Course Description

This lab provides and opportunity to work with instruments and control hardware found aboard ship and in industry, and supplements the content of EN‑3216. Students will select, install, and calibrate various sensors and instruments; build and tune PID control loops; design and implement control circuits using Programmable Logic Controllers and Ladder Logic.

This course consists of Twelve 2-hour laboratories and a project or report.

Entrance requirements

Concurrent attendance or successful completion of EN‑3216.

STCW Objectives

Topics

  1. Introduction to the Lab Equipment
  2. Pressure Measurement
  3. Flowmeters
  4. Differential-Pressure Level Meters
  5. Bubblers
  6. Wet Reference Leg
  7. Determining the Dynamic Characteristics of a Process
  8. Thermocouple and RTD
  9. Tuning and Control of a Pressure Loop
  10. Tuning and Control of a Level Loop
  11. Process Control Troubleshooting

This laboratory is currently under development. The lab topics listed above are subject to change.

This lab is counted towards workshop skills for STCW purposes.

Other Objectives

On completion of this course, the student should be able to:

  • Use and put together different process control system components.
  • Use a calibrator to actuate the control valve.
  • Calibrate different types of temperature, pressure, level, and flow measurement devices.
  • Use a paperless recorder, HMI, and PLC in recording data and tune controller gains.
  • Identify dynamic characteristics of a process from the step response.
  • Implement ON/OFF and PID control for different control systems using PLC and paperless recorder.
  • Tune PID gains using Ziegler-Nichols for different process control systems.
  • Build and read a P&ID for a process control system.
  • Build and read a block diagram for a process control system.
  • Follow the safety procedure for the operational control systems.

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