FOUNDATION fieldbus
Encyclopedia
Foundation Fieldbus is an all-digital
, serial
, two-way communications system that serves as the base-level network
in a plant or factory automation
environment. It is an open architecture, developed and administered by the Fieldbus Foundation
.
It's targeted for applications using basic and advanced regulatory control, and for much of the discrete control associated with those functions. Foundation fieldbus technology is mostly used in process industries, but nowadays it is being implemented in powerplants also.
Two related implementations of FOUNDATION fieldbus
have been introduced to meet different needs within the process automation environment. These two implementations use different physical media and communication speeds.
FOUNDATION fieldbus was originally intended as a replacement for the 4-20 mA standard, and today it coexists alongside other technologies such as Modbus
, Profibus
, and Industrial Ethernet
. FOUNDATION fieldbus today enjoys a growing installed base in many heavy process applications such as refining, petrochemicals, power generation, and even food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and nuclear applications. FOUNDATION fieldbus was developed over a period of many years by the Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society
, or ISA, as SP50. In 1996 the first H1 (31.25 kbit/s) specifications were released. In 1999 the first HSE (High Speed Ethernet) specifications http://www.fieldbus.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=144&Itemid=319 were released. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard on field bus, including Foundation Fieldbus, is IEC 61804.
A typical fieldbus segment consists of the following components.
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
, serial
Serial communications
In telecommunication and computer science, serial communication is the process of sending data one bit at a time, sequentially, over a communication channel or computer bus. This is in contrast to parallel communication, where several bits are sent as a whole, on a link with several parallel channels...
, two-way communications system that serves as the base-level network
Telecommunications network
A telecommunications network is a collection of terminals, links and nodes which connect together to enable telecommunication between users of the terminals. Networks may use circuit switching or message switching. Each terminal in the network must have a unique address so messages or connections...
in a plant or factory automation
Automation
Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...
environment. It is an open architecture, developed and administered by the Fieldbus Foundation
Fieldbus Foundation
The Fieldbus Foundation is an organization dedicated to a single international, interoperable fieldbus standard. It was established in September 1994 by a merger of WorldFIP North America and the Interoperable Systems Project...
.
It's targeted for applications using basic and advanced regulatory control, and for much of the discrete control associated with those functions. Foundation fieldbus technology is mostly used in process industries, but nowadays it is being implemented in powerplants also.
Two related implementations of FOUNDATION fieldbus
Fieldbus
Fieldbus is the name of a family of industrial computer network protocols used for real-time distributed control, now standardized as IEC 61158....
have been introduced to meet different needs within the process automation environment. These two implementations use different physical media and communication speeds.
- H1Foundation Fieldbus H1Foundation Fieldbus H1 is one of the Foundation Fieldbus protocol versions. It utilises either twisted pair, or fiber media to communicate between multiple nodes and the controller...
works at 31.25 kbit/s and generally connects to field devices. It provides communication and power over standard twisted-pair wiring. H1 is currently the most common implementation. - HSE (High-speed Ethernet) works at 100 Mbit/s and generally connects input/output subsystems, host systems, linking devices, gateways, and field devices using standard Ethernet cabling. It doesn't currently provide power over the cable, although work is under way to address this.
FOUNDATION fieldbus was originally intended as a replacement for the 4-20 mA standard, and today it coexists alongside other technologies such as Modbus
Modbus
Modbus is a serial communications protocol published by Modicon in 1979 for use with its programmable logic controllers . Simple and robust, it has since become one of the de facto standard communications protocols in the industry, and it is now amongst the most commonly available means of...
, Profibus
Profibus
PROFIBUS is a standard for field bus communication in automation technology and was first promoted in 1989 by BMBF...
, and Industrial Ethernet
Industrial Ethernet
Industrial Ethernet refers to the use of the Ethernet family of computer network technologies in an industrial environment, for automation and process control. A number of techniques are used to adapt Ethernet for the needs of industrial processes, which require real time behavior...
. FOUNDATION fieldbus today enjoys a growing installed base in many heavy process applications such as refining, petrochemicals, power generation, and even food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and nuclear applications. FOUNDATION fieldbus was developed over a period of many years by the Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society
Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society
The International Society of Automation , formerly known as The Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society, is a non-profit technical society for engineers, technicians, businesspeople, educators and students, who work, study or are interested in industrial automation and pursuits related to...
, or ISA, as SP50. In 1996 the first H1 (31.25 kbit/s) specifications were released. In 1999 the first HSE (High Speed Ethernet) specifications http://www.fieldbus.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=144&Itemid=319 were released. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard on field bus, including Foundation Fieldbus, is IEC 61804.
A typical fieldbus segment consists of the following components.
- H1 - fieldbus interface card
- FPS - Fieldbus Power Supply and Signal Conditioner
- PS - Bulk power (Vdc) to Fieldbus Power Supply
- T - Terminator
- And fieldbus devices, (e.g. transmitters, transducers, etc.)
See also
- Computer networkingComputer networkA computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
- Computer scienceComputer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...