Advanced Control Systems Technology (ACP)

Advanced Control Systems Technology

AAI is an industry-leading provider of advanced process control technology. Utilizing the latest hardware and software technology, AAI can custom design a control solution to meet client requirements. This may include maintaining a process within environmental limits, safety limits, maintaining product quality, increasing product yield, reducing process unit maintenance, stabilizing process operation from shift to shift, or optimizing based on economic factors. These goals can be met, subject to the constraints of a process, utilizing AAI's Advanced Process Technology Platform developed to maintain a process within predetermined and prioritized process constraints, which may include any or all of the process goals mentioned above.

AAI implements advanced optimization control strategies using a software platform developed in-house. AAI Advanced Solutions Technology is a Fuzzy Logic Control platform designed with the following criteria:

Implementation of advanced optimization control strategies for large industrial customers, including Chemical, Refining, Pulp and Paper, Petrochemical, Pharmaceuticals and Utility Power companies.
Control software is Microsoft Windows 2000, NT 4.0, '98 and '95 compatible.
The system is Client / Server based. The ActiveX Server contains controls and database historian. Clients view graphics by requesting database information from the Server. This architecture permits the use of multiple CRTs and also allows for remote viewing, tuning, configuration and trend data gathering via dialup networking. Clients communicate to the server using either Distributed Component Object Modules (DCOM) or Remote Automation OLE.
The control system interfaces to third party I/O. Integration to all industrial distributed control platforms (DCS) and programmable logic controllers (PLC) is available, including but not limited to: Honeywell TDC-3000, Bailey Infi-90, Foxboro IA, Fisher Provox, Moore Products (352, 353 and Apacs), Taylor, Rockwell Allen-Bradley, Modicon, Siemens, GE PLCs. Also, interfaces are available to PlantScape, ProcessLogix, WonderWare, Intellution and other PC based platforms. Modbus serial communications is supported, also. DDE links to most Windows based programs, including: Microsoft Excel, Word and Access.
Since Window's operating system is non-deterministic, the Advanced Control Platform is designed for Supervisory Control. There are plans to implement Advanced Control Platform controls server into an embedded Window's CE platform for even more robust control.
The system is designed primarily for Fuzzy Logic Control implementation.
A file based database historian for trending allows user specification of sampling rate and number of samples to save to disk. Each snapshot is time stamped for proper trending. The user may specify sample rates as fast as 1 second. The historian is used for short term trending and analysis. With 30-second snapshots, about a week of data is stored. For long term archiving, many commercial packages are available.
A control system is assembled by building, configuring and connecting various function blocks together. Each function block has many parameters that are accessible by a Tagname.Parameter(Index) notation. No programming is required. The database is open to third parties.
Function Block Point Types are executed in a specific order. Each function block of the same type is run in alphabetic order of the NAME parameter. A point's NAME may be changed to change the execution ordering. Each point runs once per second. See Point Type Overview for processing order.
Custom programs may be "attached" to the Advanced Control Platform database using published OLE Automation function calls.
Multiple database configurations are supported. Up to 100 database configurations can reside in a single folder.
Custom Graphics are built using Visual Basic, WonderWare or other commercially available packages.

VIEWER

The viewer is used to create or delete process tags. Any Tag.Parameter(Index) may be viewed and modified with this display. When invoked, the Viewer queries the Advanced Control Platform control server for the number of point types, point type names, tag names contained within specified point types, parameters, indexes and values.