CHAPTER OVERVIEW

1: OVERVIEW
1.1: Introduction to Controls- Background and design methodology
1.2: Introduction to DCS- Control system hardware
1.3: Current Significance- Process controls and you
1.4: Failures in Process Control- Bhopal, Three Mile Island
1.5: Process Controls in Everyday Life- Applying process control thinking to everyday situations

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1.1: INTRODUCTION TO CONTROLS- BACKGROUND AND DESIGN
METHODOLOGY
1.1.1: INTRODUCTION
Process controls is a mixture between the statistics and engineering discipline that deals with the mechanism, architectures, and algorithms
for controlling a process. Some examples of controlled processes are:
Controlling the temperature of a water stream by controlling the amount of steam added to the shell of a heat exchanger.
Operating a jacketed reactor isothermally by controlling the mixture of cold water and steam that flows through the jacket of a jacketed
reactor.
Maintaining a set ratio of reactants to be added to a reactor by controlling their flow rates.
Controlling the height of fluid in a tank to ensure that it does not overflow.
To truly understand or solve a design problem it is necessary to understand the key concepts and general terminology. The paragraphs below
provide a brief introduction to process controls as well as some terminology that will be useful in studying controls. As you begin to look at
specific examples contained here, as well as elsewhere on the wiki, you will begin to gain a better grasp on how controls operate and
function as well as their uses in industry.

1.1.2: PROCESS CONTROL BACKGROUND

The role of process control has changed throughout the years and is continuously shaped by technology. The traditional role of process
control in industrial operations was to contribute to safety, minimized environmental impact, and optimize processes by maintaining process
variable near the desired values (1). Generally, anything that requires continuous monitoring of an operation involve the role of a process
engineer. In years past the monitoring of these processes was done at the unit and were maintained locally by operator and engineers. Today
many chemical plants have gone to full automation, which means that engineers and operators are helped by DCS that communicates with
the instruments in the field.
What are the benefits of Process Control?
The benefits of controlling or automating process are in a number of distinct area in the operation of a unit or chemical plant. Safety of
workers and the community around a plant is probably concern number one or should be for most engineers as they begin to design their
processes. Chemical plants have a great potential to do severe damage if something goes wrong and it is inherent the setup of process
control to set boundaries on specific unit so that they don’t injure or kill workers or individuals in the community.

1.1.3: THE OBJECTIVES OF CONTROL

A control system is required to perform either one or both task:
1. Maintain the process at the operational conditions and set points
Many processes should work at steady state conditions or in a state in which it satisfies all the benefits for a company such as budget, yield,
safety, and other quality objectives. In many real-life situations, a process may not always remain static under these conditions and therefore
can cause substantial losses to the process. One of the ways a process can wander away from these conditions is by the system becoming
unstable, meaning process variables oscillate from its physical boundaries over a limited time span. An example of this would be a water
tank in a heating and cooling process without any drainage and is being constantly filled with water. The water level in the tank will
continue to rise and eventually overflow. This uncontrolled system can be controlled simply by adding control valves and level sensors in
the tank that can tell the engineer or technician the level of water in the tank. Another way a process can stray away from steady state
conditions can be due to various changes in the environmental conditions, such as composition of a feed, temperature conditions, or flow
rate.
2. Transition the process from one operational condition to another
In real-life situations, engineers may change the process operational conditions for a variety of different reasons, such as customer
specifications or environment specifications. Although, transitioning a process from one operational condition to another can be detrimental
to a process, it also can be beneficial depending on the company and consumer demands.
Examples of why a process may be moved from one operational set point to another:
1. Economics
2. Product specifications
3. Operational constraints
4. Environmental regulations
5. Consumer/Customer specifications
6. Environmental regulations

