PROCESS CONTROL 3

EHPBH3B/EHPCO2A
Presented by:

John Kabuba Tshilenge

Lecturer 2

January 2019
Learning Unit 3: Typical Control Systems
I. Introduction to Feedback Control
I. 1 Concept of Feedback Control
A Feedback control action takes the following steps:
1. Measures the value of the output using the appropriate
measuring device. Let ym be the value indicated by the
measuring sensor.
2. Compares the indicated value ym to the desired value ysp of the
output. Let the deviation (error) be: ε = ysp – ym
3. The value of the deviation ε is supplied to the main controller.
The controller in turn charges the value of the manipulated
variable m in such a way as to reduce the magnitude of the
deviation ε.
Usually, the controller does not affect the manipulated variable
directly but through another device known as the Final control
element.
 d
m y
Process

Figure 1: Process Feedback: Open Loop

Inputs
Controller mechanism d Disturbances
Manipulated variables
Ysp (Set point)

+ e Control
c Final
Control
m
Process
Outputs
Element
y
- Controller signal

Measurement

ym Device

Figure 2: Process Feedback: Closed Loop

Examples of the Feedback systems: (a) and (b) Flow control; (c) Pressure control;
(d) and (e) Liquid level control; (f) Temperature control; (g) Composition control
 I. 2 Types of Feedback Controllers
• Between the measuring devices and the final control element
comes the controller.
• Its function is to receive the measured output signal ym(t) and
after comparing it with the set point ysp to produce the
actuating signal c(t) in such a way as to return the output to
the desired value ysp.
• Therefore, the input to the controller is the error
ε(t)=ysp – ym(t) while its output is c(t).
• The various types of continuous feedback controllers differ in
the way they relate ε(t) to c(t).
• There are three basic types of Feedback controllers:
1. Proportional
2. Proportional Integral
3. Proportional Integral Derivation
Figure 3: Basic types of Feedback Controllers
On-off (binary) control
• In this mode of control, the Final control element can have only one
of two positions: either on or off (open or closed, all or nothing, 1 or
0). No intermediate positions such as partially open.
• This is the simplest and the least costly of the controllers.
• In on-off control, the controlled variable must be allowed to fluctuate
about the set point, within a range known as the differential band (or
dead zone).
• Without a differential band, the controller would cycle between two
contradictory positions at very high frequency (chatter), causing
damage to contactors and valves or causing the actuator to “freeze”
altogether.
• The differential band or “hysteresis” is either stored in the controller
as an analog or digital datum, or built-in in the hardware as the
physical lag between the controller and the actuator. In practice, the
width of the differential band is usually set between 0.5% and 2% of
the control range. A narrow band results in more precise control but
high frequency of change, and vice versa.
Proportional (P) control
• In proportional (P) control, the magnitude of the correction signal m is
proportional to the error e.
m = Ke + M
• The proportionality factor K is called proportional gain.
• The constant M is known as the controller bias, because it represents the
magnitude of the correction signal, when no correction is needed (e = 0).
• K is dimensionless. M, e and m are usually expressed as percentages.
• Proportional control serves to eliminate the oscillation associated with on-off
controllers.
• The magnitude of the corrective action is reduced as the controlled variable
approaches the set point.
• In control systems of the proportional type, the actuator can assume
intermediate positions between two extremes, depending on the amplitude of
the correction signal from the controller.
• In some simpler systems, the actuator works in on-off fashion and the
proportionality is achieved by regulating the ratio of on-time/off-time.
• At the set point, that ratio is equal to 1.
• The proportional gain K is usually a fixed property of the
controller, but in some proportional controllers K is
manually adjustable.
• If K is increased, the sensitivity of the controller to error
is increased but the stability is impaired.
• The system approaches the behavior of on-off controlled
systems and its response becomes oscillatory.
• The bias M is usually adjustable.
• As a rule, it is customary to adjust M so as to stabilize
the system at a state slightly different from the set point.
• The difference between the measurement c and the set
point r at steady (stable) state is called the offset.
• It is possible to eliminate the offset by adjusting the bias.
• This action is called reset. However, adjusting the
controller to zero offset under a given set of process
conditions would require re-adjusting every time the load
or any other process condition changes.
• In automatic control, this would be highly problematic.
Integral control (I)
• In integral control, the rate of change of the correction signal (and not the
actual value of that signal) is proportional to the error.

