Workbench for control systems trials based on VIPA 300 controller and Advantech input/output card

The topic is about workbench creation for control systems trials based on VIPA 300 industrial PLC and model of control object which is implemented in MatLab Simulink program on PC. Connection between controller and the PC is provided by the Advantech PCI-1711 input/output card of discrete and analog signals. Object identification, control system synthesis, creation of control device structure and its parametrical identification, as a rule, is done on a PC in a modelling environment, e.g. in MatLab. But often, using this PC modelling, the hardware and software features of algorithms which were obtained during system synthesis are not considered in a specific industrial PLC. It is considered a good idea to use a composite version where obtained algorithms are tested in a real industrial PLC and control object is substituted by a model which is working on a PC in real time scale. In this case software realization of algorithms in a specific PLC are fully taken into account and substitution of real control object by its model considerably reduces the costs for carrying out experiments and allows to study the system behavior when control object parameters and modes of operation vary greatly. The creation of workbench stipulates several stages: configuration and programming of industrial PLC VIPA 313 SC, installation and configuration of Advantech PCI- 1711 input/output card, tuning of Simulink modelling environment for working in real time scale using Real-Time Windows Target Library, testing of workbench by using constant and harmonic signals of different frequencies. Work results of virtual stabilization system are compared with combined version. In virtual stabilization system PID governor and control object are implemented in Simulink. In combined version control object is still implemented in Simulink and PID governor - in VIPA 313 SC controller (using functional block FB58 from Step7 standard library).