Advanced Temperature Measurement and Control – 2nd Edition
Author Gregory K. McMillan, Available December 13, 2010
Description: This book provides a comprehensive view of what is needed to take advantage of the latest developments in smart and wireless temperature measurements and control strategies. A fundamental understanding of the capabilities of temperature sensors and the advances in wireless technology are provided. The effect of sensor types and installation on measurement accuracy and speed is detailed. Guidance is provided for making the commonly faced choice between thermocouples versus resistance temperature detectors. The temperature control requirements for various types of equipment are discussed. Control systems to meet specific objectives are provided. The appendices provide solutions to the exercises, data important for heat transfer, a unification of controller tuning methods, and equations to estimate process dynamics.
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Control Loop Foundation – Batch and Continuous Processes
Authors Terrence Blevins and Mark Nixon, Published September 30, 2010
Description: In this in-depth book, the authors address the concepts and terminology that are needed to work in the field of process control. The material is presented in a straightforward manner that is independent of the control system manufacturer. It is assumed that the reader may not have worked in a process plant environment and may be unfamiliar with the field devices and control systems. Much of the material on the practical aspects of control design and process applications is based on the authors personal experience gained in working with process control systems. Thus, the book is written to act as a guide for engineers, managers, technicians, and others that are new to process control or experienced control engineers who are unfamiliar with multi-loop control techniques. After the traditional single-loop and multi-loop techniques that are most often used in industry are covered, a brief introduction to advanced control techniques is provided. Whether the reader of this book is working as a process control engineer, working in a control group or working in an instrument department, the information will set the solid foundation needed to understand and work with existing control systems or to design new control applications.
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WirelessHART: Real-Time Mesh Network for Industrial Automation
Authors Mark Nixon, Deji Chen, Aloysius Mok, Published April 22, 2010
Description: WirelessHART™: Real-Time Mesh Network for Industrial Automation presents the WirelessHART Standard in detail and wireless industrial automation in general. This book strives to facilitate the adoption of wireless technology in industrial automation, and introduces the research potential of the wireless industrial automation to the academics.
This book is designed for practitioners and researchers working in the wireless process industry. Advanced-level students and researchers focusing on engineering and computer science will find this book valuable as a secondary text or reference book.
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Centrifugal and Axial Compressor Control
Author Gregory K. McMillan, Published March 15, 2010
Description: Control engineers, mechanical engineers and mechanical technicians will learn how to select the proper control systems for axial and centrifugal compressors for proper throughput and surge control, with a particular emphasis on surge control. Readers will learn to understand the importance of transmitter speed, digital controller sample time, and control valve stroking time in helping to prevent surge. Engineers and technicians will find this book to be a highly valuable guide on compressor control schemes and the importance of mitigating costly and sometimes catastrophic surge problems. It can be used as a self-tutorial guide or in the classroom with the book’s helpful end-of-chapter questions and exercises and sections for keeping notes.
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Process Control Case Histories: An Insightful and Humorous Perspective from the Control Room
Author Gregory K. McMillan, Published March 15, 2010
Description: Control engineers, mechanical engineers and mechanical technicians will learn how to select the proper control systems for axial and centrifugal compressors for proper throughput and surge control, with a particular emphasis on surge control. Readers will learn to understand the importance of transmitter speed, digital controller sample time, and control valve stroking time in helping to prevent surge. Engineers and technicians will find this book to be a highly valuable guide on compressor control schemes and the importance of mitigating costly and sometimes catastrophic surge problems. It can be used as a self-tutorial guide or in the classroom with the book’s helpful end-of-chapter questions and exercises and sections for keeping notes.
Available for Purchase at Amazon.com
Essentials of Modern Measurements and Final Elements in the Process Industry: A Guide to Design, Configuration, Installation, and Maintenance
Author Gregory K. McMillan, Published January 2, 2010
Description: Advances in sensor technology and in digital positioner and variable speed drive algorithms, combined with smart features, offer a step change in the performance of modern measurement instruments and final elements. The installed accuracy of many smart instruments has increased by an order of magnitude. There has been a correspondingly dramatic reduction in the drift of transmitters and a similar improvement in the resolution of control valves.
