Process Control and Instrumentation

1. What Is Process Control Instrumentation?
Answer: Process control instrumentation focuses on the measurement and control of process variables within an industrial setting using hardware and software tools. Control systems are derived from mathematical models of industrial processes and systems.

2. Why Is Instrumentation and Process Control Essential?
Answer: Instrumentation and process control is at the core of all industrial and manufacturing activities. Within a production facility, every process must be carefully monitored and controlled to proceed in a predetermined fashion that is both optimized and safe.
For example, temperature monitoring and control systems at petrochemical plants prevent temperatures from rising to critical levels and causing an explosion. Without electric process heater control panels, there could be a loss of human lives and the destruction of assets.

3. Industries that Need Instrumentation and Process Control
Virtually every industry that specializes in repeatable production requires industrial process instrumentation and process control equipment.
Some industries include:
Oil & Gas
Petrochemical
Wastewater Treatment
Food &Beverage
Manufacturing

4. What is process and instrumentation?
Answer:  A Process and Instrumentation Diagram, known as a P&ID, shows how process equipment is connected and by the use of symbols, represents flow directions, safety and control systems, pressure ratings and other key piping and instrument details of a system.

5. What is meant by process control?
Answer:  Process Control is the active changing of the process based on the results of process monitoring. Once the process monitoring tools have detected an out-of-control situation, the person responsible for the process makes a change to bring the process back into control.

6. What is the main purpose of instrumentation and control?
Answer: Control and instrumentation (C&I) engineers are responsible for designing, developing, installing, managing and maintaining equipment which is used to monitor and control engineering systems, machinery and processes. Your job is to make sure that these systems and processes operate effectively, efficiently and safely.

7. What are the two types of process control?
Answer: Many types of process control systems exist, including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), programmable logic controllers (PLC), or distributed control systems (DCS), and they work to gather and transmit data obtained during the manufacturing process.

8. What is process control equipment?
Answer: process control equipment: Equipment that measures the variables of a technical process, directs the process according to control signals from the process computer system, and provides appropriate signal transformation. Note: Examples of process control equipment include actuators, sensors, and transducers.

9. Why is process control important?
Answer: Process control enables automation. Due to its precise nature, it enables the automation of industrial processes. With the proper information and equipment, a small staff of operation personnel can operate even the most complex processes from a central control room.

10. What is process control and dynamics?
Answer: A process is a dynamical system, whose behavior changes over time. Control systems are needed to handle such changes in the process. Thus, it is important to understand the process dynamics when a control system is designed. Mathematically, the process dynamics can be described by differential equations.

11. What are the steps in control process?
Answer: Steps involved in Control Process
Establishing standards and methods or ways to measure performance.
Measuring actual performance.
Determining if the performance matches with the standard.
Taking corrective action and re-evaluating the standard.