Controller Optimization for a Control System of a Technical Plant

Abstract

A method for generating closed-loop control parameters of a closed-loop control for a control system of a technical system includes continuous determination of trend data of the closed-loop control during runtime of the technical system by means of the control system, continuous checking of the trend data to determine whether at least one specific trigger criterion has been met, transmitting the trend data of the closed-loop control to a controller optimization module in the event the specific trigger criterion is met, generating revised closed-loop control parameters by the controller optimization module, and transmitting the closed-loop control parameters generated by the controller optimization module to the control system.

Claims

1. A method for generating closed-loop control parameters of a closed-loop control for a control system of a technical system, the method comprising: a) determining trend data of the closed-loop control continuously during runtime of the technical system via the control system; b) checking the trend data continuously to determine whether at least one specific trigger criterion has been met; c) transmitting the trend data of the closed-loop control to a controller optimization module in an event the specific trigger criterion is met; d) generating revised closed-loop control parameters by the controller optimization module; and e) transmitting the closed-loop control parameters generated by the controller optimization module to the control system.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one trigger criterion comprises at least one of (i) an overshooting and (ii) undershooting of at least one threshold value in the trend data.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one trigger criterion comprises a quantitative overshooting of a rate of change in the trend data.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein at least one trigger criterion comprises a quantitative overshooting of a rate of change in the trend data.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one trigger criterion comprises a user input by an operator operating the control system.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the closed-loop control of the control system and the controller optimization module are implemented on mutually independent separate computer infrastructures.

7. An operator station client of an operator station server of a control system of a technical system, the operator station client being configured to: a) determine trend data of a closed-loop control of the control system continuously during runtime of the technical system, to retrieve said trend data from the operator station server and display said trend data on a display device of the operator station client in a first application environment; b) check the retrieved trend data to determine whether at least one specific trigger criterion has been met; c) transfer a subset of the trend data into a second application environment which is displayed on the display device and which is independent of the first application environment in an event the at least one specific trigger criterion is met; d) transfer, starting from the second application environment, the subset of the trend data transferred to the second application environment to a controller optimization module; e) receive closed-loop control parameters revised by the controller optimization module and to display said revised closed-loop control parameters in the second application environment; f) transfer the revised closed-loop control parameters from the second application environment to the first application environment; and g) transfer the revised closed-loop control parameters to the closed-loop control.

8. The operator station client as claimed in claim 7, wherein the operator station client is further configured to: retrieve trend data of a plurality of closed-loop controls and further process said retrieved trend data of a plurality of closed-loop controls.

9. The operator station client as claimed in claim 7, wherein the operator station client stores the revised closed-loop control parameters received from the controller optimization module in a data archive of the operator station server.

10. The operator station client as claimed in claim 8, wherein the operator station client stores the revised closed-loop control parameters received from the controller optimization module in a data archive of the operator station server.

11. The operator station client as claimed in claim 7, wherein at least one trigger criterion comprises at least one of an (i) overshooting and (ii) undershooting of at least one threshold value in the trend data.

12. The operator station client as claimed in claim 8, wherein at least one trigger criterion comprises at least one of an (i) overshooting and (ii) undershooting of at least one threshold value in the trend data.

13. The operator station client as claimed in claim 9, wherein at least one trigger criterion comprises at least one of an (i) overshooting and (ii) undershooting of at least one threshold value in the trend data.

14. The operator station client as claimed in claim 7, wherein at least one trigger criterion comprises a quantitative overshooting of a rate of change in the trend data.

15. The operator station client as claimed in claim 7, wherein at least one trigger criterion comprises a user input by an operator operating the control system.

16. The operator station client as claimed in claim 7, wherein the closed-loop control of the control system and the controller optimization module are implemented on mutually independent separate computer infrastructures.

17. A control system for a technical system, the control system being configured to implement the method as claimed in claim 1.

18. The control system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the technical system comprises a manufacturing or process plant.

19. The control system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the control system operates a technical system.

20. The control system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the technical system comprises a manufacturing or process plant.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] The above-described characteristics, features and advantages of this invention and the manner in which these are achieved will become clearer and more plainly comprehensible in conjunction with the following description of the exemplary embodiment, which is explained in more detail in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

[0031] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a part of a control system of a technical system formed embodied as a process-engineering plant in accordance with the invention; and

[0032] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the method in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a part of a control system 1 in accordance with the invention of a technical system formed as a process-engineering plant. With additional reference to FIG. 1, the control system 1 comprises a server of an operator control system or an operator station server 2 and an associated operator station client 3. The operator station server 2 and the operator station client 3 are connected to one another via a terminal bus 4 and with further components of the control system 1 that are not depicted, such as an engineering system server.

