Course Description:

Process dynamics is concerned with the study of transient and steady-state behaviour of
processes. Process control is concerned with the "control" or "manipulation" of process
behaviour so that the process operates close to the desired operating point even in the presence of
inevitable upsets and disturbances. Process control plays a central role in the efficient and
trouble-free operation of modern processing plants. This course will include coverage of the
basic fundamentals as well as an overview/update of the recent advances and applications of
conventional and advanced computer control strategies. The course will emphasize the
relationship between theory and industrial practice. Lectures will be accompanied by illustrative
examples and subsequent problem exercises for homework. The main software platform for this
course will be MATLAB and Labiew, including the control systems design toolkit. Students will
be taught the use of this software by illustrative examples and laboratory problem solving
sessions. Hands-on experimental laboratories will complement the lectures to illustrate the basic
concepts of feedback control and controller design techniques.

Prerequisites: None

Aim: To teach principles/technology of Process Dynamics and Control. Learn to apply and
develop control structures for optimal process controlling applications.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

LO1 - Describe the behaviour of 1st, 2nd and higher order dynamical systems.

LO2 - Analyze linear dynamical systems using mathematical tools such as Laplace transforms
etc

LO3 - Set up simple feedback loops using PID controllers and development of control
modules

LO4 - Implement various PID tuning methods for controllers

LO5 - Design and Develop feedback and feed-forward controllers and obtain a hands-on
experience in doing this via simulation and experimentally on lab scale apparatus by using
LabView.

LO6 - Implement and test out their controller designs by using MATLAB/SIMULINK

Teaching and Learning Methods:

Lectures: Delivered by the lecturers on the key concepts

Tutorials: Delivered by the lecturers or Instructors to reiterate and strengthen the key
concepts through daily examples and worked problems

Homework assignments/exams:

For students to apply their understanding of the basic concepts in particle technology to work out
problems, design or analyze problems

Lab Experiments:

For students to apply their knowledge of feedback control systems by conducting formulated
experiments to illustrate and document their findings. Students are expected to attend 3
laboratory hours every week. The laboratory component of the course consists of both computer
labs/Tutorials using MATLAB and SIMULINK, as well as experimental implementation of a
feedback control system using LabView.

This course is lecture-based supplemented with the tutorial and laboratory sessions. The
purpose of the lectures is to facilitate learning of the basic concepts while the laboratory sessions
help students gain hands-on experience about the topics taught such as PID controlling, auto-
tuning, LabView operations etc.

The tutorial sessions follow up on the lecture materials by solving relevant sample problems and
preview the materials for the upcoming laboratory session. Students will team up and work
together in laboratory classes. Students will submit their laboratory reports in the form of a
written report.

Other learning activities include homework assignments and midterm/final exams.

*Outcome-based Assessment:

· Tutorials / written exam questions for students to apply their understanding of the basic
concepts of process dynamics and controls to work out problems, design or analyze in chemical
engineering applications (LO1, LO2 and LO3)

· Laboratory experiments (with written report submission) for students to apply their
knowledge of feedback controlling and PID tuning by conducting formulated experiments to
illustrate and document their findings (LO3, LO4, LO5 and LO6)

Assessment weighting
Lab work and assignments : 40%

Final Exam : 60%

Homework assignments will be graded and taken into consideration when further reference is
needed about the student performance.

Students must attend all the labs in order to pass the course.

Student Learning Resources:

Reference:

· W.B. Bequette, Process Dynamics: Modeling, Design and Simulation, Prentice-Hall,

2002.

· M.L. Luyben and W.L. Luyben, Essentials of Process Control, McGraw-Hill, 1997.

· W.L. Luyben, Plantwide Dynamic Simulators in Chemical Processing and Control,

Marcel-Dekker, 2002.

· G. Stephanopoulos, Chemical Process Control, Prentice-Hall, 1984.