Automatic Control Laboratory Installed at Washington University

Abstract

INTIL comparatively recent years the literature has contained little information on the basic theory and its application to the design, construction, installation, and operation of automatic control equipment. Engineers and technicians were trained by the instrument companies while plant and design engineers in general had inadequate knowledge of the apparatus they were called upon to specify, install, and operate. In some cases this resulted in the installation of equipment which was ill-suited to the job at hand. A few schools now offer Instrumentation Courses which deal with those factors that affect, the ease of control of an operation. Furthermore, almost all adequately equipped engineering laboratories have control apparatus permanently attached to specific apparatus and by such can show the student some general operating characteristics under a prescribed (usually an optimum) set of operating conditions. The authors feel that such typical installations are insufficient for...