Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:at least one memory operable to store operating data associated with operation of a process system; andat least one processor operable to:determine a level of disturbance associated with the process system;determine first and second values identifying stability measures of a controller in the process system using the operating data, the at least one processor operable to determine the first value using the determined level of disturbance and to determine the second value using a zero level of disturbance;compare the first and second values to at least one threshold value; andidentify a problem with the controller when at least one of:the first value exceeds the at least one threshold value; andthe second value exceeds the at least one threshold value while a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) associated with the operating data is better than an SNR threshold. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second values is associated with an uncertainty estimate of a process model, the process model representing at least a portion of the process system. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein:the at least one processor is operable to determine the level of disturbance associated with the process system using system identification data; andthe process model comprises a process model generated using the system identification data. 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein at least one of the first and second values is based on at least one of: an output signal generated by the controller, an input signal received by the controller, and the uncertainty estimate associated with the process model. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one threshold value comprises a single threshold value equal to one. 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is operable to identify the problem with the controller without requiring injection of external excitation in the process system. 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is operable to identify the problem with the controller even when an actuator controlled by the controller is saturated. 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:at least one of the first and second values is associated with an uncertainty estimate of a process model, the process model representing at least a portion of the process system;the process model comprises a process model generated using system identification data; andthe at least one processor is operable to identify the problem with the controller even when the controller was not used to generate the system identification data. 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:the process system comprises a product production system;the operating data comprises at least one of:measurement data from one or more sensors; andcontrol data for one or more actuators; andthe controller comprises a multivariable controller operable to receive the measurement data and generate the control data. 10. A method, comprising:determining a level of disturbance associated with a process system;determining first and second values identifying stability measures of a controller in the process system using operating data associated with operation of the process system, the first value determined using the determined level of disturbance, the second value determined using a zero level of disturbance;comparing the first and second values to at least one threshold value; andidentifying a problem with the controller when at least one of:the first value exceeds the at least one threshold value; andthe second value exceeds the at least one threshold value while a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) associated with the operating data is better than an SNR threshold. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one of the first and second values is associated with an uncertainty estimate of a process model, the process model representing at least a portion of the process system. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein:the level of disturbance associated with the process system is determined using system identification data; andfurther comprising generating the process model using the system identification data. 13. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of the first and second values is based on at least one of: an output signal generated by the controller, an input signal received by the controller, and the uncertainty estimate associated with the process model. 14. The method of claim 10, wherein identifying the problem with the controller:occurs without injecting external excitation in the process system; andoccurs even when an actuator controlled by the controller is saturated. 15. The method of claim 10, wherein:at least one of the first and second values is associated with an uncertainty estimate of a process model, the process model representing at least a portion of the process system;the process model is generated using system identification data; andidentifying the problem with the controller comprises identifying the problem with the controller even when the controller was not used to generate the system identification data. 16. The method of claim 10, further comprising:replacing or re-tuning the controller in response to the identified problem. 17. A computer readable storage medium embodying a computer program, the computer program comprising computer readable program code for:determining a level of disturbance associated with a process system;determining first and second values identifying stability measures of a controller in the process system using operating data associated with operation of the process system, the first value determined using the determined level of disturbance, the second value determined using a zero level of disturbance;comparing the first and second values to at least one threshold value; andidentifying a problem with the controller when at least one of:the first value exceeds the at least one threshold value; andthe second value exceeds the at least one threshold value while a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) associated with the operating data is better than an SNR threshold. 18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein:at least one of the first and second values is associated with an uncertainty estimate of a process model, the process model representing at least a portion of the process system;the computer readable program code for determining the level of disturbance comprises computer readable program code for determining the level of disturbance using system identification data; andthe computer program further comprises computer readable program code for generating the process model using the system identification data. 19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the computer readable program code for determining the first and second values comprises computer readable program code for determining the first and second values based on at least one of: an output signal generated by the controller, an input signal received by the controller, and the uncertainty estimate associated with the process model. 20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the at least one threshold value comprises a single threshold value equal to one.