Considerations in the design of a dynamic control system for the generalized chemical processing model considered as a nonl inear system

The control of the reactor and associated plant units in the processing complex hypothesized by T. J. Williams10 and specifically, the dynamic control of this reactor to a desired set point, are treated in this paper. However, while the problem particularly concerns the control of the given reactor, the main purpose here is to outline a method of approach to the problem of dynamic control of industrial processes. Consequently, short cuts peculiar to the reactor control problem are ignored. In general, the approach is as follows: 1. Assumptions are made concerning criteria of operation and behavior of units of the plant other than the reactor proper. 2. From these assumptions the calculus of variations is used to develop control laws or strategies for each control variable. 3. Since these control laws cannot, in general, be integrated analytically, the prospect of using an ¿on-line¿ computer to integrate these laws numerically and consequently control the reactor is then examined.