This presentation provides a real world example of replacing a hardware based RTA card with an emulation solution.

1. info@gses.com
Control & HMI Emulation Project

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Part 1
The Project
Rick Baker – Exelon - Quad Cities

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Plant ABB Advant System
(Generic diagram, newer equipment)

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Advant Controller AC450

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AS500 OS HP Visualize B2000
• Unix running HP-UX
10.20 OS
• Limerick had newer
B2600

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ABB Advant Keyboard

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PCI-Based RTA Card

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FW HMI Screen

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RCS HMI Screen

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Simulator Needed to Emulate AC450 and
Stimulate AS500OS HMI
• Plant code and database received from plant
• Code and DB transformed into RTA card compatible version
• AS500OS HMI slightly modified for simulator use
–ATS link software installed
• Four main components installed on simulator model
computer(s)
–developed for WindowsNT
• PCI-based RTA card installed
• ATS Link setup to communicate with AS500OS HMI

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Upgrade Requirements Last 15+ Years
• Simulator model PC refreshes
– required large PCI slot
• Microsoft OS upgrades to Windows 2000, Windows XP
– Windows XP version started to become unstable
– Needed to get to Windows 7
• RTA card driver not compatible with W7 or newer OS’s
• No practical solution from ABB/Westinghouse
– Rumors of a USB version

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Additional Issues and Needs
• AS500OS HMI B2000 and B2600 are obsolete
• Repurposed HP C3600
– Acquired from retired plant system
• Preference was for non-hardware solution
– Allow for better use of glass simulators and V-panels
– Eliminate PC hardware platform requirements – PCI slot
• RTA Card replacement cost was very high
– Were able to acquire RTA cards from OEM vendor
– Future availability uncertain

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Part 2
The Team
Scott Zepplin – GSE Systems, Inc.

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Contract
• Overall Contract awarded to GSE
• Sub-contract awarded by GSE to nHance Technologies

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Project Roles: GSE Systems, Inc.
• Overall project management
• Configuration Control
• Interfacing between nHance solution and Exelon loads
• Factory acceptance testing
• Site integration

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Project Roles: Exelon
• Data collection
• Provide operational systems for nHance
• Site acceptance testing
• Configuration control
–Fleet-wide project management
–Fleet-wide design decisions

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• Control System Translation
• HMI Emulation
• Configuration Control
• Alarm Manager Solution
• Keyboard Solution
• Site Integration
Project Roles: nHance Technologies

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Fleet Solution Advantages
• Testing was done for each site individually
• Each site took a slightly different approach to the testing
• As issues were identified at each site, the resolution was
rolled out to all 3 sites
• Resulted in better overall product

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Part 3
The Solution
Todd Sneed – nHance Technologies

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nHance Technologies Solution Details
• Configuration Management
• DCS Emulation
• Control System Emulation
• DB Elements
• PC Elements
• HMI Emulation
• Custom Screens
• Standard Screens
• Keyboard Solution

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Configuration Management
• Ensure model and HMI updates synchronized across 3+ locations
– nHance Office
– GSE St Marys and/or Sykesville Office
– Site
• Required Distributed Version Control System
– Does not restrict/preclude using server based VCS eg SVN
– Secure HTTPS / SSH Transmission protocol
• ‘git’ hosted on nHance private servers
– Required 2 repositories, one for Model, one for Program / project files
• Workflow
– nHance Review/Make Changes … Push up to nHance Cloud Server
– GSE Pull Down latest rev for testing pre-FAT
– Site Pull Down for install at site

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Control System Overview
ABB Advant Control System Overview
– PC Program – Main Control Logic Program
• Complex Cycle Logic 3 “Interpreters”
• PC Elements – Individual Function Blocks (eg. AND/OR/PID, etc.)
• PC Elements can be Scheduled in any Interpreter / Rate group/ Order
within rate group
• Entire blocks of logic and be dynamically bypassed
– “Database” or DB Elements
• Typical “Tags”
• Interface between PC Program and external world
• Some “logic” eg. Block functionality/ Limit Checks
• I/O interface / Modbus / Profibus interface

