[Why a Consortium?] [Executive Summary] [Partnership Structure]
[Program Achievements] [Research Directions] [Active Projects] [Facilities]

Executive Summary

Process Control and Optimization Consortium
Department of Chemical Engineering
Texas Tech University

This process control and optimization consortium (PCOC) is a partnership between industry and the Department of Chemical Engineering to assure relevant process modeling, control and optimization research focused on industrial problems. The industrial members are asked to pay a $15,000 per year membership fee with a two year initial commitment. The consortium will meet bi-annually. At these meetings (1 and 1/2 days), there will be a half-day workshop on a topic of relevance to the members and conducted by experts in the area. This will be followed by a one-day business meeting that reviews the status of selected projects, discusses future research directions, and plans future workshop topics. Partnering companies would benefit from control technology transfer and an awareness of recent developments in advanced process control by several mechanisms: a semi-annual program review, copies (upon request) of all publications and reports, a one-day per year no-fee consulting by one of the principals, and consortium graduate internships.

Process control is a vital component of today's chemical processing industry.  Improvements in control will lead to a more uniform product, near-optimal and safe operations, and competitive market position.  These benefits can almost always be quantified in terms of uptime, feedstock and energy resource savings, and decreased maintenance. Texas Tech's Department of Chemical Engineering needs industrial partners to develop and transfer the advanced modeling, control and optimization methodologies, and to fill the regional and national demand for control-educated graduates.

The original principals' objectives were to develop an applied chemical process control program and well trained control engineers.  Since that time, one of the PI's (Rhinehart) accepted the Chair's job at Oklahoma State University.  Karlene A. Hoo joined the consortium as co-chair and as an Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering in Fall 1999 as did Charles Cutler (formerly founder and CEO of DMC Corp) as an Adjunct Professor.  Karlene brings with her a strong theoretical background in the fundamentals of control theory and 6+ years of industrial experience with Dupont and Exxon Chemical Co. Charlie brings more than 23 years of industrial experience in the area of process control. 

The approach to process control research has not altered its attempt to be applied, but rather it has become a balance of fundamental theory with applications.  The program direction continues to stress modeling either first-principles using physics and chemistry or using system identification theory. The control research spans regulation (P/PI/PID types), advanced (model-based) supervisory, to coordination of scheduling and control.  Analysis skills are being emphasized to assess, for instance,  closed-loop stability for the general rather than specific classes of problems.

Currently, eleven graduate students are working on modeling, control and optimization aspects of single to multiple units to entire plants.  We expect to acquire two more PhD students in the Fall 2001.  We also have eight Chancellors fellows and one Koh fellow in the group. Software such as AspenPlus, DMCPlus, RT-Opt, Custom Modeler, PEMS, HYSIS, Maple, and Matlab are used routinely in in-classroom instruction and for research by the principals and the students.  The research programs have been expanded to include adaptive control, distributed parameter systems - modeling and control, and batch systems.

The partnership has been established to provide base-line funding for the process control research program, to enhance technology transfer to industry,  and to increase active industrial involvement in the direction of process control needs.

Overall, the PCOC program aims to establish a long-term mutually beneficial partnership with industry. The program principals, Drs. Riggs, Hoo, and Cutler have a results-oriented approach to their individual research programs. 

Expected benefits to industry include:

Benefits to Texas Tech include:

For more information contact:

[Why a Consortium?] [Executive Summary] [Partnership Structure]
[Program Achievements] [Research Directions] [Active Projects] [Facilities]

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