2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Add a real experience on process control lab to your students … for free!
In a previous publication [1] the authors described a set of various process control laboratory projects integrated in the chemical engineering curriculum of an ABET accredited institution as a 1 credit required course, accompanying a 5 credits course on Systems Engineering: Dynamics and Modeling. This paper focuses on the availability of resources from that course to be shared with faculty and students anywhere in the world, replicating on remote the enriching experience of modeling real experimental data, and synthetizing controllers for the control of liquid levels in tanks (single and in cascade series, with multiple input flows and drains) and the control of temperature in steam coiled tanks, double pipe, and shell and tube heat exchangers. Description of six experimental setups is documented with manuals, pictures, and videos. LABVIEW software is used to collect data and implement PID control actions. EXCEL spreadsheets are available with collected data (open loop and closed loop experiments) from students in the past and adding new sets of data every year, providing multiple sources for analysis. Working MATLAB codes and SIMULINK models are offered as starting points for adapted versions by students to derive parameters for fitting first principles-based models (mass and energy balances) by least-squares non-linear regression techniques and comparison with experimental data. Other software could be used to handle the data provided in the EXCEL spreadsheets and that could extend further the scope for collaboration with interested faculty and students. Also, working SIMULINK models based on ordinary differential equations and transfer functions are available as starting points for developing and analyzing controller synthesis and tuning methods. The combination of all these hands-on active learning experiences strongly consolidates the fundamental knowledge on transient processes, dynamics modeling, and process control as we have validated in more than a decade of pedagogical implementation. Now they are offered for collaboration with interested faculty who could add them to their courses in a variety of strategies to adapt to time availability, student skills, and course objectives. The proposal could evolve into a network of faculty and institutions (PC-GAP, Process Control Global Academic Partnership), to share new approaches, including running ah hoc experiments, and even having teams of students collaborating across assignments to expand on global diversity and cultural inclusiveness. The paper describes in detail the experimental setups, the supporting software, various teamwork strategies, and the scope of current assignments. In summary, it is an open invitation to make available for free valuable resources to enrich students’ knowledge and practical experience in process control.

[1] Blank to cover authors’ identity during the review process.