An introduction to process control system design - Journal of Chemical

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tainty principle, and so on-the questionanswer method is excellently adapted to bringing out the difficulties and their answers. But by far the larger part of the book is pure exposition, and here the reviewer found the method very labored. In fact, i t proved so tedious that he had great difficulty bringing himself to finirh reading the book. This of course is perhaps to be expected: the reviewer has a point of view nearer that of the Young Scientist than that of the Older Metallurgist, though perhaps with less patience for the difficulties of the Older Metallurgist than the Young Scientist in the book diiplays. This t,ook is clearly not written for him.

As to content, the book starts a t the beginning with atomic structure, wave mechanics, and the fundamentsl prim ciplcs. I t goes on to XZ- discussion of the simpler theoretical problems of the nature of metals and alloys, with a greet deal of detailed discussion of some of the propertics of alloys, the field which is the ~pccialtyof the author, and in which he has made important advances. Most of the discussion is sound, though in some respects the field has developed considerably since 1048, when the first edition was published, and most of these developments are not incorporated in the revised edition. Two additions form the major di3erenee between the two editions: a chapter on dislocations and plastic deformation, a nubject which has developed greatly in recent years, and a nection on the st,nlcture of the nucleus, a

subject which seems to have nothing whatever in common with the rest of the book, and which the reviewer feels is rather superfluous. Summing up, we have a, book which must be regarded more as an experiment in presentation than an exposition in standard form of the modern phy~icsof solids. There may he those who like this type of discussion; but the reviewer finds,that a little of i t goes a long way. J. C . SLATER M A S ~ A O W J ~ IENTBTT~~ T UOFT TSCRNOLOOI ~ C ~ ~ s n r o Mms~cnnsems a~,

MODERN CHEMICAL PROCESSES. VOLUME IV Editors of Industrial a n d Engineering Chemistry. Reinhold Publishing Corp.. New York, 1956. v 202 pp. Many figs. Tables. 21 X 29 cm. $5.

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Tnrs is the fourth of a series of biannual volumes (1950, 1952, 1954) which reprints from Industrial and Engineering ChmistrytheI.E.C.Staff-Industry Collaborative Report featured monthly during 1954 and 1955. Of the 19 articles, ten discuss organic processes, five inorganic processes, three biochemiesl processes, and one deals with equipment (graphite electrodes). A detailed index is included. This volume is replete with exoellent flowsheets, illustrations, and equations, in which students will continue to find excellent material far reports. K E N N E T H A. KOBE THE UNIVERBLTY OP TEXAS AUSTIN.T L X * ~

AN INTRODUCTION TO PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEM DESIGN

A. I. Young, Head of Central Instrument Labomtory, Imperial Chemical Industries Limited. Instnnnents Publishing Co. Pittsburgh, 1955. avti 379 pp. Figs. and tables. 14.5 X 22 cm. $8.

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A s THE title indicates and the author clearly states this book is an introduction to process control system design. Nonetheless it represents s, very significant contribution to an area where much lack of understanding prevails. This hook attempts to transfer some of the vast technology and body of theory whieh exists in other areas to the problems which face a practicing engineer concerned with the control of processes. I n an effort to make the material as a& tractive as possible for the men in the plants a nonmathematical approach has been adopted. I n this the author has done an admirable job of presentation, using as illustrative material many practical problems and actual process and controller performance data. Following remarks on economic considerations and the concept of the closed loop in procoss control systems the author proceeds to describe plant characteristics. I t emerges that of principal concern are distance/veloeity lag (dead time) and transfer lag, the latter, however, rarely being simple in processing plants. The transfer lags associated with linear sys(Continued on page A474) JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION, OCTOBER, 1956