Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA (15 January 2015) – The International Society of Automation (ISA) announces that it has published a new book targeted to control engineers, process engineers, and instrumentation technicians with no experience in wireless field devices and wireless control.
By providing a thorough exploration of wireless field devices and the challenges of using wireless devices in control, this valuable book, Wireless Control Foundation: Continuous and Discrete Control for the Process Industry, aims to improve wireless control planning, commissioning and troubleshooting.
“The book is ideal for those who have a solid understanding of process control and field devices, but have no experience using wireless field devices or working with control systems that support wireless control,” explains Terrence Blevins, a member of Control Magazine’s Process Automation Hall of Fame, who wrote the book along with co-authors Deji Chen, Mark Nixon and Willy Wojsznis.
While primarily targeted to control engineers responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining control systems, the book is also intended for both process engineers involved in process design and control and instrumentation technicians who troubleshoot process control, measurement and instrumentation.
To help readers quickly understand wireless control implementation for the process industry, the book includes a variety of application examples showing how wireless devices are used to address many different control requirements. Workshops at the end of each chapter test knowledge retention, and a website that supports the book provides solutions to the workshops.
Among the many valuable topics covered include:
- Wireless control for both continuous and discrete application
- Control using wireless measurements and valves
- Commercially available analog and discrete wireless transmitter and throttling and on-off valves
- PID modifications that enable control through wireless measurement
- Valve position feedback when utilizing a wireless valve in control
- PID modifications that can significantly reduce the number of communications from the PID to the wireless valve
- The utilization of wireless field devices in advanced control
- The relationship of wireless technology to ISA and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
Since some readers may work with an existing distributed controls system (DCS) that is not designed to provide native support for wireless field devices, information is provided on how a wireless gateway may be integrated into these older control systems using supported serial and Ethernet interfaces. In addition, the book addresses how dynamic simulation of process and wireless field devices may be created within a DCS in order to explore and support checkout and operator training on wireless control.
To purchase a copy of Wireless Control Foundation: Continuous and Discrete Control for the Process Industry, click here.
About the authors
Terry Blevins is a principal technologist in the future architecture team of DeltaV Product Engineering at Emerson Process Management. Blevins has worked as a systems engineer and group manager in the design and startup of advanced control solutions for the pulp and paper industry for more than 15 years. An accomplished author, he has written more than 70 papers on process control system design and applications.
Deji Chen is a senior principal software engineer at Emerson Process Management. His research interests include real-time systems and wireless process control. An original participant in the group that created the OPC industrial standard, Chen also contributed to the creation of first industrial wireless standard (IEC62591).
As a member of the wireless team at Emerson Process Management, Mark Nixon takes an active role in the development of the WirelessHART specifications and the development of the IEC 62591 standardization. Nixon’s current research includes control using WirelessHART devices, data analytics for batch processes, wireless technology in the process industry, web-based user interfaces, operator interfaces and advanced graphics. He has written numerous papers and currently holds more than 45 patents.
Willy Wojsznis is a member of the future architecture team of DeltaV Product Engineering at Emerson Process Management. Wojsznis has been involved in the development of advanced control products for more than 20 years, focusing on model predictive control, data analytics and auto tuning. His work has resulted in more than 30 patents and more than 40 technical papers.
About ISA
Founded in 1945, the International Society of Automation (www.isa.org) is a leading, global, nonprofit organization that is setting the standard for automation by helping over 30,000 worldwide members and other professionals solve difficult technical problems, while enhancing their leadership and personal career capabilities. Based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, ISA develops standards; certifies industry professionals; provides education and training; publishes books and technical articles; and hosts conferences and exhibitions for automation professionals. ISA is the founding sponsor of The Automation Federation (www.automationfederation.org).
