Scan time reduction of PLCs by dedicated parallel-execution multiple PID controllers using an FPGA

Abstract

A programmable logic controller (PLC) executes a ladder diagram (LD) using input and output modules. An LD also has PID controller function blocks. It contains as many PID function blocks as the number of process parameters to be controlled. Adding more process parameters slows down PLC scan time. Process parameters are measured as analog signals. The analog input module in the PLC converts these analog signals into digital signals and forwards them to the PID controller as inputs. In this research work, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based multiple PID controller is proposed to retain PLC scan time at a lower value. Concurrent execution of multiple PID controllers was assured by assigning separate FPGA hardware resources for every PID controller. Digital input to the PID controller is routed by the novel idea of analog to digital conversion (ADC), performed using a digital to analog converter (DAC), comparator, and FPGA. ADC combined with dedicated PID controller logic in an FPGA for every closed-loop control system confirms concurrent execution of multiple PID controllers. The time required to execute two closed-loop controls was identified as 18.96000004 ms. This design can be used either with or without a PLC.