Use of an industrial distributed control system in conjunction with Matlab/Simulink for process control education

The paper demonstrates how a four-tank laboratory process equipped with a modern distributed control system (DCS) is used in different control engineering laboratories for the undergraduate and graduate levels. This includes the utilization of commercial tools for DCS engineering as well as the design and commissioning of traditional and advanced control solutions. Matlab/Simulink tools are connected via OPC to extend the laboratory scope with rapid control prototyping and hardware-in-the-loop simulation. Using the same pilot plant, DCS and scientific computing environment in different courses lowers the costs, allows the reutilization of results and enables an efficient lab organization. It also supports the process of learning the inner context of different process control related subjects.