Automation
Systems for Gas Transmission and Distribution
Pipelines
The automation systems that control
and measure natural gas flow in transmission
and distribution pipelines often involve
two systems; SCADA, which controls the
gas flow in a pipeline and AMR, which
measures the amount of gas flowing into
and out of the pipeline. Both of these
systems can be completely separate or
combined. They are distributed widely
throughout the service area of a pipeline
and must rely heavily on long distance
communication technologies to telemeter
data necessary to coordinate and monitor
the pipeline activities. This is the
most challenging aspect of the automation
problem as the communication system
is the most exposed component to service
interruptions and degradation.
The new commodity of the information
age is data. The flow of data starts
from a source, navigates through a delivery
mechanism, and gets delivered to the
destination. The means by which data
is transported is of critical importance.
Time and distance are the two vital
considerations when planning the flow
of data from sources to destinations.
Generally the two types of connections
are either IT Standards or Engineering
Standards.
The simple, economical solution, to
today's automation communication systems,
is Automation Solutions OPCMessenger.
It solves the problem of communication
between different vendor components
and between automation and business
systems. OPCMessenger employs standards
from the industrial automation industries
and standards from the IT and Internet
industries to provide a data delivery
tool that can overcome traditional barriers
to the gathering and distribution of
data.
