A VxD-based automatic blending system using multithreaded programming.
This paper discusses the object-oriented software design for an automatic blending system. By combining the advantages of a programmable logic controller (PLC) and an industrial control PC (ICPC), an automatic blending control system is developed for a chemical plant. The system structure and multithread-based communication approach are first presented in this paper. The overall software design issues, such as system requirements and functionalities, are then discussed in detail. Furthermore, by replacing the conventional dynamic link library (DLL) with virtual X device drivers (VxD's), a practical and cost-effective solution is provided to improve the robustness of the Windows platform-based automatic blending system in small- and medium-sized plants.
Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260. lfwang@ieee.org
L
L
Wang
X
X
Jiang
Y
Y
Chen
K C
KC
Tan
D000465:Algorithms; D002617:Chemical Industry / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D045424:Complex Mixtures / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D003205:Computing Methodologies; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D009862:Online Systems; D011381:Programming Languages; D012212:Rheology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D012984:Software
D045424:Complex Mixtures