[0034] In the context of operator control and monitoring, a user or operator can access the operator station server 2 via the operator station client 3 over the terminal bus 4. Without restriction thereto, the terminal bus 4 can, for example, be formed as an industrial Ethernet.

[0035] The operator station server 2 has device interfaces 5a, 5b, which are each connected to a plant bus 6a, 6b. The operator station server 2 can communicate with devices via these interfaces 7a, 7b (here an automation station). A closed-loop control 10a, 10b is implemented in each of the two devices 7a, 7b.

[0036] Herein, the connected devices 7a, 7b can alternatively also be an application, in particular a Web application. In the context of the invention, any number of devices 7a, 7b and/or applications can be connected to the operator station server 2. Without restriction thereto, the plant buses 6a, 6b can, for example, be formed as an industrial Ethernet. The devices 7a, 7b can in turn be connected to any number of subsystems (not depicted).

[0037] The operator station server 2 has a process image 8 in which process data of the process-engineering plant, such as the data of the two closed-loop controls 10a, 10b, are stored. In addition, a visualization service 9, via which (visualization) data can be transferred to the operator station client 3, is integrated in the operator station server 2.

[0038] A trend display service 10 which, on the request of an operator of the control system 1, retrieves trend data of one of the two closed-loop controls 10a, 10b of the control system 1, such as the manipulated variable and process variable to be controlled, from the process image 8 (step I), and transfers it to the operator station client 3 (step II), is implemented within the visualization service 9. Within the operator station client 3, the trend data is depicted in a first application environment 11.

[0039] The retrieved test data is checked to determine whether at least one trigger criterion is met, for example, the overshooting or undershooting of a threshold value or a specific rise or fall in the trend data. Such events can then be used on an automated basis as the basis for the forwarding of a current time range of the trend data to a second application environment 12 (step III). However, the trigger criterion can also be a manual evaluation and a corresponding input on the part of the operator, who can evaluate trend data correctly based on experience.

[0040] Starting from the second application environment 12, the trend data is then transferred to a separate server 13 independent of the operator station server 2 (step IV). This server 13 can be located within or outside the process-engineering plant (cloud-based). Herein, a cloud should be understood to be a computer network with online-based storage and server services, which are usually referred to as the cloud or cloud platform. The data stored in the cloud data can be accessed online so that the process-engineering plant also has access to a central data archive in the cloud via the internet.

[0041] The server 13 comprises a controller optimization module 14, which uses the received trend data to generate optimized closed-loop control parameters for one of the two closed-loop controls 10a, 10b and transfers them back to the second application environment 12 (step V). Here, the operator can decide whether to transfer the new closed-loop control parameters to the relevant closed-loop control (steps VI, VII) or reject it as unusable. However, it is alternatively also possible for the revised closed-loop control parameters to be used automatically (without operator intervention) for one of the two closed-loop controls 10a, 10b.

[0042] Independently of the operator's decision, the closed-loop control parameters generated are stored in a data archive 15 of the operator station server 2. In principle, an operator can initiate a plurality of controller optimizations at different times and with different plant statuses without the closed-loop control parameters generated having to be accepted immediately. Instead, the results are recorded in the data archives 15 so that they can be evaluated at a later time by a project engineer responsible for the process-engineering plant.

[0043] Also implemented on the operator station server 2 of the control system 1 is a standardization module 16, which converts the trend data received from the individual (possibly different) closed-loop controls 10a, 10b in the process image 8 into uniform data structure so that any controller optimization module 13 (that is suitable per se) made by any manufacture can be used to generate the closed-loop control parameters.

[0044] Although the invention has been illustrated and described in greater detail by the preferred exemplary embodiment, the invention is not restricted by the disclosed examples and other variations can be derived herefrom by the person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

[0045] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the method for generating closed-loop control parameters of a closed-loop control 10a, 10 for a control system 1 of a technical system. The method comprises determining trend data of the closed-loop control 10a, 10b continuously during runtime of the technical system via the control system 1, as indicated in step 210.

[0046] Next, the trend dated is continuously checked to determine whether at least one specific trigger criterion has been met, as indicated in step 220.

[0047] Next, the trend data of the closed-loop control 10a, 10b is transmitted to a controller optimization module 14 in an event the specific trigger criterion is met, as indicated in step 230.

[0048] Next, revised closed-loop control parameters are generated by the controller optimization module 14, as indicated in step 240.

[0049] Next, the closed-loop control parameters generated by the controller optimization module 14 are transmitted to the control system 1, as indicated in step 250.

[0050] Thus, while there have been shown, described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.