks including LAN & WAN and geographic
information systems (GIS) including global positioning system (GPS) software & receivers. In
this article an introduction to SCADA systems will be presented. The main purposes for the use
of a SCADA system would be to collect the needed data from remote sites and even the local
site, displaying them on the monitor of the master computer in the control room, storing the
appropriate data to the hard drive of the master computer and allowing the control of field
devices (remote or local) from the control room. Such systems are used in various fields and
industries to monitor and control the operation and/or process of the plant. They are used to
control lighting, elevators, HVAC (heating ventilation & air condition) and other loads found in
commercial & institutional buildings. They are,also, used to automate industrial, chemical &
petrochemical plants as well as the food processing factories, pulp & paper mills,
pharmaceutical, plastics/rubber and primary metals plants. They are applied in the utilities field
to monitor & control the water treatment & supply systems, the sewage treatment plants and the
electrical power systems including the generation, transmission & distribution of electrical
power. In general, the information & conditions required from the field devices can be classified
into either digital (discrete) or analog (continuous) ones. Such data is collected and reported by
the RTU (remote terminal unit) to the master computer in the control room through the
communication link. The (remote) devices in the field that are to be controlled by the operator
from the control room can be classified into continuous or on/off (discrete) control. SCADA
systems vary widely from one supplier to the other. A few years ago, each system has its
proprietary network & communication protocol that allowed the different devices to
communicate with each other. The field devices used to communicate over the network to the
master computer. When additional equipment had to be added to the network, they had to be able
to communicate using the existing network & protocol, thus limiting the user choices.
Nowadays, the trend is going towards open communication systems. Though the products
available can handle/support more than one communication protocol, the communication
protocol is becoming more standardized even the Internet protocol (TCP/IP) is used in
information, data & commands passing from one device to another.
Components of a SCADA system: a typical SCADA system will have 5 major components
which are the master computer, the software, the RTUs, the communication link and the
transducers.
The master computer: it is the hardware at the control station (room). Basically, it comprises of
the personal computer (PC) complete with the attached peripheral (connected) devices including
the monitor, the printers, data loggers & mimic panel (having lamp & analog outputs) that allows
the operator to monitor & control the field data & distributed devices/equipment over the plant
or city. The PC serial port is connected to a suitable modem (system box) for communication
with the field RTUs. The PC will have the appropriate operating system (the platform which the
SCADA software is going to run under), the microprocessor, the hard disk, the floppy disk drive,
the CD-ROM drive, the memory (RAM), the graphical adapter, support for multi-screen adapter
boards and logical input/output for pen recorders, mimic panel,..etc.
Keyboard essential functions: the key board can be divided into 4 sections:
1) Alphanumeric keypad that is used to enter text & numbers by the operator.
2) Editing keypad which includes the the cursor control keys and certain user-defined functions.
3) Auxiliary keypad which includes the user defined function keys that would reference the most
important pictures in the system.
4) Top row function keys which includes the system special functions and more user-defined
functions.
The keys of the key board will offer as a minimum the following functionality to the operator:
recalling previous selected pictures (the pictures of the system or plant built using the screen
builder facility provided with the SCADA to model the existing user system/plant, more about
this topic in Software section later), selecting the next picture, selecting an object or screen
target, preparing system for data input, verifying the data input, removing entry from alarm list,
switching command, controlling remote devices, acknowledging an alarm, canceling incorrect
input sequence, executing a control sequence, selecting system picture, selecting telemetry
device picture, selecting hardware configuration screen (picture), selecting profile picture for an
object, selecting index picture used for selecting screens & reports, selecting the chronological
alarm list.
Essential displayed information (on the monitor): the pictures (screens) are displayed in text
and/or graphics mode, the display will have the following minimal instructions/information:
1) Data & time, title of screen & page number.
2) The next input steps the operator is allowed to make.
3) The last alarm in the system.
4) The operators input part plus the part of the screen that displays the error message if the
operator enters wrong values or illegal sequences.
5) The process/data of the selected zone of the modeled system.
The software: it includes the following operator's tools: database organization, the screen
(picture) builder, programming facility and a shell-like application.
