7/2005

July

Automation Technology
in Practice

Breakthrough in Fieldbus technology

High Power Trunk concepts

Oldenbourg

Reprint

Breakthrough in Fieldbus technology

High Power Trunk concepts
Do we see the breakthrough of fieldbus technology in process automation? The fieldbus experience reports presented at the Association
of Users of Process Control Technology NAMUR general assembly in
2004 seem to confirm that. Topology concepts with high power in the
field for all explosion hazardous areas, sophisticated protection and
diagnostic functionalities of modern Fieldbus Installation Systems as
well as easy-to-use planning tools form the basis for the positive appraisal of several major operational process production plants with
continuous fieldbus instrumentation. These experiences confirm the
expectations specified in 2002 by the FuRIOS study.

Introduction
Nowadays, PROFIBUS and
FOUNDATION Fieldbus are frequently discussed in the process automation industry. Whether at the NAMUR general assembly in November 2004, in
the discussion forums at the
German Interkama fair in April
2005 or in the many international brain trusts, plant instrumentation with digital communication seems to experience
the breakthrough [1]. If approaching this topic as an outsider,
this great interest seems astonishing at the first sight. The control of process plants by means
of computer and PLC is a long
established technology. PROFIBUS DP, HART or similar protocols communicate without
problems with the instruments
close to the processes.
At least, this seems to be
the case. At a closer look, the
decisive difference becomes
apparent "in the last meters". In
most cases, at some point between the digital controllers
and the sensors and actuators

in the field, there are I/O interfaces which convert the digital
signals of the control system
into conventional 4-20mA signals. These may be I/O cards in
the control room or Remote
I/O systems somewhere in the
plant. In any case, there are
analogue/digital conversions
during signal transmission,
with all tolerances and risks of
faults. The core of the current
discussion is the term "continuous" digital communication,
i.e. the direct data exchange
between the process control
system and the chipset in the
field device, without interfaces
and their tolerances. However,
people want to keep the comfort of power supply and signal
transmission via the same twocore cable, as known from conventional technology. Suddenly
the choices are very limited.
Many of the protocols used in
automation technology, such
as PROFIBUS DP, Modbus or Industrial Ethernet, are not designed for this purpose and require additional power connections.

Fig. 1: Fieldbus segment, completely in explosion protection "Intrinsically Safe"

Fieldbusses for process automation and explosion

protection concepts
In fact, the discussed fieldbusses are the PROFIBUS PA and
the FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1,
which both are based on IEC
61158-2 and allow the combination of supply current (direct
current) and digital signal (alternating current) on the same
two-wire cable. This standard

defines some general conditions for the structure of a fieldbus network. Table 1 summarizes the most decisive of these
conditions. Furthermore, there
are four cable types specified
(table 2). Type A is used as reference cable and is especially recommended for fieldbus installations. Type C and D should
only be used for modifying
existing plants and for heavily
reduced networks [2]. More-

Table 1: Basic fieldbus parameters according to IEC 61158-2

Parameters

Specification according
to IEC 61185-2

Data transmission rate

31.25 kbps

Total length of all cables (cable type A)

1,900 m

Max. spur length

120 m

Max. number of nodes per segment

32

Signal coding

Manchester II

Min. operating voltage per device

9V

Min. current consumption per device

10 mA

Signal transmission

9 mA

Fig. 2: Fieldbus segment according to the High Power Trunk concept

with fieldbus barriers

Fig. 3: Fieldbus barriers in the Rubyred plant of Clariant

over, the practical layout of a

fieldbus network depends on
the actual current consumption
of the used field devices, the
desired reserves as well as the
ambient conditions. Since the
specification in the standard refers to a temperature of 25C,
the influences of deviating climatic conditions must be taken
into consideration. These considerations show that the design
of a fieldbus network is a very
complex task, even in the safe
area. Additionally, there are the
safety evaluations when looking into explosion hazardous
areas. For Zone 1, usually the
protection method "intrinsic
safety" Ex i is required because
it is the only method that allows live maintenance and service during operation without

special precautions. The original approach to fieldbus Ex i

was a simple transfer of the
methodology used in conventional technology by introducing special Fieldbus Power
Supplies which meet the requirements of intrinsic safety. This
subjects the complete fieldbus
segment to the energy limitation, as shown in fig. 1. The analogous adoption of the confirmation of intrinsic safety, the
so-called Entity concept, did
not only cause a considerable
workload in terms of calculation and documentation, it also
led to the result that only 4-5
instruments could be operated
per segment. A different approach, the "Fieldbus Intrinsically Safe Concept" FISCO [3],
specified in IEC 60079-27, al-

