Translating Sequential Function Charts to the Compositional Interchange Format for hybrid systems

Sequential Function Chart (SFC) is a powerful graphical formalism for the specification of logic controllers that is well recognized and very successful in industry. In this paper, a scheme for the automatic translation of SFCs into the Compositional Interchange Format (CIF) for hybrid systems is presented that enables the straightforward connection of SFC controllers to CIF models of the controlled system which enables the application of a wide range of modeling, design, and analysis tools that are currently connected to the CIF. The translation procedure is based on the reformulation of the SFC as a CIF automaton that explicitly considers the cyclic execution mode of programmable logic control (PLC) hardware and, thus, provides a realistic representation of the behavior of the logic controller on a PLC. The translation scheme is demonstrated on a two-tank system that is modeled in the gPROMS process simulation environment, automatically translated to the CIF, and simulated after the connection of a SFC controller.