Process control can be defined as a control system that manages a particular industrial process so that a uniform, correct output is maintained. It does this by monitoring and adjusting the control parameters such as the flow rate or temperature to ensure the output product remains as it ought to.
A typical example of process control is a closed loop system maintaining a specified temperature in an electric oven as shown below:
The actuator is the heating element and the controlled variable is the temperature. The thermocouple can be used as the temperature sensor. The manipulated variable in this case is the power to the heating element. The controller regulates the power to the heating element in such a way to keep the temperature at the value specified by the set point.
Comments
4 responses to “What is Process Control?”
[…] or smart measurement and control devices. It serves as a local area network (LAN) for advanced process control, remote input/output and high speed factory automation […]
[…] bus formats that are used for interfacing between the central processor and smart devices in the process control […]
[…] FF communication system is mainly applied to distributed continuous process control; running at 31.25 kbps. It connects digital field equipment such as sensors, actuators and […]
[…] What is Process Control? […]