Controlling Equipment Articles by Walter Driedger

Want to design an equipment’s control scheme, draw up the P&ID, determine what process variables to control and when, and understand why you’re doing it?

Check out this excellent set of articles:

Controlling Equipment Articles by Walter Driedger

In language that’s understandable and at the right level of detail, you will get some solid advice on how to design the basic control strategy for:

• Centrifugal Pumps
• Positive Displacement Pumps
• Shell and tube heat exchangers
• Steam heaters
• Fired hears
• Process Vessels and Tanks
• Plus some engineering humour!

This is not about buying the equipment, nor about tuning process models, this is laying out the basic strategy of what to measure and what to control. It is fundamental to designing the “nervous system” of any process.

This is a difficult topic to find practical advice on: there is very little explanation or “how-to” of control philosophies that I’ve found, in magazines, books for professionals, university courses, etc. So I recommend you read these articles if you are learning about P&IDs or control schemes.

Another option if you have cash to spend is the Instrument Engineers’ Handbook Volume Two by Bela G. Liptak et. al. It has some specific advice on controlling many, many different kinds of equipment. However, be warned: this book is geared to instrumentation engineers and has a different focus, and very instrumentation-driven details. Unless you are heavily into instrumentation, I would try to borrow a copy and give it a quick read before deciding to buy it.