Spare a moment’s pity for the process engineer, whose job it is to keep industrial automation running no matter what. These poor souls seem to be forever on call, fielding panicked requests to come to ...

Network analysis is a powerful and well-established method of characterizing and optimizing a control system. [1] Unfortunately, making a successful measurement can be difficult and frustrating ...

I'm frequently asked why I refer to the effective inductance of a voltage reference, voltage regulator, or op-amp in my articles. Others question “Is there really an inductor in there?”, “Where does ...

Systematic methodology is the key to quickly and effectively troubleshooting control circuits. Even the most experienced troubleshooter must rely on a systematic troubleshooting process to solve ...

Switching power supplies rely on feedback control loops to ensure that the required voltage and current are maintained under varying load conditions. Design of the feedback control loop influences ...

Every plant in the process industry most likely has several control loops that do not perform well. Although there are many factors that may negatively affect control loop performance, a few of these ...

Due to their versatility, ease of design, and low cost, flyback converters have become one of the most widely used topologies in power electronics. Its structure derives from one of the three basic ...

Having problems with your process controls and electrical instrumentation? The source may be a grounding disturbance known as a ground loop. According to the ANSI/ IEEE Standard Dictionary of ...