Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces the May 31, 2024 release of CENTUM™ VP R6.11.10, an enhanced version of the CENTUM VP integrated production control system, the core product of the OpreX™ family of control and safety system solutions.
The new version of CENTUM VP adds redundancy to the new IO card to extend plant uptime. The IO card supports communication via the PROFINET communication protocol over industrial networks. In addition, Yokogawa Electric has enhanced the Unified Alarm Management Server (UACS) and Yokogawa Electric's CENTUM VP CCC Inside™ compressor control solution in order to reduce project costs and improve plant operational efficiency.
Development Background
PROFINET is one of the world's most widely used Ethernet-based industrial communication protocols with excellent real-time performance.In 2019, Yokogawa Electric developed a PROFINET-enabled IO card. While this enabled CENTUM VP to monitor the operation of PROFINET-compatible devices, reliability and uptime left something to be desired. To meet this need, Yokogawa Electric has developed a new PROFINET IO card that supports a redundancy function, improving both reliability and uptime.
This new CENTUM VP release also enhances the functionality of UACS and Yokogawa Electric's CENTUM VP CCC Inside™ compressor control solution, helping to improve plant operations and engineering efficiency.
Product Features
PROFINET IO Card Supports Redundancy for Improved Reliability and Extended Uptime
In order to extend plant uptime, the new PROFINET IO card adds an S2*1 redundancy function, enabling it to be used in a redundant configuration. As a result of this and the optimizations made to the card's network diagnostics, the device has been certified by a third-party agency with Conformance Class*2 B (CC-B) for all PROFINET functions, including system redundancy, which is important in process control. In addition, because the PA Profile 4.0*3-enabled device can use self-diagnostic information compliant with the NAMUR NE107*4 standard and allows the use of motor control centers that centrally control the motor power supply, it is now also possible to monitor the operation of remote I/O and Ethernet Advanced Physical Layer (Ethernet-APL)-compatible devices, expanding the control range of a single control system.
Implementing NAMUR NA102-compliant alarm management improves plant operational efficiency
When specific alarms are suppressed in UACS, the suppression status can now be displayed in the Human Interface Station (HIS) chart. Implementing NAMUR NA102*4-compliant alarm management helps improve operational efficiency throughout the plant.
Seamless Integration of Process Control Systems and Compressor Control Systems
Process control systems and compressor control systems can now be integrated and engineered using a single CENTUM VP project database. The new version of CENTUM VP also enables the process control system and compressor control system to be connected to a Vnet/IP*5 control network within the same domain. This enables highly seamless system integration and helps to reduce project and maintenance costs.
*1 A duplex method defined in PROFINET. For a single PROFINET IO device, an application relation (AR) can be established with two PROFINET IO controllers (primary AR and backup AR).
*2 It defines the range of functions that a PROFINET device has, in three classes: CC-A, CC-B and CC-C.
*3 PROFIBUS and PROFINET International defines the application profiles for PROFIBUS and PROFINET devices.
*4 NAMUR: German Process Automation Users Organization; NE107: Specification for self-diagnostic functions for field devices; NA102: Specification for design procedures for alarm management within process control systems.
*5 Yokogawa Electric develops control networks with high reliability and responsiveness that comply with the IEC 61784-2 communication standard for the process industry.
Major Markets
Oil refining, petrochemicals, chemicals, electric power, paper, natural gas, pharmaceuticals, food, iron and steel, water supply and wastewater treatment, nonferrous metals, metals, cement, etc.