The ProcessControlLoopType is the general description of a control loop consisting of the desired value (SetPoint) for a measured value (ProcessValue) which is obtained by acting on an actuator (ControlValue).

The ProcessControlLoopType is formally defined in the following table.

Table 133 – ProcessControlLoopType Definition

Attribute

Value

BrowseName

ProcessControlLoopType

IsAbstract

False

References

Node Class

BrowseName

DataType

TypeDefinition

Other

Subtype of the TMCDeviceType, i.e. inheriting the Instance Declarations of that Node.

0:HasComponent

Objects

ControlValue

ProcessControlItemType

M

0:HasComponent

Objects

ProcessValue

ProcessControlItemType

M

0:HasComponent

Objects

SetPoint

ProcessControlItemType

O

0:HasProperty

Variable

WatchdogEnabled

0:Boolean

0:PropertyType

M, RW

0:HasProperty

Variable

WatchdogTimeout

0:Duration

0:PropertyType

M, RW

0:HasComponent

Object

ExternalAlarms

0:FolderType

M

0:GeneratesEvent

ObjectType

ExternalAlarmType

Conformance Units

TMC Process Variables Ingestion and Control

The components of the ProcessControlLoopType are further described below.

BrowseName

Description

ControlValue

The ControlValue is the output of the control loop function. The control value directly drives the actuator.

ProcessValue

The value read by a sensor or other analog measurement of the physical quantity that is monitored.

SetPoint

The value we aim to obtain from the ProcessValue by means of driving the control value.

WatchdogEnable

When WatchdogEnable is True, if a ProcessControlLoop component’s RemoteControl is True and the time between two consecutive writes of the RemoteValue is longer than WatchdogTimeout, then the underlying system will generate an alarm, set RemoteControl to False and take control of the loop. When WatchdogEnable is False, no watchdog alarm is generated.

WatchdogTimeout

The longest time between two write actions before a watchdog alarm is generated by the underlying system. The value is expressed in milliseconds. If the written value is below (above) the minimum (maximum) value that can be managed by the underlying system, the underlying system will overwrite it with the minimum (maximum).

ExternalAlarms

The external alarms folder is used to organize external alarms.

The components of the ProcessControlLoopType have additional subcomponents which are defined in the following table.

Table 134 – ProcessControlLoopType Additional Subcomponents

BrowsePath

References

NodeClass

BrowseName

DataType

TypeDefinition

Others

ExternalAlarms

0:HasComponent

Object

ExternalAlarm1

ExternalAlarmType

M

ExternalAlarms

0:HasComponent

Object

ExternalAlarm2

ExternalAlarmType

M

ExternalAlarms

0:HasComponent

Object

ExternalAlarm3

ExternalAlarmType

M

ExternalAlarms

0:HasComponent

Object

ExternalAlarm4

ExternalAlarmType

M

ExternalAlarms

0:HasComponent

Object

ExternalAlarm5

ExternalAlarmType

M

ExternalAlarms

0:HasComponent

Object

ExternalAlarm6

ExternalAlarmType

M

ExternalAlarms

0:HasComponent

Object

ExternalAlarm7

ExternalAlarmType

M

ExternalAlarms

0:HasComponent

Object

ExternalAlarm8

ExternalAlarmType

M

ExternalAlarms

0:HasComponent

Object

ExternalAlarm9

ExternalAlarmType

M

ExternalAlarms

0:HasComponent

Object

ExternalAlarm10

ExternalAlarmType

M

ExternalAlarms

0:HasComponent

Object

<ExternalAlarmN>

ExternalAlarmType

OP

 

The ExternalAlarms folder provides 10 spare external alarms that are mandatorily implemented by the underlying system. Additional ones can be added via the ExternalAlarmN optional placeholder.