Manipal University, Manipal

Term Paper II FAULT ALERT SYSTEM

Name : MOHAMMED ABRAR UL HUQ

Reg No: 112508080

Course: MS EMBEDDED SYSTEM DESIGN

Semester: II/ IV

MOHAMMED ABRAR UL HUQ

Content
1. Abstract.1 2. Introduction...2 3. Design & Analysis....3 4. Result ...6 5. Conclusion........................7

Fault Alert System

Mohammed Abrar ul Huq

FAULT ALERT SYSTEM

1. ABSTRACT

Railways have critical systems such as OFC (Optical Fiber Communication), IPS (Integrated Power Supply), Control & Signaling which have to be always in healthy status. Any event or failure has to be identified and resolved immediately.

So a need for system which monitors 24x7 arises which reports the exact fault condition with date and time stamp. Presently the system is monitored by a data logger which logs all the events occurred and needs an operator to monitor each event.

The Fault Alert System proposed sends SMS alerts, email alerts to engineering personnel in case of fault conditions and hence immediate error reporting occurs and the exact fault location can be pin pointed. A conventional data logging system just logs all the events and an operator has to be always vigilant to check all the entries posted by the data logger, which turns out to be a tedious and time consuming process. Fault Alert System not only logs the real time data, but immediately upon identifying the faults, sends alerts and sounds the buzzer. Hence error identification and reporting happens in real time.

The Fault Alert System, when installed on a Railways site can monitor various analog signals (from power supplies) and digital inputs (from control relays) and the site can be automated and unmanned.

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Fault Alert System

Mohammed Abrar ul Huq

2. INTRODUCTION

The Fault Alert System (FAS) offers the following features: Microcontroller based processing GSM modem for SMS messaging Battery management circuit Digital Inputs Monitoring Analog Inputs Monitoring Buzzer Output Real Time Clock (RTC) Watchdog Alarm History stored in SD Card Alarm Message to multiple recipients with ID, Location, Date & Time stamp Configurable Phonebook (for each port) Configurable Alarm Message (for each port) Input Type (Normally Open or Normally Closed)

Figure: Block Diagram of Fault Alert System

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Fault Alert System 3. DESIGN & ANALYSIS Analog Input Operation:

Mohammed Abrar ul Huq

Microcontroller receives the analog voltage (0-3V DC) at analog input port. By the process of ADC (Analog to Digital conversion) the voltage is comprehend in the range of 0 to 2^n, where n describes the accuracy of the ADC. If it is a 10-bit ADC, the values can range from 0 to 2^10 i.e. 0 to 1024. Hence the ADC values correspond to the analog voltage and a conversion factor can be obtained to accurately comprehend them.

Digital Input Operation: The digital inputs of the microcontroller can be either 0 or 1 corresponding to low or high. If the voltage between 0-1.5V DC is applied, 0 is detected and if voltage between 1.5-3V DC is applied, 1 is detected. To monitor a digital input which can be either Normally Open or Normally Close, the digital inputs are supplied 3.3V through a pull up resistor such that if no inputs are connected, the digital inputs remain high. One end (NO/NC) of the digital input is connected to the input port and other end (C) is connected to the ground terminal. If the NO/NC & C are open, then input port remains high, and NO/NC & C are connected, then input pin becomes low. This high and low at input pin is detected by the microcontroller which then sends sms and sounds buzzer by the programmed logic.

Digital Output Operation: The digital output port of the microcontroller can be configured as high(3V) or low(0V) . We can define logic for the port being high or low. Suppose if a relay is activated (which denotes a fault condition), we can make the digital output as high which then sounds the buzzer. The digital output can also be used to drive a relay. When output is high, relay operates and when output is low, relay is back to normal. This switching operation of relay can be used to on/off electric equipments.

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Fault Alert System

Mohammed Abrar ul Huq

Figure: Block Diagram of Signal Conditioning Card

The power supply input, i.e 230V AC supply can monitored by a stepping it down by a transformer and giving an offset voltage to push the voltage to range of 0-3V DC which can correspond to 0-270V AC. Hence the presence or absence of power and even the fluctuations in power supply can be monitored.

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Fault Alert System

Mohammed Abrar ul Huq

SMS sending through GSM/GPRS modem: The GSM/GPRS modem is able to send/receive SMS, access the GPRS to download/upload data and send/receive email. This is possible by a rich set of API (Application Programming Interface) which is known as the AT command set. The GSM modem has a serial port (USART) by which it can communicate with a PC or microcontroller.

Parameters Monitored AC Mains Power Supply Fail Rectifier DC Output Fail DC Output SPD Fail AC Input SPD Fail DC Under Voltage Inverter Failed SMR Failed Battery Low Track Circuit Failure / Track Circuit Flickering 220V AC Supply High / Normal / Low / Off 110V AC Supply High / Normal / Low / Off 110V DC Supply High / Normal / Low / Off 48V DC Supply High / Normal / Low / Off 24V DC Supply High / Normal / Low / Off 12V DC Supply High / Normal / Low / Off Table: Parameters monitored by Fault Alert System

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Fault Alert System

Mohammed Abrar ul Huq

4. RESULT

The testing of Fault Alert System was performed in lab with the values of voltages of 220V AC, 110V AC, 110V DC, 48V DC, 24V DC, 12V DC which were connected to analog inputs through the signal conditioning card. The digital input ports were connected to the control relays and the alarm conditions were simulated by activating/deactivating the relays. Immediately upon the alarm or alert conditions, the Fault Alarm system activated the buzzer which was connected to the digital output and also sent the SMS alerts to the phonebook recipients.

Also the disconnection of power supply of the Fault Alarm system was made. But since the system had a battery backed up power supply, it was active and notified the power supply absence by SMS. In the absence of GSM network, the system could sound the buzzer for fault conditions but alert SMS was received only after the network signal resumed.

The Fault Alert System had a pilot installation at Rail Nilayam, Seconderabad where it monitored status of AC power supply, Rectifier, Inverter, Battery Voltage and was successful in monitoring and notifying the faults and it sent SMS alerts and activated the buzzer in case of fault conditions.

Fig: SMS in case of a fault condition

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Fault Alert System

Mohammed Abrar ul Huq

5. CONCLUSION

The overall performance of the Fault Alert System was good and system is ready to be installed at various Railway sites.

After a comprehensive testing, the bugs which may arise can be identified and rectified. A compact, low cost system can be designed which can include more digital input ports for connecting more relay inputs and more analog input ports for monitoring so that all the critical equipment can be monitored and in case of failure, the notification of system failure, where exactly the fault has occurred can be known to the engineers. Therefore, the Fault Alert System can be installed at any location and can be monitored remotely which reduces the need for an engineer to be present at all time.

Features such as a USB port, Ethernet ports can be added to the Fault Alert System for communicating in real time with a PC or server.

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