Pavilion’s manufacturing performance research receives DOE grant

By Control Engineering Staff November 10, 2005

Pavilion Technologies , a provider of advanced process- control and environmental- compliance solutions, has been awarded a Phase II grant by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Small Business Technology Transfer program. The fourth consecutive DOE award to Pavilion, this grant funds Pavilion’s continuing work with the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) to develop advanced methods in process control of complex systems such as a high-energy electron accelerator in a physics research laboratory and a polymer reactor in a manufacturing plant. Such methods are geared to provide easier and faster development of a robust model for a given control process and simpler model maintenance. This research will lead to an innovative approach to enhance efficiency in the accelerator laboratory and performance in processing plants.

The collaborative project between Pavilion and SLAC will take crucial steps towards modeling complex systems using both first-principles and empirical information. Pavilion can leverage advancements resulting from the project to build next-generation process-control technology that facilitates the development and maintenance of model-based control and optimization solutions. Pavilion has applied similar approaches to industrial processes to reduce variability, drive down variable costs, enhance product quality, and increase production.

Since 2001, Pavilion has worked with SLAC to develop effective algorithms for robust optimization-based control of highly nonlinear systems with varying dynamics.

—David Greenfield, editorial director, Control Engineering
dgreenfield@reedbusiness.com
dgreenfield@reedbusiness.com