This comprehensive resource aims to increase awareness of the opportunities afforded by modern measurement instruments and final elements, and to show how to get maximum benefit from the revolution in smart technologies. It builds an understanding of the fundamental aspects of measurements, measurement instruments, and final elements for applications in the process industry. The terminology and ideas presented provide a firm foundation for subsequent chapters that focus on what is needed for lowest life-cycle cost and best automation system performance. The last chapter provides a comprehensive exploration of the technology that supports the rapidly expanding opportunities of WirelessHART instrumentation.
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The Funnier Side of Retirement for Engineers and People of the Technical Persuasion
Author Gregory K. McMillan, Published January 14, 2008
Description: We all know seniors of the technical persuasion. You may even be one yourself. Here is your chance to have a far-out look (or an up-front stare if your company is headed for reorganization) into what retirement offers for geeks. This humorous book puts the Senior World on your doorstep – or at least in your mailbox. Ted Williams’ cartoons make this book a graphic expose. Here is your chance to find out how to have your cake and eat it too while watching a big screen TV.
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New Directions in Bioprocess Modeling and Control: Maximizing Process Analytical Technology Benefits
Authors Gregory K. McMillan and Michael A. Boudreau, Published September 19, 2006
Description: Models offer benefits even before they are put on line. Based on years of experience, the authors reveal in New Directions in Bioprocess Modeling and Control that significant improvements can result from the process knowledge and insight that are gained when building experimental and first-principle models for process monitoring and control. Doing modeling in the process development and early commercialization phases is advantageous because it increases process efficiency and provides ongoing opportunities for improving process control. This technology is important for maximizing benefits from analyzers and control tool investments.
If you are a process design, quality control, information systems, or automation engineer in the biopharmaceutical, brewing, or bio-fuel industry, this handy resource will help you define, develop, and apply a virtual plant, model predictive control, first-principle models, neural networks, and multivariate statistical process control. The synergistic knowledge discovery on bench top or pilot plant scale can be ported to industrial scale processes. This learning process is consistent with the intent in the Process Analyzer and Process Control Tools sections of the FDA s Guidance for Industry PAT A Framework for Innovative Pharmaceutical Development, Manufacturing and Quality Assurance.
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The Life and Times of an Automation Professional: An Illustrated Guide
Authors Greg McMillan, Ted Williams, and Stan Weiner, Published October 2005
Top Ten Reasons to Buy This Book:
- 10. Endorsed by the AMA (Automation Medical Association). Laughter is the best medicine, especially after a hard day’s night on startup.
- 9. Wonderful coloring book for kids. See if they can spot their parents.
- 8. Inspiring comic book for aspiring automation engineers. The “Great Automator” is the superhero of choice for budding geeks.
- 7. Inspiring comic book for expiring automation engineers. The “Great Motivator” is the superhero of choice for retiring geeks. A large print version will be available after Ted receives his new set of “Colossal Pencils and Crayons.”
- 6. Every picture tells a story. Send your stories to Stan and Greg for future cartoons in the possible, pending sequel. Look for the swimsuit issue where “Robbie the Robot” sports his Speedo.
- 5. Charming anniversary present. This book is a diamond in the rough and says “forever” if dipped in acrylic. Not suitable as a gift for Domestic Companions.
- 4. Boss-friendly unlike previous books by Stan and Greg. There are very few jokes at the expense of management. In retrospect, this was an oversight on our part but it does mean the book does not have to be delivered in a plain brown wrapper. Actually, Stan tried to add more management jokes, but Greg seems to be mellowing in anticipation of receiving Medicare.**
- 3. Get a refund. If this book is no laughing matter, send the original UPC along with a self-addressed stamped envelope to Stan and Greg. They will email you the tracking number for the $0.25 royalty rebate along with a picture of Stan cleaning the pool.
