SEPTEMBER
2014
LNG
INDUSTRY
57
I
t was 1965 when Gordon E. Moore made an interesting observation: he noted that the number of transistors in a
typical dense integrated circuit doubled approximately every two years. This meant that one could practically ‘cram
more components’ into electronic devices. In simple terms, computing power improves exponentially in very short
time periods.
This phenomenon was later re-evaluated by Caltech professor Carver Mead, who coined the expression ‘Moore’s
law,’ proving that Gordon Moore’s conclusions held true over time. This technological miracle has been the engine behind
innovations that touch every single aspect of our lives, including medical devices, transportation and communications.
Industrial control and monitoring systems are no exception to this rule.
The ability to control plant machinery with high precision, reliability and speed, is nowwell known. Both
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and proprietary control platforms are able to detect process changes from analog
or digital field sensors, and provide responses within milliseconds. The computing power enables several million lines of
code to be stored. This level of sophistication may even exceed the requirements of the most complex plant control and
monitoring systems.
One could even argue that advances in controls technology have far outpaced the great strides made in process
knowledge and optimisation techniques. An example can be seen in the advanced applications of neural network systems
in process optimisation. Self-learning systems help plants reduce waste, increase output, and improve overall production
planning. Yet a cautionary tale remains: computing power without control and process knowledge is virtually worthless,
and in some cases even counterproductive.
Figure 1.
Routine
re-tuning visits by field
engineers can increase
process efficiency.
