Chapter 18

Control Case Studies

Control Systems Considered
Temperature control for a heat exchanger
Temperature control of a CSTR
Composition control of a distillation column
pH control
Temperature Control for Heat
Exchangers
Heat Exchangers
Exhibit process deadtime and process
nonlinearity.
Deadtime and gain both increase as tubeside
flow decreases.
Major disturbances are feed flow and
enthalpy changes and changes in the
enthalpy of the heating or cooling medium.
Inferior Configuration for a
Steam Heated Heat Exchanger
TT
FT
FC TC
Condensate
Steam
RSP
Feed
Analysis of Inferior
Configuration
This configuration must wait until the outlet
product temperature changes before taking
any corrective action for the disturbances
listed.
Preferred Configuration for a
Steam Heated Heat Exchanger
TT
PT
PC TC
Condensate
Steam
RSP
Feed
Analysis of Preferred
Configuration
For the changes in the steam enthalpy and
changes in the feed flow or feed enthalpy,
they will cause a change in the heat transfer
rate which will in turn change the steam
pressure and the steam pressure controller
will take corrective action.
There this configuration will respond to the
major process disturbances before their
effect shows up in the product temperature.

Modfication to Perferred
Configuration
TT
PT PC TC
Condensate
Steam
RSP
Feed
Analysis Modfication to
Perferred Configuration
A smaller less expensive valve can be used
for this approach, i.e., less capital to
implement.
This configuration should be slower
responding than the previous one since the
MV depends on changing the level inside
the heat exchanger in order to affect the
process.
Scheduling of PI Controller
Settings
0
0
0
2
0
I I
c c
F
F
K
F
F
K
t t
|
|
.
|

\
| '
=
'
|
|
.
|

\
| '
=
'
Inferior Configuration for a
Liquid/Liquid Heat Exchanger
TT
TC
Coolant
Outlet
Coolant
Inlet
Feed
Preferred Configuration for a
Liquid/Liquid Heat Exchanger
TC
Coolant
Outlet
Coolant
Inlet
Feed
TT
Comparison of Configurations for
Liquid/Liquid Heat Exchangers
For the inferior configuration, the process
responds slowly to MV changes with
significant process deadtime. Moreover,
process gain and deadtime change
significantly with the process feed rate.
For the preferred configuration, the system
responds quickly with very small process
deadtime. Process deadtime and gain
changes appear as disturbances.
Temperature Control for CSTRs
CSTR Temperature Control
Severe nonlinearity with variations in
temperature.
Effective gain and time constant vary with
temperature.
Disturbances include feed flow, composition,
and enthalpy upsets, changes in the enthalpy
of the heating or cooling mediums, and
fouling of the heat transfer surfaces.
Preferred Configuration for
Endothermic CSTR
Feed
Product
PT
TC
PC
TT
Steam
Condensate
Exothermic CSTRs
Open loop unstable
Minimum and maximum controller gain for
stability
Normal levels of integral action lead to
unstable operation
PD controller required
Must keep u
p
/t
p
less than 0.1
Deadtime for an Exothermic CSTR


t
mix
- V
r
divided by feed flow rate, pumping rate
of agitator, and recirculation rate.
t
ht
- MC
p
/UA
t
coolant
- V
coolant
divided by coolant recirculation
rate
t
s
- sensor system time constant (6-20 s)
s coolant ht mix p
t t t t u + + + =
Exothermic CSTR Temperature
Control
Feed
Product
TT
Coolant
Makeup
TC
TT
TC
RSP
Exothermic CSTR Temperature
Control
Coolant
Makeup
Feed
Product
TT
TC
TT
TC
RSP
Maximizing Production Rate
Feed
Product
TT
Coolant
Makeup
TC
TT
TC
RSP
VPC
Using Boiling Coolant
Feed
Product
TT
Hot
Condensate
PC PT
TC
RSP
LT LC
Distillation Control
Distillation Control
Distillation control affects-
Product quality
Process production rate
Utility usage
Bottom line- Distillation control is
economically important
The Challenges Associated with
Distillation Control
Process nonlinearity
Coupling
Severe disturbances
Nonstationary behavior
Material Balance Effects
AT
LC
LC
AT
D
y
L
B
x
V
F
z
PT
F D
x z
x y
x y
x z
F
D
/

+ =

=
Effect of D/F and Energy Input on
Product Purities [Thin line larger V]
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
D/F
M
o
l
e

