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Mini and microcomputer control in industrial processes
The Chemical Engineering
Journal, 27 (1983)
59 - 60
59
Book Reviews
Mini and Microcomputer Control in Industrial Processes edited by M. Robert Skrokov; published by Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1980; xi + 291 pp.; price, $23.40
This book consists of ten chapters with contributions from seven authors in addition to the editor. Its secondary title styles it as Handbook Strategies.
of
Systems
and
Application
It is not really a handbook although much of the material has wide application. It would be unrealistic to expect a single author to cover this whole subject area so the multiple-author style is inevitable. The overall style and layout of the text help to give a uniform appearance to the volume but the coverage is rather uneven. As an example there is a 22-page chapter entitled Microprocessors and industrial process control and a 15-page chapter entitled Compressor surge control which, while important in itself and useful, seems rather excessive in this context. It appears that this imbalance is due to the authors’ varied (and wide) experience in industrial process control rather than deliberate editorial intention. This is a pity since there is a genuine need for a good broadly based handbook covering this area of control. The book has a tidy layout style and contains many diagrams and illustrations. These are well produced and add considerably to the practical value of the text. A further good feature is the wide use of examples to illustrate major points. The most disappointing feature of the book for this reviewer was the scant attention paid to software. In the preface it is implied that this aspect is covered adequately elsewhere. In practice, however, software accounts for a very large proportion of a process control project budget and there is a lack of texts on the subject. It may be significant that computer control software is one of the areas in which the U.S.A. is often stated to lag behind Europe. The book reflects the U.S.A.% strength in hardware. No mention is made of the major contributions made by CORAL,
PEARL, RTL/2 etc. although ALGOL is included in a list of languages. This is particularly disappointing since the opening line of the dedication is “I dedicate this text to world peace through technological exchange between nations”. In practice there are very few references to vendors outside the U.S.A. or even to published work from other countries. In spite of these criticisms the book is one that should prove useful to many process control engineers; it is the title that promises too much. P. K. ANDOW
Practical Process Instrumentation and Control published by McGraw-Hill, New York, 1980; ix + 503 pp.; price, U.S. $27
This book consists of a collection of 70 papers previously published in the journal Chemical Engineering. The papers give a fairly comprehensive view of the subject area with sections on economics, theory, measurement, computer control, microprocessors, batch control, safety, control room design etc. Most of the authors are from U.S. industry; the volume thus reflects fairly accurately the practice of instrumentation and control in the U.S.A. in the middle 1970s. The rapid advances in computer control technology since that time give some parts of the book a somewhat dated appearance; this is made worse by the fact that quite a number of the papers were originally published in 1974, 1975 or 1976 and were therefore prepared in the early 1970s. Inevitably the coverage is a little uneven; presumably none of the papers was specifically commissioned to produce a balanced coverage. The general standard of the papers is reasonable (perhaps reflecting the refereeing procedure for journal publication) when compared with that of the normal multipleauthor book. A number of well-known authors make good contributions; some of the other papers are of less value, several containing no references to other work at all. 0 Elsevier Sequoia/Printed in The Netherlands
Journal, 27 (1983)
59 - 60
59
Book Reviews
Mini and Microcomputer Control in Industrial Processes edited by M. Robert Skrokov; published by Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1980; xi + 291 pp.; price, $23.40
This book consists of ten chapters with contributions from seven authors in addition to the editor. Its secondary title styles it as Handbook Strategies.
of
Systems
and
Application
It is not really a handbook although much of the material has wide application. It would be unrealistic to expect a single author to cover this whole subject area so the multiple-author style is inevitable. The overall style and layout of the text help to give a uniform appearance to the volume but the coverage is rather uneven. As an example there is a 22-page chapter entitled Microprocessors and industrial process control and a 15-page chapter entitled Compressor surge control which, while important in itself and useful, seems rather excessive in this context. It appears that this imbalance is due to the authors’ varied (and wide) experience in industrial process control rather than deliberate editorial intention. This is a pity since there is a genuine need for a good broadly based handbook covering this area of control. The book has a tidy layout style and contains many diagrams and illustrations. These are well produced and add considerably to the practical value of the text. A further good feature is the wide use of examples to illustrate major points. The most disappointing feature of the book for this reviewer was the scant attention paid to software. In the preface it is implied that this aspect is covered adequately elsewhere. In practice, however, software accounts for a very large proportion of a process control project budget and there is a lack of texts on the subject. It may be significant that computer control software is one of the areas in which the U.S.A. is often stated to lag behind Europe. The book reflects the U.S.A.% strength in hardware. No mention is made of the major contributions made by CORAL,
PEARL, RTL/2 etc. although ALGOL is included in a list of languages. This is particularly disappointing since the opening line of the dedication is “I dedicate this text to world peace through technological exchange between nations”. In practice there are very few references to vendors outside the U.S.A. or even to published work from other countries. In spite of these criticisms the book is one that should prove useful to many process control engineers; it is the title that promises too much. P. K. ANDOW
Practical Process Instrumentation and Control published by McGraw-Hill, New York, 1980; ix + 503 pp.; price, U.S. $27
This book consists of a collection of 70 papers previously published in the journal Chemical Engineering. The papers give a fairly comprehensive view of the subject area with sections on economics, theory, measurement, computer control, microprocessors, batch control, safety, control room design etc. Most of the authors are from U.S. industry; the volume thus reflects fairly accurately the practice of instrumentation and control in the U.S.A. in the middle 1970s. The rapid advances in computer control technology since that time give some parts of the book a somewhat dated appearance; this is made worse by the fact that quite a number of the papers were originally published in 1974, 1975 or 1976 and were therefore prepared in the early 1970s. Inevitably the coverage is a little uneven; presumably none of the papers was specifically commissioned to produce a balanced coverage. The general standard of the papers is reasonable (perhaps reflecting the refereeing procedure for journal publication) when compared with that of the normal multipleauthor book. A number of well-known authors make good contributions; some of the other papers are of less value, several containing no references to other work at all. 0 Elsevier Sequoia/Printed in The Netherlands