Based on a series of lectures given at a Vacation School for postgraduate students in the areas of control and instrumentation, held at the University of Sheffield. It covers four major themes: design and tuning of controllers, the hardware technology, software design and applications.

The purpose of this volume is to describe the components, assembly, and implementation of computer-based process control systems. Presented in two sections, it illustrates how such systems have been used to monitor and control industrial fermentation processes as a means to improve our understanding of product biosynthesis. This book covers

Includes sections on: Sliding mode control with switching command devices. Hyperplane design and CAD of variable structure control systems. Variable structure controllers for robots. The hyperstability approach to VSCS design. Nonlinear continuous feedback for robust tracking. Control of uncertain systems with neglected dynamics. Control of infinite dimensional plants.

An essential core text, this volume develops theoretical foundations and explains how control systems work in real industrial situations. Several case histories assist students in visualizing applications. 1992 edition.

Following his book on the origin of control engineering (1800-1930 (see separate entry), the author now traces development through the critical period 1930-1955, widely identified as the period of "classical" control theory. In the 1930s basic automatic control devices were developed and used in process industries, as were servos for