F
r
a
c
t
i
o
n
x
y
z =0.5
Combined Material and Energy
Balance Effects
Energy input to a column generally
determines the degree of separation that is
afforded by the column while the material
balance (i.e., D/F) determines how the
separation will be allocated between the two
products.
Vapor and Liquid Dynamics
Boilup rate changes reach the overhead in a
few seconds.
Reflux changes take several minutes to
reach the reboiler.
This difference in dynamic response can
cause interesting composition dynamics.
Effect of Liquid and Vapor
Dynamics [(D,V) configuration]
Consider +AV
L/V decrease causes
impurity to increase
initially
After AV reaches
accumulator, L will
increase which will
reduce the impurity
level.
Result: inverse action
LC
LC
AT
D
y
L
B
x
V
F
z
PT
AT
Disturbances
Feed composition upsets
Feed flow rate upsets
Feed enthalpy upsets
Subcooled reflux
Loss of reboiler steam pressure
Column pressure swings
Regulatory Control
Flow controllers. Standard flow
controllers on all controlled flow rates.
Level controllers. Standard level
controllers applied to reboiler,
accumulators, and internal accumulators
Pressure controllers. Examples follow
Minimum Pressure Operation
PT
C.W.
Manipulating Refrigerant Flow
PT
PC
Refrigerant
Flooded Condenser
PT
PC
CW
LT
LC
Venting for Pressure Control
PT
PC
Vent
C.W.
Venting/Inert Injection
PT
PC
Vent
C.W.
Inert
Gas
S
Inferential Temperature Control
Use pressure corrected temperature
Use CAD model to ID best tray temperature
to use

Single Composition Control - y
AT
LC
LC
AT
D
y
L
B
x
V
F
z
PT
AC
L is fast responding
and least sensitive to
Az.
No coupling present.
Manipulate L to
control y with V fixed.
Single Composition Control - x
AT
LC
LC
AT
D
y
L
B
x
V
F
z
PT
AC
V is fast responding
and least sensitive to
Az.
No coupling present.
Manipulate V to
control x with L fixed
Dual Composition Control
Low L/D Columns
For columns with L/D < 5, use energy
balance configurations:
(L,V)
(L,V/B)
(L/D,V)
(L/D,V/D)
Dual Composition Control
High L/D Columns
For columns with L/D > 8, use material
balance configurations:
(D,B)
(D,V)
(D,V/B)
(L,B)
(L/D,B
When One Product is More
Important than the Other
When x is important, use V as manipulated
variable.
When y is important, use L as manipulated
variable.
When L/D is low, use L, L/D, V, or V/B to
control the less important product.
When L/D is high, use D, L/D, B, or V/B to
control the less important product
Configuration Selection Examples
Consider C
3
splitter: high L/D and overhead
propylene product is most important: Use
(L,B) or (L,V/B)
Consider low L/D column where the
bottoms product is most important: Use
(L,V) or (L/D,V).
When One Product is More
Important than the Other
Tune the less important composition control
loop loosely (e.g., critically damped) first.
Then tune the important composition
control loop tightly (i.e., 1/6 decay ratio)
Provides dynamic decoupling
Typical Column Constraints
Maximum reboiler duty
Maximum condenser duty
Flooding
Weeping
Maximum reboiler temperature
Max T Constraint - y Important
AT
LC
LC
D
y
L
B
x
V
F
z
PT
AC
AT
TT TC AC LS
Max T Constraint - x Important
AT
LC
LC
D
y
L
B
x
V
F
z
PT
AC
AT
TT
TC
Keys to Effective Distillation Control
Ensure that regulatory controls are
functioning properly.
Check analyzer deadtime, accuracy, and
reliability.
For inferential temperature control use
RTD, pressure compensation, correct tray.
Use internal reflux control.
Ratio L, D, V, B to F.
Choose a good control configuration.
Implement proper tuning.
pH Control
pH Control
pH control is important to any process
involving aqueous solutions, e.g.,
wastewater neutralization and pH control
for a bio-reactor.
pH control can be highly nonlinear and
highly nonstationary.
Titration curves are useful because they
indicate the change in process gain with
changes in the system pH or base-to-acid
ratio.
Strong Acid and Weak Acid
Titration Cures for a Weak Base
Which is an easier control problem?
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 1 2
Base/Acid Ratio
p
H
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 1 2
Base/Acid Ratio
p
H
Effect of pK
a
on the Titration
Curves for a Strong and Weak Base
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 1 2
Base/Acid Ratio
p
H
pK
a
=6
pK
a
=3
pK
a
=1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0 1 2
Base/Acid Ratio
p
H
pK
a
=6
pK
a
=3
pK
a
=1
Titration Curves
The shape of a titration curve is determined
from the pK
a
and pK
b
of the acid and the
base, respectively.
Degree of Difficulty for pH Control
Problems
Easiest: relatively uniform feed rate, influent
concentration and influent titration curve with
a low to moderate process gain at neutrality.
(Fixed gain PI controller or manual control)
Relatively easy: variable feed rate with
relatively uniform influent concentration and
influent titration curve. (PI ratio control)
Degree of Difficulty for pH Control
Problems
More Difficult: variable feed rate and
influent concentration, but relatively uniform
titration curve. (A ratio controller that allows
the user to enter the titration curve)
MOST DIFFICULT: variable feed rate,
influent concentration and titration curve.
Truly a challenging problem. (An adaptive
controller, see text for discussion of inline pH
controllers).