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 7. Safety precautions

1.1.4: DEFINITIONS AND TERMINOLOGY

In controlling a process there exist two types of classes of variables.
1. Input Variable – This variable shows the effect of the surroundings on the process. It normally refers to those factors that influence the
process. An example of this would be the flow rate of the steam through a heat exchanger that would change the amount of energy put into
the process. There are effects of the surrounding that are controllable and some that are not. These are broken down into two types of inputs.
a. Manipulated inputs: variable in the surroundings can be control by an operator or the control system in place.
b. Disturbances: inputs that can not be controlled by an operator or control system. There exist both measurable and immeasurable
disturbances.
2. Output variable- Also known as the control variable These are the variables that are process outputs that effect the surroundings. An
example of this would be the amount of CO2 gas that comes out of a combustion reaction. These variables may or may not be measured.
As we consider a controls problem. We are able to look at two major control structures.
1. Single input-Single Output (SISO)- for one control(output) variable there exist one manipulate (input) variable that is used to affect the
process
2. Multiple input-multiple output(MIMO)- There are several control (output) variable that are affected by several manipulated (input)
variables used in a given process.
Cascade: A control system with 2 or more controllers, a "Master" and "Slave" loop. The output of the "Master" controller is the setpoint
for the "Slave" controller.
Dead Time: The amount of time it takes for a process to start changing after a disturbance in the system.
Derivative Control: The "D" part of a PID controller. With derivative action the controller output is proportional to the rate of change
of the process variable or error.*
Error: In process controls, error is defined as: Error = setpoint - process variable.
Integral Control: The "I" part of a PID controller. With integral action the controller output is proportional to the amount and duration
of the error signal.
PID Controller: PID controllers are designed to eliminate the need for continuous operator attention. They are used to automatically
adjust system variables to hold a process variable at a setpoint. Error is defined above as the difference between setpoint and process
variable.
Proportional Control: The "P" part of a PID controller. With proportional action the controller output is proportional to the amount of
the error signal.
Setpoint: The setpoint is where you would like a controlled process variable to be.

1.1.5: DESIGN METHODOLOGY FOR PROCESS CONTROL

1. Understand the process: Before attempting to control a process it is necessary to understand how the process works and what it does.
2. Identify the operating parameters: Once the process is well understood, operating parameters such as temperatures, pressures, flow
rates, and other variables specific to the process must be identified for its control.
3. Identify the hazardous conditions: In order to maintain a safe and hazard-free facility, variables that may cause safety concerns must
be identified and may require additional control.
4. Identify the measurables: It is important to identify the measurables that correspond with the operating parameters in order to control
the process.
Measurables for process systems include:
Temperature
Pressure
Flow rate
pH
Humidity
Level
Concentration
Viscosity
Conductivity
Turbidity
Redox/potential
Electrical behavior

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 Flammability
5. Identify the points of measurement: Once the measurables are identified, it is important locate where they will be measured so that the
system can be accurately controlled.
6. Select measurement methods: Selecting the proper type of measurement device specific to the process will ensure that the most
accurate, stable, and cost-effective method is chosen. There are several different signal types that can detect different things.
These signal types include:
Electric
Pneumatic
Light
Radiowaves
Infrared (IR)
Nuclear
7. Select control method: In order to control the operating parameters, the proper control method is vital to control the process effectively.
On/off is one control method and the other is continuous control. Continuous control involves Proportional (P), Integral (I), and Derivative
(D) methods or some combination of those three.
8. Select control system: Choosing between a local or distributed control system that fits well with the process effects both the cost and
efficacy of the overall control.
9. Set control limits: Understanding the operating parameters allows the ability to define the limits of the measurable parameters in the
control system.
10. Define control logic: Choosing between feed-forward, feed-backward, cascade, ratio, or other control logic is a necessary decision
based on the specific design and safety parameters of the system.
11. Create a redundancy system: Even the best control system will have failure points; therefore it is important to design a redundancy
system to avoid catastrophic failures by having back-up controls in place.
12. Define a fail-safe: Fail-safes allow a system to return to a safe state after a breakdown of the control. This fail-safe allows the process to
avoid hazardous conditions that may otherwise occur.
13. Set lead/lag criteria: Depending on the control logic used in the process, there may be lag times associated with the measurement of the
operating parameters. Setting lead/lag times compensates for this effect and allow for accurate control.
14. Investigate effects of changes before/after: By investigating changes made by implementing the control system, unforeseen problems
can be identified and corrected before they create hazardous conditions in the facility.
15. Integrate and test with other systems: The proper integration of a new control system with existing process systems avoids conflicts
between multiple systems.

