Case Studies

Project
A special island in the Ketelmeer lake (Netherlands) between the Noordoostpolder and Flevoland polders constructed by the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management is primarily intended for the storage of polluted sludge from the beds of inland waters. PROFIBUS PA and DP networks on the island provide for the control of and feedback from equipment such as pumps, valves, and measurement instruments. The most important reason for Mr Johan Blankestijn, Industrial Automation Project Manager with the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management, to select PROFIBUS for the installation was PROFIBUS' position as a brand-independent industrial network with a proven reliability.

Solution
The network is constructed from 36 PROFIBUS DP and 15 PROFIBUS PA slaves, such as frequency controllers (for pumps), valves, and measurement instruments such as flow rate, pressure, level, and dry-solids sensors. The backbone is comprised of a fibre-optics cable of a length of about 1 km. The process control is effected using a Mitsubishi PLC network linked to a SCADA application. The SCADA application enables the personnel of the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management to operate and monitor the processes in a safe and efficient manner.

Conclusion
The processing facilities on IJsseloog island became fully operational in 2000. It is expected that the spoil bank will become full in about 20 years time. When requested for his experience with PROFIBUS Mr Blankestijn replied: "The decision as to the type of network largely determines the potential success of an installation. PROFIBUS has certainly not disappointed us. However we have, above all, learnt that it is important to select the right partners, i.e. partners who are prepared to look further than just to their own systems. Everyone has to exhibit a commitment if the system is to work as an entirety. And in that respect we can also look back on the project with satisfaction."