(259h) Experiments in Process Dynamics and Control at the University of Kansas

A novel, state-of-the-art Process Dynamics and Controls experiment was recently commissioned, constructed, and implemented for the Unit Operations Laboratory (UOL) at the University of Kansas (KU). The addition of this experiment is part of a concerted effort to update, improve, and modernize the UOL facilities with the chief goal of improving student learning by providing laboratory equipment, instrumentation, and experiments relevant to the practice of the profession today. The UOL course at the KU is designed as a series of two courses offered in the Fall and Spring semester of the Senior year. In the Fall semester students carry out experiments on kinetics, thermodynamics, and fluids and in the Spring, they focus on distillation, absorption, and process Dynamics and controls. In this format, students can focus on one experiment for a period of 5 weeks in which they visit the lab twice, make a presentation about their experimental plan, and prepare a written technical report. Students have provided positive feedback about the course structure and the quality of the data collected. The changes in both the course structure and laboratory facilities have yielded positive results on student learning and attitudes toward the laboratory course.

In this presentation we will discuss our learnings from offering the new process dynamics and controls experiments to students in the laboratory course. First, students visit the lab during the “pre-lab tour” and learn how to operate the equipment and collect preliminary data. They use this data to design a control strategy, build a model for the system, and solve the model using Simulink, python, or similar program. Next, they prepare a presentation about the experiment principles and theory and discuss their experimental plan. This include the goals for the experiment and the list of trials to be completed. Finally, they return to the lab and carry out their data collection. A preliminary report submission is due a week after the lab day and the final written report is due two weeks after the lab day. In the last few offerings of the course students have proposed and study different schematics for liquid level control in and explored experiments in temperature control. Student feedback will be presented and discussed in light of the course outcomes and experiment specific outcomes.