This module introduces students to modelling, process dynamics and practical process monitoring and control. The importance of control for process operation will be explained, and the structure of modern plant-wide control systems will be described. The module will discuss typical process monitoring devices for common variables (pressure, temperature, level, flow, etc.), and show how signals are generated by these and transduced, transmitted and, if necessary, transformed for use in the control system. The fundamentals of open- and closed-loop control will be discussed and controller actions outlined. A review of process modelling and its basic procedures will be used to explain the concept of dynamic behaviour of processes. Methodologies for solving the differential equations resulting from unsteady-state balances over selected process examples will be given, in particular for linear, second-order differential equations. Practical examples will also be given of processes and instruments demonstrating common types of dynamic behaviour.
Prerequisites for this module are Year 1 Modelling Concepts and Tools, where modelling tools and some essential mathematics are learned, and Year 1 Design and Professional Skills B, which covers process analysis.