Development of a distributed microcomputer based system to control thirty batch reactors

A microcomputer based control system was designed, developed and assembled to control a single batch chemical reactor. This system employs a complex adaptive control algorithm which was arrived at empirically. This sytem was then duplicated 29 more times so that a total of 30 reactors could be controlled. The capacity was added to allow a reactor to be controlled by any one of three microcomputer systems. The 30 individual microcomputer control systems were tied to a central monitor microcomputer system using an Rs232c communication link. The central monitor system allows further development, printouts of batch parameters, and a sophisticated operator interface. The distributed architecture was chosen because of the modularity of the reactor system to be controlled and because a high degree of immunity from control failure was desirable. The completed distributed system meets all criteria for reliability, response, and flexibility.