Development of LabVIEW based Distribution Control System

Published on 28 May 2021. Written by Sankarsan Mohanty

Integration of sensors with DCS and LabVIEW

A DCS (Distribution Control System) is used in industry and in plants as a central operator supervisory control to monitor autonomous controller used in the plant. Nowadays these DCS are used a lot by autonomous industries. Getting a hands-on experience on how DCS works will be beneficial for an engineer. In this project, you will implement a mini version of DCS which is used to measure flow and pressure using a PID controller. So, this project work involves, designing a controller using LabVIEW and a DAQ card to control the flow and pressure using this LabVIEW based controller.

The main objective of this project is to make a controller in LabVIEW which will be used instead of the existing microcontroller based PID controller present in the DCS to control flow and pressure measurement system. In case of PID controller, the pressure signals are converted in the current signals by the Pressure to current converter and then this signal is given to the PID controller and then after the manipulation, the current signal is again converted to pressure signal and then the pressure valve is set accordingly. In a similar manner, flow is controlled.

In case of LabVIEW after the generation of current signal it would be converted in voltage signal because the DAQ card (NI USB6009) is not able to handle current value directly so using a Current to Voltage converter to convert current signal in terms of voltage , the current signal is changed into voltage and then given to LabVIEW (DAQ) based controller and then the value is processed and given back to the Voltage to Current converter which converts the voltage to current and this current signal is given back to Current to pressure Converter which converts the current signal to pressure signal . This pressure value is used to control the pressure controlled valve to control the flow and or pressure.

Project Description:

DCS (Distribution Control System): A distributed control system is a computerized control system for a processor plant, in which autonomous controller are distributed throughout the system but there is central operator supervisory control. The DCS concept increases reliability and reduces installation costs by localizing control functions near the process plant but enables monitoring a supervisory control of the process remotely in a single place in the control room.
LabView: The name LabVIEW is a shortened form of its description: Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench. it is a system-design platform and development environment that was aimed at enabling all forms of the system to be developed. You will use this software to make a controller which will replace the existing PID microcontroller present in the DCS.
DAQ card (NI USB6009): DAQ card (Data acquisition card) is equipped with sensors, signal conditioning circuit, Analog to digital converter. It is used to convert physical parameters to electrical signals (change in voltage), then convert those signals to a form that can be further converted to Digital signal.
Voltage to Current Converter: To make a voltage to current converter circuit you can use Op-amp. Op-amp is implemented to simply convert the voltage signal to a corresponding current signal. You can use IC LM741 for this purpose. This Op-amp is designed to hold the precise amount of current by applying the voltage which is essential to sustain that current throughout the circuit.
Current to Voltage Converter: A current to voltage converter is used to produce a voltage proportional to the given current. This circuit is required if your measuring instrument is capable only of measuring voltages and you need to measure the current output. Here also we can use Op-amp as mean to convert current to a voltage signal.

Project Implementation:

At first install LabVIEW software in your PC. Learn basic of LabVIEW from the internet.
With the help of theoretical knowledge and Lab view software design Voltage to Current converter circuit.
After successfully designing Voltage to current converter circuit, go for designing Current to Voltage converter circuit.
Integrate all the process parameter using NI DAQ 6009 through LabVIEW and simulate your design.

Project Brief: The DCS which was controlled using PID controller would be controlled by LabVIEW based controller. It would be more user-friendly and error will be minimized and the parameter can be monitored and controlled remotely and with the web.

Software requirements:

LabVIEW: It is a system-design platform and development environment that was aimed at enabling all forms of the system to be developed. You will use this software to make a controller which will replace the existing PID microcontroller present in the DCS.

Kit required to develop Development of LabVIEW based Distribution Control System:

Technologies you will learn by working on Development of LabVIEW based Distribution Control System:

Development of LabVIEW based Distribution Control System

Project Description:

Project Implementation:

Software requirements:

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