- 2. Discounts for futuristic “Great Automator” and “Robbie the Robot” action figures. Just show your copy at the next ISA EXPO to your friendly ISA bookstore person. Pose the figures to guard the entrance to your cubicle.*
- 1. Great preparation for the upcoming “Automation Reality” TV program. Twenty vendors and one “user” are locked in a room with 1000 PowerPoint slides—very similar to a local ISA meeting.
*Action figures may not be available in your lifetime and discounts are not inheritable; however, the editor is working on a plan to make them available as SYMBOLS for your nursing home nightstand.
**In the end, it seems like Ted will slip in a cartoon of a female-type boss trying to convince him that “discrete manufacturing” is more important than his ethics or appearance.
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Good Tuning: A Pocket Guide, Second Edition
Author Gregory K. McMillan, Published April 1, 2005
From the Inside Flap: Every practicing instrument, process control, and process engineer will want to have this practical and to the point pocket guide on good tuning. Good Tuning: A Pocket Guide, 2nd Edition is a portable, concise summary of all the practical considerations for tuning loops. It includes step-by-step descriptions of the three best field-proven tuning procedures, a table of typical tuning settings, a summary of valve performance problems, logic diagrams for troubleshooting, and over 70 “rules of thumb”. Wherever you have data and tuning access, you can estimate the settings for configuring new loops to review and improve the tuning of existing loops.
This second edition includes a new section on methods for reducing valve backlash and sticktion, and preventing excessive sensor lag and noise. It also has new chapters on adaptive control and the application recommendations and considerations for batch control, boilers, crystallizers, columns, dryers, evaporators, extruders, neutralizers, reactors, and many other types of process equipment.
Available for Purchase at Amazon.com
Advanced pH Measurement and Control, 3rd Edition
Authors Gregory K. McMillan and Robert A. Cameron, Published Oct 30, 2004
From the Inside Flap: This best-selling book is now expanded and updated, providing a clear, concise, and comprehensive view of how to select, install, and maintain electrodes, control valves, and control strategies for pH applications critical for product and water quality in the process industry. The book covers every aspect of system design including the mixing and reagent piping requirements that are important for a successful application. The essential concepts are summarized as key insights and the best practices are presented as rules of thumb throughout the book. The emerging capability of dynamic online pH estimators is explored to make existing pH measurements faster and more reliable. The latest developments in advanced batch control, adaptive control, linear reagent demand control, and model predictive control are presented to reduce reagent consumption and variability. A Microsoft® Excel workbook file is included that lets users generate titration curves and analyze pH control system performance. A virtual plant is also offered to prototype and study pH control systems. The dynamic process models and control system modules for the virtual plant require the use of DeltaV SimulatePro and HYSYS Plant licenses.
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Models Unleashed: Virtual Plant and Model Predictive Control Applications
Authors Gregory K. McMillan and Robert Cameron, Published October 2003
Description: Building on the knowledge and the goals of the best-selling book, Advanced Control Unleashed, this portable pocket guide goes beyond theoretical concepts and provides new insight into the implementation practices after the objectives have been defined and the technology decisions have been made.
Recognizing the opportunity that models present to capture and exploit plant knowledge, the authors share their expertise on the concepts, procedures, and examples needed to construct and apply different models through the use of “state of the art” software for simulation and model predictive control. You don’t need an advanced degree to get the most out of this pocket guide. Models Unleashed will help engineers closest to the application take advantage of their experience by embedding it in a model and a control system.
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Advanced Control Unleashed: Plant Performance Management for Optimum Benefit
Authors Terrence L. Blevins, Gregory K. McMillan, Willy K. Wojsznis, and Michael W. Brown, Published October 1, 2002
From the Inside Flap: This book is a guide for both experienced engineers as well as newcomers to advanced control. It serves as a bridge between theoretical concepts and effective practical implementations. The major topics are: * Setting a foundation, finding the opportunities, and estimating the benefits for advanced control * Using Auto Tuners * Applying Model Predictive Control and integrating optimization techniques * Getting the most out of Dynamic Estimators, Abnormal Situation Management, and Fuzzy Logic Control * Employing dynamic simulations of processes and control systems for design, prototyping, and training * Setting up an online system for automated analysis and evaluation of control system and process performance Each topic is summarized to capture important concepts, rules of thumb and best practices. The book includes a CD with practical design, simulation, and implementation examples. This interactive learning environment includes overviews by the authors and video demonstrations that make key examples in the book come alive. Configuration and case files are supplied for a hands-on experience and PowerPoint files suitable for lectures on each unit are included on the CD. Reading the book and observing the simulation exercises offers the shortest path for getting the most value out of applying advanced control. The book should be a good companion for every engineer practicing advanced control.