lows the use of up to eight field

devices per segment and considerably reduces the efforts for
confirmation of intrinsic safety.
On the other hand, FISCO specifies certain cable parameter
restrictions which lead to cable
type A as the best choice for Ex
ia IIC, increases the technical requirements on the field devices
and significantly reduces the
flexibility of the network. Especially the reduction of the spur
length to a maximum of 60m
and the entire cable length to
1,000m is quite a setback. For
Zone 2, the "Fieldbus Non-Incendive Concept" FNICO was
developed and ultimately included in the new edition of IEC
60079-27. It considers the lower
safety requirements in Zone 2
and thus allows a higher power
supply. In all other aspects it
corresponds to FISCO with all
obvious restrictions. Against
this background, it is comprehensible that the acceptance of
fieldbus technology in process
automation was rather restrained for many years. In particular, since the investment costs
did not bear comparison with
the established conventional
technology due to the low
number of fieldbus devices per
segment.

Breakthrough in connection technology Fieldbus

Barriers
The FuRIOS study [4], presented at the NAMUR general as-

Breakthrough in Connection Technology: Fieldbus Barriers

Profibus DP
Segment
Coupler
Termination

Fieldbus barrier

Fieldbus barrier

Fieldbus barrier

Fig. 4: Conclusion of the fieldbus experience reports at the NAMUR general assembly 2004

sembly in November 2002,

marked the turning point. This
study was carried out by Aventis Pharma Germany, now Sanofi Aventis, and Infraserv
Hchst Technik with the support of renowned manufacturers of process automation
equipment. The basis was the
newly developed fieldbus barrier technology, which separates the two functions "fieldbus
power supply" and "protection
by intrinsic safety". This was
preceded by the consideration
that interventions during live
operation are only necessary
at the field devices and their
connecting leads (spurs), whereas the passive wiring between the control room and
the distributors in the field is
subject to minimum stress only and thus is hardly affected
by faults. Moreover, the communication in the segment
would be interrupted anyway
during works on a fieldbus
trunk. Thus, it would hardly be
possible to safely continue the
production process with several instruments out of operation. The result of these considerations is the use of two
different explosion protection
methods, as shown in fig. 2.
The trunk between the safe
area and the fieldbus distributors close to the process is installed using the explosion
protection method "increased
safety" Ex e and thus allows a
significantly higher supply
energy compared to Ex i as
well as the use of cost-effective non-Ex power supplies.
Fieldbus barriers such as the
FieldConnex FieldBarrier by
Pepperl+Fuchs, which allow
the intrinsically safe connection of up to four field devices,
are used as distributors in Zone 1. Devices according to Entity or FISCO can be combined
at will since the confirmation
of intrinsic safety is only required for the loop between the
device and the output of the
FieldBarrier. By daisy-chaining
multiple fieldbus barriers it is
possible now to connect the
maximum number of 32 devices as specified in the standard, even in Zone 1 applications. Further advantages of the
FieldBarrier include the individual short-circuit current limi-

Table 2: Cable types for fieldbus networks

Cable description
Nominal conductor cross-section
Max. DC loop resistance
Characteristic impedance at 31.25 kHz
Max. attenuation at 39 kHz
Max. capacitive unbalance
Group delay distortion (7.9 ... 39 kHz)
Surface covered by shield
Recommended extend of network
(incl. spur cables)

Type A
(reference)

Type B

Type C
(*)

Type D
(*)

Twisted pair,
shielded

One or more twisted

pairs, total shielding

Several twisted pairs,

not shielded

Several non-twisted
pairs, not shielded

0.8 mm2
(AWG 18)

0.32 mm2
(AWG 22)

0.13 mm2
(AWG 26)

1.25 mm2
(AWG 16)
40 Ohm/km

44 Ohm/km

112 Ohm/km

264 Ohm/km

100 Ohm + 20 %

100 Ohm + 30 %

**

**

3 dB/km

5 dB/km

8 dB/km

8 dB/km
**

2 nF/km

2 nF/km

**

1.7 mysec/km

**

**

**

90%

**

n.a.

n.a.

