System Overview and

Architecture
Mark*VIe Control System
GE Power & Water Technical
Training

* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries

Mark VIe Control System Architecture
Key focal points:
• GE Speedtronic Controller History & Application
• Primary System Components
▪ Controllers
▪ I/O Modules
▪ Networks
▪ HMIs
• Configurations
▪ Redundancy Options
▪ Voting
▪ Input / Output Processing
▪ Overspeed Protection

Slide 2
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
History
GE Controls History
1968 1970’s 1980’s 1990’s 1997

Mark I Mark III Mark V

Mark II Mark IV

Slide 4
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
GE Controls History
1999 2004 2007 2010
Mark VI Mark VIe Mark VIe Mark*
CPCI UCSA Migration

Slide 5
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Mark VIe Applications
Hydro Heavy Duty Gas

✓ Turbine Control
✓ Balance of Plant (BOP) Steam Wind

✓ Distributed Control Systems

✓ Generator Aero-derivative Nuclear

✓ Vibration Monitoring
✓ Combustion Monitoring DCS/BOP

And More…

Slide 6
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
System Components
Primary Components of the System
ToolboxST*
HMI Servers CIMPLICITY
Controllers

Networks
I/O Modules

HMI
Viewer
or Server
Slide 8
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Mark VIe Controller Options

UCCA or UCCC board in UCSA or UCSB stand alone

1
CPCI Chassis controller module

1
Slide 9
compact peripheral component interconnect
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Basic Components of CPCI Chassis

Optional second
Main processor board power supply
UCCA or UCCC

Spare slots

Power supply

Cooling fan compartment

CPCI rack

Slide 10
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
CPCI Processor Board
Up to 1600 MHz CPU

10/100Base TX Ethernet
ports to the IONet
10/100BaseTX
COM port for Ethernet ports to the
configuring TCP/IP UDH
address Optional CDH1

1
Slide 11
Controller Data Highway. Port can also be used for Modbus over Ethernet. This port available on UCCC only
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
UCSA or UCSB Stand-alone Controller
Up to 1200 MHz CPU

10/100Base TX Ethernet ports to

the IONet
10/100BaseTX Ethernet ports to
the UDH
Optional CDH
COM port for configuring TCP/IP
address

Slide 12
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
I/O Modules

3 Parts
1. Terminal Board
2. Terminal Block
3. I/O Pack
S-type
Terminal
T-type Board
Terminal Board
Slide 13
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
I/O Packs
Plug into Terminal Boards
Digitize the signal
Communicate to controller(s)

Contain processor and data

acquisition boards
Status lights on front
Slide 14
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Core Analog I/O Module
This is a special kind of I/O Module that accepts
thermocouple, milliampere current, seismic, LVDT,
and pulse rate inputs. Outputs are milliampere
current, servo-coil commands, and LVDT excitation.

Slide 15
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Common I/O Packs
Refer to GEH 6721 Volume 2 for a comprehensive list

PDIO – Discrete I/O (24 Inputs / 12 Outputs / Pack)

PDIA – Contact Inputs (24 Points / Pack)
PDOA – Relay Outputs (12 Points / Pack)
PAIC – Analog I/O (10 Inputs / 2 Outputs / Pack)
PAOC – Analog Output (8 Points/Pack)
PCAA – Core analog I/O (various types)
PTUR – Speed Inputs (4 Points / Pack)
PTCC – Thermocouple Inputs (12 Points / Pack)
PRTD – RTD Inputs (8 Points / Pack)
PSVO – Servo command / LVDT feedback

Slide 16
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Basic Network Architecture
3 – Key Networks

Network Printers
DCS †

PDH

UDH

IONet
†
There are currently multiple ways to integrate a customer provided Distributed Control System (DCS)
with the Speedtronic* control system. The above example represents either Modbus or GSM* over
Ethernet Slide 17
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
IONet connects controller(s) and I/O packs

<R> IoNet uses red Ethernet1 cables

Controllers

<S> IoNet uses black Ethernet1 cables

IONet
<T> IoNet uses blue Ethernet1 cables

I/O Packs and

Terminal Boards

1
Category 5e Slide 18
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
IONet switches have been carefully
engineered to meet the specific data traffic
demands of the Mark VIe control system

Use only GE-approved Ethernet switches in all

control system I/O networks. Unsupported
switches can prevent I/O modules from
receiving controller outputs.
Caution

Slide 19
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
UDH connects GE Control Systems and HMI
servers

…etc.

