This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
1.7 A Look Ahead
Chapter 2 develops fundamental models based on material and energy balances, while Chapters 3 and 4 cover dynamic analysis. Chapter 5 shows how to develop empirical models from plant tests. Chapter 6 is an introduction to feedback control and provides the first look at quantitative control-system design procedures.
The best way to understand process control is to work through many problems. In particular, it is important to use simulation for complex problems. A numerical package that is particularly useful for control-system analysis and simulation is MATLAB; the SIMULINK block-diagram simulator is particularly useful. If you are not familiar with MATLAB/SIMULINK, we recommend that you work through the MATLAB and SIMULINK tutorials (Modules 1 and 2). Simply reading the tutorials will not give you much insight into the use of MATLAB; you must sit at a computer, work through the examples, and try new ideas that you have.