Fundamental Principles of Process Control

Class 2

1. Motivation for Process Control

Safety First:
people, environment, equipment

The Profit Motive:

meeting final product specs minimizing waste production minimizing environmental impact minimizing energy use maximizing overall production rate

Loose Control Costs Money

Process: Gravity Drained Tank
70 4.4

Controller: M anual M ode

operating constraint

More ProfitableProfitable Operation More Operation

60 4.2

50 4.0

3.8 40

3.6 30

process variable
60 80 100 Time (mins) 120 140

poor control means large variability, so the process must be operated in a less profitable region

Examples

It takes more material to make a product thicker, so greatest profit is to operate as close to the minimum thickness constraint as possible without going under It takes more processing to remove impurities, so greatest profit is to operate as close to the maximum impurities constraint as you can without going over

Tight Control = Most Profitable Operation

Process: Gravity Drained Tank
4.2 70 More Profitable Profitable Operation More Operation

Controller: Manual Mode

operating constraint

4.0 60

50 3.8

process variable
40 3.6

tight control permits operation near the constraint, which means more profit

30 3.4

80

100

120 Time (mins)

140

160

A well controlled process has less variability in the measured process variable, so the process can be operated close to the profitable constraint

Poorly Maintained Control Loops Can Compromise Product Yield, Quality, and Throughput
Cont rol loop performance

Ideal cont rol

Opt imizat ion pot ent ial

Of f cont rol Time

Poorly t uned cont rol

Profitability of the Process Can Be Improved by Reducing Variability in the Control Loop

Loop variabilit y

Loop t uned

Increased product ion or qualit y

Standard Deviation Provides a Benchmark for Controller Performance

st dev = 0 .0 2 5

st dev = 0 .1

0 .6

0 .8

1 .2

1 .4

1 .6

-3 set point

+3

Terminology for Home Heating Control

Control Objective Measured Process Variable (PV) Set Point (SP) Controller Output (OP) Manipulated Variable (MV) Disturbances (D) thermostat
controller set point

TC

TT
temperature sensor/transmitter heat loss (disturbance)

control signal

fuel flow valve

furnace
Copyright 2007 by Control Station, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Automatic Control is Measurement Computation Action

Is house cooler than set point? ( TSetpoint Thouse > 0 ) Action open fuel valve Is house warmer than set point? ( TSetpoint THouse < 0 ) Action close fuel valve

Components of a Control Loop

Home heating control block diagram
controller error
Set Point
+

controller output signal

Thermostat

manipulated fuel flow to furnace

Fuel Valve

house temperature

Home Heating Process

Heat Loss

house temperature measurement signal

Disturbance

Temperature Sensor/Transmitter

General Control Loop Block Diagram

controller error
Set Point
+

controller output
Controller

manipulated process variable

Final Control Element

measured process variable

Process

Disturbance

feedback signal
Measurement Sensor/Transmitter

Example: Heated Tank

Controlled variable:
Ti wi

To

Feedback
Measure T0 Control voltage to heater

To
Q Heater

wo

TT VC

Example: Heated Tank

Controlled variable:
Ti wi

To

Feedback
Measure T0 Control voltage to heater

TT
To
Q Heater

wo

Feedforward
Measure Ti Control voltage to heater

VC

In-Class Activity

Other Definitions
Final Control Element
Usually a valve or pump Electricity (to heat or cool) Solenoid valve (open or shut)

SISO
Single input, single output

Nomenclature
FC Flow (to be controlled) Controller LT Transmitted (or sensor) Level (of liquid)

Application
First Order Plus Time Delay (FOPTD)
x x Ku (t ) t Time constant K Gain Dead - time

Modeling and Control

x = 2.2 m/s Desired Velocity m = 400 kg (cart and donkey) b = 45 N-s/m (resistive coefficient) c = 100 N/(12 switches per minute) u = ? (switches/min) Time delay = 2 seconds
Force Balance

x m b x c u (t 2) t

x x Ku (t ) t Time constant K Gain Dead - time

Control Station Exercise

Import donkey_cart.cs4