Intelligent networking is one of the most rapidly developing areas in contr
ol systems. The fundamental idea and method to implement (N + M) fault tole
rant systems is proposed, and the architecture and intelligent fault tolera
nt strategy are discussed in this paper. A fieldbus based implementation me
thod for hydropower station (HPS) is also given in this paper. The method p
rovided here is simple, reliable, inexpensive, interoperable, and convenien
t to install and maintain. The idea and results proposed in this paper can
be used not only for governing systems in HPS but also for other industrial
systems. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.