Power plants–especially coal-fired boilers–pose a set of process control problems unparalleled in other industries. Rapid load ramps, continuous unit demand changes, variable fuel quality and process ...

Learning the basics can ease loop tuning frustration and ensure stability. During plant operations, it seems that tuning control loops is an ongoing task, which can be a continual frustration to ...

Just over a decade ago, an article titled, "Advanced Control Strategies Move into the Field" (Control, October 2008), highlighted three evolving trends in the process control world that would "make ...

Only through proper troubleshooting and then solving the underlying problems can control loop performance be improved. Process design certainly plays a role in control loop performance, but experience ...

The process controller’s job is to maintain the process variable at setpoint, regardless of whether the setpoint is constant or has just been changed. The controller contains the “control algorithm,” ...