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What is a process? It is the method of changing or refining of raw materials that pass through
or remaining in a liquid, solid or gaseous state to create end products. And Process Control
refers to the methods that are used to control process variables when manufacturing a product.
To succeed in process control the designer must first establish a good understanding of the
process to be controlled. Since we do not wish to become too deeply involved in chemical or
process engineering, we need to find a way of simplifying the representation of the process we
wish to control. This is done by adopting a technique of block diagram modeling of the
process.
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Figure 1.1 Block diagram showing the elements of a process control loop
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output of the process in question. Process control designers use a very useful
technique of block diagram modeling to assist in the representation of the
process and its control system. The principles that we should be able to
apply to most practical control loop situations are given below.
The process plant is represented by an input/output block as shown in Figure
1.2.
Figure 1.2 Basic block diagram for the process being controlled
In Figure 1.2 we see a controller signal that will operate on an input to the
process, known as the MV. We try to drive the output of the process to a
particular value or SP by changing the input. The output may also be
affected by other conditions in the process or by external actions such as
changes in supply pressures or in the quality of materials being used in the
process. These are all regarded as disturbance inputs and our control action
will need to overcome their influences as best as possible.
The challenge for the process control designer is to maintain the
controlled process variable at the target value or change it to meet
production needs, whilst compensating for the disturbances that may arise
from other inputs. For example, if you want to keep the level of water in a tank at
a constant height whilst others are drawing off from it, you will manipulate the input
flow to keep the level steady.
The value of a process model is that it provides a means of showing the way the output will
respond to the actions of the input. This is done by having a mathematical model based on the
physical and chemical laws affecting the process.
For example, the following figure shows a simple process control system to control the water
level in an open tank. The reference value is the initial setting of the lever- arm arrangement so
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that it is just cuts off the water supply at a required level. When water is drawn from the tank the
float moves down wards with the water level. This causes the lever arrangement to rotate and so
allow water to enter the tank. This flow continues until the ball has risen to such a height that it
has moved the liver arrangement to cut off the water supply.
It is a closed loop control system with the following basic elements or process variables:
Controlled variable..water level in the tank (H)
Reference value.Initial setting of the lever arm according to the users interest
Error signalthe difference b/n the actual and the initial setting of the liver position
Controller..the pivoted lever
Correction elementthe valve( an actuator that drives the valve)
Processthe water in the tank
Measuring devicethe floating ball( it can be a sensor in other process types)
OR
The controller output of ideal on-off controller is:
Where: umax and umin denote the on and off values, respectively.
On-off controller can be considered to be a special case of P controller with a very high
controller gain
Advantage: Simple and inexpensive controllers.
Disadvantage: - Not versatile and ineffective.
- Continuous cycling of the controlled variable and excess wear on the final
control element.
Usage:
Thermostats in heating system
Domestic refrigerator
Noncritical industrial applications.
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1.1.2 Proportional control
With the on-off method of control, the controller output is either an on or an off signal
and so the output is not related to the size of the error.
However, with the proportional control, the size of the controller output is proportional to
the size of the error, i.e. the controller input. Thus we have: controller output is directly
proportional to controller input.
Where KP is a constant called the gain. This means the correction element of the control
system will have an input of a signal which is proportional to the size of the correction
required.
It is called proportional as its output changes proportionally with the error signal.
And the transfer function of the system will be the gain KP. That is :
Since the control output is proportional to the input, it plays a role in pushing the
process output to the set point as much as the error.
Proportional band
Note that it is customary to express the output of a controller as a percentage of the full range of
output that it is capable of passing on to the correction element. And proportional band will be
the difference between the ranges of percentage errors (i.e. the difference b/n the extreme values
of the percentage errors).In general we will have the following relationships for a typical
proportional control system:
Controller output as % = output value- minimum value x 100
maximum value- minimum value
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PB = % errormax - %errormin ; where PB = proportional band
Usage: when the steady-state error is tolerable (ex. level control which wants to prevent the
system from overflowing or drying), proportional-only controller is attractive because of its
simplicity. Seldom used only.
To remove the steady-state error (offset), the integral control action should be included
in the feedback controller
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As an error occurs within a system, the proportional component makes an initial
correction; if an error remains, the integral component adds to the corrective action
t U ( s) K i
u (t ) K i e(t )dt
0 E (s) s
K i : integral gain
Ki = Kp
Ti
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With derivative control the change in control output from the set point value is proportional
to the rate of change with time of the error signal, i.e. controller output is directly
proportional to rate of change of error. Thus we can write:
Derivative controller output = KD x rate of change of error
Where KD is the constant of proportionality and commonly referred to as derivative time
since it has the unit of time
1.1.6 PD control
Derivative controllers give responses to changing error signals but do not, however, respond
to constant error signals, since with a constant error the rate of change of error with time is
zero. Because of this derivative control D is combined with proportional control P.