1,900 m

1,200 m

400 m

200 m

All data based on an ambient temperature of 25C

(*) only to be used for retrofit applications and substantially reduced networks
(**) not specified

tation of each output, thus

protecting the trunk against
negative feedback of device
faults, as well as the option of
capacitive grounding (see [2]
and [8]), which leads to significant savings with regard to
the earthing concept.
Due to the high power supply via the Ex e protected trunk,
the fieldbus barrier concept is
often called "High Power Trunk
concept". The FuRIOS study was
based on a virtual fieldbus network according to this concept
and compared it with a real
pharmaceutical chemical plant
already in operation. The studys target was to evaluate the
cost/benefit aspects of the real
batch plant realized with Remote I/O systems and to compare them to the plant planned
with fieldbus, under consideration of the complete life cycle.
The theoretical results were very promising. So Aventis decided to realize the fieldbus solution: In May 2004 the new plant
for producing the antibiotic Ketek was commissioned, in
which 1,600 PROFIBUS PA devices communicate fully digital
via 470 fieldbus barriers [5]. At
the same time, further plants
based on the FuRIOS recommendations were put into operation, such as at DSM, Novartis
and Clariant [6]. The latters extensive use of the FieldBarrier is
documented in fig. 3. Accordingly, the experience reports on
five fieldbus plants producing
at full speed, which were pre-

sented at the NAMUR general

assembly in November 2004,
ended with the conclusion
shown in fig. 4: Breakthrough in
connection technology fieldbus barriers [7].

Fieldbus power supplies

and safety
An essential component of any
fieldbus segment are the power
supplies, which carry out the
impedance matching for coupling the DC supply current
with the AC amplitude of the
digital fieldbus communication.
In addition to a stable, error-free
signal transmission, a high operational safety is required because all field devices connected to the segment would fail
simultaneously in case of a power supply failure. For this reason, modern systems like the
modular FieldConnex Power
Hub offer a number of protection mechanisms.
Passive impedance matching: For current/signal coupling, passive components are
used. Their high efficiency of
up to 91% induces only minimum thermal strains on the
environment and the modules
themselves. The operational
safety is proven by high MTBF
numbers.
Redundancy of the Power
Modules: The power supplies
availability can be further increased by means of an optional
parallel configuration of the
electronic components with

load sharing and automatic

switchover in case of fault.
Redundancy of the power
sources: Two bulk power supplies can be connected in parallel by means of appropriate,
integrated decoupling diodes.
Redundancy of the fieldbus
communication: Two redundant host interfaces can be
used per segment. Here a special short-circuit current limitation of the host connections
protects the fieldbus segment
against negative feedbacks,
too.
Protection against resonances and crosstalk: For this
purpose, the innovative
"Crosstalk and Resonance
Suppression Technology"
CREST was developed, which
ensures a high stability of the
fieldbus signal.
Monitoring and error message: Diagnostic modules mo-

Fig. 5: FieldConnex Power Hub for

Foundation
Fieldbus H1,
4 segments in
redundant
configuration

nitor the fieldbus installation

and indicate error states via
LED, separate relay outputs as
well as a special diagnostic
bus.
The Power Hub is designed
to be used in High Power
Trunk concepts in safe and all
explosion hazardous areas. A
choice of different motherboards and power modules allows to meet any requirement, from a simple segment
without any special protection
needs up to four parallel segments with redundant host
connections, advanced diagnostic functionality and redundant power modules with galvanic isolation. Fig. 5 shows the
Power Hub in its maximum
configuration. Motherboards
with specific system connectors or slots for linking devices
are available for many types of
control systems.

Fig. 6: High Power Trunk concept for Zone 2

High Power Trunk concepts

for Zone 2
Due to the necessity to save
costs, the reduction of Zone 1
in favour of Zone 2 is increasingly considered. Consequently
it is reasonable to introduce
High Power Trunk concepts
that are adapted to the reduced safety requirements of Zone 2 applications.
Instead of the fieldbus barrier, Segment Protectors of the
FieldConnex system can be

used (see fig. 6). For the trunk

the explosion protection
method "non-sparking" Ex nA
applies and allows to lead
high currents into Zone 2. The
Segment Protectors are certified according to EEx nA[L]
and can be mounted in Zone
2. Every output is energy limited according to EEx nL IIC,
the output current is max.
40mA, the output voltage
max. 31V. In addition, each
output is individually shortcircuit current limited to

45mA. Field devices with a respective certification for Zone

2 or according to EEx i can be
connected. The safety parameters are calculated according
to the Entity concept. Due to
the individual consideration
of each spur, this calculation is
significantly simplified. For the
supply of the currently common intrinsically safe field devices, the FieldConnex Power
Hub system offers power modules with a voltage limitation
to max. 23V. By using power
modules with a limitation to
17.5V, segments can be installed according to the FNICO
concept as described above.
However, there are currently
only a few field devices certified according to FNICO on
the market. Moreover, the possible maximum cable lengths
and device numbers are reduced due to the voltage limitation.
In the future these voltage
limitations will be required less
often because more and more
field devices with certifications
according to EEx nL with Ui >
32V become available. Thus, the
voltage limitation of the Segment Protector takes effect, the
Power Hubs standard high-power modules can be used and
ultimately the advantages of

the High Power Trunk concept

can be realized to the full extent.

