Transmission is reliable and safe when antennas are managed by Movicon

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1 Transmissin is reliable and safe when antennas are managed by Mvicn Simetel Spa and Sigma Cnsulting have engineered an interesting supervisin system fr mnitring and security f the NATO VLF transceiver statin n the island f Tavlara Simetel Spa has been perating in the prfessinal and military telecmmunicatins since It specializes in prviding turnkey and tailrmade slutins f all dimensins that cnsist f integrating and design engineering telecmmunicatin and safety systems crrelated with pst-installatin maintenance. Within the cntext f a cntract dealing with large prjects, Simetel Spa was cmmissined t design engineer a lcal digital cmmunicatin netwrk in the VLF radi statin transmitter n the island f Tavlara. This invlved creating a cnnectin t sme f the statin s key functins fr data transferral: - Radi frequency emissin mnitring system - Antenna lcatin security system The VLF (Very Lw Frequency) transmissin technlgy uses radi frequencies in the range f 3 t 30 khz, which crrespnd t wavelengths frm 10 t 100 kilmeters. This acrnym represents ne f the radi bands defined by the ITU-R, ne f the three sectrs f the Internatinal Telecmmunicatin Unin (ITU) which is an internatinal rganizatin respnsible fr radi cmmunicatins. Their task is t manage the internatinal spectrum f radi frequency and satellite rbit resurces and t develp standards fr radi cmmunicatin systems t ensure efficient use f the electrmagnetic spectrum. The mment an apprpriate band width is nt available fr radar signals transmitted with these frequencies, the VLF steps in t transmit simple infrmatin such as used in radi navigatin. This band is als knwn as 1

2 myriametre band r myriametre wave which is an bslete metric unit equal t 10 kilmeters. This type f radi wave can penetrate water up t a depth f 10 t 40 meters depending n the salinity f the water. It is fr this reasn that the VLF wavebands are used fr cmmunicating with submarines near the surface, while deeply submerged vessels use the ELF (Extremely lw frequency) radi wavebands which extend further at a frequency ranging frm 3 t 30 Hz, which crrespnds t wavelengths ranging frm 10,000 t 100,000 km. The VLF is als used fr electrmagnetic and gephysical surveys. ANTENNA POSITION SECURITY SYSTEM DESCRIPTION Belw the antenna psitin security system is described in detail. The sftware used fr this system was cmmissined by Simetel t Sigma Cnsulting, an engineering cmpany with ver 15 years f experience in Design Engineering and Integratin f electrnic and cmputer systems. Sigma Cnsulting chse the Mvicn 11 Scada/HMI platfrm technlgy fr its pwerful but simple-tuse features and reliability that best suited their bjectives and prject purpses. Due t the lcatin impenetrability, a redundant laser link system was chsen as a cmmunicatin netwrk transmissin supprt t be used and pwered by phtvltaic panels t be used in the event f pwer cuts. The netwrk s capacity als enables implementatin f future systems. T4 - Arg.Diesel 2 T3 - Arg.Diesel 3 T2 - Arg.Diesel 4 T5 - Arg.Diesel 1 Mnte Castellacci Mnte Papa T1 - Arg.Elettr.2 T1 - T1 - Arg.Elettr.1 Punta Timne ELECTRIC WINCHES ANS DIESEL WINCHES CORRELATION The Tavlara VLF antenna is a steel lattice steel twer with fur triangular crsssectins and tw lateral cnductrs supprted by five guyed steel masts, erected in relatin t the twer s vertex pints n three muntain ranges knwn as Punta Timne, Mnte Castellacci and Mnte Papa. T give an idea f their sizes the lngest cnductrs are mre than 1000m in length. The twer can be raised r lwered using rpe (halyard) systems and pulleys perated by mtrized winches. The halyards are cnnected t the triangular structure s vertexes and t the ends f the 2

3 twer s external side cnductrs using insulatrs. The ther end f the halyards are wund arund and fixed t the crrespnding winch spl. The twer is lwered and raised by winches pwered by diesel engines and electrical mtrs which are cntrlled lcally and by remte cntrl at a distance. There are three winches pwered by electrical mtrs at Punta Timne, tw winches pwered by diesel engines at Mnte Papa and tw winches pwered by diesel engines at Mnte Castellacci. The twer is usually raised and lwered n lcatin manually fr maintenance requirements. T btain maximum antenna perfrmance, the twer must be kept extended t maximum height. The twer is lwered t a safer height when at risk in the event f strng winds. This is dne by using the diesel pwered winches hinged t a base n the grund which is raised and lwered when the twer is subjected t strng winds. When reaching a pre-calibrated critical height the security system intervenes t cntrl the electric winches t lwer the twer. The maneuvers t repsitin the Twer can nly be perfrmed manually either lcally r by remte cntrl. The actual halyard maneuver, bth fr the lwering and raising phase, is nt perfrmed in ne single prcess but is divided in a cycle f mvements defined in the sftware settings panel which can be accessed by System Administratrs nly. THE ARCHITECTURE DESCRIPTION AND ADVANTAGES OBTAINED The SW-VLF-TAVOLARA sftware has been designed and created within the Mvicn 11 HMI-Scada envirnment fr cntrlling and mnitring the VLF Antenna System. System mnitring and cntrlling takes place via an Ethernet cnnectin system with ruters lcated nsite f each antenna and in the cntrl rm. These are all cnnected t ne anther using a lcal laser cmmunicatin system (RETE LASER LINK). The diagram belw shws the system architecture and netwrk which cnnects the varius statins t the central cntrl statin. 3

