Evaluation of stationary state stability for the synthesis of operating procedures

The safe and reliable operation of chemical plants depends on high integrity operating procedures. Such procedures often involve process transitions through stationary states. A strategy for qualitatively evaluating the stability of stationary states is presented. This strategy is applied to linear processes and uses the Routh-Hurwitz conditions as a basis for analysis. The methodology requires specification of the parameter signs, and sometimes their possible equality and order of magnitude relations. The novelty of this approach relies on relaxing the requirement of detailed parameter information for the evaluation of process stability. This allows addressing stability concerns at earlier design stages than it is presently done. Since this analysis is performed at a minimal level of parameter information, it can generate process analysis and synthesis heuristics by identifying process structures which are inherendy stable. The strategy is applied in examples which involve series of material capacitors, proportional control and chemical reaction. Author to whom correspondence should be addressed