1. Asynchronous Communication Platform Concept to Coordinate Large-scale Industrial Processes
Petri Kannisto* & David Hästbacka
*Presenter,
Tampere University of Technology, Finland
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No

2. Content
Introduction
Challenges and requirements
Concept and technologies
Prototypes
Discussion
Conclusion

3. Why improve efficiency in industrial plants?
Introduction
Why improve efficiency in industrial plants?
Save resources, reduce emissions
Increase profit margin
Information systems help efficient operation
Help the application of optimisation knowledge
Motivation: large-scale process plants
Efficient operation is difficult with current systems
This study does not optimise anything!
Instead, we facilitate optimisation tasks

4. Complex plants run multiple unit processes
Challenges
Complex plants run multiple unit processes
How to enable plant-wide optimisation?
Coordination?
Communication?
Scenario: especially copper refinement in this study

5. Asynchronous communication Connectivity over the Internet
Requirements
Asynchronous communication
Event-based approach enabled
Connectivity over the Internet
Integrate mathematical models (i.e., knowledge)
Integration with any information system
Favour standard information structures in communication
Enable loose coupling
Facilitate updates, improve scalability

6. Interoperability Layer Concept
The interoperability layer enables information exchange between heterogeneous systems
(Any analogies with
Industry 4.0?)

7. Technologies Communication stack Loose coupling
Standard-based message structures
Event-based communication
Adapters for integration

8. Context: copper refinement plant Two scenarios
Prototypes
Context: copper refinement plant
Two scenarios
Coordinating scheduling
Scheduling of a unit process
Topic-based communication with AMQP
Standardised data structures
Observations and Measurements [1]
ISA-95 (B2MML) [2]
[1]
[2]

9. Prototype: Coordinating Optimisation
PSC = Peirce-Smith Converter
A unit process in copper refinement
Scenario: PSC batch finishes and triggers the calculation of a coordinating schedule
Standardised message structures

10. Prototype: Scheduling of Unit Process
FSF = Flash Smelt Furnace
A unit process in copper refinement
FSF provides material for PSC
As batch composition estimate arrives, it triggers the calculation of detailed PSC schedule
Standardised message structures

11. The platform concept meets its requirements well, e.g.:
Discussion
The platform concept meets its requirements well, e.g.:
Asynchronous, standard-based communication
Adapters: integrate with any system
Loose coupling of systems
Well-scalable communication
Advantages compensate any overhead of the concept
Downsides of research
Limited number of scenarios
Still in an early phase of implementation

12. Communication platform concept to enable coordinating optimisation
Conclusion
Communication platform concept to enable coordinating optimisation
Challenges: asynchronism, distribution, heterogenous systems
Future work
Integration with actual production-related systems
More practical cases

13. Thank you for your attention!