Applied Process Control

Bridging theory and practice, this book contains over 200 practical exercises and their solutions, to develop the problem-solving abilities of process engineers. The problems were developed by the author during his many years of teaching at university and are kept brief, taken from the fields of instrumentation, modelling, plant control, control strategy design and stability of control. The algorithm flows and codes, which are mostly based on MATLAB?, are given in many cases and allow for easy translation into applications. Since the text is structured according to «Applied Process Control: Essential Methods», all of the necessary background information on the underlying methods can be easily and quickly found in this accompanying book.

This expanded new edition is specifically designed to meet the needs of the process industry, and closes the gap between theory and practice. Back-to-basics approach, with a focus on techniques that have an immediate practical application, and heavy maths relegated to the end of the book Written by an experienced practitioner, highly regarded by major corporations, with 25 years of teaching industry courses Supports the increasing expectations for Universities to teach more practical process control (supported by IChemE)

Practical Process Control (loop tuning and troubleshooting). This book differs from others on the market in several respects. First, the presentation is totally in the time domain (the word «LaPlace» is nowhere to be found). The focus of the book is actually troubleshooting, not tuning. If a controller is «tunable», the tuning procedure will be straightforward and uneventful. But if a loop is «untunable», difficulties will be experienced, usually early in the tuning effort. The nature of any difficulty provides valuable clues to what is rendering the loop «untunable». For example, if reducing the controller gain leads to increased oscillations, one should look for possible interaction with one or more other loops. Tuning difficulties are always symptoms of other problems; effective troubleshooting involves recognizing the clues, identifying the root cause of the problem, and making corrections. Furthermore, most loops are rendered «untunable» due to some aspect of the steady-state behavior of the process. Consequently, the book focuses more on the relationship of process control to steady-state process characteristics than to dynamic process characteristics. One prerequisite to effective troubleshooting is to «demystify» some of the characteristics of the PID control equations. One unique aspect of this book is that it explains in the time domain all aspects of the PID control equation (including as the difference between the parallel and series forms of the PID, the reset feedback form of the PID equation, reset windup protection, etc.) The book stresses an appropriate P&I (process and instrumentation) diagram as critical to successful tuning. If the P&I is not right, tuning difficulties are inevitable. Developing and analyzing P&I diagrams is a critical aspect of troubleshooting.

Automated Continuous Process Control pulls together–in one compact and practical volume–the essentials for understanding, designing, and operating process control systems. This comprehensive guide covers the major elements of process control in a well-defined and ordered framework. Concepts are clearly presented, with minimal reliance on mathematical equations and strong emphasis on practical, real-life examples. Beginning with the very basics of process control, Automated Continuous Process Control builds upon each chapter to help the reader understand and efficiently practice industrial process control. This complete presentation includes: A discussion of processes from a physical point of view Feedback controllers and the workhorse in the industry–the PID controller The concept and implementation of cascade control Ratio, override (or constraint), and selective control Block diagrams and stability Feedforward control Techniques to control processes with long dead times Multivariable process control Applicable for electrical, industrial, chemical, or mechanical engineers, Automated Continuous Process Control offers proven process control guidance that can actually be used in day-to-day operations. The reader will also benefit from the companion CD-ROM, which contains processes that have been successfully used for many years to practice tuning feedback and cascade controllers, as well as designing feedforward controllers.

The book focuses on process control in the petroleum and refinery industries, with an emphasis on problem solving. The author explores various real life examples and relays the lessons learned from his career in this area. He explains many new yet straightforward concepts without the use of complex mathematics. This handy go-to emphasizes single and well-established process engineering principles that will help working engineers and operators switch manual control loops to automatic control.

Examines real life problems and solutions for operators and engineers running process controls Expands on the first book with the addition of five new chapters as well as new troubleshooting examples Written for the working operator and engineer, with straightforward instruction not hinged on complex math Includes real-life examples of control problems that commonly arise and how to fix them Emphasizes single and well-established process engineering principles that will help working engineers and operators switch manual control loops to automatic control

This book fills the gap between basic control configurations (Practical Process Control) and model predictive control (MPC). For those loops whose performance has a direct impact on plant economics or product quality, going beyond simple feedback or cascade can improve control performance, or specifically, reduce the variance about the target. However, the effort required to implement such control technology must be offset by increased economic returns from production operations. The economic aspects of the application of the various advanced control technologies are stressed throughout the book.