4 The sftware installed in the wrkstatin situated in the VLF statin cntrl rm, cntrls and mnitrs the entire antenna system 24/7 by perfrming actins and receiving signals relating t the wrking status f the winches and all the ther cnnected hardware systems. The sftware interacts with the VLF antenna in the fllwing mdes: The sftware framewrk is based n a simple user interface structure pwered by Mvicn which prvides the main screens (defined panels have been designed fr gruping features and data representatins apprpriately tgether using 3D backgrund map layut graphics verlapped with dynamic bjects prvided within the Mvicn envirnment. The necessary features that have been implemented t satisfy user requirements fr managing and mnitring the VLF Antenna system are: Lgin Panel Main Supervisin Panel (Hme) Alarm Panel System Check Panel Lg Panel Settings Panel Menu Panel Sending cmmands t the winches: Lwer Higher Lck (Security) Receiving signals f: Alarm status f the winches Operatinal alerts relating t cnnected winches. Operatinal alerts relating t cnnected hardware systems LOGIN PANEL Used by the user t lg in and access the sftware features and functins. MAIN SUPERVISION PANEL (HOME) This is used fr managing and mnitring the entire Antenna System. This panel displays the wrking status f all the cmpnents invlved. This panel has been designed in detail n the recnstructin f the entire VLF system and includes all the cntrls and indicatrs previusly used by the ld systems cmpsed f cabinets and within in the twers that still exist and functin n the winch sites. 4

5 SYSTEM MONITORING AND CONTROL PANEL This is used fr cntrlling the SW-VLF- TAVOLARA Sftware cnnectin status with the hardware devices and PLCs (Mxa) t enable cnnectin t the winches which are cnnected t the Antenna System. ALARM PANEL The peratr uses this panel fr viewing all the active alarms in the VLF system. The alarms are gruped by the area t which they belng t, principally defined by the varius wrkstatins that cnstitute the system. This panel displays general alarm infrmatin and a lgical detailed assessment t enable apprpriate user interactin within each alarm area. HISTORICALS PANEL All event ccurrences and actins perfrmed within the sftware are traceable with the Data Lgger. It is f great imprtance that each actin and cmmand activated be recrded in the system (Audit trail) s that they can be traced whenever needed. The events which are recrded are: Actins perfrmed by the peratr Alarms ccurred during the curse f mnitring the VLF Antenna Operatins executed by Driver Hardware 5

6 CONFIGURATION PANEL The cnfiguratin panel is used in the sftware fr setting the parameters needed fr the crrect wrking f the winches and sftware. The parameters available n this screen can be set and mdified nly by users that have an Administratr accunt, (sftware administratr). Operatr accunt users are nly allwed t view this screen. Since this is a military base run by the Italian Navy is it als part f the NATO Atlantic Alliance. Therefre the prject has been prgrammed t be used in bth the English and Italian languages. The use f a simple cmmand will dynamically change the languages frm ne t the ther with immediate effect. Due t the renvatin prject and system design engineering, the Tavlara VLF antenna is nw easier and safer t manage cnsidering its strategic imprtance in mdern defense system cmmunicatins. The prject cncluded successfully after a trail and validatin perid that prved the cmplete reliability f the system and architecture implemented. Ing. Simne Circchi - Sigma Cnsulting 6

7 SIMETEL SPA Simetel SpA is the user cmpany and respnsible fr the Tavlara VLF Navy statin. After having participated in building the Tavlara VLF statin in the late 60s, Simetel SpA tk charge f its management and rutine maintenance and repairs. Simetel has been perating in the prfessinal and military cmmunicatin sectr since 1959 after already having realized a majr part f the M.M. and A.M. radi cmmunicatin centers. Simetel S.p.A. design engineers and manufactures special equipment needed fr building plant systems, the setting up and running f mbile vehicles, manufacturing electrnic equipment t client specificatins, r wn design. It als ensures regular and special maintenance services f their systems with great experience and prfessinalism. A very imprtant mnitr system has als been installed t mnitr SI/3000 radi electric emissins fr multiple antenna fields. This system cntinuusly measures and recrds the electrmagnetic field level in the mst critical pints f the transmitter antenna field. Simetel SpA realizes integrated turnkey systems and plant systems f any size. This includes the initial design engineering stage, installatin and crrelated maintenance services. SIGMA CONSULTING SRL Sigma Cnsulting has mre than 15 years experience in electrnic system Design Engineering and Integratin (hardware and sftware) and cmputer prgramming. The cmpany perates in the aerspace, naval and land military and develps simulatin systems, test systems, missin supprt centers, n bard sftware and database. In additin: Supplies integrated lgistic supprt services, training and learning, technlgy transfer, business cnsultancy; Supplies Clients with turnkey slutins in a partnership based n sharing bjectives. 7