Then, PD controller output = Kp x error + KD x rate of change of error with time
Combining all three modes of control (proportional, integral and derivative) enables a
controller to be produced which has no steady state error and reduces the tendency for
oscillations. Such a controller is known as a three mode controller or PID controller.
The derivative mode is used in a control system to re-duce overshoot and oscillations
within a control system
Derivative refers to a rate of change. A derivative controller produces a signal that is
proportional to the rate of change of the error signal
Derivative control is never used alone
Derivative control is sometimes referred to as anticipatory or predictive control
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Chapter summary
Proportional control speeds up the process response and reduces the offset.
Integral control eliminates offset but tends to make the response oscillatory.
Derivative control reduces both the degree of oscillation and response time.
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Chapter 2
Practical control strategies
2.1 Cascade control
Cascade control is a common control technique that uses two controllers with one feedback loop
nested inside the other. The output of the primary controller acts as the set point for the
secondary controller. The controller of the primary loop determines the setpoint of the summing
controller in the secondary loop
In cascade control the output of one controller may be used to manipulate the set point of
another. The two controllers are then said to be cascaded, one upon the other. Each
controller will have its own measurement input, but only the primary controller can have an
independent set point and only the secondary controller has an output to the process. The
manipulated variable, the secondary controller, and its measurement constitute a closed loop
within the primary loop.
Example:
Water Level Control using cascade control principle
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Figure 2.1 Cascade Control of Liquid Level in a Tank
A better control system, which reduces time lags, the effects of load changes and other
disturbances, is cascade control. Cascade control involves the use of two controllers and two
feedback loops as shown above (Fig. 2.1). The outer loop or main loop is concerned with the
control of the variable, in this case the level of liquid in the tank. The inner loop or minor loop is
concerned with some intermediate variable, such as the flow rate of liquid entering the tank .The
set point of the outer loop is the required level and is set by the person in charge of the process.
The set point of the inner loop is however determined by the outer loop controller. This means,
since the output of the outer loop control is determined by the error signal it receives, that the set
point is determined by the measurement made of the level of liquid in the tank.
With such an arrangement, if there is a change in the supply of fluid in the pipe to the tank then
the flow measurement indicates this and sends a signal to the inner control. The result is an error
signal and so an output from the control which changes the control valve opening to the correct
the changes before the liquid leaves the pipe and enters the tank. If the liquid level changes,
perhaps as a result of more being drawn from the tank, then the level measurement leads to an
error signal to the outer controller which then changes the set point of the inner controller and so
its output to the valve. Hence the effect of a supply change is corrected near to its source and
time lags are reduced.
N: B; Flow transmitters and temperature transmitters are sensor types (measuring element)
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Figure 2.2. Cascade control of the temperature of a furnace, which is taken to be the same as that of the
outlet process stream. The temperature controller does not actuate the regulating valve directly; it sends
its signal to a secondary flow rate control loop which in turn ensures that the desired fuel gas
To make clear the above structure (temperature control of a gas furnace, which is used to heat up
a cold process stream.) The fuel gas flow rate is the manipulated variable, and its flow is subject
to fluctuations due to upstream pressure variations.
In a simple single-loop system, we measure the outlet temperature, and the temperature
controller (TC) sends its signal to the regulating valve. If there is fluctuation in the fuel gas flow
rate, this simple system will not counter the disturbance until the controller senses that the
temperature of the furnace has deviated from the set point (Ts).
A cascade control system can be designed to handle fuel gas disturbance more effectively
(Fig.2.2). In this case, a secondary loop (also called the slave loop) is used to adjust the
regulating valve and thus manipulate the fuel gas flow rate. The temperature controller (the
master or primary controller) sends its signal, in terms of the desired flow rate, to the secondary
flow control loopin essence, the signal is the set point of the secondary flow controller (FC).
In the secondary loop, the flow controller compares the desired fuel gas flow rate with the
measured flow rate from the flow transducer (FT), and adjusts the regulating valve accordingly.
This inner flow control loop can respond immediately to fluctuations in the fuel gas flow to
ensure that the proper amount of fuel is delivered.
To be effective, the secondary loop must have a faster response time (smaller time constant) than
the outer loop. Generally, we use as high a proportional gain as feasible. In control jargon, we
say that the inner loop is tuned very tightly.
