INSTRUMENTATION

AND
PROCESS CONTROL
Process Systems Analysis and
Control
Coughanowr, D.R.
 What is a Chemical Plant
 It is an arrangement of processing units
(reactors, heat exchangers, pumps,
distillation columns,…….) integrated with
one another in a systematic and rational
manner. The plant’s overall objective is
to convert certain raw materials (input
feedstock) into desired products using
available sources of energy in the most
economical way.
 Requirements a Chemical Plant
Must Satisfy
These are imposed by the designers and
general technical, economic and social
conditions in presence of ever-changing
influences
1. Safety
This dictates the
2. Production Specifications
need for continuous
3. Environmental Regulations monitoring and
4. Operational constraints control
5. Economics
 The 3 general classes of needs that a
control system is called on to satisfy
1.Suppressing the influence of external
disturbances:
The most common objective – It is the effect of the
surroundings on the system – Out of reach of the human
operator -

Disturbances

Controlled
variable

Manipulated
Variable
 Imagine you are sitting in a cabin in front of a
small fire on a cold winter evening. You feel
.
uncomfortably cold, so you throw another log on
the fire. This is an example of a control loop.
In the control loop, a variable (temperature) fell
below the setpoint (your comfort level), and you
took action to bring the process back into the
desired condition by adding fuel to the fire. The
control loop will now remain static until the
temperature again rises above or falls below your
comfort level
2. Ensure stability of a chemical process
Stable or self regulating and does not need control
unstable

unstable and thus requires external control

stable
 3. Optimizing the performance of a chemical
process

 Once safety and satisfaction of production

specification are achieved, the next goal is to make
the operation of the plant more profitable. Since the
conditions that affect the operation of the plant do not
remain the same we would like to be able to change
the operation of the plant (flow rates, pressures,
concentrations, temperatures,..) in such a way that
profit of the plant is always maximized. This is
undertaken by the automatic controllers of the plant
and its human operators.
 Process Control Terms
PROCESS VARIABLE
A process variable is a condition of the process fluid (a liquid or gas)
that can change the manufacturing process in some way.

Variable Example
temperature Sitting by the fire
temperature The tank

Common process variables include:

 Pressure

 Flow

 Level

 Temperature

 Density

 pH (acidity or alkalinity)

 Mass

 Conductivity
 SETPOINT

 The setpoint is a value for a process

variable that is desired to be maintained.

 For example, if a process temperature

needs to be kept within 5 °C of 100 °C,
then the setpoint is 100 °C.

 Set points can also be maximum or

minimum values. For example, level in
tank cannot exceed 20 feet.
MEASURED VARIABLES, PROCESS VARIABLES, AND
MANIPULATED VARIABLES

 The measured variable is the condition of the process fluid that must
be kept at the designated setpoint. In most instances, the measured
variable is also the process variable

 Sometimes the measured variable is not the same as the process

variable. For example, a manufacturer may measure flow into and out
of a storage tank to determine tank level. In this scenario, flow is the
measured variable, and the process fluid level is the process variable.

 The factor that is changed to keep the measured variable at setpoint

is called the manipulated variable.
ERROR

 Error is the difference between the measured

variable and the setpoint and can be either
positive or negative.

 The objective of any control scheme is to

minimize or eliminate error.

Error Slope of the error

Components
Deviation between
value of setpoint and
process variable.

Length of time that

an error condition
has existed
OFFSET
Offset is a sustained deviation of the process
variable from the setpoint.

LOAD DISTURBANCE

A load disturbance is an undesired change in one

of the factors that can affect the process variable
MANUAL AND AUTOMATIC CONTROL

 Before process automation, people,

rather than machines, performed many
of the process control tasks. For
example, a human operator might have
watched a level gauge and closed a
valve when the level reached the
setpoint. Control operations that involve
human action to make an adjustment
are called manual control systems.

 Conversely, control operations in which

no human intervention is required, such
as an automatic valve actuator that
responds to a level controller, are called
automatic control systems.
CLOSED AND OPEN CONTROL LOOPS

 A closed control loop exists where a process variable is

measured, compared to a setpoint, and action is taken to
correct any deviation from setpoint.

 An open control loop exists where the process variable is not

compared, and action is taken not in response to feedback on
the condition of the process variable, but is instead taken
without regard to process variable conditions. For example, a
water valve may be opened to add cooling water to a process
to prevent the process fluid from getting too hot, based on a
pre-set time interval, regardless of the actual temperature of
the process fluid.
 Classification of Variables in a
Chemical Process
Variables of a chemical process

Input variables Output variables

They denote the effect of the surroundings They denote the effect of the process
on the chemical process (Fi, Ti Fst ) on the surroundings (F, T)

Manipulated or (adjustable) Disturbances Measured Unmeasured

Their values can be Their values are Their values are known They are not or
adjusted by a human not the result of by direct measurement cannot be
operator or a control adjustment by a (T) directly
mechanism ( Fst ) human operator measured
or a control mechanism
(Fi, Ti )
 Design Elements of a Control
System
1- Define control objectives.
“ What are the operational objectives
that a control system is called upon
to achieve?”
What was the control objective in the
example of the stirred tank heater???
2- Select Measurements.
“ What variables should we measure in
order to monitor the operational
performance of the plant?”
It is evident that we would like to monitor directly
the variables that represent our control objectives
and this is done whenever possible. Such
measurements are called ‘primary measurements’.
Sometimes the control objectives are not
measurable quantities. In such a case we measure
other variables which can be easily measured
(secondary measurements). Then a mathematical
relation is developed between the unmeasured
output and the secondary measurement.
3- Select manipulated variables

“ What are the manipulated variables

(among the available input variables
that can be easily adjusted) to be
used to control a chemical process”
4- Select the control configuration
 Disturbances

Feedback
Manipulated variables Measured outputs

Process (controlled variables)

Unmeasured outputs

Disturbances
Controller Set points Feedforward
Controller

Disturbances
Manipulated variables Measured outputs

Process
Inferential
Manipulated variables Measured outputs
Unmeasured outputs
Process

Unmeasured outputs

(controlled variables)

Set points
Controller Estimator

Estimates of the

unmeasured controlled
5- Design the controller

“How is the information from the

measurements used to adjust values
of the manipulated variables? “
The controller is the active element
that receives the information from the
measurements and takes appropriate
control action to adjust the values of
the manipulated variables.
Hardware Elements of a Control
System
a.The chemical process: It represents the
material equipment together with the physical
or chemical operations that occur there.
b.The measuring instruments or sensors:
Such instruments are used to measure the
disturbances, the controlled output variables,
or secondary output variables, and are the main
sources of information about what is going on
in the process.
  Thermocouples or resistance thermometers,
for measuring the temperature.
 Venturi meters, for measuring the flow rate.
 Gas chromatographs, for measuring the
composition of a stream.
c. Transducers: Many measurements cannot be
used for control until they are converted to
physical quantities such as electric voltages or
current or pneumatic signal i.e. compressed or
liquid, which can be easily transmitted.
d. Transmission lines: They are used to the
measurement signal from the measuring device to
the controller. Previously transmission lines were
pneumatic but now with the expanding use of
computers for control transmission lines carry
electric signals.
e. The controller; It receives the information from
the measuring devices and decides what action
should be taken, according to the control law.
f. The final control element: It implements the
decision taken by the controller. The control valve
is the most frequently used encountered final
control element.
g. Recording elements: They provide a visual
demonstration of how a chemical process behaves.
Various types of recorders (T, P, C,…..) can be
seen in the control room.