Predictive Control in Process Engineering

A guide to all practical aspects of building, implementing, managing, and maintaining MPC applications in industrial plants Multivariable Predictive Control: Applications in Industry provides engineers with a thorough understanding of all practical aspects of multivariate predictive control (MPC) applications, as well as expert guidance on how to derive maximum benefit from those systems. Short on theory and long on step-by-step information, it covers everything plant process engineers and control engineers need to know about building, deploying, and managing MPC applications in their companies. MPC has more than proven itself to be one the most important tools for optimising plant operations on an ongoing basis. Companies, worldwide, across a range of industries are successfully using MPC systems to optimise materials and utility consumption, reduce waste, minimise pollution, and maximise production. Unfortunately, due in part to the lack of practical references, plant engineers are often at a loss as to how to manage and maintain MPC systems once the applications have been installed and the consultants and vendors’ reps have left the plant. Written by a chemical engineer with two decades of experience in operations and technical services at petrochemical companies, this book fills that regrettable gap in the professional literature. Provides a cost-benefit analysis of typical MPC projects and reviews commercially available MPC software packages Details software implementation steps, as well as techniques for successfully evaluating and monitoring software performance once it has been installed Features case studies and real-world examples from industries, worldwide, illustrating the advantages and common pitfalls of MPC systems Describes MPC application failures in an array of companies, exposes the root causes of those failures, and offers proven safeguards and corrective measures for avoiding similar failures Multivariable Predictive Control: Applications in Industry is an indispensable resource for plant process engineers and control engineers working in chemical plants, petrochemical companies, and oil refineries in which MPC systems already are operational, or where MPC implementations are being considering.

Advanced Micro & Nanosystems (AMN) provides cutting-edge reviews and detailed case studies by top authors from science and industry, covering technologies, devices and advanced systems from the micro and nano worlds, which together have an immense innovative application potential that opens up with control of shape and function from the atomic level right up to the visible world without any technological gaps. In this topical volume, authors from leading industrial players and research institutions present a concise and didactical introduction to Micro Process Engineering, the combination of microtechnology and process engineering into a most promising and powerful tool for revolutionizing chemical processes and industrial mass production of bulk materials, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals and many other products. The book takes the readers from the fundamentals of engineering methods, transport processes, and fluid dynamics to device conception, simulation and modelling, control interfaces and issues of modularity and compatibility. Fabrication strategies and techniques are examined next, focused on the fabrication of suitable microcomponents from various materials such as metals, polymers, silicon, ceramics and glass. The book concludes with actual applications and operational aspects of micro process systems, giving broad coverage to industrial efforts in America, Europe and Asia as well as laboratory equipment and education.

Reverse Engineering in Control Design proposes practical approaches to building a standard H-infinity problem taking into account an initial controller. Such approaches allow us to mix various control objectives and to initialize procedures for a fixed-structure controller design. They are based on the Observer-Based Realization (OBR) of controllers. The interest of OBR from the controller implementation point of view is detailed and highlighted in this book through academic examples. An open-source toolbox is available to implement these approaches in Matlab®. Throughout the book academic applications are proposed to illustrate the various basic principles. These applications have been chosen by the author for their pedagogic contents and demo files and embedded Matlab® functions can be downloaded so readers can run these illustrations on their personal computers. Contents 1. Observer-based Realization of a Given Controller. 2. Cross Standard Form and Reverse Engineering. 3. Reverse Engineering for Mechanical Systems. Appendix 1. A Preliminary Methodological Example. Appendix 2. Discrete-time Case. Appendix 3. Nominal State-feedback for Mechanical Systems. Appendix 4. Help of Matlab® Functions. About the Authors Daniel Alazard is Professor in System Dynamics and Control at Institut Sup?rieur de l'A?ronautique et de l’Espace (ISAE), Toulouse, France – SUPAERO Graduate Program. His main research interests concern robust control, flexible structure control and their applications to various aerospace systems.

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)

The high temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is identified as one of the leading fuel cell technology contenders to capture the energy market in years to come. However, in order to operate as an efficient energy generating system, the SOFC requires an appropriate control system which in turn requires a detailed modelling of process dynamics. Introducting state-of-the-art dynamic modelling, estimation, and control of SOFC systems, this book presents original modelling methods and brand new results as developed by the authors. With comprehensive coverage and bringing together many aspects of SOFC technology, it considers dynamic modelling through first-principles and data-based approaches, and considers all aspects of control, including modelling, system identification, state estimation, conventional and advanced control. Key features: Discusses both planar and tubular SOFC, and detailed and simplified dynamic modelling for SOFC Systematically describes single model and distributed models from cell level to system level Provides parameters for all models developed for easy reference and reproducing of the results All theories are illustrated through vivid fuel cell application examples, such as state-of-the-art unscented Kalman filter, model predictive control, and system identification techniques to SOFC systems The tutorial approach makes it perfect for learning the fundamentals of chemical engineering, system identification, state estimation and process control. It is suitable for graduate students in chemical, mechanical, power, and electrical engineering, especially those in process control, process systems engineering, control systems, or fuel cells. It will also aid researchers who need a reminder of the basics as well as an overview of current techniques in the dynamic modelling and control of SOFC.

Avoid wasting time and money on recurring plant process problems by applying the practical, five-step solution in Process Engineering Problem Solving: Avoiding «The Problem Went Away, but it Came Back» Syndrome. Combine cause and effect problem solving with the formulation of theoretically correct working hypotheses and find a structural and pragmatic way to solve real-world issues that tend to be chronic or that require an engineering analysis. Utilize the fundamentals of chemical engineering to develop technically correct working hypotheses that are key to successful problem solving.

Focusing on the practical implementation of the methods of process modelling and control, this book provides readers with rapid access to the methods described, while including the theoretical background necessary. Throughout, the essential knowledge is built up from chapter to chapter, starting with laying the foundations in plant instrumentation and control. Modelling abilities are then developed by starting from simple time-loop algorithms and passing on to discrete methods, Laplace transforms, automata and fuzzy logic. In the end, readers have the means to design simple controllers on the basis of their own models, and to use more detailed models to test them. With its clarity and simplicity of presentation, and illustrated by more than 200 diagrams, this book supports self-study and teaches readers how to apply the appropriate method for the application required, and how to handle problems in process control. Bridging theory and practice, over 200 exercises and solutions can be found in the accompanying «Applied Process Control: Efficient Problem Solving», to develop the problem-solving abilities of process engineers.

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.

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.

A high-level introduction to new technologies andmethods in the field of software engineering Recent years have witnessed rapid evolution of software engineering methodologies, and until now, there has been no single-source introduction to emerging technologies in the field. Written by a panel of experts and divided into four clear parts, Emerging Methods, Technologies, and Process Management in SoftwareEngineering covers: Software Architectures – Evolution of software composition mechanisms; compositionality in software product lines; and teaching design patterns Emerging Methods – The impact of agent-oriented software engineering in service-oriented computing; testing object-oriented software; the UML and formal methods; and modern Web application development Technologies for Software Evolution – Migrating to Web services and software evolution analysis and visualization Process Management – Empirical experimentation in software engineering and foundations of agile methods Emerging Methods, Technologies, and Process Management in Software Engineering is a one-stop resource for software engineering practitioners and professionals, and also serves as an ideal textbook for undergraduate and graduate students alike.