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Control Engineering (ME55)

CONTROL ACTIONS
An automatic controller compares the actual value of the system output with the
reference input (desired value), determines the deviation, and produces a control signal
that will reduce the deviation to zero or a small value. The manner in which the automatic
controller produces the control signal is called the control action. The controllers may be
classified according to their control actions as
1) Two position or on-off controllers
2) Proportional controllers
3) Integral controllers
4) Proportional-plus- integral controllers
5) Proportional-plus-derivative controllers
6) Proportional-plus-integral-plus-derivative controllers
A two position controller has two fixed positions usually on or off.
A proportional control system is a feedback control system in which the output forcing
function is directly proportional to error.
A integral control system is a feedback control system in which the output forcing
function is directly proportional to the first time integral of error.
A proportional-plus-integral control system is a feedback control system in which the
output forcing function is a linear combination of the error and its first time integral.
A proportional-plus-derivative control system is a feedback control system in which the
output forcing function is a linear combination of the error and its first time derivative.
A proportional-plus-derivative-plus-integral control system is a feedback control system
in which the output forcing function is a linear combination of the error, its first time
derivative and its first time integral.
Many industrial controllers are electric, hydraulic, pneumatic, electronic or their
combinations. The choice of the controller is based on the nature of plant and operating
conditions. Controllers may also be classified according to the power employed in the
operation as
1) Electric controllers
2) Hydraulic controllers
3) Pneumatic controllers
4) Electronic controllers.
The block diagram of a typical controller is shown in Fig.1. It consists of an
automatic controller, an actuator, a plant and a sensor. The controller detects the actuating
error signal and amplifies it. The output of a controller is fed to the actuator that produces
the input to the plant according to the control signal. The sensor is a device that converts
Prof. S. C.Pilli, Principal,
K.L.E.S. College of Engineering and Technology, Belgaum-590008.

Session: XIV, 26/09/06

VTU e-learning Courseware

Control Engineering (ME55)

the output variable into another suitable variable to compare the output to reference input
signal. Sensor is a feedback element of the closed loop control system.
automatic controller
error
detector
reference
input r(t)

actuating
error signal e(t)

Controller
output u(t)
Output c(t)

Amplifier

Plant

Actuator

feed back
signal b(t)

Sensor
Figure 1 Block diagram of control system

Two Position Control Action

In a two position control action system, the actuating element has only two positions
which are generally on and off. Generally these are electric devices. These are widely
used are they are simple and inexpensive. The output of the controller is given by Eqn.1.
u t U 1
U2

et 0

..(1)

et 0

Where, U1 and U2 are constants ( U2= -U1 or zero)

The block diagram of on-off controller is shown in Fig. 2
error
detector
reference
input r(t)

actuating
error signal e(t)

Controller
output u(t)

feed back
signal b(t)
Figure 2 Block diagram of on off controller
Proportional Control Action
The proportional controller is essentially an amplifier with an adjustable gain. For a
controller with proportional control action the relationship between output of the
controller u(t) and the actuating error signal e(t) is
Prof. S. C.Pilli, Principal,
K.L.E.S. College of Engineering and Technology, Belgaum-590008.

Session: XIV, 26/09/06

VTU e-learning Courseware

Control Engineering (ME55)

u t K p e t

.....(2)

Where, Kp is the proportional gain.

Or in Laplace transformed quantities
Us
Kp
Es

..(3)

Whatever the actual mechanism may be the proportional controller is essentially

an amplifier with an adjustable gain. The block diagram of proportional controller is
shown in Fig.3.
error
detector
reference
input r(t)

actuating
error signal e(t)

Controller
output u(t)

Kp

feed back
signal b(t)
Figure 3 Block diagram of a proportional controller

Integral Control Action

The value of the controller output u(t) is changed at a rate proportional to the actuating
error signal e(t) given by Eqn.4
t
du t
K i et or u t K i et dt
dt
0
Where, Ki is an adjustable constant.
The transfer function of integral controller is

Us K i

Es
s

..(4)

.(5)

If the value of e(t) is doubled, then u(t) varies twice as fast. For zero actuating
error, the value of u(t) remains stationary. The integral control action is also called reset
control. Fig.4 shows the block diagram of the integral controller.

