PRocess control Chapter examples

In this chapter the simulation examples are described. As seen from the Table of Contents, the examples are organised according to twelve application areas Batch Reactors, Continuous Tank Reactors, Tubular Reactors, Semi-Continuous Reactors, Mixing Models, Tank Flow Examples, Process Control, Mass Transfer Processes, Distillation Processes, Heat Transfer, and Dynamic Numerical Examples. There are aspects of some examples which relate them to more than one application area, which is usually apparent from the titles of the examples. Within each section, the examples are listed in order of their degree of difficulty. 

The textbook material has evolved at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Texas at Austin over the past 40 years. The first edition (SEMI) was published in 1989, adopted by over 80 universities worldwide, and translated into Korean and Japanese. In the second edition (SEM2,2004), we added new chapters on the important topics of process monitoring (Chapter 21), batch process control (Chapter 22), and plantwide control (Chapters 23 and 24). Even with the new chapters, the length of the second edition was about the same as SEMI. Interactive computer software based on MATLAB and Simulink software was extensively used in examples and exercises. The second edition was translated into Chinese in 2004. 

The first set of case studies illustrates errors due to the inadequate design of the human-machine interface (HMI). The HMI is the boundary across which information is transmitted between the process and the plant worker. In the context of process control, the HMI may consist of analog displays such as chart records and dials, or modem video display unit (VDU) based control systems. Besides display elements, the HMI also includes controls such as buttons and switches, or devices such as trackballs in the case of computer controlled systems. The concept of the HMI can also be extended to include all means of conveying information to the worker, including the labeling of control equipment components and chemical containers. Further discussion regarding the HMI is provided in Chapter 2. This section contains examples of deficiencies in the display of process information, in various forms of labeling, and the use of inappropriate instrumentation scales. 

In this study the problem of estimating an unknown function from its examples is revisited. Its mathematical description is attempted to map as closely as possible the practical problem that the potential NN user has to face. The objective of the chapter is twofold (1) to draw the framework in which NN solutions to the problem can be developed and studied, and (2) to show how careful considerations on the fundamental issues naturally lead to the Wave-Net solution. The analysis will not only attempt to justify the development of the Wave-Net, but will also refine its operational characteristics. The motivation for studying the functional estimation problem is the derivation of a modeling framework suitable for process control. The applicability of the derived solution, however, is not limited to control implementations. 

In-process quality control is the control exercised over starting materials and intermediates. Its importance stems from the opportunities that it provides for the examination of a product at the stages in its manufacture at which testing is most likely to provide the most meaningful information. The WHO Requirements and national authorities stipulate many in-process controls but manufacturers often perform tests in excess of those stipulated, especially sterility tests (Chapter 23) as, by so doing, they obtain assurance that production is proceeding normally and that the final product is likely to be satisfactory. Examples of in-process control abound but three of different types should suffice. 

We have not encountered examples with a second order equation, especially one that exhibits oscillatory behavior. One reason is that processing equipment tends to be self-regulating. An oscillatory behavior is most often a result of implementing a controller, and we shall see that in the control chapters. For now, this section provides several important definitions. 

Figure 14.13 The kinetic sequence of reactions that control the cyclic AMP concentration, and its binding to the effector system, and the kinetic sequence that controls the concentration of a neurotransmitter and its binding to the receptor on the postsyn-aptic membrane. Processes (1) are reactions catalysed by adenyl cyclase, and exocytosis. Reactions (2) are catalysed by phosphodiesterase and, for example, acetylcholinesterase. Reactions (3) are the interactions between the messenger and the effector system both the latter are equilibrium binding processes. (See Chapter 12 (p. 266) for discussions of equilibrium binding.)...

The general background of process design, flowsheets, and process control is reviewed in the introductory chapters. The major kinds of operations and equipment are treated in individual chapters. Information about peripheral and less widely employed equipment in chemical plants is concentrated in Chapter 19 with references to key works of as much practical value as possible. Because decisions often must be based on economic grounds, Chapter 20, on costs of equipment, rounds out the book. Appendixes provide examples of equipment rating forms and manufacturers questionnaires. 

When the flow through a reactor or any other type of process vessel is non-ideal, experiments with non-reactive tracers can provide most valuable information on the nature of the flow. The injection of a tracer and the subsequent analysis of the exit stream is an example of the general stimulus-response methods described under Process Control in Chapter 7. In tracer experiments various input signals can be... 

Information on dies and process control is in Chapter 3. Different control systems are used to process the different extruded products. Simplified examples of different controls are provided in Figures 5.3 and 5.4. 

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