In this in-depth book, the authors address the concepts and terminology that are needed to work in the field of process control. The material is presented in a straightforward manner that is independent of the control system manufacturer. It is assumed that the reader may not have worked in a process plant environment and may be unfamiliar with the field devices and control systems. Much of the material on the practical aspects of control design and process applications is based on the authors personal experience gained in working with process control systems. Thus, the book is written to act as a guide for engineers, managers, technicians, and others that are new to process control or experienced control engineers who are unfamiliar with multi-loop control techniques. After the traditional single-loop and multi-loop techniques that are most often used in industry are covered, a brief introduction to advanced control techniques is provided. Whether the reader of this book is working as a process control engineer, working in a control group or working in an instrument department, the information will set the solid foundation needed to understand and work with existing control systems or to design new control applications.
At various points in the chapters on process characterization and control design, the reader has an opportunity to apply what was learned using web-based workshops. The only items required to access these workshops are a high-speed Internet connection and a web browser. Dynamic process simulations are built into the workshops to give the reader a realistic hands-on experience. Also, one chapter of the book is dedicated to techniques that may be used to create process simulations using tools that are commonly available within most distributed control systems.
As control techniques are introduced, simple process examples are used to illustrate how these techniques are applied in industry. The last chapter of the book, on process applications, contains several more complex examples from industry that illustrate how basic control techniques may be combined to meet a variety of application requirements.
Terrence Blevins has been actively involved in the application and design of process control systems throughout his career. For more than 15 years, he worked as a systems engineer and group manager in the design and startup of advanced control solutions for the pulp and paper industry. Terry was instrumental in the establishment of Emerson Process Management s Advanced Control Program. From 1998 2005, Terry was the team lead for the development of DeltaV advanced control products. He is the Fieldbus FoundationTM team lead for the development and maintenance of the Function Block Specification and editor of the SIS Architecture and Model Specifications. In this capacity, Terry is involved in the movement of Fieldbus Foundation function block work into international standards. Terry is the U.S. expert to the IEC SC65E WG7 function block committee that is responsible for the IEC 61804 function block standards. He is a voting member and chairman of ISA104-EDDL (Electronic Device Description Language) committee and is the technical advisor to the United States Technical Advisory Group (USTAG) for the IEC65E subcommittee. He is also a member of the USNC TAG (IEC/SC65 and IEC/TC65). Terry authored An Overview of the ISA/IEC Fieldbus, Section 11, Standards Overview, Fifth Edition of the Process/ Industrial Instruments and Controls Handbook and coauthored four sections in the Fourth Edition of the Instrumentation Engineer s Handbook, Process Control and Optimization. He coauthored the ISA bestselling book Advanced Control Unleashed. He has 36 patents and has written over 65 papers on process control system design and applications. Terry received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Louisville in 1971 and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 1973. In 2004, he was inducted into Control Magazine s Process Automation Hall of Fame. Presently, Terry is a principal technologist in the future architecture team of DeltaV Product Engineering at Emerson Process Management.
Mark Nixon has been involved in the design and development of control systems throughout his career. Mark started his career as a systems engineer working on projects in oil & gas, refining, chemicals, and pulp & paper. He moved from Canada to Austin, TX in 1998 where he has held a variety of positions in both research and development. From 1995 2005, Mark was lead architect for DeltaV. In 2006, he joined the wireless team, taking a very active role in the development of the WirelessHART specifications and the development of the IEC 62591 standardization. Mark s current research includes control using WirelessHART devices, data analytics for batch process, use of wireless technology the process industry, mobile users, operator interfaces, and advanced graphics. He is currently active in the Center for Operator Performance, WirelessHART, ISA-88 standard, Foundation Fieldbus standards, and ISA-101 standard. He has written numerous papers and currently holds more than 45 patents. He coauthored WirelessHART: Real-Time Mesh Network for Industrial Automation and has made contributions to the Industrial Instruments and Controls Handbook and Essentials of Modern Measurements and Final Elements in the Process Industry. Mark received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 1982.