Prof. S. C.Pilli, Principal,

K.L.E.S. College of Engineering and Technology, Belgaum-590008.

Session: XIV, 26/09/06

VTU e-learning Courseware

Control Engineering (ME55)

actuating
error signal e(t)

error
detector
reference
input r(t)

Controller
output u(t)

Ki
s

feed back
signal b(t)
Figure 4 Block diagram of an integral controller
Proportional-plus-Integral Control Action
The control action of a proportional-plus-integral controller is defined by
u t K p e t

Kp
Ti

et dt
t

..(6)

The transfer function of the controller is

Us
1
K p 1
Ts
Es
i

.....(7)

Where, Kp is the proportional gain, Ti is the integral time which are adjustable.
The integral time adjusts the integral control action, while change in proportional
gain affects both the proportional and integral action. The inverse of the integral time is
called reset rate. The reset rate is the number of times per minute that a proportional part
of the control action is duplicated. Fig.5 shows the block diagram of the proportionalplus-integral controller. For an actuating error of unit step input, the controller output is
shown in Fig.6.
error
detector
reference
input r(t)

actuating
error signal e(t)

Controller
output u(t)

K p 1 Ti s

Ti s

feed back
signal b(t)
Figure 5 Block diagram of a proportional-plus-integral control system

Prof. S. C.Pilli, Principal,

K.L.E.S. College of Engineering and Technology, Belgaum-590008.

Session: XIV, 26/09/06

VTU e-learning Courseware

Control Engineering (ME55)

u(t)

P-I control action

2Kp
Kp

proportional only

Ti

Figure 6 Response of PI controller to unit actuating error signal

Proportional-plus-Derivative Control Action
The control action of proportional-plus-derivative controller is defined by
u t K p et K p Td

det
dt

..(8)

The transfer function is

Us
K p 1 Td s
Es

..(9)

Where, Kp is the proportional gain and Td is a derivative time constant.

Both, Kp and Td are adjustable. The derivative control action is also called rate
control. In rate controller the output is proportional to the rate of change of actuating
error signal. The derivative time Td is the time interval by which the rate action advances
the effect of the proportional control action. The derivative controller is anticipatory in
nature and amplifies the noise effect. Fig.7 shows the block diagram of the proportionalplus-derivative. For an actuating error of unit ramp input, the controller output is shown
in Fig.8
actuating
Controller
error
error signal e(t) output u(t)
detector
reference
K P 1 TD S

input r(t)

feed back
signal b(t)

Figure 7 Block diagram of a proportional-plus-derivative controller

Prof. S. C.Pilli, Principal,
K.L.E.S. College of Engineering and Technology, Belgaum-590008.

Session: XIV, 26/09/06

VTU e-learning Courseware

Control Engineering (ME55)

u(t)

P-D control action

proportional only
Td

t
Figure 8 Response of PD controller to unit actuating error signal

Proportional-plus-Integral-plus-Derivative Control Action

It is a combination of proportional control action, integral control action and derivative
control action. The equation of the controller is
u t K p e t

Kp
Ti

et dt K p Td
t

det
dt

..(10)

or the transfer function is

Us
1
K p 1
Td s
Ts

Es
i

..(11)

Where, Kp is the proportional gain, Ti is the integral time, and Td is the derivative time.
The block diagram of PID controller is shown in Fig.9. For an actuating error of unit
ramp input, the controller output is shown in Fig.10.

error
detector
reference
input r(t)

actuating
error signal e(t)

K p 1 Ti s Ti Td s 2

Controller
output u(t)

Td s

feed back
signal b(t)
Figure 9 Block diagram of a proportional-plus-integral-plus-derivative controller

Prof. S. C.Pilli, Principal,

K.L.E.S. College of Engineering and Technology, Belgaum-590008.

Session: XIV, 26/09/06

VTU e-learning Courseware

Control Engineering (ME55)

PID control action

u(t)

PD control action
proportional only

Figure 10 Response of PID controller to unit actuating error signal

Prof. S. C.Pilli, Principal,

K.L.E.S. College of Engineering and Technology, Belgaum-590008.

Session: XIV, 26/09/06