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Control System Emulation
Translation Approach
– C++ Program developed to read in DB and PC Element configuration files
– Automatically links function blocks and DB Element names
– Automatically creates Simulator database .ADD files
– Automatically creates Simulator I/O list
– Optionally match I/O tag names to Process model variable list (if
provided) to link I/O points to process model variables
– Generates Fortran Source code with comments
– Maintains left-over time to cycle control exact number of times required
(eg. 20ms rate group cycled correctly with 50ms time step size).
– Separate schedule for DB point processing and PC Cycle time execution
– Completely automatic, no human intervention required

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Control Cycle Overview

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Control System Emulation – Alarm Manager
Alarm Manager
– Maintains list of points in alarm and alarm acknowledgement
state
– ABB Advant System Extremely flexible in alarms/events
– Alarm/event configuration files not available on simulator RTA
card workstations
– Point can be have an alarm and an event at same time
– All three sites used different approaches to alarms and events

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HMI Emulation
Translator Approach
– Automatically read in HMI Configuration files and generate
visual basic source code to create HMI executable
– HMI Graphics files a derivation of Sherrill-Lubinski Graphical
Modeling System (SL-GMS) – static graphics only
• References system objects and custom objects with scripting
functionality
– Each HMI screen required both graphic files and scripting files
to tie point names/scripts to dynamic objects
– VB classes created by hand for system objects (eg. Dialogs)

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• Alarm Screens
– Alarm List
– Event List
– Last unacknowledged Alarm in
Header
• Trend Screen
– Unique Trend Control scrolling
– Rich Feature Set (not all
supported)
• Dialog Boxes
– Navigation
– Unique per Point Type
• Display Menu
HMI Emulation Standard Screens

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• ABB Advant Keyboard Overview
– Complex device with normal
keyboard + several custom keys
– External power supply
– Typical USB connection to HP unix
workstation
– Mouse attached to keyboard
• Sort of worked on PC
– Normal PC keys worked
– Custom keys mapped to existing PC
keys, some did nothing
– Mouse just worked
• USB Sniffing tools revealed
– Keyboard was USB hub + 3 HID
devices, 2 keyboards one mouse
• WireShark USB Pcap used to
inspect HID USB keys
– Keyboard hook used to “consume”
the key from that specific USB
device
– Device ID’s changed when
computer reboot
Keyboard Interface Solution

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• Keyboard
– Solution not perfect, but
adequate
• Alarms/Events
– Point can be in Alarm and Event
at same time
– Several instances of same
Alarms on Alarm List
– Event Treatment pointers
configuration could not be
found
• Trend Control
– Unique trend scrolling and several
different features could be
supported
• SL-GMS
– Some commands not easily
handled in VB (eg. Gradients
fills)
– Transforms
Project Challenges

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• Stimulated System was not “gospel”
– Plant Control logic manipulated before installed on RTA
– AI points converted to AIC
– ERR Flags for some AIC points were Set by ???
– Caused translator to set error flags for AIC points which proved incorrect
– Caused translator to set error flags for AI Points which proved incorrect
– Model AI Deadband Logic
– Removed as part of removing stimulated interface
– Contributed to differences and repeatability issues on RTA load
• Sometimes the “simple” blocks aren’t so simple
– MAJ-R Majority Selector
• All-In-One design of HMI
– Avoided need screen-to-screen communication
– Proved to be sluggish on loading screens especially on Windows 7
Solution Lessons Learned

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Project Results - Lessons Learned
• Relieved hardware platform requirements
– PCI slot for RTA card
• HMI runs on standard Windows 7 PC
– Needs to be fast to prevent delays when Operator switches
displays
• Relieved OS requirements
• VB6 required for displays
– Newer version would have been preferable

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Project Results - Lessons Learned (cont.)
• Relieved frequent issues where the RTA cards would not
function correctly
– (loss of comm., locked up, misc.)
• Original simulator version didn’t exactly match plant
implementation
– Discovered issue with analog inputs range treatment
– Error flags being set that would not in the plant
• causes a different response on some transients

33. Thank you.
For more information, go to:
www.GSES.com
info@gses.com
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