IBG
Michael Brown Control Engineering

34 Cederberg Village, Willows Estate, Kelland, Randburg

cell:  
+27 82 440 7790
email:  
[email protected]
url:  
www.controlloop.co.za

Core business offering: Training and consulting in process control loop optimisation.


Brown, M.L.
Chief Executive
Techmation Protuner
(Sole Agency)
Section - Maintenance, Reliability & Asset Optimisation
-Consulting
- Technical
-Education & training
- Instructor-led
- Onsite
-Performance monitoring
- Process/production
-Education & training
- Simulation for training
-Optimisation & efficiency
- Asset optimisation
- Maintenance optimisation
- Process/production modelling
- Simulation for optimisation
Section - Services & Systems
-System integration/consulting
- Other
- Process control
-Training (excluding supplier/product specific training)
Section - Test, Measurement & Calibration
-Loop optimisation analysers & software
News from Michael Brown Control Engineering:
Case History 198: Cascade control overcomes valve problems
June 2025, Fieldbus & Industrial Networking, Michael Brown Control Engineering

A large petrochemical refinery asked me to perform an audit on several critical base layer control loops. This article deals with a problem found on a valve controlling the flow of fuel to a heat exchanger.

Loop signature 28: Things to consider when tuning.
May 2025, Fieldbus & Industrial Networking, Editor's Choice, Michael Brown Control Engineering

I was giving a course at a remote mine in the middle of the Namibian desert. We were discussing tuning responses, and as I always do on my courses, I mentioned that in my opinion ¼ amplitude damped tuning is not desirable, and is in fact not good.

Case History 197: Bad reboiler temperature control.
April 2025, Flow Measurement & Control, Editor's Choice, Michael Brown Control Engineering

It is very important that reboiler temperature controls operate well in petrochemical refineries, or the product quality can really suffer. I was asked to check such a control in a refinery where they were having problems with one of these controls.

Case History 196: Unstable condensate level control.
February 2025, Level Measurement & Control, Editor's Choice, Michael Brown Control Engineering

The operators in a petrochemical refinery were having great trouble in trying to stabilise the condensate level in a vessel, and this was adversely affecting other loops downstream. Several unsuccessful attempts had been made to retune the controller.

Loop signature: Tuning part 4 processes
January 2025, Fieldbus & Industrial Networking, Editor's Choice, Michael Brown Control Engineering

The purpose of this particular article is to try and give those unfortunate enough to have to use SWAG (scientific wild ass guess) tuning a bit of an idea of how to go about it, and even more importantly some understanding of a couple of basic principles.

Case History 195: Unstable reboiler steam flow
November 2024, Editor's Choice, Michael Brown Control Engineering

A high-pressure steam flow control in a reboiler on a column in a petrochemical refinery continually cycled when placed in automatic. Several attempts had been made to tune the controller, but these had been unsuccessful.

Loop signature 25: Tuning part 3 - Results of tuning a particular simple self-regulating process by several different methods.
October 2024, Editor's Choice, Michael Brown Control Engineering

A couple of SWAG methods of tuning were given in the previous Loop Signature article. I have tuned a simple self-regulating process using those methods, and two other tuning methods, one of them being the sophisticated Protuner tuning package, which is the system I employ. The tests were performed on a very accurate and powerful simulation package, and the results are compared below.

Case history 194: Boiler level control problem.
September 2024, Fieldbus & Industrial Networking, Editor's Choice, Michael Brown Control Engineering

A boiler level control in a petrochemical refinery was causing problems, as the level was cycling badly and taking a long time to recover from sudden load changes. In addition, there were frequent high-level alarms.

Case History 193: The big dipper.
I&C July 2024, Editor's Choice, Michael Brown Control Engineering

This article gives an example of an important flow control system for flare gas in a petrochemical refinery. The control was suffering from serious problems, often cycling severely, and at other times the flow process variable (PV) would suddenly move quite a lot away from the setpoint (SP).

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