A lab for undergraduate control engineering education equipped with industrial distributed control systems

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The paper demonstrates how a set of pilot plant air blower/heater systems connected to modern industrial distributed control systems (DCS) are used in different control engineering laboratories for the undergraduate level. Student's tasks include the identification of static and dynamic process models and the tuning and commissioning of Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control loops, as well as the utilization of commercial tools for DCS engineering. Using the same pilot plants, DCS and scientific computing environment in different courses lowers the costs, allows the reutilization of results and enables an efficient lab organization. It also supports the process of learning the inner context of different control engineering related subjects. The use of industrial-scale equipment and commercial software helps students to easily integrate in their later teams and to avoid the "reality shock" when making the transition from academia to industry. ß 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 24:288-296, 2016; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae;

Simulation of electric heating prediction model by internet of things technology and room thermal performance analysis

“…To ensure the safety of the production process and the reliability of the control system, it is very common in the industry to use DCS control systems based on distributed computers, especially for large-scale and complex industrial process operation control [10][11][12]. Predictive control uses a discrete convolution model, a rolling optimization index, and the implicit system design parameters.…”

A low‐cost, free‐software platform with hard real‐time performance for control engineering education

“…, the authors presented several experiments that emphasized the use of simple control strategies to convey the fundamental ideas of feedback, and provided an experimental DC motor control setup that could be used in beginner and advanced control courses. Other important works on this matter were presented in . Also, different control engineering educational platforms have been developed in the last years, and assessed the advantages of new and existing options.…”

“…Some of these works (e.g., ) have presented assessments on the students’ perception of the developed platforms, and have analyzed the educational advantages that they provide. In all of them, students have given positive reviews on the usefulness of the proposed platforms and activities.…”

A workbench for motion control experiments using programmable automation controllers in industrial automation laboratory at Kongu Engineering College

“…Advanced control structures, network connectivity, device interoperability, and enterprise data integration are increasingly demanded in a modern industrial application. From the literature survey, several authors have worked in developing the laboratories for mechatronics curriculum around the world . This paper focus on development of workbench for motion control experiments using programmable automation controllers in industrial automation laboratory.…”