#12 2023

CONTENTS №12

Dozortsev V.M.  Digital twins in industry: life after hype

Discussions around the name, definition, structure, and functionality of digital twins (DT) started from the very moment when this breakthrough digitation area appeared. Notwithstanding the advent of specialized tools, development platforms, and growing applications, these discussions in academia do not subside, that seriously hampers the implementation of DT projects. The involvement of industry experts and users might have help in viewing the problem in the practical perspective, but, against the vast amount of publications on this topic, the opinion of these experts could be allowed for only by means of collaborative analysis of systematic literary reviews and specialized industry surveys. The paper expounds and comments on application examples of such approach, which speed up the consensus in the community of DT researchers, developers, and users that is critical for successful development of this already mature area of science and technology.

Keywords: digital twin, digital model, digital shadow, archetypes of digital twins, confidence in digital twins, technology hype cycle.

Korolev M.L., Nikolaev S.V., Lazarev V.O.  An approach to digital transformation in power industry

The condition of industrial power plants in Russia is discussed, the problems in the field of automation and digitalization are revealed. The concept of smart power plant is introduced, its IT architecture is offered. OPC UA protocol with Process Automation Devices and Field level communication specifications is offered for eliminating the border between plant floor and IT levels. All described concepts are implemented in the specialized PROSTOR platform.

Keywords: IT architecture, smart power plant, OPC UA protocol, Process Automation Devices and Field level communication specifications, Edge devices.

Veryovkin A.P., Murtazin T.M.  Ontological and semantic technologies in the design of advanced process control systems

The paper describes the approaches to the formalization of the control model synthesis for developing an advanced process control (APC) system based on the knowledge in the form of ontology classes and semantic relationships between the elements of the classes. Standard process devices of the control plant may be considered as such elements. The solution to the advanced control problem is determined as an intersection of possible realizations of controls and constraints specified by the control plant and the developer. It can be treated as decision-making support in the APC system design. Ontology-based hierarchical structure of control plant models is offered, inference rules used at various stages of the control matrix synthesis. Logical functions for developing solutions at each synthesis stage are described. An example of control matrix synthesis on the basis of the procedure proposed for a multivariable controller of a process plant is included.

Keywords: advanced control, knowledgebase, ontology, cognitive model, adjacency matrix.

Komogorov A.V., Lavrentiev V.A., Sineglazov D.S.  Automation of data reconciliation and process variables selection for advanced process control systems

Advanced process control (APC) is a key technology for improving the efficiency of oil refining. APC systems make the quality of the moat profitable products more sustainable by reducing process variability. To that end, they predict process dynamics and recalculate control actions appropriately to keep the process within the specified limits. These actions are sent to the process every minute via the ICSS server. Advanced control philosophy is developed at the functional design phase; the exercise also presumes the selection of: (i) PID loops to be addressed as control handles, and (ii) process variables for soft sensor inputs. Notwithstanding the wide application of APC systems, the problems of selecting process variables for regressions has been little studied to date, the inputs are being often selected empirically, and soft sensor outputs are compared manually against the lab data. To overcome this challenge, a software tool was created for automatic development of soft sensors including data preprocessing and the selection of informative inputs.

Keywords: advanced process control system, regression model, control loops, soft sensor, advanced control, model update.

Loskutov D.I., Tikhonova A.S., Rabinovich O.A., Levin S.E., Kurpatov O.V., Naghibin S.Ya.  Hybrid approach to the optimization of transport logistics of an ore-dressing plant

Developing an effective traffic schedule is a paramount task for any transport system. This is especially critical for ore-dressing sites with their sophisticated transport complexes comprising a variety of transport systems and types (road, rail) for delivering ore to the plant for further processing. The problem is complicated by the dimension of rail and road networks as well as large number of parameters related with the traction resource (dump trucks, lift-trucks, dump cars, etc.) scheduling. The challenge ensues from the NP-hardness of the most of traffic planning problems. This means that inadmissible long time is needed for solving them by traditional techniques (sequential, using reference data, thread scheduling method). Against this background, the paper offers a hybrid approach to optimal traffic scheduling at an ore-dressing plant. The approach presumes the application of simulation modeling techniques for product processes characterization coupled with a genetic algorithm for optimal traffic scheduling. Simulation results are presented along with the recommendations for their further application.

