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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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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We ask Ron:
Why is it important to understand the relationship and interaction between the human and machine for training?
Ron's Response:
Several years ago, Gary Klein and Joseph Borders completed a study of operators’ mental models that involved watching how they navigated through proces
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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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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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We ask Ron:
What are some key components of maintaining a successful simulator training program?
Ron's Response:
Unfortunately, far too many simulators have become dust collectors after their initial installation. They may have been developed for the initial startup of a facility and then
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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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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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We ask Ron:
Why is the selection and development of training scenarios key to a successful program?
Ron's Response:
There are a few areas to focus on when developing simulator scenarios.
- The development of process knowledge, i.e. Distillation, heat exchange, chemical reactions. Scenario ...
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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We ask Ron:
What are critical decisions and why is it important to make them where there is limited time to respond?
Ron's Response:
Critical decisions include situations that could include a loss of containment and prompt isolation of the process is required, or when equipment fails and qu
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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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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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We ask Ron:
What unique challenges do the different types of procedures present when building a training program?
Ron's Response:
Often times this distinction is not highlighted as each type of procedure presents unique challenges. Yes, there are at least 4 main types of procedures which ar...
We ask Ron:
Why is training on procedures important to a training program?
Ron's Response:
There are benefits and challenges with procedures. Procedures are an essential part of the safe and efficient operation of our process. The best way to highlight these are in a few bullet points. The
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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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We ask Ron:
Why is it important to consider the people during the simulator training?
Ron's Response:
It is easy to be critical during simulator training because of the complexity of our processes and the fact there is so much going on. Remember to acknowledge when something is noticed or d
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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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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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We ask Ron:
How does dynamic simulation fit into the training of process upsets (Malfunctions/Failures)?
Ron's Response:
Depending on the complexity of your process it can be impossible to write a procedure of every upset. If this was accomplished, could you find the right one in time. Anot
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We ask Ron:
How does dynamic simulation fit into the development and training of Emergency Procedures?
Ron's Response:
Freeze up is an unfortunate response to becoming overwhelmed. Reading through a procedure is a different experience than a major event or plant shutdown when the alarm page
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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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We ask Ron:
How does dynamic simulation fit into the development and training of process startup?
Ron's Response:
Process startups can be very challenging as there can be several systems coming online at the same time. This can be very challenging to cover in a step-by-step procedure when s
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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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