Tuning Control Loops

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Tuning Control Loops

Table of Contents

TUNING CONTROL LOOPS...................................................................................................1

TUNING CONSTANTS....................................................................................................1
PROPORTIONAL BAND (K).......................................................................................1
GAIN (K) CALCULATION..........................................................................................1
INTEGRAL or RESET (T1)..........................................................................................2
DERIVATIVE (T2).........................................................................................................2
TUNING.............................................................................................................................2
ADJUST PROPORTIONAL BAND..............................................................................2
ADJUST RESET (INTEGRAL) ACTION....................................................................2
ADJUST DERIVATIVE ACTION (RATE)...................................................................3
TUNING CONTROLLERS...................................................................................................3
GENERAL RULES FOR COMMON LOOPS..................................................................3
FLOW.............................................................................................................................3
LEVEL...........................................................................................................................3
LIQUID PRESSURE.....................................................................................................4
GAS PRESSURE...........................................................................................................4
TEMPERATURE, VAPOR PRESSURE, AND COMPOSITION.................................4
CLASSICAL CONTROLLER TUNING METHOD....................................................5
CASCADE AND OTHER INTERACTING CONTROL LOOPS................................5
DEFAULT CONTROLLER TUNING PARAMETERS....................................................6
CONTROL LOOP SCAN RATES.................................................................................6
PID ALGORITHM DEFAULT TUNING CONSTANTS..............................................6
TUNING CONTROL LOOPS
TUNING CONSTANTS
PROPORTIONAL BAND (K)
• If Proportional Band is 100%, each percent of change at the input to the controller
will produce the same percent of change at the controller's output.
• If a Proportional Band is less than 100%, each percent change of input signal to the
controller will produce a greater percent of change at the controller's output.
• If a Proportional Band is larger than 100%, each percent change in input signal to the
controller will produce a smaller percent of change at the controller's output.
• The Proportional Band that is selected for a particular operating situation determines
how much corrective signal the controller can produce for each percent of change in
the variable controlled by the controller.
• The controller's output signal determines the amount of movement that will be
produced at the control valve.

GAIN (K) CALCULATION

Ratio of entire span of measurement to percent span being used as Proportional Band.

GAIN = 100% (the entire span of measurement)

% of span being used as a proportional band

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Assume 50% proportional band, PB = PROPORTIONAL BAND

GAIN = 100% (span)

50% (PB)
GAIN = 2 Honeywell uses letter “K" to represent GAIN, therefore K =
2.

INTEGRAL OR RESET (T1)

• Integral action repeats the proportional controllers initial corrective signal until there
is no difference between the PV and Setpoint.
• Integral ( T1 ) is expressed in "Minutes per Repeat"

DERIVATIVE (T2)
• Changes the output of a controller in proportion to the "RATE" or "SPEED" at which
the controlled variable is moving towards or away from the setpoint.
• Derivative action is expressed in minutes.
• Represents the time that the proportional plus derivative will take to reach a certain
level of output, in advance of the time proportional action alone would produce the
same output.

i.e: When derivative is applied to a two mode controller ( PI ), to make it a three mode
controller ( PID ), it's action consists of decreasing the number of repeats per minute required
to drive the error back to setpoint.

TUNING
ADJUST PROPORTIONAL BAND
Always tune proportional band with very little reset action. That is, for instance with a speed
control loop, always set the reset (integral) adjustment at, say twenty or thirty seconds or
more before adjusting the proportional band.

Then, adjust the proportional band to a smaller value (higher gain) until cycling or instability
begins.

EXAMPLE: Start with 40% proportional band (a gain of 2.5); then halve the proportional
band to 20% (a gain of 5); then halve the proportional band to 10% (a gain of 10); etc.

When cycling just begins, increase the proportional band by 50 percent. That is, from 10% to
15%; from 18% to 24%; etc. Cycling should stop. The proportional band adjustment should
now be properly set and should be left at this value.

ADJUST RESET (INTEGRAL) ACTION

This is done by reducing the time value (in seconds). Say the reset is at twenty seconds. Then
reduce the reset to ten seconds; then reduce the reset to five seconds; then reduce the reset to
two seconds; etc. When cycling or instability begins, increase the reset adjustment by 50%.

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Example: If cycling is observed at two seconds, increase the reset to three seconds. If cycling
is observed at 8 seconds, increase the reset to 12 seconds, etc. The reset action should now be
properly adjusted and should be left at this value.

ADJUST DERIVATIVE ACTION (RATE)

If a derivative adjustment is felt necessary, adjust the derivative action by beginning at a

setting of one second, then two, then three, until improvement is observed and seems to be
optimal. Normally, derivative action is not needed and does not help the situation.

TUNING CONTROLLERS
Since there are a very large number of combinations of the two or sometimes three, "knobs"
provided for controller tuning, many methods have been developed over the years to aid in
their proper adjustment. A few require upsetting the process to some extent, often an
unacceptable practice in real life. These notes are intended to provide a few simple rules to
use in tuning
controllers which will minimize upsets and still get the job done.

