Are Your Tunings Refined?

By Control Guru | July 6, 2020

ConocoPhillips, a recognized leader in the petrochemicals industry, faced a dilemma at their Bayway Refinery. Oscillation in a critical steam flow loop persisted in spite of relentless efforts to stabilize it. The loop was vital to one of the refinery’s distillation columns and its inefficiency was resulting in significant energy loss. Although refinery staff used multiple software tools to assist with diagnosis and optimization, the loop’s oscillatory behavior prevented those tools from producing an accurate model of the process and thwarted tuning.

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When Cascade Control Isn’t the Right Solution

By Control Guru | January 24, 2017

Sometimes looking for the right answer can be difficult especially within the realm of process control. While it can be easy to identify solutions that satisfy some requirements it can often be a challenge to find options that meet multiple success criteria. Something usually has to give. Indeed, sometimes it’s easier to consider the reasons not to do something. Applying a philosophy of ‘no’ can be particularly helpful when considering Cascade Control.

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