Foundation Fieldbus Cables

Standards
• FF-844 is the new Fieldbus Foundation cable compliance specification
• Includes the electrical requirements of ISA 50.02 and IEC 61158
• NEC Article 727 was written to simplify the guidelines when the
instrumentation and control circuits operate at 150 volts or less and 5
amperes or less.
• Conformance to UL 13 PLTC and UL 2250 ITC adds physical property
requirements, flame retardant requirements, and UV stability while also
offering some other attributes which may be necessary for specific
applications in specific locations
• Other standards used for instruments cables are still valid about the
outer sheath, shielding and flame retardant etc.
A Foundation Fieldbus Cable
• A FOUNDATION fieldbus Type A H1 cable by definition is a
shielded twisted pair.
• Maximum resistance of 23.5Ω/km @ 20oC (18 AWG
minimum)
• Characteristic Impedance of 100Ω +/- 20Ω @ 31.25 kHz
• Signal Attenuation < 3 dB/km @ 39 kHz
Traditional Connection
Foundation Fieldbus Connection
FF with Additional Devices
FF devices daisy chained together
Trunk and Spur
• A trunk is a longest cable path between any two
devices on the network.
• Once we identified this stretch of cables, all other
connections are called spurs.
No. of devices
• 32 devices can be connected to a single network with Restrictions
• 1st restriction would be the total wire pair length
• This is sum of trunk length and spur lengths (Next Slide!)
• Another restriction is Spur Length
• Allowable length of the spur decreases as the no. of devices increase.
• Simple rule of thumb for Spurs is “Shorter is better!”
• The maximum allowed length of spur is 120 meters.
Calculating Total Length of Cable
Repeaters
• In FF maximum length of trunk is 1900 meters
• To move beyond that we need repeaters.
• 4 repeaters are allowed to be used.
• A repeater appears as the Field device on the first
trunk and so on.
• In addition to increasing the length, the no. of devices
in the network can also be increased to 240 by using
the repeaters
FF network with a Repeater
Mixing Cables
• If there is a need to mix to different type of
cables, it is done by the formula.
• If for example we want to mix 1200 meters of
type A cable with 170 meters of type B cable,
by the calculation we can see that it exceeds 1.
• So the mixing of cables with this length won’t
work!
• Another important thing to note is the idea of
mixing can be extended up to mixing more than
two types of cables.
Mixing Cables (Cont.)
• It is pertinent to note that Ohm’s is still valid. What does this
mean?
• Resistance increases with length!
• The length of wire would be a problem if we are supplying
power to a bus powered device from the far end.
• Although it could be compensated by a proper design but
still ohm’s law is a consideration.
• But as far as communication is concerned, it would work OK.
Recommended Maximum Spur Length, m(ft)
• IEC 1158-2 and ISA S50.02 1992 Part 2, Annex C (informative)

Note: These lengths are “recommended” and are not required

Shielding (screening)
• Unshielded twisted pairs could be used if the wires
run in a conduit as it provides necessary shielding
• For best performance the Fieldbus cables must be
shielded.
• Common instrument cables may be used. Having one
or more twisted pairs, an overall, Metalized shield and
a shield wire.
Example of a single pair wire
Grounding
• Here is an example how the shield
wires are grounded. In some
instances, multiple points for
grounding are desirable.
• Field bus provides for this by allowing
rf ground at multiple points
• A junction box may be used for the
purpose.
Manchester Encoding
• According to IEEE 802.3
Polarity
• FF is polarized!
• Uses Manchester Encoding (alternating voltage for 0 and 1
logic)
• For unpowered network only this alternating voltage exists
• For Bus powered devices, DC voltage is superimposed.
• So, deep care is needed while connecting the devices.
• Positive terminal should also be connected to positive wire
and vice versa.
Intelligent devices
• Some devices in the market are Non-polarized
• They can be connected either way in the network
• These are invariably Network Powered
• They sense the DC voltage and figure out the polarity of the
voltage.
• Implement automatic polarity detection and correction
• Correctly receive the message of either polarity
Power Supply
• Two Wired device take their power just like tradition 4-20mA circuit.
• Connecting a power supply to the network is same as connecting any
field device BUT it is not considered as field device.
• Following must be considered while connecting a Power Supply
• Current consumption of each device
• Its location on the network
• The location of the power supply on the network
• The resistance of each cable section
• The power supply voltage
 Example

Temperature is considered constant But it must be taken into account! while Installing a power supply
Voltage at all the Devices
FF Equipment Software
• Fortunately, fieldbus equipment vendors provide computer
software that makes life easy.
• User inputs the proposed network and all the of DC voltages
are immediately presented.
• The voltages are recalculated right away as the network is
changed.
Connecting to Higher speed fieldbus network
• The 31.25 kbps can never be connected to high speed
network
• A network bridge must be used
• The bridge will have a 31.25 kbps port and a high speed (1 to
2.5 Mbps) port to facilitate these connection.
• The bridge must be counted as the one of the 32 field
devices on each network.
Fieldbus topologies
• Point to Point
Fieldbus topologies
• Bus with Spurs topology
Fieldbus topologies
• Daisy Chain Topology
Fieldbus topologies
• Tree Topology
Fieldbus topologies
• Combination of All
Field Bus Components and
Characteristics
FF Components
• Cables • IS Barrier
• Terminal blocks • Measurement and Control
• Connectors (ISA Ph. Layer Annex A) Devices
• Couplers • Host Devices
• Terminators (Explained Later) • Bridges
• Power Supplies
Cable Types (IEC/ISA Physical Layer Standards)
Cable Types (IEC/ISA Physical Layer Standards)
• Type A:
• Used for new installations.
• The preferred cable specified in the IEC/ISA Physical Layer Standard, clause
22.7.2 for conformance testing.
• Type B:
• Multiple Twisted Pair
• Overall shield
• Used in both new and retrofit installations where multiple fieldbuses are run
in the same area of the user’s plant.
Cable Types (IEC/ISA Physical Layer Standards)
• Type C:
• Less preferred
• Single or multiple twisted pair
• Without shield
• Type D:
• Least preferred
• Multiple conductor without twisted pair
• Overall shield
Terminator
• Impedance matching module used at or near each end of
transmission line
• Only two terminators per bus segment
• Prevents distortion and signal loss
• Pre-assembled, sealed module
• Various electrical configurations will incorporate terminators into
terminal blocks, IS Barriers, Power Supplies, fieldbus interface cards,
etc.
Power Supplies
• According to ISA/IEC physical layer Specs. Following are the Types
Foundation Device Types
• Following are FF device types according to IEC/ISA Physical Layer
Standards
Cable Manufacturers
Cable Manufacturers
• ABB