The data base control tool: the real time database contains all system data. There are 3 distinct
models of data base management systems. They are the hierarchical, the network & the
relational models. The first 2 are quite complex in the sense that they rely on the use of
permanent internal pointers to relate records to each other. The process of inserting (entering),
updating & deleting records using these types of databases requires synchronization of the
pointers (a task that must be performed by the application). Relational databases rely on the
actual attribute values as opposed to internal pointers to link records. Using a common attribute
from each record, the linking of records is achieved. A RDBMS stores data like a collection of
tables. As mentioned, common fields in different tables allow linking the tables together.
Because of its simplicity & flexibility, RDBMS found a wide use in the different applications
including the SCADA. Access to the data base to allow the operator to manipulate the data
stored may be achieved through the ability to write to the database, to read from the database, to
special write to data base and to read from data base with conversion to another data format.
Screen (picture) builder: it allows the user/designer to construct the different screens (mimics)
that represent the different zones of the plant/system. Each screen will have the different objects
(elements) that has to be monitored (polled) and controlled. Each of the elements will display the
status and/or relevant attributes that need to be verified by the operator. It is used to graphically
develop new mimics (pictures), add/delete/save new pictures, define mimic background, import
other graphics files, create & save in a user defined symbol library graphical objects (elements)
plus other functions as required to build screens (pictures).
Programming facility: it is provided to fulfil the user's special requirements. This provision
should allow the user to add to the functionality of his/her interface, manipulate files, perform
complex mathematical & string operations and to construct simple control sequences using
logical decisions. It may, also, be used in conjunction with event driven, cyclic or scheduled
actions to further increase the capability of the application.
Shell-like application: it is used to manage the display of the windows having the pictures,
trends, elements (objects) properties & tables and other applications within the Workstation
environment. It allows the user to control the position and location of the opened windows in a
graphical environment. It may also provide the provision for the operator to build custom menus.
The remote terminal units: they are the devices that accept digital, analog and counter inputs and
provide digital and analog output. The inputs to the RTU are the indications/status (digital-
on/off, closed/tripped,..etc), the values (analog-measurands & levels) and pulses of the field
devices i.e. the information to be monitored and reported to the master computer. To effect
control on the remote devices, the analog & discrete output of the RTU are connected to the
pertinent devices/equipment. Discrete output is used to drive an external relay, to operate a
circuit breaker (closing it or tripping it), dropping a section of the feeder by opening a pole
mounted switch or a a pad-mounted switchgear switch, to disconnect a service, to switch off a
motor and other similar applications. Analog output are used to remotely control devices that
requires an increment adjustment or a variable set point for example opening/closing a valve,
controlling a tap changer,...etc. If the RTU is intelligent, it can be programmed to make certain
decisions instead of sending the information to the master computer and wait for the instruction
to come back. Such devices could be considered as upgraded to the controller level. The RTU
requires a power supply, has several interfaces & multiple ports with the protocol selectable on a
per-port basis. The RTU may also have a microprocessor, RAM, real time clock, watchdog
timer, LED indicators, internal diagnostics routines, fiberoptic interface and an internal (built-in)
modem.
The communication link: it can be any or a combination of any of the following: leased lines,
dial up lines, cellular circuits or VHF-UHF radio. Leased lines are reliable & require less initial
investment in equipment. It is used when data polled from the remote sites is required at the
control station continuously in real time. The dial up lines are used when the information at the
remote sites are required less often. The investment in equipment is low. The modems used are
the same as those used with personal computers. The cellular circuits are similar to the dial-up
except special modems & telephones are required at the remote sites (to be connected to the
RTUs). VHF-UHF radio requires a transmitter-receiver & antenna for each site. Distances are
limited to line-of-site from antenna to antenna. Repeaters may be required depending on the
range and the attenuation level. The range is function of RF power (2 to 5 watts for narrow band
& 1 watt for spread spectrum), the receiver sensitivity, the frequency selected. The 3 frequency
ranges (bands) are 150 to 170 MHZ (VHF), 450 to 470 MHZ (UHF) & the 900 MHZ. The area
of coverage varies due to terrain, antenna height, frequency band & vegetation. The spread
spectrum uses one of three methods to spread the data signal: slow hoppers (frequency hopping),
fast frequency hoppers and direct sequence.
