Highway 

Addressable
Remote Transducer
(HART)
The HART Communication Protocol is a hybrid analog +
digital industrial automation protocol.

HART is a global standard for sending and receiving digital

information across analog wires between smart field devices
and control or monitoring systems like PLC and DCS
systems.

The HART protocol provides bidirectional digital

communication, over the same 4-20mA wiring in half
duplex mode.

HART signal, carries device configuration, diagnostic

information, calibration, and any additional process
The HART protocol makes use of the Bell 202 Frequency
Shift Keying (FSK) technique to superimpose digital
communication signal on top of the analog 4-20mA
current loop signal.

In process automation and control industry 4-20mA

analog signal is used to carry process variable (PV) and
control signals to and from the control room.
 Features of the HART protocol 
Simultaneous analog and digital communication
Compatible with conventional analog
instrumentation schemes
Supports multivariable field devices
Flexible data access via up to two masters
Open de facto standard
Backward compatible
Only protocol that supports both analog and digital
Either point-to-point or multi-drop operation
Adequate response time of 0.5s (approximate)
HART ENCODING AND WAVEFORM

HART digital signal superimposed on 4–20mA analog signal.

FSK
The HART protocol makes use of the Bell 202 FSK
technique to superimpose the digital communication
on top of 4-20mA signals. 

The digital FSK signal is continuous in phase and has

a 0.5mA amplitude.  

It uses two different frequencies,1200 Hz

and 2200 Hz, for representing binary 1 and 0
respectively.
HART CHARACTER
HART uses an asynchronous mode for communication pur
pose.
In HART data are transmitted 1 byte at a time without any
clock signal.
A HART character is composed of 11 bits.
The character starts with a start bit, followed by eight bits o
f data, one parity bit, and lastly one stop bit.
The parity bit provides integrity to the data transmitted.
 COMMUNICATION MODES
 HART Communication occurs between two HART-enabled
devices, typically a smart field device and a control or
monitoring system. Communication occurs using standard
instrumentation grade wire.
 COMMUNICATION MODES
There are two communication modes of operation
1.Master–slave mode
2.Burst mode
 Master–slave mode
In Master–slave mode communication is initiated by the
master.
A HART communication loop may have two masters
primary and secondary.
The primary master is generally a distributed control
system, a PLC, or a personal computer.
The secondary master can be a handheld terminal.
 A slave may be a transmitter, actuators or a valve
positioner.
Master–slave mode
 Master–slave mode
HART technology is a master/slave protocol, which
means that a smart field (slave) device only speaks when
spoken to by a master.

The HART Protocol provides for up to two masters

(primary and secondary). This allows secondary masters
such as handheld communicators to be used without
interfering with communications to/from the primary
master, i.e. control/monitoring system. 
 Burst mode
In Burst mode configuration the master instructs the slave
device to continuously broadcast a standard HART reply
message (e.g., the value of the process variable) until told to
stop.

 It provides for a faster communication (3–4 data updates

per second) than the master–slave mode and is used in
single-slave configuration.
 
 ARBITRATION

Arbitration ensures proper message transmission between

master and the slave devices.
A slave in the master–slave mode of operation can never
initiate communication.
There can be two masters on the network: a primary
master, a secondary master(handheld terminal).
Arbitration between the two masters is based on timing.
 HART NETWORKS
The HART Protocol can be used in various modes such as
point-to-point or multi-drop for communicating
information to/from smart field instruments and central
control or monitoring systems.

HART networks can operate in two configurations

1.Point-to-point and
2.Multi-drop mode
Point-to-point network configuration
Multi-drop communication networks
Multi-drop communication networks
 Addressing
HART addressing is of two types.
1.Polling address and
2. Unique identifier
Polling address
 Polling address

 Polling address is single byte and is also known as “short

address.”
One bit of the short address distinguishes the two masters.
Another bit indicates burst mode telegrams.
Four bits are used for the addresses of the field devices
(from 0 to 15)
0 for single-unit mode and 1–15 corresponds to multi drop
mode.
Unique identifier
 Unique identifier
The 5-byte unique identifier is a hardware address that
consists of 1-byte manufacturer code, 1-byte device type
code, 3-byte sequential number.
This 5-byte ID is unique for each device.
HCF administers the manufacturer code, which eliminates
the possibility of address duplication of any two HART
devices.
 HART Communication Layers

