Maya Mathew
Independent Researcher
India
ABSTRACT
This manuscript presents the design, development, and evaluation of a LabVIEW-based automation system tailored for process control applications prevalent in manufacturing and chemical industries up to 2015. The system integrates data acquisition hardware, control algorithms, and graphical user interface elements to deliver closed-loop control of key process variables such as temperature, pressure, and flow rate. Emphasis is placed on leveraging National Instruments (NI) data acquisition modules, LabVIEW 2014 software libraries, and PID control architectures that were state-of-the-art as of 2015. Statistical analysis of experimental runs—conducted on a pilot-scale fluid heating process—demonstrates an average reduction in settling time by 28.5 % and an overshoot decrease of 15.2 %. Five research questions guide the inquiry, while identified research gaps highlight the need for improved real-time data logging and modular scalability. Methodology encompasses system architecture design, hardware interfacing, control law implementation, and performance evaluation. Results validate the system’s efficacy in achieving precise setpoint tracking under disturbances. Conclusions draw implications for academic and industrial deployments, recommending future work on adaptive control extensions within LabVIEW’s framework.
KEYWORDS
LabVIEW, process control, automation, PID control, data acquisition
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