INTRODUCTION TO PID CONTROL

1. Determine the role of the following in a control system:

A. Plant

The plant is the system or process through which a particular

quantity or condition is controlled. This is also called the controlled system.
B. Actuating Signal

The actuating signal represents the control action of the control loop
and is equal to the algebraic sum of the reference input signal and feedback
signal. This is also called the "error signal."
C. Controlled Variables

It is the value or prerequisite that is determined and controlled.

These variables are independent variables and are usually not influenced
by external factors. These variables are controlled by the engineer,
designing the control system, and those values are chose for these variables
at which the system gives the best output.
D. Commanded Variables

The value or prerequisite that keep on changing as the controlled

variables are changed. These variables are dependent variables and usually
dependent on controlled variables.
E. Feedback Path

A feedback is a common and powerful tool when designing a control

system. Feedback loops take the system output into consideration, which
enables the system to adjust its performance to meet a desired output
response.
F. Error

Errors in control systems can be attributed to many factors. Changes

in the reference input will cause unavoidable error during transient period
and may cause steady state error also. Imperfections in the system
components such as static friction, backlash (a sudden strong response or
reaction), amplifier drift, as well as aging or deterioration will cause errors
at steady state.
2. A controller is the most important component of the control system.
It is responsible for the performance of the control system. It is a device or
an algorithm that works to maintain the value of the controlled variable at
set point.
The controller receives the difference between the reference set point
and the measured output (known as error) and generates a control action
to make the error to zero. The generated control action manipulates the
process variable closer to set point. The measurement system consists of a
sensor and transmitter. The sensor measures the process variable and
produces mechanical, electrical or other related phenomena. The
transmitter converts the phenomenon into a signal that is suitable for
transmission.

3. A block diagram is especially focused on the input and output of a

system. In the example given, it cares less about what happens getting from
input to output. A block diagram is a specialized, high-level flowchart used
in engineering. It is used to design new systems or to describe and improve
existing ones. Its structure provides a high-level overview of major system
components, key process participants, and important working
relationships.

4. The altitude of the drone is controlled by the rotational speed of four

rotors. The control input is proportion to the rotation speed. In
consideration of the delay caused by the control loop and the motor load,
the power is proportion to rotation speed. Whereas in altitude control, the
model-based optimal controller is designed. To verify the performance of
the controllers, the hovering control and guidance control are conducted in
flight experiments.

5. In either examples, the possible error or problem occur is the output

signal from a temperature sensing device such as a thermocouple or a
resistance thermometer is compared with the desired temperature. Any
difference or error causes the controller to send a control signal. The
solution is Steady conditions that will exist when the actual and desired
input are the same, and the input exactly balances the controlled through
the diagram.
6. Steady-state error is defined as the difference between the input and
the output of a system in the limit as time goes to infinity. You should
always check the system for stability before performing a steady-state error
analysis. Many of the techniques that we present will give an answer even if
the error does not reach a finite steady-state value.

7.

A. Proportional control, in engineering and process control, is a

type of linear feedback control system in which a correction is applied to
the controlled variable which is proportional to the difference between the
desired values. In practice, PID controllers are used for this and the large
number of control processes that require more response control than
proportional alone.

B. Integral controllers the output (also called the actuating signal)

is directly proportional to the integral of the error signal. Due to their
unique ability, Integral Controllers can return the controlled variable back
to the exact set point following a disturbance that’s why these are known as
reset controllers.

C. Derivative controller the output (also called the actuating

signal) is directly proportional to the derivative of the error signal. It
should be used in combinations with other modes of controllers, it never
improves the steady-state error, and it produces saturation effects and also
amplifies the noise signals produced in the system.

8. Gain is the ratio of output to input—a measure of the amplification

of the input signal. To adjust the gain, servo systems are tuned using gains
that help correct errors between the target value (position, velocity, or
torque) and the actual value. Proportional, integral, and derivative gains
control how hard the servo tries to correct or reduce the error between the
commanded and actual values.
 Expanding Beyond a Simple Integral

1. An actuator is a component of a machine that is responsible for

moving and controlling a mechanism or system, for example by opening a
valve. In simple terms, it is a "mover". An actuator requires a control
signal and a source of energy. For the process, its main energy source may
be an electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure, or pneumatic pressure.
When it receives a control signal, an actuator responds by converting the
source's energy into mechanical motion.

2. The problems associated with actuators are normally easy to repair

because the actuators do not have to be removed from the fluid system.
Many times a visual inspection of the actuator in the field gives an
immediate indication of poor performance: Erratic or jerky throttling can
be caused by a fluctuating air supply, an unsteady electronic/pneumatic
signal, or a binding packing problem and, Failure to fully retract or fully
extend is treated as the same problem for linear actuators.

3. Saturation of actuators are ubiquitous in engineering systems. In

control systems, every physical actuator or sensor is subject to saturation
owing to its maximum and minimum limits. A digital filter is subject to
saturation if it is implemented in a finite word length format. Saturation
nonlinearities are also purposely introduced into engineering systems such
as control systems and neural network systems.

