Latest Communication & Security Education

Categories

Motives for Compromising the Security of an Industrial Control System

Motives for Compromising the Security of an Industrial Control System

There are multiple motives for compromising the security of an industrial control system, some of which…


Textbook

Analog to Digital Conversion and ADCs

Analog to Digital Conversion and ADCs

In order to provide an interface between the internal (digital) world of a computer and the external (analog)…


Textbook

Digital Representation of Text

Digital Representation of Text

Binary patterns are not just able to represent numerical values. Given a standardized code, they may represent…


Textbook

Pipe and Pipe Fittings

Pipe and Pipe Fittings

Pipe is a hollow structure designed to provide an enclosed pathway for fluids to flow, usually manufactured…


Textbook

Introduction to Modbus

Introduction to Modbus

Developed by the Modicon company (the original manufacturer of the Programmable Logic Controller, or PLC) in…


Textbook

Policy-based Fortifications

Policy-based Fortifications

These fortifications focus on human behavior rather than system design or component selection. In some ways…


Textbook

Input/Output (I/O) Capabilities of PLCs

Input/Output (I/O) Capabilities of PLCs

Every programmable logic controller must have some means of receiving and interpreting signals from real-world…


Textbook

Ethernet networks: Repeaters, Cabling and Switching Hubs

Ethernet networks: Repeaters, Cabling and Switching Hubs

An engineer named Bob Metcalfe conceived the idea of Ethernet in 1973, while working for the Xerox research…


Textbook

Fiber Optic Data Communication

Fiber Optic Data Communication

Light has long been used as a long-range signaling medium. While communication by light through open air is…


Textbook

Basic Components Common to all Radio Systems

Basic Components Common to all Radio Systems

“Radio” systems use electromagnetic fields to communicate information over long distances through…


Textbook

VSD and VFD Motor Drive Features

VSD and VFD Motor Drive Features

Modern DC and AC motor drives provide features useful when using electric motors as final control elements.…


Textbook

Glossary of Cyber-security Terms

Glossary of Cyber-security Terms

Cyber-security seems to have its own vocabulary, ranging from unwieldy technical acronyms to slang terms…


Textbook

Design-based Fortifications

Design-based Fortifications

A design-based fortification is one rooted in technical details of system architecture and functionality. Some…


Textbook

Digital Representation of Numerical Data

Digital Representation of Numerical Data

Process measurements are often of an analog nature: the temperature of a furnace, the rate of fluid flow…


Textbook

High-reliability Control Systems

High-reliability Control Systems

As discussed at the beginning of this chapter, instrumentation safety may be broadly divided into two…


Textbook

Ultrasonic (Sound) Echo Level Measurement

Ultrasonic (Sound) Echo Level Measurement

A completely different way of measuring liquid level in vessels is to bounce a traveling wave off the surface…


Textbook

Digital PID Controllers

Digital PID Controllers

The vast majority of PID controllers in service today are digital in nature. Microprocessors executing PID…


Textbook

Chromatography: Methods, Detectors and Species

Chromatography: Methods, Detectors and Species

Imagine a major marathon race, where hundreds of runners gather in one place to compete. When the starting gun…


Textbook

WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

An exciting development in industrial instrumentation is the WirelessHART radio communication standard,…


Textbook

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

At the next OSI Reference Model layer (layer 4) is a set of protocols specifying how reliable communication…


Textbook

WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

An exciting development in industrial instrumentation is the WirelessHART radio communication standard,…


Textbook

Bi-metal Temperature Sensors

Bi-metal Temperature Sensors

Solids tend to expand when heated. The amount that a solid sample will expand with increased temperature…


Textbook

Fundamental Principles of Industrial Instrumentation

Fundamental Principles of Industrial Instrumentation

Shown here is a partial listing of principles applied in the subject matter of this chapter, given for the…


Textbook

FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 Protocol Segment Troubleshooting

FOUNDATION Fieldbus H1 Protocol Segment Troubleshooting

Feedback obtained from industrial users of FF reveal a common pattern: Fieldbus is a powerful and reliable…


Textbook

Rotating Phasor in Three-dimensional Form

Rotating Phasor in Three-dimensional Form

The following animation shows a rotating phasor in three-dimensional form. The phasor rotates in a complex…


Textbook

Level Sensor Accessories

Level Sensor Accessories

Disturbances in the liquid tend to complicate liquid level measurement. These disturbances may result from…


Textbook

Derivative (Rate) Control

Derivative (Rate) Control

The final element of PID control is the “D” term, which stands for derivative. This is a calculus…


Textbook

FOUNDATION Fieldbus Function Blocks

FOUNDATION Fieldbus Function Blocks

Data-processing modules within FF systems are known as function blocks. Sometimes these blocks serve merely to…


Textbook

High-reliability Control Systems

High-reliability Control Systems

As discussed at the beginning of this chapter, instrumentation safety may be broadly divided into two…


