Control and Instrumentation articles from January 1997

Control and Instrumentation archives from January 1997

Java, ActiveX and new systems. (control system software)
January 1, 1997... As we usher in the New Year, I'd like you to welcome a new section in C&I. Called Sys.Build, and starting on page 15, it's to be a regular supplement covering system building and system integration - across the industrial spectrum....

PCs bring real time IT to cranes. (information technology)
January 1, 1997... PC STE BUS Rubber tyred gantry cranes (RTGs) are hardly a regular feature of C&I. But a system of 52 crane-mounted, Windows Pentium PCs with STEbus I/O providing in-cab VGA touch screens and a real time database - all directing and tracking...

Going web-enabled. (using Web browser technology to distribute data)
January 1, 1997... It's actually very easy now to use Web Browser technology to distribute fast-changing, complex data. And, it's immensely powerful and flexible Web browsers are as universal as, well, the World Wide Web itself. And today, some systems...

SCADA team in cider. (on-line automation systems in a cider plant)
January 1, 1997... Experience shows that open systems technologies and teamwork are key to linking disparate business and on-line automation systems When HP Bulmer embarked on a modernisation programme four years ago, it wanted open packaged solutions to...

Programmable controllers.
January 1, 1997... Does openness spell the end of the PLC as we know it in automation? Can PLCs live on with PCs? In recent months there has been a great deal of talk about PLCs having had their day, and increased use of open control architecture by...

Communications maketh the intelligent valve.(Valves & Actuators)
January 1, 1997... Smart instrumentation and digital fieldbuses are changing the face (and functionality) of automatic valves Valve monitors fulfil a vital role as part of automated valve systems - they verify valve position. Without them, problems may occur -...

Process variability and control valve tests.
January 1, 1997... A new process variability testing method helps to evaluate performance of a control valve Control valves are often the most critical components in control loops, and their performance has a strong influence on process variability. This...

Soft sensors get the process data you really want.
January 1, 1997... Neural networks are now able to generate live process property measures of tremendous value Soft sensors (on-line neural nets) are spreading across the process industries at a staggering three per day! They're in industries like refining,...

Field device integration. (intelligent devices)
January 1, 1997... Close integration of intelligent field devices provides many benefits, and a recent field test gives the proof Intelligent field devices have been used in process plants for over 10 years. As the use of these devices has increased, and the...

IEC1508 - is this the safety net? (new International Electrotechnical Commission guidelines for control and safety)
January 1, 1997... New IEC guidelines for control and safety - what should the process industry be doing NOW? Future applications of safety-related control systems using electronic or Programmable Electronic Systems (PES) technology to protect potentially...

Loss Prevention in the Process Industries. Hazard Identification, Assessment and Control, 3 vols, 2d ed.
January 1, 1997... Frank Lees, from Loughborough University, is a leading specialist in loss control and served on the Cullen committee for the Piper Alpha offshore report. His 'bible' looks at quantitative methods of hazard assessment in the process...