So why another book on process control? Process Control: A Practical Approach is a ground-breaking guide that provides everything needed to design and maintain process control applications. The book follows the hierarchy from basic control, through advanced regulatory control, up to and including multivariable control. It addresses many process-specific applications including those on fired heaters, compressors and distillation columns. Written with the practicing control engineer in mind, the book: Brings together proven design methods, many of which have never been published before Focuses on techniques that have an immediate practical application Minimizes the use of daunting mathematics – but for the more demanding reader, complex mathematical derivations are included at the end of each chapter Covers the use of all the algorithms, common to most distributed control systems This book raises the standard of what might be expected of even basic controls. In addition to the design methods it describes any shortcuts that can be taken and how to avoid common pitfalls. Proper application will result in significant improvements to process performance. Myke King’s practical approach addresses the needs of the process industry, and will improve the working practices of many control engineers. “This book would be of value to process control engineers in any country.” – Mr Andrew Ogden-Swift, Chairmain, Process Management and Control Subject Group, Institution of Chemical Engineers, UK “This book should take the process-control world by storm.” – Edward Dilley, Lecturer in Process Control, ESD Simulation Training

The first statistics guide focussing on practical application to process control design and maintenance Statistics for Process Control Engineers is the only guide to statistics written by and for process control professionals. It takes a wholly practical approach to the subject. Statistics are applied throughout the life of a process control scheme – from assessing its economic benefit, designing inferential properties, identifying dynamic models, monitoring performance and diagnosing faults. This book addresses all of these areas and more. The book begins with an overview of various statistical applications in the field of process control, followed by discussions of data characteristics, probability functions, data presentation, sample size, significance testing and commonly used mathematical functions. It then shows how to select and fit a distribution to data, before moving on to the application of regression analysis and data reconciliation. The book is extensively illustrated throughout with line drawings, tables and equations, and features numerous worked examples. In addition, two appendices include the data used in the examples and an exhaustive catalogue of statistical distributions. The data and a simple-to-use software tool are available for download. The reader can thus reproduce all of the examples and then extend the same statistical techniques to real problems. Takes a back-to-basics approach with a focus on techniques that have immediate, practical, problem-solving applications for practicing engineers, as well as engineering students Shows how to avoid the many common errors made by the industry in applying statistics to process control Describes not only the well-known statistical distributions but also demonstrates the advantages of applying the large number that are less well-known Inspires engineers to identify new applications of statistical techniques to the design and support of control schemes Provides a deeper understanding of services and products which control engineers are often tasked with assessing This book is a valuable professional resource for engineers working in the global process industry and engineering companies, as well as students of engineering. It will be of great interest to those in the oil and gas, chemical, pulp and paper, water purification, pharmaceuticals and power generation industries, as well as for design engineers, instrument engineers and process technical support.

Process Identification and PID Control enables students and researchers to understand the basic concepts of feedback control, process identification, autotuning as well as design and implement feedback controllers, especially, PID controllers. The first The first two parts introduce the basics of process control and dynamics, analysis tools (Bode plot, Nyquist plot) to characterize the dynamics of the process, PID controllers and tuning, advanced control strategies which have been widely used in industry. Also, simple simulation techniques required for practical controller designs and research on process identification and autotuning are also included. Part 3 provides useful process identification methods in real industry. It includes several important identification algorithms to obtain frequency models or continuous-time/discrete-time transfer function models from the measured process input and output data sets. Part 4 introduces various relay feedback methods to activate the process effectively for process identification and controller autotuning. Combines the basics with recent research, helping novice to understand advanced topics Brings several industrially important topics together: Dynamics Process identification Controller tuning methods Written by a team of recognized experts in the area Includes all source codes and real-time simulated processes for self-practice Contains problems at the end of every chapter PowerPoint files with lecture notes available for instructor use