CHE 3002-PROCESS INSTRUMENTATION AND

CONTROL
LECTURE – 7

Dr.A.Babu Ponnusami
Associate Professor
SCHEME
 TRANSPORTATION LAG
• Synonyms: Dead time and Distance velocity lag.
• Consider the system in which a liquid flows through an
insulated tube of uniform cross-sectional area A and
length L at a constant volumetric flow rate q.
• The density and the heat capacity are constant.
• The tube wall has negligible heat capacity, and the
velocity profile is flat (plug flow).
• The temperature x of the entering fluid varies with
time, and it is desired to find the response of the outlet
temperature y ( t ) in terms of a transfer function.
 At steady state condition: xs = ys

The transportation lag parameter τ is simply the time needed for a particle of
fluid to flow from the entrance of the tube to the exit, and it can be calculated
from the expression
 The relationship between y ( t ) and x ( t ) is

Subtracting from steady state conditions and Introducing deviation variables

X = x- xs and Y= y – ys gives

The transportation lag is quite common in the chemical

process industries where a fluid is transported through a pipe.
 APPROXIMATION OF TRANSPORT LAG.

• Crude approximation of a transport lag

 First-order Padé approximation.

Expanding numerator and denominator in a Taylor series and

keeping only terms of first-order give

Second-order Padé approximation.