Like the IONet, the UDH uses Category 5e Ethernet cables.

The protocol is EGD (Ethernet Global Data)

Slide 20
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
PDH connects HMI servers with remote
viewers, printers, historians, and external
interfaces. No direct connection to the
control system.
External Interface Network Printer

Cat 5e Ethernet cables. TCP/IP, GSM or Modbus over

Ethernet protocols

Slide 21
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Data Highway Ethernet Switches
The UDH and PDH networks use Fast Ethernet switches called
VLAN (virtual LAN).
Two switches can be used with an interconnecting cable to
provide redundancy.

Use only GE-approved Ethernet switches in all

control system I/O networks. Unsupported
switches can prevent I/O modules from
receiving controller outputs.
Caution

Slide 22
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Link to Distributed Control System (DCS)
Most common connection types:
Serial Modbus slave Modbus slave GSM OPC UA, DA, AE
From HMI Server via TCP/IP via TCP/IP via TCP/IP

Slide 23
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Human-Machine Interface (HMI)
The operator interface to the Mark VIe control system.
A computer with a Windows OS, CIMPLICITY graphical
user interface, and WorkstationST* application which
communicates with the Mark VIe controllers over
Ethernet.
Product features important for plant control:
✓ Dynamic graphics ✓ Point control panel right-
click menu
✓ Alarm displays
✓ HMI access security
✓ Trending

Slide 24
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
HMI Basic Description

HMI server is the hub of

the system

Channels data between

the UDH and the PDH

Provides data support,

repository for alarm
messages, and system
management

Slide 25
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
HMI Hardware/Software Features

Hardware Software
Desktop Workstation Windows Operating System
– 19+” monitor WorkstationST* Application
– Keyboard & Mouse CIMPLICITY HMI/Scada
Panel Mount Display ControlST
– Touch Screen with Mouse
& Keyboard Full Backup Software

Multiple Network Interface Cards Antivirus Software

(NIC) for UDH and PDH

Slide 26
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Turbine Historian
Provides historical data archiving and retrieval
functions.

Proficy* Historian or OSI Soft – PI Historian

Slide 27
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Network Time Server
Information Network (PDH) – 10/100MB Ethernet

HMI Operator Stations

Network Time Server

GPS Antenna

+/-2m Time Coherence Between Controls

Precision Time Protocol (PTP)
Or Network Time Protocol (NTP) +/-1m Time Accuracy

Control Network (UDH)

10/100 MB Ethernet
Control Control Control Control
System System System System

Mark IV or V Migration, Mark VI,

Mark VIe, EX2100, EX2100e, LS2100

Slide 28
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Configurations
Scalable Redundancy Options
Redundancy allows us to increase our running
reliability. Mark VIe provides scalable levels of
redundancy. We can divide this redundancy into
two groups: Controller and I/O

Slide 30
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Fault Detection
• In order for a redundant system to
increase running reliability it must
detect and annunciate faults to ensure
the components are operating
properly
• Fault detection must be determined as
close to the output as possible because
a failure to control the outputs is the
most damaging scenario
• Mark VIe detects faults at the I/O
packs

Slide 31
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Controller Redundancy
R R S R S T

Simplex Dual TMR

• Lowest cost • Better Running • Better Running
• No Online Repair Reliability than Reliability than
Simplex Dual1
• Online Repair • Online Repair

1 Due to increased fault detection capability Slide 32

* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
I/O Redundancy

Single pack single network (SPSN) Single pack dual network (SPDN) Two single pack single network
▪ Non-critical single sensor I/O ▪ Non-critical single sensor I/O (2SPSN)
▪ No redundancy ▪ Redundant network ▪ Redundant sensors monitoring the
▪ Can be used when controllers are ▪ Can be used when controllers are same process point.
configured in: Simplex, Dual, or configured in: Dual, or TMR ▪ Redundant network
TMR ▪ Redundant data acquisition
▪ Online repair
▪ Can be used when controllers are
configured in: Dual, or TMR