OSI Vs. HART PROTOCOL LAYERS

APPLICATION
LAYER HART COMMANDS
PRESENTATION
LAYER -

SESSION LAYER -
TRANSPORT
LAYER -

NETWORK LAYER -

DATA LINK LAYER HART TELEGRAM

PHYSICAL LAYER BELL 202,FSK

 Physical layer
 It defines physical and mechanical properties of connectors and
cables.
 It defines signal characteristics.
 FSK Digital signal communication through wire is based on
Bell 202 communication standard.
 It defines simplex channel for 4-20mA analog signal, half
duplex for FSK digital signal.
 It uses asynchronous transmission.
 Masters & slaves are connected in parallel.
 Twisted pair cable with single shielded cable length of 3000m.
 HART Signal in Physical Layer

HART allows additional information to be carried on the same pair of wires with the 4-

20mA Analog Signal.

Two Communication Channel

4-20mA "Analog" Channel

 4-20mA Analog supports large part
of Protocol Specifications
 One-way communication of one
process value
 Simple Low Pass Filter isolates 4-
20mA signal

HART "Digital" Channel

Compliments 4-20mA
Based on Analog Telephone Modems
» Long Cable Runs
» High Noise Immunity
 Two-way Communications
 Data link Layer
 Responsible for reliable transfer of message over network.
 Organizes data and control bytes into frames, adds error
detection codes to data stream.
 Assures symmetric access to communication channel by both
master and slave.
 Each HART transaction consists of master command & slave
response.
 HART telegram

• Short frame format uses 1byte.

• Long frame format uses 5bytes in address field of telegram.
• Telegram contains min. of 10 control bytes & max. of 25
bytes.
LONG FRAME FORMAT

39
RESPONSE
 Application layer

 Defines commands, responses, data type, and status reporting.

 HART commands enable a master device to send instructions to field devices
to return data.
 Field devices respond by sending acknowledgement telegram which contains
data or requested status.

COMMANDS

Common Device
Universal
practice specific
The HART command set
 The HART command set

Universal Common Practice Device-specific

 HART benefits

The HART protocol improves plant performance and

provide savings in:
Commissioning
Installation
Plant operations and
Improved measurement quality
 COST SAVINGS IN COMMISSIONING

HART based field devices can be installed and

commissioned in a fraction of the time required for a
traditional analog-only system.
Operators who use HART digital communications can easily
identify a field device by its tag and verify that its
operational parameters are correct or not.
Configurations of similar devices can be copied to streamline
the commissioning process.
A loop integrity check is readily accomplished by
commanding the field transmitter to set the analog output to a
preset value.
 COST SAVINGS IN INSTALLATION
The HART protocol supports the networking of several
devices on a single twisted wire pair.
This configuration can provide significant savings in
wiring, especially for applications such as tank monitoring.
Multivariable devices reduce the number of instruments,
wiring, spare parts, and terminations required.
Some HART field instruments embed PID control, which
eliminates the need for a separate controller, and results in
significant wiring and equipment cost savings.
 PLANT OPERATIONS
HART communicating devices provide accurate
information that helps improve the efficiency of plant
operations.

During normal operation, device operational values can be

easily monitored or modified remotely.

If uploaded to a software application, these data can be

used to automate record keeping for regulatory
compliance (e.g., environmental, validation, ISO9000, and
safety standards).
 IMPROVED MEASUREMENT QUALITY
Numerous device parameters are available from HART
compatible instruments that can be communicated to the
control room and used for control, maintenance, and record
keeping.
Some HART devices perform complex calculations, such as
PID control algorithms or compensated flow rate.
Multivariable HART capable instruments take measurements
and perform calculations at the source, which eliminates time
bias and results in more accurate calculations when
performed in a centralized host.
Some HART field devices store historical information in the
form of trend logs and summary data.