dm/dt = Re (1)

Integration gives:

m = R∫(edt + Mi) (2)

• The corrective signal m depends not on the actual value of the error but on its time
interval i.e., on the past history of the system.
• By virtue of Eq. (1), the corrective signal to the actuator continues to grow as long as
the error persists.
• This results in the elimination of the offset.
• Removal of the offset is the main advantage of “I control “.
• However the response of I-controlled systems is slow and may be highly oscillatory.
• The response of such systems to a step change in the controlled variable is a ramp,
with a slope proportional to the proportionality constant R.
Proportional-Integral-Derivative control (PID)
• A third mode is incorporated in this popular type of control, known also as the
“three-term control”. The third term is that of differential control, defined in Eq. (1):
m =T de/dT (1)
• In the differential mode, the correction signal is proportional not to the
instantaneous error but to the rate of change of the error. If the error increases
rapidly, the correction signal is larger.
• It can be said that the differential action is predictive.
• The response of differential-controlled systems is fast, but highly unstable. The
differential mode is therefore not applied alone but in combination with other
control types.
• The PID mode provides proportional control with the automatic reset feature of
integral control and the rapidity and predictive action of differential control.
• The behavior of the PID control is represented by Eq. (2), containing the three
terms, P, I and D:
m = K (e +R∫edt +T de/dt)+M (2)
• The PID algorithm is extensively used in industrial process control.
• For optimal performance, the controller must be “tuned” by adjusting the
parameters of the three terms K, R and T.
 Response of P, PI and PID controlled
systems to disturbance

Note the large offset in the case of a P controller. In the PI controller,

the offset has been removed but the response is oscillatory. In the
PID system, the offset has been eliminated and the system is more
stable.
II. Control System with Multiple Loops
• The Feedback control configuration involves one
measurement (output) and one manipulated variable in
a single loop. There are, however, other simple control
configuration which may use.
• More than one measurement and one manipulated
variables.
• In such uses control system, with multiple loops may
arise.
• Typical examples of such configuration are:
1. Cascade control
2. Selective control system
3. Split range control
II. 1 Cascade control
• Cascade control configuration is very common in chemical processes.
• It has one manipulated variable and more than one measurement.
• Let’s consider the CSTR in figure. The heat generated in the reactor by
the exothermic reaction is removed by a coolant flowing around the tank.
• The control objective of this system is to keep the temperature T of the
reacting mixture inside the reactor at a desired value Ts.
• The possible disturbances to the reactor include the reactor feed
temperature Ti and the coolant temperature Tc. The only manipulated
variable is the coolant flowrate Fc.
• In the simple feedback control configuration (Fig. 6) the temperature of
the reacting mixture, T, is measured and the deviation from the set-point
is minimized by manipulating the coolant flowrate Fc.
• The deviation of the reacting mixture temperature from the set-point
may be due to changes in disturbances Ti or Tc or both.
• However the simple feedback control configuration will be more
effective in compensating for changes in Ti than changes in Tc.

Figure 6: Conventional feedback control of a jacketed CSTR

• To improve the response of the simple feedback control to changes in
Tc we can add another loop where Tc is measured and changes in Tc
are compensated by manipulating the coolant flowrate Fc. If Tc goes up,
the coolant flowrate is increased to remove the same amount of heat
and when Tc decreases the coolant flowrate is decreased. With this
configuration we have two control loops using two different
measurements, T and Tc but sharing a common manipulated variable,
Fc. This configuration is called cascade control configuration (Fig. 7)
The loop that measures the controlled variable, T, is the primary or
master control loop and uses the set-point supplied by the operator and
the loop that measures Tc is the secondary or slave loop. It uses the
output of the primary controller as its set-point.
 II.2 Selective control systems
• Selective control systems involve one manipulated variable and several
controlled outputs.
• As one manipulated variable can only be used to control one output, the
selective control systems transfer control action from one controlled
output to another according to the need.
• Examples of selective control systems include Override control for the
protection of process equipment and Auctioneering control.