Support tools for planning

a fieldbus network
A support tool that was used in
designing several of the fieldbus plants presented at the NAMUR general assembly 2004
was the fieldbus design software tool "Segment Checker".
This planning tool allows a
quick and easy layout of fieldbus segments by simple "drag
and drop" from a device catalogue, which includes all modules
necessary for fieldbus installation as well as a selection of field
devices (fig. 7). Once the network dimensions and environmental parameters have been
entered, the energy calculation
as well as the evaluation of
fault conditions and system integrity are performed automatically. The results are provided
as a text file including a bill of
materials and form a good basis for plant detail planning.
Segment Checker can be used
flexibly as it is possible to add
individual field devices as well
as to integrate additional field
device catalogues. This software tool is available for download at www.segmentchecker.com.

Perspective

Fig. 7: Fieldbus design tool "Segment Checker"

The first practical experiences

with extensive fieldbus applications in large-scale industry
projects are encouraging. The
presentations at the NAMUR
general assembly concluded
with the statement that fieldbus is the right path to the future. Nevertheless some requests were proposed to manufacturers and fieldbus organizations, which they are happy to take up. For example, the
fieldbus barrier concept is now
explicitly explained in the official Application Guide of the
Fieldbus Foundation [8]. The
continuing development of
the High Power Trunk concepts, especially for Zone 2, as
well as advanced protection
and diagnostic functionalities
will contribute to the growing
acceptance of fieldbus technology.

7
Literature

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Litz, L.: The breakthrough of

Fieldbus in Process Automation do we see it now?
in: FuRIOS 2 Compendium,
Pepperl+Fuchs GmbH, March
2005
PROFIBUS PA User and Installation Guideline, PROFIBUS
Nutzerorganisation e.V., 2003
AG-140 Rev. 1.0, Foundation
Fieldbus Application Guide
31.25 kbit/s Wiring and Installation, Fieldbus Foundation,
1996
Johannsmeyer, U.: Investigations into the Intrinsic Safety of
fieldbus systems, PTB report
W-53e, Pysikalisch-Technische
Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig
1994
Tauchnitz, T., Schmieder, W.,
Seintsch, S.: FuRIOS: Fieldbus
and Remote I/O a system
comparison, in: atp Automatisierungstechnische Praxis 44
(2002), Edition 12

[5]

Eckert, C.: The fieldbus is finding its wings, in: MessTec &
Automation 12/2004

[6]

Eichhorn, T., Pelz, M.: Fit for the

future fieldbus technology
at Clariant, in: CHEManager
07/05

[7]

Schwibach, M., Meier-Knzig,T.,

Seintsch, S., Zobel, J.: Fieldbus
Experience Reports, Presentation at the Association of
Users of Process Control Technology NAMUR general assembly Nov. 4th, 2004, published in: FuRIOS 2 Compendium, Pepperl+Fuchs GmbH,
March 2005

[8]

AG-163 Rev. 2.0, Foundation

Fieldbus Application Guide
31.25 kbit/s Intrinsically Safe
Systems, Fieldbus Foundation, 2003

Thomas Kasten and

Bernd Schssler

Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing. Thomas Kasten is responsible for the product group FieldConnex in the
Marketing Department of Pepperl+Fuchs
GmbH. Prior to that he held several positions
outside of Germany, covering technical marketing and service. He is a member of the Marketing Working Group of the PROFIBUS User Organisation and of the European Marketing
Council of the Fieldbus Foundation.
Address: Pepperl+Fuchs GmbH, Division Process Automation, Knigsberger Allee 87, 68307
Mannheim, Germany, Phone: +49 (0)621 7761415, E-mail: tkasten@de.pepperl-fuchs.com,
www.fieldconnex.info
Dipl. Ing. Bernd Schssler is Business Development Manager for the product lines Remote
I/O, HART and Fieldbus at the North American
headquarters of Pepperl+Fuchs in Twinsburg,
Ohio. Before, he held the position of Product
Manager for the product group Fieldbus components at Pepperl+Fuchs, Inc. He is an active
member of the North American Marketing
Council of the Fieldbus Foundation.
Address: Pepperl+Fuchs, Inc., 1600 Enterprise
Parkway, Twinsburg, OH 44087, USA, Phone: +1
330-486-0002, Fax: +1 330-425-4607, E-mail:
bschuessler@us.pepperl-fuchs.com

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