THE CONTROLLER MUST BE ADJUSTED TO BALANCE THE PROCESS.

If the process is fast to respond (i.e. a flow loop), then the controller must be tuned fast too.
Fast or slow for a controller refers to integral (or reset).
NOT PROPORTIONAL BAND (or gain).

Do not confuse these actions or grief will be your constant companion during your controller
tuning efforts. If the process is slow (i.e. temperature control of a tray part way up a
distillation column), then the controller must be tuned slow TO MATCH THE PROCESS. If
you do not have a feel for the process characteristics or cannot find someone to enlighten
you, leave controller tuning to someone else who can get the needed information.

GENERAL RULES FOR COMMON LOOPS

FLOW
Usually, at least half of the control loops in a plant are flow loops. Set integral (I) at 0.1
minutes. Adjust the proportional band so that the measurement is not too noisy, usually about
300% although an occasional poor meter run installation may require as much as 1000%. A
loop where a valve positioner has been used will require a proportional band setting two to
three times larger than for a loop without a positioner. Slow moving or sticky control valves
may require 0.2 or 0.3 minutes but are rare exceptions. If these settings do not work, inspect
the valve and orifice installation to find the, problem. Fix the problem. Do not adjust the
controller to some ridiculous setting such as a 10 minute reset time. Use the controller in
manual or a hand valve if you think a 10 minute reset time is necessary.

IMPORTANT NOTE: No controller will work when the valve is almost closed or almost
wide open. Don't attempt tuning under these conditions. Have the operator open or close a
bypass (if one exists) or wait until process conditions change enough to get the valve back
within its operating range (from 5 to 95% of travel as extreme limits with 10 to 90% as a
safer range). Never use derivative action in a flow loop.

LEVEL

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The next most common loop after flow is level. DO NOT EVER USE A SHORT INTEGRAL
VALUE IN A LEVEL LOOP. If you do, you will find the loop will always cycle, often with a
period (time from the peak of one cycle to the peak of the next) of 10 to 15 minutes. The
shorter the integral time, the longer the period. Set the integral at 10 minutes. This will satisfy
80 to 90% of the level applications in a plant, if the vessel time constant (volume/flow) is 1 to
2 minutes, then a shorter integral time can be used but remember that a large value is safer. If
the vessel is large and the controlling flow is a trickle, then a greater value of integral must be
used.

If close control of level is important, set the proportional band to as small a value as possible
(20-50%) without causing cycling. Use a larger proportional band (perhaps 100%) if smooth
flow control to a downstream unit is more important than tight level control. Never use
derivative action in a level loop.

Level loops will usually show a limit cycle when the level controller sets a valve, which is
not equipped with a positioner. A limit cycle looks like a saw blade, sometimes with flat
bottoms and/or tops

Limit cycle will show about 5% change. There is absolutely nothing you can do to tune out
such a limit cycle. Changes in tuning will shorten or lengthen the period but only a positioner
or level cascaded to a flow controller will eliminate the problem. When the flow is used to
control the level going to tankage, cycling is usually unimportant. If it is the reflux or feed to
a distillation tower, then such a limit cycle may be unacceptable. Please note that a valve
cycling almost closed or fully open will also produce a limit cycle, usually of the flat bottom
type (when almost closed) or of the flat top type when almost fully open.

LIQUID PRESSURE
Tune the same, as flow loops. Noise should not be as severe as for flow and proportional
bands will usually be smaller.

GAS PRESSURE
Tune the same as level loops using a large integral value. Proportional bands can be quite
small (under 100% and often as small as 20-30%.).

Well now that you've tuned over 90% of the loops in the typical plant, on to the more difficult
control tuning applications. These are temperature, vapor pressure, and composition. Included
are the temperatures used to infer composition for so many distillation columns.

TEMPERATURE, VAPOR PRESSURE, AND COMPOSITION

There are several ways to tune these more difficult loops. The first is to use starting settings
of 100% proportional band, a 5 or 10 minute integral time, and no derivative. Switch the
controller to automatic when the measurement is close to the desired set point. If a cycle
develops, measure the time from peak to peak (high to high or low to low). This is the period
of the control loop. Divide by two. If the starting integral value is less than one half of the
period, the integral time is too short and is causing the cycle. Increase the integral time. If
each peak is higher than the one before, increase the proportional band (double, triple etc.)
until the cycles damp out. The period will get shorter as the integral time is increased. When
the period is about twice the integral time and the cycles are dampening out, you're pretty

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well finished. If the measurement is not noisy, set the derivative at one quarter of the integral
time. Readjust the proportional band if required to get a damped oscillation after an upset
(wait for a bump or ask the operator to make a small set point change in a safe direction).

If the shortcut method described above is unsuccessful or you want to be a bit more
methodical, follow the procedure given below. It will always work and will leave no doubt
as to the characteristics of the control loop.

