Experiment – 2

Dynamics of Liquid
Level Process

Name:
Roll No.:

Aim:

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Process Dynamics and Control Lab, Dept. of Chemical Engg., NIT Tiruchirappalli
To understand the dynamic properties of a liquid tank, and the differences between having a
valve and a pump in the outlet.

Description:

A liquid tank with inflow and outflow is simulated. The tank has straight walls. You can
adjust the inflow and the control signal to the outlet valve and the outlet pump during the
simulation.

A mathematical model of the tank can be derived using mass balance of the liquid. The
model is

where A is the cross-sectional area, qin is the volumetric inflow, qp is the volumetric outflow
through the pump and qv is the volumetric outflow through the valve.

Procedure:

a. Set both the valve outflow and the pump outflow to zero. Verify the integrating
behavior (non-self-regulating).

b. Set the valve outflow to zero. Operate the pump alone and enter the pump control
signal (kp) a value between 0 and 1. Verify the integrating behavior (non-self-
regulating).

c. Set the valve outflow to zero. Operate the valve alone and enter the valve control
signal (kv) a value between 0 and 1. Is the process self-regulating?

d. Set the valve outflow to zero. Operate the valve alone and enter the valve control
signal (kv) a value between 0 and 1. Check the dynamics for different conditions.
Find the gain and time constant of the process.

Observations:

Graphs:

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Process Dynamics and Control Lab, Dept. of Chemical Engg., NIT Tiruchirappalli
Draw relavant graphs

Inference and Conclusions:

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Process Dynamics and Control Lab, Dept. of Chemical Engg., NIT Tiruchirappalli