The sensors & transducers: the sensors in the field are responsible for converting the real
measured values into their corresponding electric signals that can be inputted into the transducers
or the RTU. The transducers, if used in the remote monitoring & controlling system, are the
intermediate stage to condition the signal from the sensors before getting it to the RTU.
How a SCADA works?
The data sources of the field devices at a remote site are the sensors/transducers eg. Current
transformers/transducers combination, level gauges, pressure switches, valves, tap changers,
breaker auxiliary contact, relay operating coil. The output from the sensor/transducer is
converted to digital data through the RTU. In the case of radio telemetry, the output of the RTU
is inputted into a radio modem. The modem converts the digital data into analog signal that can
be transmitted over the air. If telephone lines are used as the communication medium, then the
RTU output is fed into a modem (or the RTU may have a built in modem) from which the signal
is put on the 2-wire (twisted pair) telephone line. At the receiving end the above process is
reversed. The data recovery present at the receiving end will render the required compatible data
to the master computer (or the field device). In a typical application, the master computer
requests data from the remote field devices (polling), one RTU at a time. It transmits a request to
the RTU to send its data. It then reverts to receive mode waiting for the data coming from the
remote site. After the RTU sends the requested data it reverts to receive mode waiting for further
instructions from the master station. Once the master station receives the remote site data, it goes
into transmitting mode, it may send additional instructions to that site or move on to the next one
to be polled. The polling process continues until all the remote sites in the system have sent their
data. This process repeats indefinitely, if continuous polling is needed. The RTU can revert to
sending if an alarm or a limit is exceeded (report by exception) and under control of the
prevailing communication protocol sends the data to the master station.
Tasks of a SCADA system: the main tasks that a SCADA system has to provide are: controlling
the plant/system field devices (obviously), alarm handling, limits changing, providing more than
1 operation mode, data archiving provision, events logging and the production of report & trend
charts (graphs).
Controlling field devices: the system remote components are controlled from the master
computer. The means of controlling the system can be any or all of the following: cursor
positioning, function keys, custom designed menus and the alphanumeric keys. Questioning
remote devices for specific status or values, closing or opening remote devices, adjusting field
devices are just examples of what the operator is capable of doing from the master station.
Alarm handling: when an unexpected event generates an alarm, various alarm indicators are
provided to the operator (by the software). These indicators can be all or any of the following:
audible alarm, station alarm lamp flashes on the mimic panel, the last alarm line is updated on all
pictures, the alarm is inserted in the appropriate alarm list, the object symbol (element) or value
flashes on the station diagram (process picture). An auto dialer/voice unit can be included which
functions as follows: if an alarm signal from a remote site is not acknowledged at the master
station (within a specified period of time), the computer will begin calling a customer
configured phone list. Once someone answers the phone, the computer will ask for an
authentication code before announcing the alarm condition. The computer records all voice
activity in the system log. It can be used in conjunction with a cellular phone & a laptop.
Limits changing: the upper & lower limits for a remote measured value (that were previously
set) can be changed from the master station. There is a time-out period for the operator to effect
the change. If the time-out period expires, the operator must cancel the sequence he/she already
entered and restart the sequence of changing from the beginning.
Operation modes: the system should provide the following operation modes: operator mode
(normal supervisory & data acquisition operation), programming mode (it is used by
programmers/designers for changing data, system extension, program maintenance, report
generation-control of network is disabled), training mode (self-explanatory) and special mode.
Data Archiving: it regularly samples the values of the measurands & the states of the monitored
points in the data base and storing them in history files for a predefined retention period. This
task is useful for monitoring networks and in producing reports as well as providing data to the
trending facility.
Events logging: it is a list of all events which occur in the system & which are chronologically
printed on the logger. The types of events can be: state changes of alarms & indications, time-
outs, limit violation, operator input (commands, set point transmission, blocking & unblocking
of remote stations, general interrogation of remote stations & simulation of measurands when a
device is blocked) and system alarms (loss of communication with remote stations, hardware
errors & faults in a remote stations).
Production of reports & trend charts: a report consists of data which is presented to the user in a
predetermined tabular format. It may be produced cyclically from the historical database. The
trending facility allows the operator to generate graphic displays showing historical trend of
measured data.