Reconfigurable Process Control Research

Abstract

In this chapter we collect together a number of different developments which lay the foundations for the distributed, reconfigurable process control (DRPC) approach we are proposing. We begin by positioning process operations within the spectrum of industrial production approaches and in particular provide a contrast between continuous process and discrete manufacturing. (This is important when reviewing existing work in distributed reconfigurable control.) We then examine the evolution of process control and in particular developments which have dealt with reconfigurability challenges and their limitations. The second part of the chapter then goes on to introduce distributed coordination methods in process control and then to provide a comprehensive review of the way in which distributed coordination has been applied in other industrial domains.