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Dispersing Heat Through Conviction: The Funnier Side of Process Control
Author Gregory K. McMillan, Published January 2000
Description: If “Dilbert” worked as a process engineer, this is the kind of stuff he would tell you about. Here’s an insider’s collection of original satires and jokes from the men and women behind the tanks and valves and digital readouts.
Incompetent bosses, insecure jobs, convoluted procedures, unrealistic expectations, and dumb mistakes-it’s all here, in living black and white. Longtime process control expert Greg McMillan has collaborated with cartoonist Ted Williams and friends to tell you about bad start-ups, Y2K problems, and just plain old everyday plant floor craziness.
Here too is “From the Control Room”-a hilarious catalog of malapropisms and verbal flubs by those most eloquent of professionals, control room operators and engineers. Throw in a few of McMillan’s favorite lists and jokes from earlier books, such as “The Top Ten Terrifying Thoughts of Control Engineers, Just Before they Fall Asleep,” and you’ve got a collection of silliness and fun that will tickle the funny bone of anybody in the know.
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Process/Industrial Instruments and Controls Handbook, 5th Edition
Authors Gregory K. McMillan and Douglas Considine, Published October 1, 1999
From the Back Cover: Announcing a major revision of the leading instruments and controls sourcebook. The best seller in the field! Updated to mirror the most common industry practices. Enhanced with important secions on process control improvement and new instrumentation standards. Covers the latest advances sparked by increased power and miniaturization of the microprocessor and more.
Society of America award winner Gregory K. McMillan’s updated, expanded, and revised Process/industrial Instruments and Controls Handbook brings you the latest methods for increasing process efficiency, production rate, and quality – plus all the background you need to approach any key decision with confidence.
Packed with best practice solutions derived from the hands-on experience of top technical experts, as well as significant recent developments in microprocessors and other key components, this compendium was designed with one goal in mind: to help you solve problems in the most efficient way possible. More than 50 articles from leaders in the field, hundreds of illustrations and tables, and a well-designed format make this Handbook the most useful assistant you can have on the job.
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How to Become an Instrument Engineer Part 1.523: New and Improved! 52% More Entertaining Than Original
Authors Gregory K. McMillan and Stanley Weiner, Published October 1, 1994
Nicholas Sands Review: How to Become an Instrument Engineer Part 1.523, released in 1994, marked the return to the technical, but not too technical, tone of the original. And this time the authors recruited some assistants. There is excellent advice on how to improve your plant today through tuning, a testimonial on valve position control, and a review of mass flowmeters mixed in with a visit from aliens, a cameo by Garth and Wayne, and a tribute to Stan Weiner.
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Logical Thoughts at 4:00 A.M.: A 99.99% Fact-Free Book
Author G.S. McWeiner, Published October 1991
Nicholas Sands Review: This book has less to say about instrument engineering and more to say about corporate culture and the imagination of instrument engineers. The commentary ranges from dreams of corporate success attributed to the engineers to the nightmare thoughts of engineers, from ethics to pie fights, and from Paul Revere to the three Bears. The subtitle appears to be true: A 99.99% Fact-Free Book. But it is 99% entertaining, especially to those who worked with instruments in the early 1990s.
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How to Become an Instrument Engineer: The Making of a Prima Donna
Authors Gregory K. McMillan and Stanley Weiner, Published December 1987
Description: A timeless collection of humorous essays, enjoyed by instrument engineers around the world – making your day more enjoyable one story at a time.
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