Stig Petersen

When HART goes wireless: Understanding and implementing the WirelessHART standard

As a newly released industrial communication standard, WirelessHART complements the ever so successful HART field devices by providing the possible means for communicating via wireless channels. The WirelessHART standard is designed to offer simple configuration, flexible installation and easy access of instrument data, and at the same time, ensure robust and reliable communications. In this paper, we first look closely into the specifications and present a comprehensive overview of the standard by summarizing the main functions of the various protocol layers. We then survey the literature and identify amongst the existing methods and algorithms, which ones can be effectively adopted in implementing the standard. More specifically, we set our focus on issues relating to realization of the medium access layer and the network manager, which are essential in creating a successful WirelessHART network for specific applications.

Applications of Wireless Sensor Networks in the Oil, Gas and Resources Industries

The paper provides a study on the use of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in refineries, petrochemicals, underwater development facilities, and oil and gas platforms. The work focuses on networks that monitor the production process, to either prevent or detect health and safety issues or to enhance production. WSN applications offer great opportunities for production optimization where the use of wired counterparts may prove to be prohibitive. They can be used to remotely monitor pipelines, natural gas leaks, corrosion, H2S, equipment condition, and real-time reservoir status. Data gathered by such devices enables new insights into plant operation and innovative solutions that aids the oil, gas and resources industries in improving platform safety, optimizing operations, preventing problems, tolerating errors, and reducing operating costs. In this paper, we survey a number of WSN applications in oil, gas and resources industry operations.

Performance evaluation of WirelessHART for factory automation

The WirelessHART specification has given the industry access to their first open standard specifically aimed at wireless instrumentation for factory automation. For WirelessHART to be a viable solution for the process and automation industry, it has to provide a robust and reliable alternative to todays wired networks.

Requirements, drivers and analysis of wireless sensor network solutions for the Oil & Gas industry

The IEEE 802.15.4 specification has enabled low-power, low-cost wireless sensor networks (WSNs) capable of robust and reliable communication. For the Oil & Gas industry, switching from wired to wireless sensors cost-efficiently eliminates the need for cables, allows data collection in remote or hostile areas, and enables new applications. However, there are concerns related to the use of WSNs, of which reliability, power consumption and standardization are most important. This paper identifies technical requirements for WSN deployment within the confines of the Oil & Gas industry. Experiments have been performed to determine whether or not currently available technologies fulfill these requirements. The conclusion of this work is that an open, and energy-efficient, standard is needed before WSNs can be fully utilized in the Oil & Gas industry.

Adaptive Multi-Channel Transmission Power Control for Industrial Wireless Instrumentation

The adoption of wireless technology for industrial wireless instrumentation requires high-quality communication performance. The use of transmission power control (TPC) can help address industrial issues concerning energy consumption, interference, and fading. This paper presents a TPC algorithm designed for industrial applications based on theoretical and empirical studies. It is shown that the proposed algorithm adapts to variations in link quality, and is hardware-independent and practical.

Using wireless sensor networks to enable increased oil recovery

This paper describes how a wireless sensor network (WSN) was deployed at the Gullfaks offshore Oil & Gas facility in the North Sea. At the Gullfaks field, decline in flow line pressure occasionally causes loss of flow from wells. This is not readily detected, and leads to large financial losses. The installation and maintenance of a traditional detection system is costly, complex and requires a production shutdown. In this case, a wireless temperature sensor network was chosen to predict the loss of flow from a well. Before deployment, the solution was tested in a semi- industrial environment to ensure that it fulfilled all requirements. The conclusion is that the described WSN solution enabled quick, relatively inexpensive and reliable detection of lost flow, thus enabling prompt action to re-establish this.

Comparison of industrial WSN standards

This paper presents a comparison of the current Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) standards that are available for industrial applications. Zigbee, WirelessHART and the recently released ISA.100 are carefully considered. The comparison outlines how WirelessHART and ISA.100 address some of the ZigBee weaknesses in the oil and gas domain.

Taxonomy of Wireless Sensor Network Cyber Security Attacks in the Oil and Gas Industries

The monitoring of oil and gas plants using sensors allows for greater insight into safety and operational performance. However, as a result of strict installation regulations of powered sensors near oil and gas fittings, the introduction of new wired sensors to optimize end-of-lifecycle plants has been expensive, complex and time consuming. Recent advances in wireless technology have enabled low-cost Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) capable of robust and reliable communication. However, the critical WSN security issues have not been sparsely investigated. The goal of this paper is to define the security issues surrounding WSNs with specific focus on the oil and gas industry.

ZigBee/ZigBee PRO Security Assessment Based on Compromised Cryptographic Keys

Sensor networks have many applications in monitoring and controlling of environmental properties such as sound, acceleration, vibration and temperature. Due to limited resources in computation capability, memory and energy, they are vulnerable to many kinds of attacks. The ZigBee specification [1], based on the 802.15.4 standard [2], defines a set of layers specifically suited to sensor networks. These layers support secure messaging using symmetric cryptographic. This paper presents two different ways for grabbing the cryptographic key in ZigBee: remote attack and physical attack. It also surveys and categorizes some additional attacks which can be performed on ZigBee networks: eavesdropping, spoofing, replay and DoS attacks at different layers. From this analysis, it is shown that some vulnerabilities still in the existing security schema in ZigBee technology.

The role of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in industrial oil and gas condition monitoring

Wireless sensor networks have a vast amount of applications including environmental monitoring, military, ecology, agriculture, inventory control, robotics and health care. This paper focuses on the area of monitoring and protection of oil and gas operations using wireless sensor networks that are optimized to decrease installation, and maintenance cost, energy requirements, increase reliability and improve communication efficiency. In addition, simulation experiments using the proposed model are presented. Such models could provide new tools for research in predictive maintenance and condition-based monitoring of factory machinery in general and for “open architecture machining systems” in particular. Wireless sensing no longer needs to be relegated to locations where access is difficult or where cabling is not practical. Wireless condition monitoring systems can be cost effectively implemented in extensive applications that were historically handled by running routes with data collectors. The result would be a lower cost program with more frequent data collection, increased safety, and lower spare parts inventories. Facilities would be able to run leaner because they will have more confidence in their ability to avoid downtime.