Student Project : Industrial Automation - Help

[ameen01]

Hello,

I am doing a project in industry . Its about Diesel Level monitoring & control ( automation ) . I also need help as to how the control & monitoring of diesel tank can be passed on to another plant located at few distance.

Please help me with this project using microcontroller.



Thanks

 

[klystron]

What type of microprocessor?
What is the distance between the tank and the other plant?
Can you use commercial level sensors?

 

[ameen01]

the distance between tank & plant is Approx 250 meters. 8051 would be better. No idea about sensors

 

[klystron]

Can you use cabling between the tank and the other plant?
What do you mean with the word "control" ?

 

[ameen01]

is it possible via any wireless means. If not its fine. For control, I actually meant the diesel level should be monitored & controlled from the plant and also in the area where the tank is located. Also an alarm system ( probably via GSM & siren) in case the automation system fails.

 

[Zwilorg]

You have to use PIC?

it can be done yes, but you have the ladder logic on the PLC that makes controlling lvls in tanks and so on very easy

 

[ameen01]

You have to use PIC?

it can be done yes, but you have the ladder logic on the PLC that makes controlling lvls in tanks and so on very easy

But i need to use microcontrollers and not PLC for this project.

 

[Zwilorg]

and you have to make it work physically? with all the parts? or is it just an example exercice that the professor gave you?

 

[ameen01]

Physical implementation will be done by the industry. I just need to present the concept

 

[horace1]

you have not stated how often the diesel tank monitor will report to the control center. If hours or days you could use a modem and send an SMS text message or a UDP datagram. If more often consider Zigbee PRO, depending on the environment it could have sufficent range for your application. e.g. the XBee PRO series
XBee-PRO 802.15.4 (Formerly Series 1) OEM RF Modules [Hide] - Digi International

are simple to interface to a microcontroller UART and the product manual states
dBmXBee-PRO range - Indoor/Urban: up to 300’ (100 m) -Outdoor line-of-sight: up to 1 mile (1500 m)

 

[ameen01]

Complete Details are here :

The diesel tank should maintain a minimum of 250 - 300 ltrs of diesel in each shift . The total capacity of the tank is 600 lts. If the level goes down below 250ltrs, it should automatically turn on the diesel pump & should maintain atleast 250 ltrs of stock. If incase there is any problem ( & automation fails ) it should send the alarm via GSM and a syren should be raised.

Also we have to give this diesel level indication & control to the plant which is located at a distance of about 200 to 250 mts. so that any control incase of emergency can be applied right from the plant instead of going to the diesel tank area.

Please help me with the resource. I need to present the complete idea & report which can be implemented later on. But need to submit it asap. So please help me with this

 

[horace1]

if you have have a TCP/IP enabled GSM modem you could use TCP for plant control as well as the SMS text message alarm.
It all depends how often you need to communicate with the plant control - if it is more than every few hours it is probably a better idea to use a permanent wired or wireless connection.
e.g. you could use Zigbee PRO or WiFi. If you look in
Wi-Fi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

under Reach it states for WiFi Outdoor ranges - through use of directional antennas - can be improved with antennas located several kilometres or more from their base.
You probably need to look at the site and see what obstructions there may be and carry out some experiments. Also you may not be allowed to use wireless (in particular high power) in some industrial sites.

 

[ameen01]

already I have the project done with an PLC . I will provide you with the block diagrams and i require to replace the plc with an microcontroller. Please, anyone who can help it out pm me ASAP

 

[horace1]

what communications did you use with the PLC? cannot you use the same system with the microcontroller? what IO does the PLC have?

 

[Zwilorg]

already I have the project done with an PLC . I will provide you with the block diagrams and i require to replace the plc with an microcontroller. Please, anyone who can help it out pm me ASAP

you are so incredibly vague with the main aspects of your work that i bet each and everyone helping could make a different code with entire diferent parts and interfaces....

 

[horace1]

I think you need to draw up a specification using the PLC system as a basis, e.g. what functions it performs, what IO it requires, communications requirements, etc. This will then enable you draw up the requirements specification for a microcontroller based system, e.g. number of ADCs/DACs, digitial IO pins, UARTs, USB, etc etc. Are you planning to design and build a PCB or will you use a development board?

 

[ameen01]

FInally I found a solution for the project . This attachment is for water level control, hope it also works for diesel liquid also but have few doubts here :-

1. can anyone explain me the circuit diagram. I have no problem with the code. Just the circuit diagram
2. Which sensors can i use instead of the one in the attachment. This is because the one given in attachment is for water level, but i need it for diesel level control.

 

[klystron]

The water-level project sense the water level with discrete electrodes. It relies on the conductivity of the water. The same sensor configuration will not work in diesel

 

[horace1]

although diesel is not a flamable as petrol you have to be careful and there are regulation controlling the type of sensors you can use. Have a look at
**broken link removed**
Level Sensor, Level Indicator & Tank Gauge for Liquid Level Control.

what type of sensor did the PLC system use? cannot you use that?