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Faculty: Dr. T. E. Marlin
Professor Emeritus
Department of Chemical Engineering
Member of the McMaster Advanced Control Consortium (MACC)
McMaster University
1280 Main Street West, Hamilton
Ontario, Canada L8S 4L7
office: JHE-345A/A
email: marlint@mcmaster.ca
voice: (905) 525-9140 ext.27125
B.S. State University of New York at Buffalo (1966), M.S. University of Dayton (1967), Ph.D. University of Massachusetts (1972).
Research Interests
Advanced Control and Optimization in the Process Industries
Competitive pressures require today's process plants to be tightly integrated
and to achieve
consistently high yields, low energy consumption and excellent product
quality. The overall
objective of this research is the development of new real-time technology
that enables plant
personnel to satisfy these ever-increasing demands. Particular emphasis
is placed on the
design, optimization, control, and monitoring of the integrated plant,
not on individual units.
Considerable opportunity exists to optimize operating variables in existing
process plants,
but the analysis is challenging. New analysis procedures address the realistic
environment
of dynamic plants, noisy data and models with errors. The research concentrates
on model
updating, model formulation, optimization, and results analysis that are
designed to function
as an integrated, feedback system.
Operations optimization exists in a hierarchical decision-making system,
so that the research
must also address the proper structure and communication between these
levels. The higher
scheduling level considers longer-term issues and provides an operating
window and goals
(economics) to the optimizer. The lower, multivariable control level enforces
the proper operating
policy as disturbances enter the plant.
I collaborate with several Faculty members and 18 industrial sponsors
in the McMaster
Advanced Control Consortium (MACC). MACC fosters industrially relevant
research
in process systems engineering and provides a community of graduate students
who share knowledge and experiences. Further information about MACC is
available
at the following website.
McMaster Advanced Control Consortium
Selected Research Publications
Yip, W. S. and T. Marlin, The Effect of Model Fidelity on Real-Time Operations
Optimization, Comp. Chem. Engr., 28, 267-280 (2004)
Yip, W.S., and T. Marlin,
Designing Plant Experiments for Real-Time Optimization
Systems, Control Engineering Practice, 11, 8, 837-845 (2003).
Design of Self-Optimizing Control, Comp. Chem. Eng.,24, 2589-2602 (2000)
Miletic, I., and T. Marlin, On-Line Statistical Results Analysis In Real-Time
Operations
Optimization, Ind. Eng. Chem, 37,3670-3884 (1998)
Forbes, F., and T. Marlin, Design Cost: A Systematic Approach to Technology
Selection for
Model-Based Real-Time Optimization Systems, Comp. Chem. Engr.,
20, 717-734 (1996)
Marlin, T. and A.N. Hrymak, "Real-time Operations Optimization of
Continuous Processes",
Chemical Process Control-V Conference, Tahoe City, Nevada, Jan. 7-12,
1996.
Education
We have been developing teaching approaches and resources for education
that can be used by students at all universities. The major product is
an undergraduate
textbook on process control and a supporting WEB Site.
Marlin, T., Process Control, Designing Processes and Control Systems for
Dynamic Performance
2nd Edition, McGraw Hill, New York, 2000 (ISBN 0-07-039363-1)
The following WEB site provides interactive learning resources for process
control students
.www.pc-education.mcmaster.ca
Selected Publications on Education
Hough, M., E. Wood, W. S. Yip, and T. Marlin, A Web Site To Support Active
Student Learning In
Process Control, Amer. Assoc. Engr. Ed. Annual Conference, Session 3513,
Montreal, June 2002.
Marlin, T. and D. R. Woods., Trouble Shooting for CAPE
Undergraduate Education, ESCAPE 12,
The Hague, Netherlands, May 26-29, 2002
Marlin, T., Progressing from Real to Realistic Practical
Examples in Undergraduate Control
Education, AIChE Annual Meet, Los Angeles, November 2000; Topical Conference
on Chemical Engineering Education
Marlin, T., The Software Laboratory, Comp and Chem. Engr., ESCAPE-6
supplement,
S1371-1376, 1996
Recently, I have taught the following undergraduate courses.
Chemical Engineering
3P04 Process Control
Chemical Engineering
4N04 Engineering Economics and Problem Solving
Chemical Engineering
4G03 Optimization in Chemical Engineering
and the following graduate course
Chemical Engineering 764 Process Control Design
Distinctions
Visiting Fellow for Warren Centre (1987): Selected
to lead a project on Advanced Process
Control at the University of Sydney. The one-year study involved the evaluation
of commercial
and technical issues in plant automation for Australian industry by a
team of 40
academics and practitioners. The results of this study have been published
as a
book by the Instrument Society of America. The project is summarized at
http://www.warren.usyd.edu.au/front_page.html
NSERC Chair in Industrial Process Control at McMaster University
Teaching: President's Award for Excellence
in Course and Resource
Design was granted in 2001
Kalev Pugi Award: (with John MacGregor)
- From the Society of Chemical Industry
of Canada for accomplishments in research management demonstrating creativity,
determination experimental design and project management for the McMaster
Advanced
Control Consortium