1.1.6: REFERENCES
1. Romagnoli, Jose A. Introduction to Process Control. s.l. : CRC press, 2006.

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1.2: INTRODUCTION TO DCS- CONTROL SYSTEM HARDWARE
1.2.1: INTRODUCTION
Digital Control Systems(DCS) also known as Distributed Control System is the brain of the control system. It is used mainly for the
automation of a manufacturing process and manages the logic that exist for major unit operations. A DCS in the past was tailor made for the
process, plant or company that intended to use the structure to control and model it’s process. Before the beginning of the DCS era there
were pneumatic devices that controlled process and engineers manually turned valves on the site. Modeling of the systems was made
possible by DCS as it allowed the ability to record and manage process from comfort of a computer screen. Because of DCS we are able to
control processes remotely and gain a better understanding of how the process operate and how they can be improved to both increase safety
and increase profit possibilities.
Control Systems are collectively named as "ICSS" Integrated Control and Safety System. Distinctly identified as "BPCS" Basic Process
Control System. "SIS" Safety Instrumentation System. "F&G" Fire and Gas System.
DCS is employed in BPCS as well as used and prevalent control system. How does a DCS work?
In the field you have sensors and gauges that give and recieve information. They convert this information into a electric signal that is sent to
a control room somewhere in the field. This control room has programmed logic that is able to converts the signal into a pressure, flow rate,
concentration, temperature, or level. This logic also contains the information that controls the process and takes the signal compares it with
the set point sent from the operator may or may not be in the field and sends a signal to the manipulated variables in the field. The DCS
covers all of the computer logic from the operator screen to the field box that contain the logic.
Shutdown systems
Shutdown systems are the emergency setting of the logic to make sure the process can be contained and is environmentally safe. These
setting are important for emergency response of the system. It is the job of the DCS to contain the logic for the shutdown system and be able
to operate when a process exceed a certain limit.

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1.3: CURRENT SIGNIFICANCE- PROCESS CONTROLS AND YOU
Authors: (December 12, 2009) Steve Dzul, Steve Pankratz, Derrick Boroski

1.3.1: INTRODUCTION
Industrial processes are central to the chemical engineering discipline. Generally, processes are controlled in order to do things such as
maximize safety, minimize cost, or limit effects on the environment. This course aims to help undergraduate engineering students
understand the mechanisms used to moderate these processes, such as to control their output.

1.3.2: AUTOMATION
Generally, process controls are designed to be automated. This means that given a change in system response, the control system can act on
its own to account for it. In order to minimize cost, automated systems have become widespread throughout industry. Before automation, a
huge amount of labor would be required to run even the simplest processes. For example, a technician might be hired to monitor the
temperature in a reaction vessel, and operate a valve to manipulate the cooling water flow rate in the jacket. In a sense, this technician
operated as a control system. If the temperature reading is too high, the technician will manipulate the system in order to bring the
temperature down. Via automation, this simple, arduous labor can be done by an algorithm.
By designing an effective control system, even the most complicated of processes can be run with minimal worker supervision. Telephone
operators, for example, have largely been replaced by automated telephone switch boards. Removing the need for telephone operators
decreases operating cost for phone companies, thereby allowing the general consumer to pay less for phone service. Automated process
controls, therefore, are enormously important in the modern world.

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1.4: FAILURES IN PROCESS CONTROL- BHOPAL, THREE MILE ISLAND
Authors: (December 12, 2009) Steve Dzul, Steve Pankratz, Derrick Boroski
Process controls can have a huge impact on surrounding communities, as well as the environment. An engineer of a large-scale process,
therefore, has an important ethical responsibility to operate a process safely and properly. These responsibilities extend well beyond the
scope of merely the company for which they work. Catastrophic failures in process control remind us of the importance of control systems
and engineering in today's world.

