Spare a moment’s pity for the process engineer, whose job it is to keep industrial automation running no matter what. These poor souls seem to be forever on call, fielding panicked requests to come to ...

Stiction, the tendency of a control valve or actuator to stick in position until a threshold force is exceeded, represents a pervasive source of non-linearity in automated feedback systems. In process ...

Every plant in the process industry most likely has several control loops that do not perform well. Although there are many factors that may negatively affect control loop performance, a few of these ...

Control valve selection plays a crucial role in optimizing control loop performance, and engineers must consider factors beyond just cost, leakage class and pressure drop. As explored in a Control ...

Melt electrowriting (MEW) is an emerging high-resolution 3D printing technology used in biomedical engineering, regenerative medicine, and soft robotics. Its transition from academia to industry faces ...

In this article, as in industry, advanced process control (APC) refers primarily to multi-variable control. Multivariable control means adjusting multiple single-loop controllers in unison, to meet ...

Sometimes it can feel like PID tuning is a cross between engineering, mathematics, and the Dark Arts. There are some definitive engineering and mathematical steps to take when tuning a loop (for the ...

Systematic methodology is the key to quickly and effectively troubleshooting control circuits. Even the most experienced troubleshooter must rely on a systematic troubleshooting process to solve ...

Systematic methodology is the key to quickly and effectively troubleshooting control circuits. Even the most experienced troubleshooter must rely on a systematic troubleshooting process to solve ...

PID loops are a central component of modulating boiler control systems with applications ranging from basic steam header pressure control to cascading 3-element drum level control. A modern ...

Good building mechanical design requires a firm grasp of the mechanical engineering fundamentals (thermodynamics, psychrometrics, the fan laws, etc.). The same can be said about the BAS design needed ...

The importance of motor trajectory profiles and how they’re used in brushless DC (BLDC) motor control to minimize vibration and smooth out other performance issues. Why the PID loop is the most widely ...