4. The linear actuator working principle was specifically designed to be

easier to work with, both to decrease the amount of maintenance and
repairs which are necessary for equipment that carries out the types of jobs
linear actuators were created for, and also to allow more people to be able
to use them.

5. Because of the lack of a steady state error, a PI controller can be used

where there are large changes in the process variable. However, because
the integration part of the control takes time, the changes must be
relatively slow to prevent oscillations.
6. Anti-windup can be used to avoid this overshoot. Several anti-
windup techniques exist; two common ones are back-calculation and
clamping.
1. Back-calculation uses the difference between the unsaturated
and saturated controller output as feedback that unwinds the integral
accumulator. It introduces a constant to tune: Kb, the back-calculation
gain.
2. Clamping, or conditional integration, prevents the integral
output from accumulating in the appropriate direction when the controller
output is saturated.

7. Clamping Saturation will always work. It detects when there is an

integrator overflow and sets the integral path of the PID controller to zero
to avoid. Clamping is a commonly used anti-windup method, especially in
the case of digital control systems. In serious applications, however, there is
also forward clamping involved. This mechanism must be implemented
manually.

8. After tuning your controller in the linear region, it's time to evaluate
anti-windup techniques if the controller will be operating in saturation. It's
important to note that in this example either the controller with back-
calculation is not properly tuned, or this system with these gains does not
lend itself to back-calculation anti-windup.
 A PID Tuning Guide

1. The design process consists of seven main building blocks, which we

arrange into three groups:
1. Establishment of goals and variables to be controlled, and
definition of specifications (metrics) against which to measure
performance.
2. System definition and modeling - As designers, we proceed to the
first attempt to configure a system that will result in the desired control
performance. This system configuration will normally consist of a sensor,
the process under control, an actuator, and a controller.
3. Control system design and integrated system simulation and
analysis - which often consists of a summing amplifier that will compare
the desired response and the actual response and then forward this error-
measurement signal to an amplifier.

2. The art of tuning a PID is to have it adjust its OP to move the PV as

quickly as possible to the SP (responsive), minimize overshoot and then
hold the PV steady at the SP without excessive OP changes (stable). The’re
3 guides of PID tuning is GAIN, RESET and PREACT.

3. For the process industries, many if not most processes requiring the
control of temperature, pressure, level, and flow tend to be not well-
behaved. Still, there are a number of common feedback control problems
where PID faces challenges, some of which can be overcome with suitable
extensions to the basic algorithm, others, not so much.

4. In academic terms, "well-behaved" generally means the process is

first or second order, minimum phase, linear, time-invariant, and either
open-loop stable or integrating. In practical terms, that means the process
consistently moves in the right direction if the controller continues to push
it. And if the controller pushes harder, the process moves faster at a
predictable rate.
5. The single best advantages to implement auto tuning or adaptive
control remains elusive even as PID control has come to dominate the field
of industrial process automation.

6. A heuristic tuning procedure is one where general rules are followed

to obtain approximate or qualitative results:
1. Perform open-loop (manual-mode) tests of the process.
2. Identify any controller actions that may be problematic
3. Identify whether the process will depend mostly on proportional
action or integral action for stability.
4. Start with all terms of the controller set for minimal response.
5. Set the dominant action to some safe value and check the loop’s
response to set point and/or load changes in automatic mode and etc.

7. The balance of these effects is achieved by loop tuning to produce the

optimal control function. The tuning constants must be derived for each
Mathematical application, as they depend on the response characteristics of
the complete loop external to the controller.

8. Manually tuning a PID controller is a common practice and it’s

generally fine for processes that are quiet. By quiet we mean that the
process is not oscillating and noise is limited; while, the auto-tuner
performs a step test and utilizes the controller’s response to automatically
calculate a process model and implement new tuning parameters.
 EXPANDING BEYOND A SIMPLE DERIVATIVE

1. Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to

hearing. From a physics standpoint, noise is indistinguishable from sound,
as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The
difference arises when the brain receives and perceives a sound.

2. The four types of noise are physical, physiological, psychological, and

semantic.
1. Physical noise is interference that is external to both speaker and
listener; it hampers the physical transmission of the signal or message.
2. Physiological noise is created by barriers within the sender or
receiver.
3. Psychological noise is mental interference in the speaker or
listener.
4. Semantic noise is interference created when the speaker and
listener have different meaning systems. Maybe when I use a word, you
have a slightly different meaning in mind. This can cause confusion.

3. A low frequency sound (say, 50 hz) might sound like a low rumble,
while a high frequency sound (say 12,000 hz), might sound more like a
"sizzle".

4. A cutoff frequency, corner frequency, or break frequency is a

boundary in a system's frequency response at which energy flowing
through the system begins to be reduced (attenuated or reflected) rather
than passing through.

5. An HPF (high pass filter) is one kind of circuit which permits the
high frequency and blocks low frequency for flowing through it. In the
same way, an LPF (low pass filter) is one kind of circuit which permits the
low-frequency and blocks high-frequency for flowing through it.
6.