Top 5 Control Engineering articles, March 14-20: Ladder logic, Engineers’ Choice winners, sensor actuation charts, more

Articles about ladder logic, the 2016 Engineers' Choice Awards winners, sensor actuation charts, heat exchanger control strategies, and ICS threats were Control Engineering’s five most clicked articles from March 14-20. Miss something? You can catch up here.

By Chris Vavra March 21, 2016

The top 5 most read articles online, from Mar. 14-20 for Control Engineering covered ladder logic, the 2016 Engineers’ Choice Awards winners, sensor actuation charts, heat exchanger control strategies, and ICS threats. Link to each article below. 

1. Ladder logic 105: PLC scanning

Understanding how scanning works in a programmable logic controller (PLC) is something that needs to be addressed for a user regardless of the program being used.

2. 2016 Engineers’ Choice Awards winners

Best automation, control, and instrumentation products in 27 categories chosen by Control Engineering’s print and digital audience.

3. Support-focused enterprise controls: sensor actuation charts

To document speed transition points, designers remove the aspect of time and adopt sensor activation charts. These charts purposely convey an object’s station-specific movement information to control system designers. 

4. Applying heat exchanger control strategies

Integrating control schemes, such as feedback, cascade, and feedforward techniques, can satisfy the control requirements of even highly challenging heat exchanger temperature control applications.

5. IT, OT experts having trouble tracking ICS threats

A survey of IT and OT professionals indicated that the is a lack of preparation for a potential cyber security attack against industrial control systems (ICSs), particularly in the energy industry, which faces more cyber attacks than any other industry.

The list was developed using CFE Media’s web analytics for stories viewed on controleng.com, March 7-13, for articles published within the last two months.  

– Chris Vavra, production editor, CFE Media, cvavra@cfemedia.com.


Author Bio: Chris Vavra is web content manager for CFE Media and Technology.