(32b) Making a Chemical Process Control Course an Inductive and Deductive Learning Experience

An inductive approach to teaching chemical engineering courses has been demonstrated to improve student learning in courses such as mass transfer and stoichiometry.  One course particularly well-suited to an inductive structure is chemical process control, where experiential learning can also be applied to maximize student learning.  This paper discusses the development of inductive laboratory exercises in a three-hour senior-level course at the University of Kentucky Extended Campus Programs in Paducah, Kentucky.  Six laboratory experiments were integrated into the course to enable students to make observations for specific cases, draw conclusions, and extend those conclusions to develop relationships for the general case.  Three of these experiences were inductive, so that later in lecture periods students developed conclusions reached from observation into general relationships. The other three labs required students to test relationships discussed in class.

The class began with distribution of the syllabus and a visit to the lab to run a pair of experiments in small groups. The purpose was to generate recognition of the key elements for controlling a chemical process so that discussions would be more concrete in the student’s minds.  Students were required to observe how they manually attempted to control a process, enabling meaningful discussion of proportional control action, sensors, pneumatic signals, actuators, and other key concepts. Over the remainder of the semester, students tested theoretical models, developed empirical models, investigated signal conditioning and calibration, observed the effect of detuning, determined the role in interaction in MIMO systems, and observed a ladder program from a PLC in operation. Student feedback indicated that the exercises substantially improved understanding of process control fundamentals, but the added student time commitment was a significant concern. Students considered the lab exercises more valuable than computer simulations, despite the increased time commitment to run the labs. The potential for adapting this structure within the context of larger classes will also be addressed, along with plans for expanding the role of inductive experiential structure in the course.