Course Information

Course objectives

• To provide an in-depth understanding of process control, with emphasis on automatic control, which is an essential technology to maintain the safe, economical and environmentally benign operation of manufacturing processes.
• To specifically emphasize the need for, and the challenges of, efficient control of complex and highly integrated processes in modern industrial plants.

Course contents

7 modules

1. Modeling for Process Dynamics

   Modeling tools for process dynamics; inversion by partial fractions.

2. Linear Open-Loop and Closed-Loop Systems

   Second-order systems and transportation lag; the control system; controllers and final control elements; block diagram of a chemical-reactor control system; proportional control of a system with measurement lag; stability.

3. Frequency Response

   Control system design by frequency response.

4. State-Space Methods

   State-space representation of physical systems; transfer-function multivariable control.

5. Nonlinear Control

   Case studies of nonlinear systems; case studies of phase-plane analysis.

6. Process Applications

   Advanced control strategies; controller tuning and process identification; theoretical analysis of complex processes.

7. Computers in Process Control

   Microprocessor-based controllers and distributed control.

Course outcomes

• This course fills the gap between basic control configurations (Practical Process Control) and model predictive control (MPC).
• In addition, the economic aspects of the application of the various advanced control technologies are stressed throughout the course.

Recommended reading

• Smith, Cecil L. Advanced Process Control: Beyond Single Loop Control. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.
• LeBlanc, Steven E., and Donald R. Coughanowr. Process Systems Analysis and Control. 2009.
• Roffel, Brian, and Ben H. Betlem. Advanced Practical Process Control. Berlin, Germany: Springer, 2004.