A modular laboratory for process control and process engineering

A modular laboratory to support process control and process engineering teaching has been designed and commissioned. The Instrumentation and Control Laboratory in the School of Engineering, Murdoch University, is unique in that it contains no fixed experiments. Rather, an experiment is constructed for a particular teaching concept from the range of process modules available. After use, the experiment is disconnected, and its components used for other experiments or returned to a store. This modular approach has allowed great flexibility in the construction of experiments to meet current learning objectives, while proving very cost effective. The reuse of equipment has avoided duplication and provided a much higher usage factor, allowing a wider menu of experiments for less investment. The other unique aspect of the laboratory is its centralised data acquisition and control system in which every measurement and control signal is linked to a central server and then made available across a network.