Textbook

Troubleshooting Current Loops

Troubleshooting Current Loops

A fundamental principle in instrumentation system troubleshooting is that every instrument has at least one…


Textbook

Instrument Turndown (Rangedown)

Instrument Turndown (Rangedown)

An important performance parameter for transmitter instruments is something often referred to as turndown or…


Textbook

Conservation Laws

Conservation Laws

The Law of Mass Conservation states that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. The Law of Energy…


Textbook

Control Valve Actuators

Control Valve Actuators

The purpose of a control valve actuator is to provide the motive force to operate a valve mechanism. Both…


Textbook

Ions in Liquid Solutions

Ions in Liquid Solutions

Many liquid substances undergo a process whereby their constituent molecules split into positively and…


Textbook

Digital PID Algorithms

Digital PID Algorithms

Instrument technicians should not have to concern themselves over the programming details internal to digital…


Textbook

4-wire “Passive” Versus “Active” Output Transmitters

4-wire “Passive” Versus “Active” Output Transmitters

Some self-powered (4-wire) analog electronic transmitters are designed to behave as electrical loads rather…


Textbook

EIA/TIA-232, 422, and 485 Networks

EIA/TIA-232, 422, and 485 Networks

Some of the simplest types of digital communication networks found in industry are defined by the EIA…


Textbook

True Mass Flowmeters

True Mass Flowmeters

Many traditional flowmeter technologies respond to the volumetric flow rate of the moving fluid.…


Textbook

FOUNDATION Fieldbus Design Philosophy

FOUNDATION Fieldbus Design Philosophy

To understand just how different FOUNDATION Fieldbus is from other digital instrument systems, consider a…


Textbook

Proportional-only Offset

Proportional-only Offset

A fundamental limitation of proportional control has to do with its response to changes in setpoint and…


Textbook

Force-balance Pressure Transmitters

Force-balance Pressure Transmitters

An important legacy technology for all kinds of continuous measurement is the self-balancing system. A…


Textbook

Control Valve Characterization

Control Valve Characterization

Control valves are supposed to deliver reliable, repeatable control of process fluid flow rate over a wide…


Textbook

Introduction to Power System Automation

Introduction to Power System Automation

Those familiar with industrial instrumentation will find much within the electric power industry remarkably…


Textbook

Understanding the “Normal” Status of a Process Switch

Understanding the “Normal” Status of a Process Switch

Perhaps the most confusing aspect of discrete sensors is the definition of a sensor’s normal status.…


Textbook

Dispersive Spectroscopy

Dispersive Spectroscopy

The dispersion of visible light into its constituent colors goes all the way back to the 17th century with…


Textbook

Molecular Quantities

Molecular Quantities

Sample sizes of chemical substances are often measured in moles. One mole of a substance is defined as a…


Textbook

Analog Electronic PID Controllers

Analog Electronic PID Controllers

Although analog electronic process controllers are considered a newer technology than pneumatic process…


Textbook

Vibration Sensors

Vibration Sensors

Sensors used to measure vibration come in three basic types: displacement, velocity, and acceleration.…


Textbook

Digital PID Algorithms

Digital PID Algorithms

Instrument technicians should not have to concern themselves over the programming details internal to digital…


Textbook

4 to 20 mA Analog Current Signals

4 to 20 mA Analog Current Signals

In modern industry, the most popular form of field-level signal transmission for variable industrial…


Textbook

P, I, and D Responses Graphed

P, I, and D Responses Graphed

Visualizing the actions of P, I, and D tuning parameters using graphs is extremely useful in predicting the…


Textbook

Radiation Level Measurement

Radiation Level Measurement

Certain types of nuclear radiation easily penetrates the walls of industrial vessels, but is attenuated by…


Textbook

Diagnosing Feedback Control Problems

Diagnosing Feedback Control Problems

Negative feedback systems, in general, tend to cause confusion for those first learning their fundamental…


Textbook

AC Motor Braking

AC Motor Braking

There are several different methods useful for causing an AC induction motor to brake, or slow down: DC…


Textbook

Practical PID Controller Features

Practical PID Controller Features

In order for any PID controller to be practical, it must be able to do more than just implement the PID…


Textbook

Relay Circuits and Ladder Diagrams

Relay Circuits and Ladder Diagrams

Electromechanical relays may be connected together to perform logic and control functions, acting as logic…


Textbook

The International System of Units

The International System of Units

The very purpose of physics is to quantitatively describe and explain the physical world in as few terms as…


Textbook

Design-based Fortifications

Design-based Fortifications

A design-based fortification is one rooted in technical details of system architecture and functionality. Some…


Textbook

Level Gauges (Sightglasses)

Level Gauges (Sightglasses)

Level gauges are perhaps the simplest indicating instrument for liquid level in a vessel. They are often found…


Textbook

WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

WirelessHART Radio Communication Standard

An exciting development in industrial instrumentation is the WirelessHART radio communication standard,…


Textbook