Override Control

• Let’s consider the protection of a boiler system in Figure 8.

• The steam pressure is controlled by using a pressure control loop on the
discharge line (loop 1 in Figure 8).
• At the same time the water level in the boiler should not fall below a
lower limit which is necessary to keep the heating coil immersed in water
and thus prevent its burning out.
• A second loop to control the water level in the boiler is then installed
(loop 2).
• This second loop also uses the steam discharge as the manipulated
variable.
Figure 8: Selective control systems
 II. 3 Auctioneering control system
• Auctioneering control configurations select among several similar
measurements the one with the highest value and feed it to the
controller.
• Let’s consider the example of the Auctioneering control system for a
tubular catalytic reactor shown in Figure 9.
• The Tubular reactor is packed with catalyst and a set of thermocouples
are placed along the length of the reactor to generate the reactor
temperature profile.
• All the thermocouples will not read the same value as conditions inside
the reactor (Concentration, temperature, flowrate, etc) change along the
length of the reactor.
• The highest temperature is called Hot spot.
• The primary control objective is to keep the hot-spot temperature below
an upper limit.
• Many temperature readings will be generated by thermocouples but the
auctioneering control system will only select the value of the highest
temperature (hot spot) to be used for control.
Figure 9: Auctioneering control system for a tubular catalytic reactor
II. 4 Split-range control
• The split-range control configuration has one measurement only
(controlled output) and more than one manipulated variable.
• The control signal is split into several parts each affecting one of the
available manipulations.
 III. Feedforward and Ratio Control
• Feedback control loops can never achieve perfect
control of a chemical process, that is, keep the output
of the process continuously at the desired set point
value in the presence of load or set point changes.
• The reason is simple: A feedback controller reacts only
after it has detected a deviation in the value of the
output from the desired set point.
• Unlike the feedback system, a feedforward control
configuration measures the disturbance (load) directly
and takes control action to eliminate its impact on the
process output.
• Therefore, feedforward controllers have the theoretical
potential for perfect control
Figure 10: Structure of (a)Feedforward and (b) Feedback control
III. 1 Feedforward- Feedback Control
• Feedforward control has the potential for perfect
control but it also suffers from several inherent
weaknesses.
• In particular:
1. It requires the identification of all possible
disturbances and their direct measurement,
something that may not be possible for many
processes.
2. Any changes in the parameters of a process cannot
be compensated by a feedforward controller because
their impact cannot be detected.
3. Feedforward control requires a very good model for
the process, which is not possible for many systems
in chemical industry.
Relative advantages and disadvantages of Feedforward
and Feedback control
Advantages Disadvantages
Feedforward
1. Act before the effect of disturbance 1. Requires identification of all possible
has been left by the systems. disturbance and their direct
2. Is good for slow systems or with measurement.
significant dead time. 2. Cannot cope with unmeasured
3. It does not introduce instability in the disturbances
closed-loop response 3. Sensitive to process parameter
variations
4. Requires good knowledge of the
process model.
Feedback
1. It does not require identification and 1. It waits until the effect of the
measurement of any disturbance disturbances has been felt by the
2. It is insensitive to modeling errors. system, before control action is
3. It is insensitive to parameter changes taken.
2. It is unsatisfactory for slow processes
or with significant deed time.
3. It may create instability in the closed
loop response.
III. 2 Ratio Control