1.4.1: BHOPAL, INDIA DISASTER

1.4.1.1: OVERVIEW
The Bhopal Gas Tragedy in Bhopal, India on December 3, 1984 was a large toxic gas leak that killed thousands of people in the surrounding
area. A tank with 42 tons of methyl isocyanate(MIC) was contaminated with water. This in turn caused a run away reaction that greatly
increased the pressure and temperatures in the tank, which forced the emergency venting of the toxic gases to the atmosphere.
This tragedy was largely due to the failure or lack of safety controls:
1. Runaway reaction as temperature and pressure increased without regulation
2. MIC was supposed to be cooled, however in the Bhopal plant the refrigeration system was not turned on. Temperature control on the
tank could have greatly hindered the runaway reaction that ensued with the addition of water.
3. Flare tower to handle the leakage of toxic gases was not functional
4. The plant also had vent scrubbers, which were also not functional
5. Water curtain, which would neutralize some escaping gas, not designed properly. It was not tall enough to reach the top of the flare
tower, making it essentially worthless.
6. Alarms that would have alerted to a malfunction in the tank had not been operational for 4 years
The figure below illustrates some of these failures:

Had at least some of these been functioning the amount of toxic gas released would have been substantially reduced.

1.4.1.2: RESULTS
From this tragedy we can see that if the plant had proper safety controls the effects of the disaster would have been greatly reduced.
Therefore as a chemical engineer it is our responsibility to society to provide sufficient safety controls to chemical processes in order to
prevent disasters such as the Bhopal Gas Tragedy from happening. Unfortunately, industrial negligence is still a problem in many third-
world countries.

1.4.1.3: REFERENCE
http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Pollution/bhopal.htm

1.4.2: THREE MILE ISLAND DISASTER

1.4.2.1: OVERVIEW
One of the largest and most far reaching plant failures in United States history took place at a nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island in
March 1979. The event was caused by either a mechanical or electrical failure of the main feed water pumps causing the power plant to
begin to overheat. As the heat increased, the control scheme caused the turbine and reactor to shut down. This caused a pressure increase in
the primary system (nuclear portion of the plant) and a relief valve automatically opened to release some of the pressure to prevent the
reactor from blowing. All of these actions were well designed to prevent a significant event from happening. The problem was that the

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release valve did not close properly when the pressure in the reactor was relieved. As a result, when the reactor started back up, coolant in
the core of the reactor was lost through the pressure relief valve. Because there was no control mechanism that measured the level of the
coolant in the reactor, the operators, who only judged the water level by the pressure in the reactor, actually decreased coolant flow to the
reactor.
The figure below is a simplified diagram of the TMI-2-plant:

The result of the control design failure that prevented the operators from cooling the reactor was that the rods that held the nuclear fuel
melted causing the fuel to also melt. This is the worst thing to have happen in a nuclear power plant and is what happened to cause the
disaster at Chernobyl. Thankfully, the accident was largely contained and although the entire nation watched for 3 days as the threat of an
explosion or breach of containment loomed, 0 deaths or injuries resulted. In fact, corrective steps were so successful that the average
increase in radiation to the surrounding population was around 1% and the maximum increase at the boundary to the site is estimated to be
less than 100% of the natural background radiation present in the region.

1.4.2.2: RESULTS
The accident at Three Mile Island showed the importance of proper design of control systems. As a result the US Nuclear Regulatory
Commission took steps to tighten their regulation and increase the safety requirements on Nuclear Power Plants. These included revamping
operator training as well as increasing the design and equipment requirements. This also brought the dangers of all industrial processes to
the forefront and reminded people of the importance of the safety of the communities surrounding chemical and power plants.
Unfortunately, the incident also inspired intense fear of nuclear power in the general population and is partially responsible for the reduced
build rate for new nuclear power plants since that time. Although control failures can be corrected fairly quickly, after one safety issue it is
difficult to convince the general public that engineers have fixed the problem and that it will not happen again.