Keywords: transport logistics, model, genetic algorithm, simulation modeling, schedule optimization.

Discussing a Topic: Flexible manufacturing, CNC, and robot systems

Martinov G., Pushkov R.L., Sokolov S.V.  Investigation of hardware platforms for developing trustworthy control systems for process equipment

The paper are analyzes key enablers of trustworthy control systems for equipment. A test bench was built for investigating the performance of control system’s hardware platforms equipped with the application software of AxiOMA Control CNC system. A set of tests was developed, performance measurements were undertaken and the measurement data analyzed. The choice of domestic hardware platforms suitable for developing trustworthy control systems for process equipment is substantiated.

Keywords: process equipment control system, mechatronic system, trustworthy system, domestic processors, performance of hardware platforms.

Belonovskaya I.D., Glinskaya N.Yu.  Simulation of body part machining on flexible manufacturing systems

The paper discusses technological challenges of edge cutting machining of body parts and the prerequisites for the development of flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) for body machining. A simulation example of hull machining process in Cascade FMS is cited. Probability curves for shift task execution in the FMS were obtained for various numbers of parts and changeable tools. The conclusion is made about the need of additional versatile and specific organizational and technical activities for improving FMS efficiency in body part edge cutting machining.

Keywords: body parts, flexible manufacturing systems, conceptual model of production object, representative part, simulation of mechanical engineering processes.

Lyashkov A.A., Sheveleva T.A.  Modeling the work envelope of planar double-hinged arm by means of computer graphics

The paper examines a planar cloud of points, which are defined by analytical equations and determine the position of the two-dimensional arm’s grab center. The cloud of points can be represented by two families of circles: eccentric and concentric. These circles were mapped into the 3D space that resulted in two U- and V-surfaces. It was found out that the discriminants of U- and V-surfaces were the borders of the mechanism’s work envelope. The analysis of such surfaces and their discriminants enabled the development of algorithms and software for modeling the arm’s work envelope by means of computer graphics. The algorithms and software proposed solve both the direct and the inverse problems of the mechanism’s kinetics. All modeling stages are implemented with the required accuracy and visualization.

Keywords: computer modeling, robotic arms, work envelope, work envelope borders.

Belov N.V., Voronova L.L.  Remote control system for KUKA industrial robot

KUKA industrial robots are programmed and controlled by means of KUKA Robotics Language (KRL) and smartPAD manual control panel. However, the manual control panel does not allow remote real-time control of the robot’s position. To overcome the challenge, paper offers a remote control technique for KUKA based on Python programming language and TCP/IP data transfer protocol.

Keywords: industrial robot, remote control, robotic complex.

Bugutsky I.V., Degtyarev S.V.  Automation of metrological assurance activities on the basis of domestic software

General requirements to an informational control system for metrological service are formulated. The experience of software migration to domestic product is presented.

Keywords: information systems, software, metrological service management, Foundation for Ensuring the Uniformity of Measurements.

Leonov N.V., Buinevich M.V.  The challenges of vulnerabilities scanning in the software of industrial IT devices

The paper discusses the problem of insecure software, whose use results in the implementation of information and cybersecurity threats. The search for vulnerabilities in the software code of industrial IT devices is considered as a possible mechanism for preventing possible destructive consequences. Based on authors’ experience and the analyzed publications, five challenges are identified, which are posed by the insufficient research of the subject area and have a significant impact on the search for such vulnerabilities in the context of the complexity of solving the following tasks: selection of the search method, bypassing protection from code analysis, vulnerability representation, evaluation of search efficiency, consideration of non-classical effects, and formalization. For each challenge, the possibilities of applying artificial intelligence are indicated.

Keywords: vulnerability, software, information and cybersecurity, problematic topics, industrial devices