Field programmable gate arrays implementation of automated sensor self-validation system for cupola furnaces

The paper presents the use of an field-programmable gate array (FPGA) system in the hardware implementation of the algorithm. The self-validation (SV) algorithm is based on fuzzy logic and is used to estimate a confidence measure of a sensorʹs readings using the sensorʹs historic data. The hardware system consists of a data acquisition and conditioning system, a general-purpose CPU, and an FPGA system. The general-purpose CPU is used in the setup phase of the algorithm and in the preprocessing of the sensorsʹ readings. The FPGA system is used in the on-line calculations of the confidence measures of the sensorsʹ readings. The system is designed using data from an iron-melting cupola furnace. The paper presents the details of the developed SV software algorithm, the modifications of the algorithm to suit the FPGA implementation, the overall design of the hardware system, and the FPGA implementation of the algorithm. The results of the implementation are also discussed.