Software boosts yacht energy efficiency

Through clustering, control environments can reduce the high costs associated with multiple redundancies in hardware, while still ensuring server availability.

Royal Huisman's 58m Ethereal yacht employs Citect's latest CitectScada V7, with integrated clustering, to achieve deliver high levels of energy efficiency and unprecedented levels of distributed data and control to all sections of the vessel, with full redundancy backup.

"The clustering feature in CitectScada V7 has been instrumental in enabling us to achieve our objectives with Ethereal", said Sjoerd Schrichte, Manager of the Systems Integration Department at Royal Huisman.

"With clustering, we have been able to combine both controls and facilities into a single system, develop a new data distribution system based on multiple touch screens and still enjoy the benefits of full redundancy".

"The value of the clustering feature can be judged from the fact that, without it, we would have been looking at a complete system with 15,000 points.

With clustering our facilities system is just 1500 points, whereas the control system is 15,000".

The yacht breaks new ground in areas of information presentation, adopting touch screen terminals that use the same operating methods as the latest innovations in terrestrial communication.

The touch screens are situated at points all over the vessel - in cabins, dining rooms, lounges, sun deck, steering position - providing information on everything from vessel position, sea depth, wind direction, weather forecasts and outside temperatures.

Royal Huisman realised that the way in which data was presented at these screens had to change from the accepted nautical format, to be in accord with the way data is presented in everyday life.

The only problem with this requirement was that it was extremely data intensive.

The Ethereal requires close monitoring and control of facilities such as fridges, freezers and coolers, lighting, generators, heating and air conditioning, in addition to the controls for engines, generators, hydraulic systems, sail handling facilities, bilge and fire alarms and surveillance.

This meant that the I/O point count for any conventional Scada system would be astronomical, necessitating splitting the system into definite sections.

However, this approach would have been very unwieldy, very expensive and difficult to integrate, especially bearing in mind that the total system has to been supported by dual redundancy.

It is exactly for these types of problems that Citect has developed the Clustering facility in the latest V7 version of CitectScada.

Through clustering, control environments can reduce the high costs associated with multiple redundancies in hardware, while still ensuring server availability.

When combining sites, the clustering approach reduces the cost of control rooms as well as the manpower at those centres without compromising on close-to-process system functionality.

Clustering can also be used to split sites into reliable sub-clusters to increase overall system capacity or spread system load.

The Citect system for the Ethereral uses clustering effectively to integrate control, facilities and new technology data dissemination throughout the vessel.

Supplied by Citect's Dutch distributor, Koning and Hartman, it comprises 26 PLCs, two servers and 30 display clients, with EIB drivers used for communication to the rooms on all levels of the vessel.

The system continuously monitors variables from sensors throughout the yacht and presents information to the crew and passengers in all areas of the yacht and in a format that is easy to understand.

The Citect system stores over 100 historical trends and monitors in excess of 1400 alarms, to ensure that if a problem arises the crew are informed instantly.

In this respect the built-in redundancy of CitectScada is crucial, ensuring that the system remains operational even during hostile sailing conditions.

Complementing the back-up security provided by the CitecScada package is another operating safeguard: high levels of system transparency.

Employing this feature, an authorised Royal Huisman service manager can, by using the onboard communications network and SatCom interfaces, remotely modify the Citect database or update a PLC program, irrespective of the position of the yacht.

"We originally chose CitectScada, back in the late 1990s, for its flexibility and redundancy; and these features are still at the core of our new development with Ethereal, helping us to achieve efficiencies and make the yacht extremely user friendly", said Jan Bokxem, Design Manager at Royal Huisman.

"With a project like Ethereal you have to process a lot of data and decide which data is suitable for each onboard group: for example: alarms, communications and entertainment".

"In addition, as the Citect graphical interface was not exactly right for our requirements, the system enabled us to access Citect's base code, CiCode to develop our own alarm system conforming to Lloyd's regulations".

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