US 9,529,348 B2Granted

Method and apparatus for deploying industrial plant simulators using cloud computing technologies

AssigneeEmerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions, Inc.

InventorsRichard W. Kephart, Herman Sanchez, Eugene Abruzere

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A system and method for operating a remote plant simulation system is disclosed. The system and method uses a light application at the plant to collect relevant data and communicate it to a remote plant simulation. The remote plant simulation uses the relevant data, including data from the actual process, to create a process simulation and communicate the display data to the light application operating at the plant where it is displayed to a user. The remote system offers the advantage of offering decreased cost and improved simulation as the equipment cost, operator cost and set up cost is shared by a plurality of users. Further, the data may be stored remotely and subject to data analytics which may identify additional areas for efficiency in the plant.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A network cloud based simulation system for simulating operation of a process control network as connected within a process plant, the simulation system comprising:

a local supervisor module that is configured as a thin application locally at the process plant configured to collect:
a first state variable indicative of a current configuration of the process control network during an operation of the process control network;
and
a second state variable indicative of an operation of a process during an operation of the process control network from the process plant;
and
a remote simulation module that is configured as part of a network cloud system, the remote simulation module being communicatively coupled to the local supervisor module via the network cloud system, the remote simulation module comprising:
a simulated process control network configured to use one or more simulated process variable signals to produce one or more simulated control signals to provide a simulation of the operation of the process control network as connected within the process plant;
a process model, communicatively coupled to the simulated process control network, configured to use the one or more simulated control signals to produce the one or more simulated process variable signals;
and
an update module, communicatively coupled to the process control network via the local supervisor module, the update module configured to:
periodically receive the first state variable being indicative of a current configuration of the process control network during operation of the process control network from the local supervisor module,
periodically receive the second state variable being indicative of an operation of the process during operation of the process control network from the local supervisor module,
periodically configure the simulated process control network with the first state variable, and
periodically update the process model using the second state variable,
wherein the local supervisor module is further configured to function as a single consolidated access point to bridge communications between the process control network and the network cloud system and to control when to send the first and second state variables to the update module via communications with the network cloud system, the local supervisor module controlling when to send the first and second state variables to the update module when the local supervisor module has buffered a threshold amount of data including the first and second state variables, and
wherein the remote simulation module is further configured to store the first and second state variables-as part of the network cloud system by communicating exclusively with the local supervisor module.

13 more elements

A method of providing network cloud simulation services to a process plant, comprising:

collecting, by a local supervisor module that is configured as a thin application locally at the process plant:
a first state variable indicative of a current configuration of a process control network during operation of the process control network;
and a second state variable indicative of an operation of a process during operation of the process control network from the process plant;
and executing, by a remote simulation module that is configured as part of a network cloud system, the remote simulation module being communicatively coupled to the local supervisor module via the network cloud system:
a simulated process control network that uses one or more simulated process variable signals to produce one or more simulated control signals to provide a simulation of the operation of the process control network as connected within the process plant;
and a process model communicatively connected to the simulated process control network that uses the simulated control signals to produce the one or more simulated process variable signals;
and periodically receiving, by the remote simulation module via communications with the local supervisor module, the first state variable and the second state variable:
the first state variable indicative of a current configuration of the process control network during operation of the process control network from the local supervisor module;
and the second state variable indicative of an operation of the process during operation of the process control network from the local supervisor module;
and periodically configuring, by the remote simulation module, the simulated process control network with the first state variable;
and periodically updating, by the remote simulation module, the process model using the second state variable, and storing, by the remote simulation module, the first and second state variables as part of the network cloud system by communicating exclusively with the local supervisor module, wherein the local supervisor module is configured to function as a single consolidated access point to bridge communications between the process control network and the network cloud system and to control when to send the first and second state variables to the remote simulation module via communications with the network cloud system the local supervisor module controlling when to send the first and second state variables to the remote simulation module when the local supervisor module has buffered a threshold amount of data including the first and second state variables.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/357,341Filed 24 Jan 2012
Published: US 2013/0191106 A125 Jul 2013
Granted: 27 Dec 2016
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

G05B 19/41885
Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible…:…
G05B 17/02
Systems involving the use of models or simulators of said systems: electric
G06F 30/20
Computer-aided design [CAD]: design optimisation, verification or simulation
G05B 2219/2609
Pc applications: process control