Block diagram of a simple cascade control system with reference to the furnace problem in figure x.x
This implementation of cascade control requires two controllers and two measured variables
(fuel gas flow and furnace temperature). The furnace temperature is the controlled variable, and
the fuel gas flow rate remains the only manipulated variable.
Advantages:
Primary Loop:
regulates part of the process having slower dynamics
calculates setpoint for the secondary loop
Secondary Loop:
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regulates part of process having faster dynamics
maintain secondary variable at the desired target given by primary controller
The principal advantages of cascade control are the following:
Disturbances occurring in the secondary loop are corrected by the secondary controller
before they can affect the primary, or main, variable.
The secondary controller can significantly reduce phase lag in the secondary loop,
thereby improving the speed or response of the primary loop.
Gain variations due to nonlinearity in the process or actuator in the secondary loop are
corrected within that loop.
The secondary loop enables exact manipulation of the flow of mass or energy by the
primary controller.
Disadvantages:
Multiple control loops make physical and computational architecture more complex
Additional controllers and sensors can be costly
2.2Fedforward control
Feedforward control: The basic idea is to take action before a disturbance reaches the
process. That means in feedforward control configuration, the disturbance is detected as it enters
the process and an appropriate change is made in the manipulated variable such that the
controlled variable is held constant. In this case, the corrective action begins as soon as a
disturbance enters the system.
As shown in Fig.2.3 above, the disturbance is detected as it enters the process and an appropriate
change is made in the manipulated variable such that the controlled variable is held constant.
Thus, we begin to take corrective action as soon as a disturbance entering the system is detected
instead of waiting (as we do with feedback control) for the disturbance to propagate all the way
through the process before a correction is made.
Advantages: One major advantage of feedward control is that it prevents large disturbances in
the given process output.
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Disadvantages:
It may not account for all potential disturbances in the input, leading to large
disturbances in the output.
It is heavily dependent on model accuracy
Example:
2.3Ratio control
As the name implies, ratio control involves keeping constant the ratio of two or more flow rates.
The flow rate of the wild or uncontrolled stream is measured, and the flow rate of the
manipulated stream is changed to keep the two streams at a constant ratio with each other.
Common examples include holding a constant reflux ratio on a distillation column, keeping
stoichiometric amounts of two reactants being fed into a reactor, and purging off a fixed
percentage of the feed stream to a unit. Ratio control is often part of afeedforward control
structure,
Additional definitions:
Ratio control systems are installed to maintain the relationship between two variables to control a
third variable. Ratio control systems actually are the most elementary form of feed forward
control. In addition to this ratio control is used to ensure that two or more flows are kept at the
same ratio even if the flows are changing.
In the following process shown below, a concentrated solution of product is diluted continuously
to be sold as a final 10% solution. Flow rates coming from the unit feeding the pure product to
this mixing tank are not constant (therefore they are wild stream), and therefore a ratio controller
is used to properly dilute the solution.
In this example, the ratio controller would be set to a value of FC1/FC2 = RC1 = Q. The ratio
controller in this case would then work by the following logic:
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In the ratio control scheme shown abovethe two flow rates are measured and their ratio is
computed (by the divider). This computed ratio signal is fed into a conventional PI controller as
the process variable (PV) signal. The setpoint of the ratio controller is the desired ratio. The
output of the controller goes to the valve on the manipulated variable stream, which changes its
flow rate in the correct direction to hold the ratio of the two flows constant. This computed ratio
signal can also be used to trigger an alarm or an interlock.
Advantages
Links two streams to produce a defined ratio
Simple--does not require a complex model
Disadvantage
Assumes pressure from the pure product side is constant
In processes involving the movement of mass, deadtime is a significant factor in the process
dynamics. It is a delay in the response of a process after some variable is changed, during which
no information is known about the new state of the process. Deadtime is the worst enemy of
good control and every effort should be made to minimize it.
Reduction of deadtime
The aim of good control is to minimize deadtime and to minimize the ratio of deadtime to the
time constant. The higher this ratio, the less likely the control system will work properly.
Deadtime can be reduced by reducing transportation lags, which can be done by increasing the
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rates of pumping or agitation, reducing the distance between the measuring instrument and the
process, etc. (That is between the sensor and the process)
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Chapter 3
Advanced Control Techniques
3.1 Nonlinear and Adaptive Control
Linear vs Nonlinear
Linear
basis for most industrial control
simpler model form, easy to identify
easy to design controller
poor prediction, adequate control
Nonlinear
reality
more complex and difficult to identify
need state-of-the-art controller design techniques to do the job
better prediction and control
Q: If the model of the process is nonlinear, how do we express it in terms of a
transfer function?
A: We have to approximate it by a linear one (i.e.Linearize) in order to take the Laplace
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