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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best temperature measurement selection? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Nov 07, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best temperature measurement selection?

Greg's Response:

Temperature is often the most important of the common measurements because it is an indicator of process stream composition and product quality. Temperature

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best lime system design for pH control? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Oct 22, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best lime system design for pH control?

Greg's Response:

Lime feeders have a transportation delay that is proportional to the length of the feeder divided by its speed. This transportation delay may be several min

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best liquid reagent dilution for pH control? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Oct 02, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best liquid reagent dilution for pH control?

Greg's Response:

A common misconception is that the slope of the titration curve and, therefore, the system sensitivity can be decreased by reagent dilution. Reagent di

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best liquid reagent delivery for pH control? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Sep 25, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best liquid reagent delivery for pH control?

Greg's Response:

If the reagent pipeline is partially filled or empty or a dip tube is backfilled with process fluid, the regent delivery delay becomes the biggest sour

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best reagent selection for pH control? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Sep 18, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best reagent selection for pH control?

Greg's Response:

For a reagent dose to be precise enough, the reagent’s logarithmic acid dissociation constant (pKa) should be close to the pH set point so that it tends to f

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best control valve deign for pH control? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Sep 10, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best control valve deign for pH control?

Greg's Response:

Stick and slip generally occur together and have a common cause of friction in the actuator design, stem packing, and seating surfaces. Rotary valves with

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best static mixer use for pH control? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Sep 02, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best static mixer use for pH control?

Greg's Response:

Static mixer have noisy pH measurements. Signal filtering can help but a downstream volume is needed to provide smoothing of pH oscillations that can be large

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best vessel design for pH control? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Aug 27, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best vessel design for pH control?

Greg's Response:

pH systems are extremely sensitive to the vessel design. A poor design can make good pH control impossible in nearly all systems despite the use of the most adva

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Ask Aaron Crews - Where does the return come from on a DCS replacement project? aaron crews automation test systems multi-purpose dynamic simulation operator training systems Aug 20, 2024

We ask Aaron:

You’ve mentioned the desire to avoid “replacement in kind” and to deliver ROI a couple of times.  It’s not intuitive where that return would come from on a DCS replacement project – where is the value? What’s the role for simulation there? 

Aaron's Response:

When we talk about

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Ask Aaron Crews - How has dynamic simulation changed the way you approach control system upgrades? aaron crews automation test systems multi-purpose dynamic simulation operator training systems Aug 05, 2024

We ask Aaron:

How has dynamic simulation changed the way you approach control system upgrades? 

Aaron's Response:

Fundamentally, I think this is a two-way street. The way that simulation has changed the way I approach system modernization projects has shifted almost hand-in-hand with the wa

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best titration curve critical for pH system design? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Aug 05, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best titration curve critical for pH system design?

Greg's Response:

The titration curve is the most important piece of information for designing, commissioning, and troubleshooting pH control systems. Lab titrati

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Ask Aaron Crews - What is the role of dynamic simulation in control system modernization? aaron crews automation test systems multi-purpose dynamic simulation operator training systems Jul 29, 2024

We ask Aaron:

What is the role of dynamic simulation in control system modernization? 

Aaron's Response:

In control system modernization projects – that is, brownfield projects designed to replace and improve the automation systems in plants – the focus is on risk.  Risks come from changes

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best minimization of pH system cost? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Jul 29, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of best minimization of pH system cost?

Greg's Response:

Because of the pressure to minimize capital costs, a project may sell itself short on the number of stages required. The basic rule from the 1970s was that a w

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best maximization of reactor production rate? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Jul 22, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best maximization of reactor production rate? 

Greg's Response:

Production rate can be maximized by a valve position controller (VPC) monitoring coolant valve position. The VPC setpoint is the maxim

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best fluidized bed gas reactor temperature control? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Jul 16, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best fluidized bed gas reactor temperature control? 

Greg's Response:

For gas reactants and a gas product, a pressure loop controls the material balance and provides the time available for reaction

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best liquid multiphase reaction completion control? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Jul 09, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best multiphase reaction completion control? 

Greg's Response:

For both batch and continuous reactors, reaction completion control seeks to provide a complete conversion of all reactants and consequ

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best liquid single phase continuous reactor composition control? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Jul 01, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best liquid single phase continuous reactor composition control?

Greg's Response:

For reactions that are all in one phase (gas, liquid, or solid), inventory control (pressure or level control) canno

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best liquid single phase continuous reactor temperature control? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Jun 24, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best liquid single phase continuous reactor temperature control?

Greg's Response:

Temperature loops control the energy balance and the reaction rate through the Arrhenius equation. A cascade tempera

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best Flow Measurement Specifications? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Jun 19, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best Flow Measurement Specifications?

Greg's Response:

Lack of recognition of the adverse effects of changes in process stream composition and operating conditions, upstream and downstream piping, a

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best Temperature Measurement Specifications? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation Jun 11, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of developing the best Temperature Measurement Specifications?

Greg's Response:

Process efficiency and capacity are often determined by a temperature control loop performance’s effect on the formation and purificatio

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of adaptive pH Control? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation May 29, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of adaptive pH Control?

Greg's Response:

In my 50+ year career in process automation, dynamic first principle simulations have played a more extensive and critical role in pH system design than any other process appl

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in defining the best Control Valve Specifications? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation May 29, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in defining the best Control Valve Specifications?

Greg's Response:

The biggest problem facing nearly all control loops stems from control valve specifications not requiring the control valve internal closure member to actually mo

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of adaptive state-based control? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation May 20, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of adaptive state-based control?

Greg's Response:

Abnormal operating conditions not only pose process safety and performance issues but also potentially cause equipment damage and environmental violations. Often oper

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Ask Greg McMillan - What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of adaptive procedure automation? automation test systems greg mcmillan multi-purpose dynamic simulation May 15, 2024

We ask Greg:

What role do you see dynamic simulation playing in the future of adaptive procedure automation?

Greg's Response:

Startups and product or raw material mix transitions performance is particularly nonrepeatable because of manual actions, operator skill limitations and variations,

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