Modern computer analysis for the design of steel mill control systems

PROBABLY the most significant development since the war in the measurement and control field is the growth of analog computer techniques for the analysis of control systems for heavy industrial processes. Previously it was necessary to use cut-and-try methods on production equipment to determine the performance of any new system. This procedure was expensive for both the supplier and the customer. The supplier had to develop suitable test models for installation on production equipment without benefit of thorough testing. Field tests extended the supplier's facilities and caused him to do considerable research work away from his laboratory facilities. Equipment failures, component changes or redesigns in basic circuits caused extensive delays and introduced additional co-ordination problems between the supplier and the customer. Also, the customer's costs were not inconsiderable. As a result of his pioneering efforts into new systems, he would encounter increased production problems, generally lower production for the trial periods, and the added nagging worry of having his production facilities serving as the “guinea pig” of new concepts. Even in the field of bacteriology some subjects become fatalities before the serum is perfected. As a result of this risk, prime production or breeding stock is not injected with the newly developed material. Similarly, in industry, in the past, when the customer's best production equipment was eyed by the control “specialists,” tests were often permitted on only the limited service equipment and there was still considerable risk in applying a system perfected on older equipment to the newer and faster units.