Learning the basics can ease loop tuning frustration and ensure stability. During plant operations, it seems that tuning control loops is an ongoing task, which can be a continual frustration to ...

Power plants–especially coal-fired boilers–pose a set of process control problems unparalleled in other industries. Rapid load ramps, continuous unit demand changes, variable fuel quality and process ...

Just over a decade ago, an article titled, "Advanced Control Strategies Move into the Field" (Control, October 2008), highlighted three evolving trends in the process control world that would "make ...

The process controller’s job is to maintain the process variable at setpoint, regardless of whether the setpoint is constant or has just been changed. The controller contains the “control algorithm,” ...

Understanding what melt consistency is and how it impacts final product quality can make the difference between superior, reliable products and costly production issues.

On my first project as a combustion control engineer, I was responsible for loop checks and for watching the experts tune the system controls. The first loop I tried to tune solo was the drum level ...

In 2012, Automation World published an article looking at the decision factors faced when choosing electric or pneumatic actuators. More than a decade later, manufacturing engineers and OEMs still ...

Liquid-handling systems often use peristaltic pumps to perform critical operations. Examples of applications and the functions performed by peristaltic pumps include: An important advantage of ...

This is Part 2 of a two-part articles discussing the challenges facing service providers as they transition from TDM-based legacy networks to packet-based networks capable of hosting next-generation ...