• Ratio control is a special type of feedforward

control where two disturbances (loads) are
measured and held in a constant ratio to each
other.
• It is mostly used to control the ratio of flow
rates of two streams. Both flow rates are
measured but only one can be controlled.
• The stream whose flow rate is not under
control is usually referred to as wild stream.
Ratio control is used extensively in chemical processes with the
following as the most commonly encountered examples:
1. Keep a constant ratio between the feed flow rate and the steam
in the reboiler of a distillation column.
2. Hold constant the reflux ratio in a distillation column.
3. Control the ratio of two reactants entering a reactor at a desired
value.
4. Hold the ratio of two blended streams constant, in order to
maintain the composition of the blend at the desired value.
5. Hold the ratio of a purge stream to the recycle stream constant.
6. Keep the ratio of fuel/air in a burner at its optimum value (most
efficient combustion).
7. Maintain the ratio of the liquid flow rate to vapor flow rate in an
absorber constant, in order to achieve the desired composition
in the exit vapor stream.
 IV. Adaptive and Inferential Control
Systems
IV. 1 Adaptive Control
• Adaptive is called a control system, which can adjust its
parameters automatically in such a way as to compensate for
variations in characteristics of the process it controls.
• The various types of adaptive control systems differ only in the
way the parameters of the controller are adjusted.
Why are adaptive controllers need in chemical processes?
• First, most chemical processes are non-linear. Therefore, the
linearized models that are used to design linear controllers
depend on the particular steady state (around which the process is
linearized).
• It is clear, then, that as the desired steady-state operation of a
process changes, the ‘best” values of the controller’s parameters
change.
• This implies the need for controller adaptation.
• Second, most of the chemical processes are nonstationary.
• Typical examples are the decay of the catalyst activity in a reactor
and the decrease of the overall heat transfer coefficient in a heat
exchanger due to fouling.
• This change leads again to a deterioration in the performance of
the linear controller, which was designed using some nominal
values for the process parameters, thus requiring adaptation of the
controller parameters.
What is the objective of the adaptation procedure?
• It is not to keep the controlled variable at the specified set point.
• This will be accomplished by the control loop, however badly.
• We need an additional criterion, an objective function that will
guide the adaptation mechanism to the “best” adjustment of the
controller parameters.
• To phrase it differently, we need a criterion to guide the adaptive
tuning of the controller.
 IV. 2 Inferential Control
• Quite often, the controlled output of a processing unit cannot be
measured directly.
• Consequently, we cannot use feedback control or any other
configuration which necessitates direct measurement of the
controlled variable.
• If the disturbances that create the control problems can be
measured and an adequate process model is available, we could
use feedforward control to keep the unmeasured output at its
desired value.
• What happens, though, if the disturbances cannot be measured?
• None of the control configurations studied so far can be used to
control an unmeasured process output in the presence of
unmeasured disturbances.
• This is the type of control problems where inferential control is the
only solution.
 V. Design of Control Systems for
Multivariable Processes
• The control configurations we have examined so far
were confined to processes with a single controlled
output, requiring a single manipulated input.
• Such single-input, single-output (SISO) systems are
very simple and not the typical processing units
encountered by a chemical engineer.
• Chemical processes usually have two or more
controlled outputs, requiring two or more manipulated
variables (multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO)).
 V. 1 Design Questions for MIMO
Control Systems
Consider a general process with several inputs and
outputs.
Several questions must be answered before we attempt
to design a control system for such a process.
1. What are the control objectives?
2. What outputs should be measured?
3. What inputs can be measured?
4. What manipulated variables should be used?
5. What is the configuration of the control loops?
 V. 2 Degrees of Freedom and the Number of
Controlled and Manipulated Variables
We have defined the degree of freedom for a given
process as the independent variables that must be
specified in order to define the process completely.
ƒ=V–E
Where: V = number of independent variables
describing a process
E = number of independent equations
physically relating the V variables
 V. 3 Generation of Alternative Loop
Configurations
• After the identification of the controlled and
manipulated variables we need to determine the
control configuration.
• In order words, determine the configuration of the
control loops.
• For a system with N controlled and N manipulated
variables there are N! different loop configurations.
• As the number N increases, the number of different
loop configurations increases very rapidly.
 V. 4 Extensions to Systems with
Interacting Units
• Consider a process composed of N units which interact with each
other through material or energy flows.
• To determine all feasible control configurations for the overall
process, we can adopt the following systematic procedure:
Step 1: Divide the process into separate blocks.
Step 2: Determine the degrees of freedom and the
number of controlled and manipulated variables
for each block.
Step 3: Determine all feasible loop configurations
each block.
Step 4: Recombine the blocks with their loop configurations.
Step 5: Eliminate conflicts among the control systems of the
various blocks.