1.4.2.3: REFERENCE
References: www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html: The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

1.4.3: TEXAS CITY DISASTER

Authors: (December 14, 2009) Virgil Humes, Fred Garner

1.4.3.1: OVERVIEW
In March of 2005, 15 people were killed at the of a refinery explosion in Texas City, TX. The refinery is the third largest in the country with
the capability to process over 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily. On this particular day, the isomerization unit (whose purpose is to boost the
octane rating of fuels) was being started up. As part of the normal start-up sequence, operators began feeding hydrocarbon liquid into the
tower. However, a discharge valve that should have been opened was overlooked. A high level alarm was ignored and a second high-level
alarm had not yet been re-enabled from the various maintenance activities that had been going on while the unit was down. Upon realizing
that the tower was filling, a discharge valve was opened to release the hot fluid from the bottom of the vessel. This fluid then passed through
a heat exchanger, warming the fluid that was still being pumped into the tower. The boiling that resulted in the bottom of the tower caused
liquids to spill over the top of the stack and into a blow down drum with an atmospheric vent and no flare. The blow down drum could not
contain the volume and began ejecting liquid and vapor hydrocarbon from the atmospheric vent. The vapors were soon ignited by a diesel
truck with its ignition on. Fifteen people in a nearby trailer were killed in the resulting explosion. Inadequacies in the written start-up
procedures, operator training, and the design of the safety relief system led to tragic and unnecessary loss of life. But examples such as these
serve to make process environments even safer places to work in and around.

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An animation detailing the circumstances surrounding the explosion was released by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board during the
investigation. Some accounts of the incident vary in a few details, but all are in agreement that the written procedures, operator training, and
some aspects of the safety system design were to blame.

1.4.3.2: RESULTS
After the incident at the refinery, representatives from BP said the company would eliminate all blow-down drums/vent stack systems in
flammable service. Also, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) recommended that BP commission an independent panel to investigate the
safety culture and management systems of BP. The findings of the panel showed that BP management had not distinguished between
occupational safety and process safety. This led to new implementations of process safety throughout BP North America.

1.4.3.3: REFERENCE
CSB Final Report into March 2005 Texas City Disaster
Wikipedia - Texas City Refinery (BP)

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1.5: PROCESS CONTROLS IN EVERYDAY LIFE- APPLYING PROCESS
CONTROL THINKING TO EVERYDAY SITUATIONS
Written By: Andrew Sereno, Randy Tin (FA09)

1.5.1: INTRODUCTION
Have you ever wondered if the abstract and arbitrary subject of chemical engineering process controls has any relevance outside of Dow
1013? Below are a few examples of how the concepts learned in process controls can be applied to situations in your everyday life.

