Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter - 10 (T2 Laboratories)
Chapter - 10 (T2 Laboratories)
2
Operator’s View of Process Control
© V.Venkatasubramanian
Process Safety is a Major Concern:
The BIG Ones
problem
Modern plants are more difficult to control, diagnose
and manage
Complex configurations, very large scale
Running process at its limit reduces margin for error
© V.Venkatasubramanian
Texas City BP Accident
http://www.csb.gov/videoroom/
detail.aspx?VID=16
T2 Laboratories Accident
Before After
http://www.csb.gov/investigations/
detail.aspx?SID=8
Schematic of Reactor
CAUSES OF ACCIDENT
11
New Test Cell Burst Test Cell
Operating regimes for exothermic chemical reactors.
12
Modeling Needs
Why Simulate the Reactor?
14
Multiple Protection Layers
• In modern plants, process safety relies on the principle of
multiple protection layers; see Figure 10.1.
• Each layer of protection consists of a grouping of equipment
Chapter 10
15
Figure 10.1.
Chapter 10
Typical layers
of protection
in a modern
chemical plant
(CCPS 1993).
16
• Basic process control system (BPCS) is augmented with two
levels of alarms and operator supervision or intervention.
• An alarm indicates that a measurement has exceeded its
specified limits and may require operator action.
• Safety interlock system (SIS) is also referred to as a safety
Chapter 10
Liquid Chlorine
20
Typical Complaints from Operators
• Inadequate precision of • Lack of distinctions
temporal information (e.g., between instrument failures
lack of true alarm order). and true process deviations.
• Excessive nuisance alarms • Lack of adequate tools to
• Inadequate anticipation of measure, track, and access
process disturbances. past records of abnormal
• lack of real-time, root- situations.
cause analysis (symptom-
based alarming).
21
Types of Alarms
Type 1 Alarm: Equipment status alarm. Pump is on or off, or
motor is running or stopped.
Type 2 Alarm: Abnormal measurement alarm. Measurement is
outside of specified limits.
Chapter 10
22
Fig. 10.4 Two
interlock
Chapter 10
configurations.
23
Safety Interlock (Instrumented) System (SIS)
• The SIS in Figure 10.1 serves as an emergency back-up system
for the BPCS.
• The SIS automatically starts when a critical process variable
exceeds specified alarm limits that define the allowable
Chapter 10
24
Safety Instrumented Systems Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AbmZ7vjUZk
25
A Final Thought…
As Rinard (1990) has poignantly noted, “The regulatory control
system affects the size of your paycheck; the safety control
system affects whether or not you will be around to collect it.”
Chapter 10
26
Chapter 10