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Review Paper | Automobiles | Volume 14 Issue 2, February 2025 | Pages: 1899 - 1903 | United States
Achieving Continuous Process Automation in the PLC World: Architectures, Standards, and Emerging Strategies
Abstract: Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) were originally designed for discrete, sequential machine control. Yet as industrial automation has evolved, process manufacturers across chemical, oil and gas, water treatment, and power generation sectors increasingly ask whether PLC-based architectures can deliver the reliability, continuity, and analytical depth historically associated with Distributed Control Systems (DCS). This review paper examines the structural gap between PLC capabilities and the requirements of continuous process automation, and presents a comprehensive analysis of the technical strategies, standards, and architectural patterns through which that gap is being closed. Key approaches examined include hardware redundancy architectures including hot standby and triple modular redundancy, advanced PID and cascade control implementation in IEC 61131-3 environments, the adoption of IEC 61499 event-driven function blocks for process applications, the emergence of virtual and soft PLC platforms, and OPC UA-enabled process data integration. An original Continuous Process Automation Achievement Framework (CPAAF) is proposed, providing a structured five-pillar evaluation model for assessing the suitability of PLC-based architectures for continuous process applications. The paper concludes that while no single PLC technology fully replicates the integrated, purpose-built continuous control environment of a mature DCS, the convergence of modern hardware redundancy, advanced software standards, and open connectivity is making PLC-based continuous process automation technically viable and economically compelling across a wider range of process applications than at any prior point in the technology's history.
Keywords: PLC, continuous process automation, DCS, IEC 61131-3, IEC 61499, hot standby redundancy, virtual PLC, OPC UA, CPAAF, industrial automation, process control, soft PLC
How to Cite?: Mohammed Hazique Shaikh, "Achieving Continuous Process Automation in the PLC World: Architectures, Standards, and Emerging Strategies", Volume 14 Issue 2, February 2025, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1899-1903, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR25104015304, DOI: https://dx.dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR25104015304