Links to basic and advanced process control information include [www.onesmartclick.com/engineering/chemical-process-control.html], a site maintained by Prashant N. Mhatre.
The University of Newcastle's Chemical Engineering Swot Shop's Course Notes and Learning Resources for Process Control [lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/Dept/Swot/connotes.htm] is another resource.
Despite occasional dead links, the sites lead to explanations, interpretations and detailed analyses invaluable to understanding of chemical process control and automation.
Matlab is a computer program from Mathworks used by control engineers for numerical computation and data visualization. A Basics Tutorial [www.engin.umich.edu/group/ctm/ basic/basic.html] is accessible as part of the Control Tutorials for Matlab (CTM) [www.engin.umich.edu/group/ctm/] to help beginners learn how to use Matlab for analysis and design. Additional tools are available through links at Mathtools.net [www.mathtools.net/Applications/Control/Process_Control_Systems/].
Few fields have more acronyms than process control and IT. To get through the alphabet soup, try the Table of Instrumentation Acronyms [www.ctc-control.com/customer /elearning/ref/insttab.asp] from Control Technology Corporation (CTC). CTC's E-Learning Center [http://www.ctc-control.com/customer/elearning/idxelearning.asp #online] provides online tutorials, glossaries, and reference tables of additional acronyms can be accessed. The Acronym Finder [www.acronymfinder.com/] is another place to search with over 310,000 acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms.
For more efficient surfing, use chemindustry.com's search list to narrow the selections [www.chemindustry.com/popular/i/instr.asp]. Each listed link opens to a focused grouping of applicable pages.
Major Web directories also can be useful. For instance, Google's Process Measurement and Control section [directory.google.com/Top/Science/Technology/Chemical_Engineering/Process_Measurement_and_ Control/] includes numerous links as well as links to organizations and societies, and to related categories such as data acquisition and control. Guidance from Google Help Central [www.google.com/help/index.html] may focus a search or introduce tools and services that may assist in finding specific information. Other search engines' peculiarities may prove valuable, such as WiseNut's [www.wisenut.com] ability to cluster query results in categories that are semantically related.
The Web is a great place to share thoughts and ask questions about control and instrumentation. A number of forums or bulletin boards are dedicated to discussing the subjects. Some are membership (registration) based, while others are open. A modest amount of advertising is sometimes included. The forums include Process Measurement and Control [www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/30020], one of the Network54 interactive communities. The discussion is dedicated to the process industries: power, pulp and paper, pharmaceutical and chemical. PID is a popular subject.
The Engineering Tips forums [www.eng-tips.com/] include Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) [www.eng-tips.com/gthreadminder.cfm/lev2/11/lev3/47/pid/791] and Measurement & Control Instrumentation [www.eng-tips.com/gthreadminder.cfm/lev2/26/lev3/78/pid/698], as well as ISA Code Issues [www.eng-tips.com/gthreadminder.cfm/lev2/83/lev3/84/pid/196] and a specific Chemical Engineers area [www.eng-tips.com/gthreadminder.cfm/lev2/7]. The forums are for engineering professionals and discussions are independent and focused. Posting in the forums is a member-only feature, but the forums can be read without registering first.
Ocaso Technology Ltd.'s APC-network. com [www.apc-network com/] is a virtual community for Advanced Process Control (APC) technology in the Refining and Petrochemical industry. Registration (free) is required for access to the forum. The site also serves as a portal for APC technology by presenting relevant and up-to-date information collated, organized, and provided through a single source.
Control.com [www.control.com/] is an online global community of control and automation professionals. In addition to a discussion forum, the site includes a page [http://www.control. com/links_page] with a variety of links that cover topics, questions, equipment, information resources and directories. There is also an email version, The A-List [www.control.com/control_ com/alist/]is for the discussion of automation topics, including PLCs, plant networks, and other automation concerns. Both Control. com forum and the A-List are moderated to avoid commercial exploitation. Both are open to end users, the trade press, students and suppliers.
By Alan E. Hodel, Internet Columnist
