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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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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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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We ask Ron:
How does stress impact decision-making, and how can training help mitigate the physiological effects of stress?
Ron's Response:
In the last pod we discussed how stress can impact performance and what are some of the physiological responses to stress.Â
In her book, The Unthinka...
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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We ask Ron:
How can stress affect decision making and how training will reduce the physiological responses?
Ron's Response:
Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was quoted as saying that the moments before the emergency water landing of US Airways Flight 1549 were "the worst sickening, pit-o
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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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We ask Ron:
Why do we need to justify the investment in developing and maintaining successful training programs?
Ron's Response:
Developing a simulator program involves a financial commitment and resources to be successful. This continues after the initial installation of the facility. One
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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 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 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 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 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 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:
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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