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INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MADRAS

Department of Chemical Engineering

CH 3050: Process Dynamics and Control

End Semester Exam

Wednesday, June 10, 2020 Duration: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

1. Select all correct choices in multiple choice questions. [2 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 3 + 5 = 20 M]

(a) A system is said to be marginally stable if

i. It is operating in conditions that yield marginal profits
ii. The impulse response does not converge to a non-zero value.
iii. A sinusoidal input produces oscillations in the output at large times.
iv. A step input results in unbounded response.
2(s − 2)
(b) The transfer function of a system is given by G(s) = . The fast (state) direction
s2 + 14s + 48
of initial conditions is given by .
h i
(c) The state-space of a SISO system without a feedthrough is known to be A = 2 −3; 5 −6 ,
h i h i
B = 1 1 . However, there is some uncertainty concerning the C = c1 c2 matrix. For what
range of values of C will the system be unstable?
(d) An LTI system G0 , with +ve gain, produces an oscillatory response of frequency 3 rad / sec
∀t > 0, to an impulse input. Then, the phase shift of y(t) to an input u(t) = 1.2 sin(5t) is
.
(e) For which of the following processes, a PI controller (tuned for closed-loop stability) will be able
to fully reject the effects of a step-type input disturbance?
2 5
(i) G(s) = 3 (ii) G2 (s) = 2
s + s2 + 4s + 12 s + 7s − 30
2(1 − s) (s + 1)
(iii) G(s) = (iv) G(s) = 3
s3 2
+ 6s + 8s s + 2s2 + 6s + 5
(f) Identify the correct statement(s) among the following:
i. Inverse response occurs whenever a system has RHP zeros.
ii. Dynamic matrix control with prediction correction is based on the feedback of predicted
control error.
iii. Model predictive control is superior to the PID control because it can handle unstable systems
very effectively.
iv. Ziegler-Nichols tuning is based on the idea of pole placement technique.
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(g) The output of a process G(s) = (s − 1)/(10s2 + 7s + 1) is affected by a disturbance through

Gd (s) = 1/(4s + 1). Design a bi-proper feedforward (only) controller that rejects a step change
in the output disturbance in about 10 seconds.

2. A conical vessel in a process is being used to carry out a set of irreversible reactions

k1

A B (second-order both ways)
k2

resulting in a loss of concentration of A in the outlet stream. Assuming feed contains only component
A and uniform concentration in the vessel, do the following: [30 M]

(a) Write the governing equations for the liquid level and the outlet concentrations of A and B.
(b) Obtain a linearized state-space model1 for the operating conditions Fi = 10 lit/min, cAi = 1
gmol/lit, k1 = 0.5 lit/(gmol.min) and k2 = 0.3 lit/(gmol.min) R = 0.25 m (max. radius) and
semi-angle α = 30◦ .
(c) Derive the transfer functions between Fi and (i) liquid level h and (ii) outlet concentration of A.
(d) Identify the gains and settling times for each of the transfer functions above.
5(s + 1)
3. AparaVidyarthi (AV) is responsible for a process described by Gp (s) = .
100s3 + 80s2 + 17s + 1
Answer the following: [40 M]

(a) Determine the SOPTD approximation Ĝp (s) of Gp (s) using Skogestad’s half-rule method.
(b) Determine the PM and GM for the system in (3a) when it is placed in feedback with a P-controller
of Kc = 1.6. Is the CL system stable? If not, choose an appropriate value of Kc .
(c) Does the value of Kc in (3b) also result in a stable CL system when implemented on Gp (s)?
(d) What is the maximum measurement delay that the controller can handle while keeping the CL
system stable with Kc chosen in (3b)?
(e) Finally, based on the design in (3b) and the approximate model, AV decides to cut-off the
feedback observing a disturbance of frequency ω = 1.5 rad/s. Is this a smart move?

4. JagadekaVeera (JV) performa a series of experiments on a closed-loop system to record the magnitude
and phase of the sensitivity function at different frequencies. The data (magnitude, phase and angular
frequency) is provided in sensfun_data.mat. Answer the following: [35 M]

(a) Verify indeed that the given S(ω) satisfies the Bode’s sensitivity integral. Report the value of
the integral.
(b) Is tracking of step-type set-point changes guaranteed for this CL system?
(c) JV learns that the controller is a PI and tuned at Kc = 2, KI = 0.2. Find the process transfer
function G(s) knowing it to be a second-order.
(d) Using the Nyquist diagram, determine how much gain and time-delay uncertainties can be tol-
erated before the CL system becomes unstable.
1
You may use either the fsolve or DEE with trim in MATLAB for ths purpose. MATLAB 2020a does not support DEE
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5. Consider the closed-loop response for IMC when the model is not perfect. [20 M]

2(−s + 2) 3.5
Gp (s) = , Gm (s) =
(2s + 1)(8s + 1) 9s + 1

(a) Design an IMC-based PI controller based on the nominal model with a generic λ.
(b) Setup the SIMULINK block diagram with the IMC-based PI controller and the given process.
Tune λ for CL settling time of 3 seconds. Report the IAE and offset to a step change in SP.

6. Input-output data (collected at Ts = 1) from an experiment is given in inout_data.mat. [20 M]

(a) Identify the delay, order and coefficients of the difference equation governing the process from
the data, i.e., find d, n, m and the coefficients {ai } and {bj } of
n
X m
X
? ?
y [k] + ai y [k − i] = bj u[k − j]
i=1 j=d

(b) What is steady-state value of output to a unit step in the input?

2(−s + 3)
7. A plant is known to have a nominal model Go (s) = . With the aid of feedback, it is
(s + 1)(s + 3)
desired to achieve the following goals: [20 M]

(a) Zero steady-state errors to a step-type reference input.

(b) Zero steady-state errors for a sinewave disturbance of frequency 0.25 rad/s.
(c) A biproper controller transfer function, Gc (s).

Use the pole placement method to design a suitable controller Gc (s). Find the offset in the output
to a ramp-type set-point change.

8. A process engineer NigrahaVeera models an open-loop process by the transfer function G(s) =
1
. NigrahaVeera’s objective is to design a feedback mechanism such that the closed-loop
(s + 1)(s + 2)
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transfer function is T (s) = . The issue here is that due to uncertainties Nigraha is
(s + 3)(s + 4)
less confident of the pole located at s = −1, but is sure of the order of the process. In view of this
uncertainty, Nigraha wishes to come up with a scheme which ensures that at least one closed-loop
pole is located at s = −3.
NigrahaVeera has an intuitive thought that more than one feedback mechanism may be required to
achieve this purpose. Is Nigraha’s thinking correct? If yes, try and design such a scheme, otherwise,
provide a counter argument. [15 M]