Abstract: The chemical industry is a vital sector of the US economy. Optimal operation and management of abnormal situations are major challenges in the process industries since, for example, abnormal situations account for at least $10 billion in annual lost revenue in the US alone. This realization has motivated significant research in the area of process control to ensure safe and efficient process operation.

Abstract

Augmenting dedicated control systems with
 real-time sensor 
and actuator networks poses a number of new challenges in control system design that cannot be addressed with traditional process 
control methods, including: a) the handling of additional, potentially
 asynchronous and/or delayed
 measurements in the overall networked control system, and b) the
 substantial increase in the number of process state variables, manipulated inputs, and measurements which may impede the ability of
 centralized control systems to carry out real-time calculations within th