Real-time dynamic process control loop identification, tuning and optimization software

In today’s globally competitive marketplace, industrial plants are looking at new ways to increase plant efficiency, production rates, safety and reliability. Engineer education, training and plant optimization play a key role in satisfying technological, economical and environmental constraints. Furthermore, control system optimization is the basis for system improvement and advanced process control (APC) implementation.Only a small minority of plants use modern software for controller tuning, simulation, APC or optimization. The reasons are absence of engineering knowledge, unavailability of practical and robust process control software tools for system identification, simulation and parameter optimization and running plants conservatively due to fear of causing shutdowns and plant problems.This paper presents a process control simulator and loop optimizer applied to a temperature control application. This paper also illustrates the application of software for quick and easy multivariable closed-loop system identification using data from a plant’s historian. Such software can tremendously help to improve control education of students and plant personnel.