Articles

Tuning Interacting Controllers

Is the Famous Ziegler-Nichols (ZN) Open-Loop Tuning/Closed-Loop Tuning Parameter Calculation for Interacting or Non-Interacting PID?
Post Date: 05/14/2012
Author: Bela Liptak

The Case Against Lambda Tuning

It's Not the Best Solution for Loop Control. Here's Why
Post Date: 05/10/2012
Author: F. Greg Shinskey

Software for Your Every Process Need

Here are Applications for Every Aspect of your Process Automation Environment.
Post Date: 12/03/2010
Author:

Integration

Read Dan Hebert's Article "Integration Operations to Enterprise" and other online resources on Software Management and Integration Systems
Post Date: 03/05/2009
Author:

It’s 12 a.m. Do You Know What Your PID’s Doing?

The Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID)
Post Date: 01/12/2009
Author:

Ready for Control in the Field?

When The Loop’s Valve Positioner Loses Power, the Loop Will Experience an Upset No Matter Where the PID Is Solved
Post Date: 07/01/2008
Author:

Loops are Not Just for Continuous Processes

Greg McMillan and Stan Weiner bring their wits and more than 66 years of process control experience to bear on your questions, comments, and problems. Write to them at controltalk@putman.net.
Post Date: 04/04/2008
Author:

Networking the Loop

Networked Ethernet, DeviceNet and Distributed Nodes Let Loop Controllers Speak
Post Date: 03/04/2008
Author:

Faking It Isn’t All Bad

Simulate or model your loop tuning, operator training, advanced process control or optimization for savings, safety and skill-building.
Post Date: 10/02/2007
Author:

A Return to Single-Loop-Integrity

Control in the field is becoming mainstream once again – just as the ISA SP50 fieldbus committee predicted it would be. CONTROL's regular contributor Dave Harrold looks at the integrity of the control loop.
Post Date: 03/19/2007
Author: Dave Harrold

Tuning rule bonanza

Control Talk columnists McMillan and Weiner say in order to get good performance, you need to measure and track the process, the controls, and the equipment under actual real-time operating conditions.
Post Date: 11/07/2006
Author:

User-friendly advanced control

Senior Tech Editor Dan Hebert, PE, looks at the latest advances in simulation and modeling technologies for improved loop control, including new software packages and embedded APC systems.
Post Date: 10/26/2006
Author:

Jacket temp: Thermocouple multiplexers

In this installment of Ask the Experts, Bela Liptak and his cadre of automation experts suggest to a reader how to tune a reactor temperature control loop for nearly all exothermic chemical reactors.
Post Date: 10/14/2006
Author:

Online training videos explode the myths of plant performance

"The 6 Myths of Process Performance" identifies the right things to focus on for improved process performance. The myths represent outdated methods of plant performance improvement. Each myth is debunked in a short 5-minute video.
Post Date: 08/15/2006
Author:

Intoxicating answers

Control Talk columnists McMillan and Weiner describe the period of time between when you first take a drink and when you first recognize the effect and bypass the next round for coffee as dead time.
Post Date: 08/10/2006
Author:

The FAT is the problem

End users need to revisit their expectations of the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) and accept that not every loop needs to be tested in order to implement a successful fieldbus project.
Post Date: 07/14/2006
Author:

Tuning cascade loops

Tuning a cascade loop is simple, as long as the concepts of the cascade loop are understood. In this installment of "How Do I . . ." we take a look at a common cascade loop application.
Post Date: 12/12/2005
Author:

Three alternative approaches to better loop control

What's wrong with those ramps? Well, as the performance of control loops declines over time, there are better alternatives to properly handle potential problems. Check out what to avoid when tuning your ramps.
Post Date: 09/10/2005
Author:

What's in your server?

Security threats to control system networks are a fact of life. Senior Technical Editor Rich Merritt shares tips and techniques he culled from end users and vendors on how you can keep the Barbarians at bay.
Post Date: 02/26/2005
Author:

Dynamic simulation aids recycling plant redesign

A poor design and high consumption costs shut this Pennsylvania paper recycling plant down, but an in-house implementation of full, dynamic process simulation got it all tuned up for a successful restart.
Post Date: 12/09/2004
Author: