Konzept für ein rollenzentrisches Plug and Produce zur Inbetriebnahme und zum Austausch von Feldgeräten

• Concept for a role-centric plug and produce for commissioning and replacement of field devices

Nothdurft, Lars; Epple, Ulrich (Thesis advisor); Diedrich, Christian (Thesis advisor); Kleinert, Tobias Theodor (Thesis advisor)

Als Manuskript gedruckt. - Düsseldorf : VDI Verlag GmbH (2022)
Book, Dissertation / PhD Thesis

In: Fortschritt-Berichte VDI. Reihe 8, Mess-, Steuerungs- und Regelungstechnik 1274
Page(s)/Article-Nr.: XII, 100 Seiten : Illustrationen, Diagramme

Dissertation, RWTH Aachen University, 2022

Abstract

The Industrie 4.0 strategy is a German initiative to drive forward networking and digitalization in industry. One concept related to Industrie 4.0 is ’Plug and Produce’, the automated integration of components into a production environment. Existing approaches are mostly based on modern technologies from the Industrie 4.0 environment and are not compatible with existing plants. Existing concepts that work with old technologies, on the other hand, lack flexibility and application breadth. In this work, a general Plug and Produce concept for field devices in process technology is developed. The concept can be used for initial commissioning as well as for changing a device after failure. Furthermore, it is designed in a way that it also supports existing plants with older technologies. The core of the concept is the explicit consideration of functional tasks (roles) in the plant and the automated assignment of devices to these tasks. The assignment is achieved by matching requirements on the role side and assurances on the device side. A distinction is made between properties and capabilities. The latter reflect the function of the device. The property value statement model is used to formulate the requirements and assurances. The assurances of the device are divided into fixed characteristics of the device type and variable characteristics of the device instance (the parameters). For a successful incorporation, the configuration of the device must be adjusted and the process communication between the device and the higher-level controller must be established. The concept is divided into two aspects. First, this includes a consideration of the required information and functions of the components involved. The components in the context of the concept are the role, the device type, the device instance, and the communication. The second aspect describes the procedure that is followed to complete a PnP sequence. The procedure is divided into five blocks of steps. The first block regulates the preparation in case of a device change. Then, the new device is included in the communication and identified. In the following, the device is assigned the roles that the device is to assume. Whether the device can assume the selected roles is tested by means of a suitability test between the requirements of the role and the assurances of the device. Finally, the device is configured, the connection to the controller is adapted and the communication between the two is established. After describing the concept, its implementation is analyzed with technical solutions. It is examined how required functionalities can be provided by common technologies. Furthermore, the technical realization is demonstrated by means of use cases. The feasibility is also demonstrated using a prototype implementation. Finally, open points and possibilities for extending the concept are discussed.

Institutions

• Division of Materials Science and Engineering [520000]
• Chair of Information and Automation Systems for Process and Material Technology [526610]