1. An Improved Human Machine Interface Modernization for a Combined Cycle Power Plant
- Author
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Marino Sanchez-Parra, Carlos E. Uribe-Blanco, Víctor Alvarez-Cortés, and Alfonso Rivas-Suarez
- Subjects
Engineering ,Workstation ,business.industry ,Legacy system ,law.invention ,Electric utility ,Robustness (computer science) ,law ,Embedded system ,Microcomputer ,Server ,Redundancy (engineering) ,Intelligent electronic device ,business - Abstract
In order to fulfill the Mexican Electric Utility's (CFE) modernization demands, the Electrical Research Institute (IIE) developed at the Process Super Vision Department an improved Human Machine Interface (HMI) modernization for a Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP) to replace the old one based on VAX workstations with a microcomputer base system using personal computers(pc), maintaining the same functionali1y and integrating management capabilities as well as processing functions currently performed by a proprietary system. The HMI modernization provided to CFE an integral solution through a single interface allowing the system tointerface not only to current proprietary controllers but also to commercial controllers, PLCs or other Intelligent Electronic Device by integrating opc technology. Data analysis is possible in the improved HMI due to a powerful database back-end engine added to the system. Integrating new technology to legacy systems in order to preserve its life span and be able to integrate modem devices represented a challenge to be resolved. This paperalsodescribes how suitable these new technologies promises were accomplished in the IHM modernization. Improvements to the HMI also included an intuitive color-base navigation in a multi-level model. Improvements in communications involved the replacement of the current PC-based communication concentrators with a pair of high performance servers to improve the overall system flexibility and robustness. Among the more challenging tasks was the integration of a modem commercial redundancy system to work with current proprietary controllers.
- Published
- 2003
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