CLASSICAL CONTROLLER TUNING METHOD

When the process is reasonably stable and no plant upsets are expected, switch the controller
to manual. Then set D, (derivative or rate on some controllers) to minimum (if provided on
the controller) and I, (integral or reset on some controllers) to maximum.

Select a set point equal to the measurement and adjust the proportional band to 100% (or gain
at 1.0) to start. Change the output a small amount and transfer the controller to automatic.
Note the starting valve position.

If oscillations do not develop, repeat step 2 reducing the proportional band, perhaps to half
the value tried before. Continue to reduce the proportional band until oscillations start. If
oscillations of increasing amplitude develop on the first try, return to manual and set the valve
at the original position noted in step 2. Double the proportional band and try again until
uniform, or very nearly so, oscillations develop. Measure the period (defined as the time for
one complete cycle to occur).

For a P+I Controller: Set I = to the period x 0.82. Double the proportional band. The period
will increase by about 43%. Readjust the proportional band if more or less damping is
desired. Set I = to the period x O.S. Set D = to the period x 0.12. Double the proportional
band. The period will decrease by about 15%. Readjust the proportional band if more or less
damping is desired.

Remember, safe values are a large I and a small D. These instructions are for controllers
adjusted in terms of minutes per repeat. Some manufacturers use an inverse relationship so
large becomes small and vice versa.

If the measurement is noisy (Ph loops in particular), derivative cannot usually be used; never
under any circumstances set the derivative greater than the integral.

CASCADE AND OTHER INTERACTING CONTROL LOOPS

Tune the secondary loop first using the local set point mode. Reduce the integral as much as
possible. Transfer to remote set point and tune the primary loop. Never use a primary
controller integral value less than four times the integral value used for the secondary
controller. The same rules hold true for interacting loops such as pressure and pressure
compensated temperature used for a distillation tower. Tune the pressure loop (representing
the fastest loop in this case) with a minimum integral value, then use an integral time at least
four times as great for the temperature controller. To test for interaction when two -loops
cycle together at the same period, place one loop in manual. If the cycle stops, interaction is
probably the problem. Rearrange the loops or use the technique outlined above to minimize
cycling.

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DEFAULT CONTROLLER TUNING PARAMETERS
For the start-up of any plant, there are default tuning parameters that can be entered into each
controller. These are start-up values only, and each controller will still require additional
tuning. This tuning may occur several times on individual controllers, depending on plant
start-up conditions. In fact, it can be some time (the plant has to stabilize) before all
controllers have their final (normal operations) tunings. There are no values shown for
Derivative action for start-up conditions, as it has not been shown to be required for those
conditions. Derivative values should be added in the final tunings of the applicable
controllers. The following is a list of typical start-up tunings:

PROCESS GAIN PB REPEATS/MIN MINS/REPEAT

K T1

FLOW .5 200 12 .083 or 5 Sec.

PRESSURE 1 100 1 1 Min.

(Liquid)

PRESSURE 2 50 .5 2 Min.
(Gas)

LEVEL 1 100 .2 5 Min.

TEMPERATURE 1.3 75 .3 3.5 Min.

ANALYZERS 1.3 75 .2 5 Min.

CONTROLLER INPUT/OUTPUT INDICATION

Output to valves viewed by the operator shall indicate close as 0% and open as 100%. When
a control valve is tripped on abnormal condition (Low-low level, etc.), the PID controller
shall be configured to switch to manual output mode and the controller output to the fail-safe
condition value. In case of sensing element failure, a "Bad PV" alarm will be generated and if
it is a control point, controller shall switch to manual output mode.

Controller output to field devices shall be -6.9% to 106.9% to compensate for calibration
offsets in the field device. Master controller output in cascade loops shall be 0% to 100%.

CONTROL LOOP SCAN RATES

The control loops shall be configured to achieve the functionality and philosophy of the
P&IDs. Following are the basic types of control loops:
- Analog Indication Only Loop;
- Single Control Loop;
- Cascade Control Loop; - Complex Control Loop; - Discrete 1/0 Loops within
APM (Advanced Process Manager), and - Discrete 1/0 Loops within LM.

The controllers (APM) base scan rate will be 0.5 seconds. Some fast loops (according to EPC
contractor) will run at 0.25 seconds.

PID ALGORITHM DEFAULT TUNING CONSTANTS

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The PID algorithms will be configured with the following default values unless otherwise
specified by the EPC contractor. It is understand that these are initial values, final loop tuning
will be done during plant operation:

PID Gain (K) Integral Derivative

(min. - T1) (min.- T2)
Flow 0.5 0.08 0.0
Pressure (Liquid) 1.0 1.0 0.0
Pressure (Gas) 2.0 2.0 0.0
Level 1.0 5.0 0.0
Temperature 1.3 3.0 0.0

Berry’s Commissioning Handbook