Digital Communications Improve Contact I/O Reliability

This paper compares the reliability of traditional contact wiring to multiplexed IO via optical fiber and the resulting impacts on reliability. The paper also addresses adjustments to improve reliability, and summarizes the comparative reliability, costs, and other tradeoffs. Also presents an application example of a substation yard with IO at four locations, connected to a main station panel. It is important that system designers understand the reliability of the systems that they design. Manufacturers should be willing to provide MTBF data to help them analyze and compare their alternatives