Integrated Process and Controller Design Software Tool - ProCACD

The field of Process system engineering (PSE) is constantly developing with the availability of advanced computational resources. Since 1960s, process simulation has been one of the most successful story in using computer aided methods and tools in the field of chemical engineering. Nowadays, several software tools are available for process simulation, process optimization, process synthesis and design. However, the current software in PSE is mainly focussed on processes without consideration of controller design or validation. The gap between process design and controller design seems to be increasing, which may lead to suboptimal solutions especially for closed-loop systems. Therefore, there is always a demand for integrating the process design with consideration of the controller design; even though the development of such software tool has not been well addressed so far, or are industry specific. In this paper, a model-based integrated process and controller design software tool called ProCACD (computer aided controller design) is presented along with a case study to design controllers and optimize controller parameters for a system of three-tanks-in-series with recycle.