Dual pack dual network (DPDN) Triple pack dual network (TPDN)
Triple pack triple network (TPTN)
▪ Special case for inputs only ▪ Special case for outputs and
▪ Most common TMR configuration
▪ Single input signal is “fanned” inputs
▪ Single input signal is “fanned”
▪ Redundant network ▪ Single input signal is “fanned”
▪ Redundant network
▪ Redundant data acquisition ▪ Redundant network
▪ Redundant data acquisition
▪ Online repair ▪ Redundant data acquisition
▪ Output voting in hardware
▪ Can be used when controllers are ▪ Output voting in hardware
▪ Online repair
configured in: Dual, or TMR ▪ Online repair
▪ Can be used when controllers are
▪ Can be used when controllers are
configured in: TMR only
configured in: Dual only
Slide 33
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Designated Controller
Although three controllers, R, S, and T,
contain identical hardware and software,
some of the functions performed are
unique. A single designated controller
can perform the following functions:
• Provides initialization data to other
controllers during startup
• Keeps the Master time clock
• Provides variable state information to the
other controller if one controller fails
Designated
Controller
Indication
Slide 34
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Designated Controller Determination

Each controller nominates itself

based upon a weighted algorithm
which takes into account:
– Control State
– UDH Connectivity
– IONet Connectivity
– NVRAM Health

The order of precedence is:

R then S then T

Slide 35
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
UDH Communicator

Controller selected to send EGD and Alarm

Data over the UDH
Designated Controller is always a UDH
Communicator
When a controller does not receive external
EGD data from its UDH connection, it may
request the data be forwarded across the
IONet from another UDH communicator.

Slide 36
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Voting
Voting in the Mark VIe control is separated into analog
and logic.
Inputs voted in Software (SIFT)
– Median Select for analog
– 2 out of 3 for logic
– Voting Disagreement Detector (Voter Mismatch)
Dual Controller No Voting
Inputs from Designated Controller

Slide 37
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Median Value Analog Voting

**

** Diagnostic on Input 1 because 910 deviates from the Median Value by more than the limit of 30.

Slide 38
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
TMR Input Processing Examples

TMR Benefit: The loss of a controller associated

with a simplex input does NOT result in the loss of
that data. The simplex data continues to arrive at
other controllers in the system.

Slide 39
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
TMR Input Processing Examples

Voting is automatically done in

Mk VIe. This is an example
of SIFT

Example: Most common TMR I/O. Medium to high reliability

Slide 40
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
TMR Input Processing Examples
Voting is done in application
code. SIFT feature not
implemented

Example: Special applications

Slide 41
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
TMR Input Processing Examples

Voting is automatically done in

Mk VIe. This is another
example of SIFT

Example: Pulse rate inputs to TTUR. There are 6 screws on

the terminal board used for 3 separate inputs

Slide 42
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
TMR Output Processing

FIELD
DEVICE

Each controller sends its calculated value to its I/O pack

Output voting is performed in the I/O module.

Slide 43
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
TMR Output Processing - Communication Loss
Broken Communication

FIELD
DEVICE

1. Pack can continue to hold the last commanded value

2. Be commanded to go to a specified output state
Default action is to go to a power-down state

Slide 44
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Relay Outputs

Slide 45
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
TMR Analog Outputs

I/O Packs

2/3 current sharing circuit

that allows the three signals
to be voted to one

Slide 46
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
TMR Servo Outputs

I/O Packs

magnetic flux
summation

Slide 47
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Turbine Overspeed Protection
3 different Levels
1. Control – Closed loop speed control using the
fuel/steam valves prior to grid synchronization
2. Primary Overspeed – Provided by the controller
usually through the PTUR I/O module
3. Emergency Overspeed – An independent triple
redundant protection system. In some places this
task (among others) is given to a completely
separate Mark VIe control system known as the
Mark VIeS.

Slide 48
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries
Primary & Emergency Overspeed Protection

…or Mark VIeS

Slide 49
* Indicates a trademark of General Electric Company and/or its subsidiaries