1.5.2: EXAMPLES OF PROCESS CONTROL FOR THE COMMON MAN

1.5.2.1: CONSUMPTION
Spicing Up Soup
Pavlo LaBalle just finished scaling up a mixing tank for use in the manufacture of horse glue. Scaling up mixing tanks for horse glue is hard
work - enough to make any man crave a hearty bowl of spicy liver soup. Fortunately, Mrs. LaBalle has a batch of liver soup ready for
Pavlo's return home. Using his built-in composition sensor, the tongue, Pavlo realizes the liver soup spice concentration is below his
specified setpoint - the soup is not spicy enough. Having never spiced his own soup, but not wanting to offend Mrs. LaBalle, Pavlo attempts
to increase the spiciness of the soup using his favorite hot sauce, Sriracha. In order to prevent catastrophic overspicing, Pavlo adds a drop of
Sriracha (a differential amount) and immediately begins sampling the soup after addition. In this way, Pavlo is able to determine the effect
of a small disturbance (the introduction of Sriracha) on the process output (the soup's spiciness). Using his new knowledge of Sriracha's
effect on the soup, Pavlo is able to optimize his addition of Sriracha so as to not catastrophically overspice the soup. Pavlo then adds a new
amount of Sriracha estimated to bring the soup closer to the spice setpoint and samples the soup shortly after. By tasting the soup after the
addition of spice, Pavlo is able to bring the soup closer to his desired spice setpoint through the use of feed backward spice control. By
applying his education in chemical engineering process controls, Pavlo has enabled himself to enjoy his spicy liver soup.
Imbibing Alcohol
Jimmy Johnson just finished a presentation and a final report for Chemical Engineering 460. Unfortunately, during the presentation,
Jimmy's personal record of 80 straight hours without sleep came to an abrupt end as he blacked out mid-line, and he was subsequently
criticized for insufficiently displaying the iron resolve befitting of a Michigan engineer. Jimmy decided to drown his sorrows at Good Time
Charley's through the careful ingestion of mood-improving fluids. Jimmy planned on drinking until he felt a moderate buzz, then leaving to
finish his graduate school application to pursue a masters degree in English.
Jimmy, inexperienced with the process of satiating his thirst with such beverages, planned to continuously drink until he felt adequately
affected. However, Jimmy failed to take into account the dead time inherent in his body's response to alcohol. Jimmy was unable to control
his body's response as he had planned, resulting in a vast overshoot into drunken stupor.
Jimmy woke up with no pants the next morning. Fortunately, by applying his education in chemical engineering, he earned the necessary
experience for tuning the amount he should drink in the future.
Purchasing Food at U-Go's
Rachel Malta was busy typing her technical report on the design space of a distillation column in a pilot horse glue plant. It was 11:50 p.m.,
and Rachel was making good progress until she felt the odd sensation of bubbling acids corroding through her stomach wall, at which point
she decided to visit U-Go's to find something to eat.
Confronted with the shop's wide array of processed foods and saturated fats, a difficult problem lay before Rachel. If she purchased too
much food, her hunger set point would be reached, but she would be left with bags of uneaten popcorn and sour patch kids. If she purchased
too little, she would remain hungry and would be unable to return to purchase more food after the store closed. Rachel needed to make a
prediction of how much food her digestion process would require to reach her desired fullness. Based on her previous experiences with U-
Go's "food," her predictive control (her memory) decided to purchase a bag of barbecue chips, one apple, and a bagel. By applying her
education in chemical engineering, Rachel was able to successfully predict how much food would satisfy her hunger without being forced to
find more food.

1.5.2.2: HYGIENE
Filling a Bathtub
Lan Ri has been in the Duderstadt Center for the past 3 nights working on his ChE 487 project. Having not bathed for 60 hours, Mr. Ri
decides it is time to wash himself for the sake of his fellow Duderstadt dwellers, however Mr. Ri has forgotten how to stand up (he's been
sitting at a computer for 60 hours). The ever creative Mr. Ri decides to take a bath instead of his usual standing shower. At the bath, Mr. Ri
finds himself confronted with two flow rate controllers: one "hot water feed" controller and one "cold water feed" controller. Turning the
controls, he realizes that they control the flow rate of the bathtub feed streams. Yet Mr. Ri has a problem - the hot water feed temperature, as

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measured by his built-in temperature sensor (his skin), is far too high. The cold water feed temperature, also measured using his skin-type
temperature sensor, is too low for a comfortable bath. Accordingly, Mr. Ri performs a quick energy balance to determine expected ratio of
the feeds necessary to achieve a bath temperature close to what his desired setpoint. However, because Mr. Ri has poor control of the actual
flow rate of each stream (hot and cold), the actual resulting temperature is still below that which Mr. Ri desires. Mr. Ri then readjusts the
hot-to-cold feed ratio by increasing the hot water feed flow rate. As the bathtub fills up, Mr. Ri uses his built-in level sensor (his eyeballs) to
turn off the valves controlling the feed stream flow when the bathtub level is at his calculated level. Mr. Ri was able to calculate the level to
which the bathtub should be filled by using his knowledge of static fluid systems. By applying his education in chemical engineering
process controls, Mr. Ri has enabled himself to wash away the smell of the Duderstadt Center.
[Can use some diagrams, pictures, and/or equations to describe these problems - RZ].

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