FPC Test 2 Flashcards
When do you use cascade?
When disturbance is on the supply-side.
What does supply-side mean?
What is load-side mean?
Where energy/M is being introduced in to the system.
Where PV is introduced into the system.
When do you use feed-forward?
When disturbance is load-side.
What type of control is used in the slave loop?
It only needs P but often PI is used.
How is the ratio maintained between a slave and a master flow?
Flow is measured in the master flow and this signal is sent to a flow controller in the slave flow which adjusts the valve.
How do you get good flow control?
PI action with high gain.
What are the four things that are measured most in industry?
Flow, Temperature, Level, Flow
What must you determine about control loops if it is impossible to meet all set points?
Which loops control material balance and which loops control product quality
What do you use when material balances are allowed to be kept within a range?
Controllers based on PV as they have an offset. Use low gain P action.
What do you use if it is essential to maintain product specification?
Tightly tuned PID controllers so product stays close to set point.
What do you do it the system seems to show supply-side disturbances?
Apply cascade or feedforward strategies.
What is the disadvantage of cascade?
It is expensive.
How can you ensure product quality if on-line product composition measurement and sampling are both unavailable?
If it is a binary feed, the bubble point temperature can tell the exact composition.
Why does temperature not change at the top and bottom of a distillation column?
Because the reflux and reboiler keep temperature fairly constant at both ends of the column
Where do you place temperature sensors in a distillation column?
At the trays where the temperature STARTS to remain constant. In other words, where the temperature profile begins to break.
What controller action do you use for level control at condenser and reflux drum?
Proportional / P.
What controller action will you use for pressure control in a distillation column and why?
PID, because it is a direct way to control product quality.
What controller action will you use for temperature control and why?
PID, because it is a direct way to control product quality.
What action do you use for reflux flow control?
PI, because it is a secondary way to control product quality.
When do you use material balance schemes?
When reflux ration is high ~above 5.
When you have high product purity.
When there are frequent disturbances to energy balance.
When do you use energy balance schemes?
When the reflux ration is small ~below 1.
When there are frequent disturbances to feed rate and/or composition.
When there is a large reflux drum.
How do you control the residence time in a reactor?
Level control.
The size of the tank.
What must you do if measuring feed parameters is not enough to control product quality?
Have an operator perform sampling and change flow parameters accordingly.
What are common mistakes in process control?
- An over-defined system: too many control valves.
- Not creating a control loop with the valve: one stream is measured but a different one is controlled.
- Bad use of symbols a temperature sensor going to a flow controller. Temperature only manipulates, not controls the flow.
- Misplaced sensors and valves such as a valve directly before a pump or a valve directly after a pump.
What makes distillation columns in series less robust? What effects can this have and how can this be solved?
Noise in one will be transferred to the other. Optimum temperature may not be reached in the second column, solved by adding a trim reboiler.
Why is using a water jacket preferred when cooling a system?
It only needs to be tuned once because the temperature in the water jacket stays constant despite things such as seasonal temperature change.
What are some design methods for better overall control? What are their advantages and disadvantages?
Larger vessels. They are less susceptible to fluctuations but they are more expensive.
Buffer Tanks. This is a vessel between two operational units so disturbance is not felt immediately in the next unit. They add additional cost.
What does the symbol PI stand for?
Pressure Indicator
What does the symbol TR stand for? Why does it have a line through the symbol?
Temperature Recorder.
Because it does not show the reading locally, but instead sends it to the control room.
What do the symbols Fr and Pd mean?
Flow ratio
Pressure differential
What functions do the following symbols represent?
A, C, I, R, S, T
Alarm, Control, Indicate, Record, Sum/integrate, Transmit
What do the following abbreviations represent?
HPA, LLA, HC
High Pressure Alarm, Low Pressure Alarm, Hand (manual) Control
What are the British Standard symbols for pneumatic signals and for electrical signals?
A tight-angled line, a staple-shaped line
On a P&ID, what is the difference between a fail-open and a fail-close valve?
Arrow pointing from transmitter to valve if it’s fail-close, other way round if its fail-open.
What do the step and ramp functions represent?
Step is when the valve is turned from one position to another quickly.
Ramp is when it is turned slowly and continuously.
What is an impulse? What happens after the impulse?
When a process variable is changed quickly without changing the position of the valve. It will revert back to original state after some time.
In a temperature bypass valve, how is heat controlled?
If the temperature is too hot, bypass valve is opened slightly which lets some cold stream into the stream after heating, which cools it down. If temperature is too cold, then valve is closed more.
Why is direct composition analysis rare?
Because it is a lot more expensive that any other form of variable analysis.