Part I: Why Traditional Process Control Falls Short

In factories and industrial plants, the traditional process control loop plays a vital role in control systems, utilising multiple components such as a process sensor, controller, and final control element (FCE) to achieve a desired process variable. However, these components take up a lot of space and are prone to failure. The recent emergence of smart meter valves is transforming this space, introducing advanced technology that improves efficiency and reduces costs.

In this series, we will explore the transformative impact of smart meter valves and highlight their distinct benefits and key differences from conventional process control. With today part 1: Why traditional process control setups fall short.

What is traditional process control?

Traditional process control, although it may not be specifically termed as such in industrial contexts, is used in processes such as storage tanks, heat exchangers, reactors, mixers and blenders. It relies on feedback loops where sensors measure process variables, controllers determine corrective actions, and actuators implement these actions. How does the process work exactly? It is much comparable with finding the right shower condition.

The shower analogy

Imagine you're in the shower, adjusting the knobs to control the water flow. Using the knob you find the right water speed. The knob directly functions as a valve and based on your senses you accept a specific opening to enjoy the right shower condition. In the beginning of process control adjusting a valve with the hand was the basis of flow control but overtime this has developed due to achieve a production level of consistency, economy and safety which could not be achieved purely by human manual control.

New developments: Early automation

To achieve a production level of consistency and safety the process industry started to automate this processes. First with semi-automation with inventions like steam boilers, but after the industrial revolution the real impact was made trough industrial controllers. The evolution of industrial automation accelerated rapidly as factories began making use of relay logic and underwent electrification - the process of powering by electricity. This made the demand for instruments and controllers grow.

Technological Advancements

As safety and consistency became more important also technological developments arose. In the 1930s, controllers were introduced into the industry to enable calculated changes as a response to disturbances from the set point. Solid-state digital logic modules for hard-wired programmed logic controllers were being adopted by industrial control systems for process control and automation in 1958. Since then these controllers have become digital but the basic of the logic controllers are still used in Traditional process control as we know it.

The rise of digital controllers

In industrial automation terminology, the digital controller is integrated in a computer also known as a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller). The PLC interprets setpoint commands and controls the operation of the valve based on the output of the flowmeters deviation of the setpoint. This eliminates the need for manual adjustment of the valves, akin to manually adjusting the buttons on a shower to regulate water flow.

Limitations of traditional process controls

While traditional control has been proven to be robust and reliable, it also has various drawbacks:

• The need for separate components and integration into PLC/DCS results in higher costs and increased energy consumption.
• Traditional control setups require significant space for installation and the complexity of connecting separate sensors to the control system.
• Building a process control algorithm necessitates specialists, whose availability is diminishing, and the accuracy of the algorithm is limited by the specialists' expertise and the components used.
• Traditional components often have challenging-to-use displays and are designed to fit within an inflexible data infrastructure, making it difficult to retrieve relevant process data for efficiency improvements.

That's where Smart Meter Valves come in. In the next article we'll explain what Smart Meter Valves are and how they're different from the traditional process control, as described above. Stay tuned!