Relative Gain: Steady-State Simulator Brings Control Engineers Closer to the Process

Faced with shrinking profit margins, operating companies in the Chemical Processing Industry are continuing to search for ways to improve bottom line profitability and operability. Control engineers faced with designing advanced control strategies must have a clear understanding of the "process" itself, especially when applying techniques such as Relative Gain Analysis (RGA). Steady-state simulation and RGA have evolved in parallel during the past 20 years. Now, the incorporation of this well-known method into a leading commercial steady-state simulator gives the process control engineer the calculational tools required to design more effective systems. Possible applications are extensive and additional features of the computer simulation program, such as Flowsheet Optimization and Sensitivity Analysis, combine with RGA to allow for advanced process design and control of complex systems. Thus, the foundation is prepared for RGA and other computational techniques to enter a new generation of applications.