Bay Watch Controls Cardiff Barrage
ABB Utilities Automation has completed a major upgrade for the Cardiff Barrage control system to provide fully automatic control of the five sluice gates, which now open and close in response to the estuary tides and the water level in the bay behind the barrage. It also provides control of the locks which allow boats to navigate between the Bristol Channel and Cardiff Bay.
The system consists of an OSIL Shearwater data buoy fitted with a Campbell CR200 data logger and a VHF omni-directional antenna. When deployed, the 1.2m diameter buoy will be attached via a data cable to a customised OSIL seabed mounting frame.
The key element of the project was the installation of a fibre optic ethernet network around 1.5km in length. This integrates 14 PLCs which provide local control of some 1,600 input and output devices. Operators in the Barrage control room can interrogate networked PCs to obtain an overview of the various elements within the control system such as the sluice gates, locks, bridges and the fishpass, while ABB engineers can also dial-in to the system remotely to provide immediate diagnostic support.
MJ Information No: 17008
