University of Mindanao

Matina, Davao City

Advanced Control Systems:

Feedforward Control and Cascade Control

Submitted by:
Raye Anne B. Rebosura
BS ChE – 4

Submitted to:
Engr. Ramiro Emerson C. Amon
Instructor

July 16, 2018

Objectives:
1. To know what is feedforward control
2. To know the advantages and disadvantages of feedforward control
3. To know what is cascade control
4. To know the advantages and disadvantages of cascade control
FEEDFORWARD CONTROL
A feedforward control is one of the process controllers which predicts the
disturbances or upsets in process and takes corrective action to avoid or minimize it.
With feedforward control, the disturbances are measured and accounted for before they
have time to affect the system.
For example, in a house, a feedforward system may measure the fact that the
door is opened and automatically turn on the heater before the house can get too cold.
The problem with feedforward control is that the effects of the disturbances on the
system must be accurately predicted and there must not be any unmeasured
disturbances. For instance, if a window was opened that was not being measured, the
feedforward-controlled thermostat might still let the house cool down.
According to Coughanowr and LeBlanc, the basic concept of feedforward
control is to measure important disturbance variables and take corrective action before
they upset the process. In contrast, a feedback controller does not take corrective action
until after the disturbance has upset the process and generated a non-zero error signal.

In practical applications, feedforward control is almost always implemented as

an add-on to feedback control. The feedforward controller takes care of the major
disturbances, it is used to reduce the effects of measurable disturbances, while the
feedback controller takes care of everything else like the inaccuracies in the process
model, measurement errors and unmeasured disturbances that might cause the process
variable to deviate from its set point.
 For example, in a heat exchanger, in which the major disturbances come from
changes in process flow rate, the latter can be measured and used for adjusting the steam
flow rate proportionally. This is done by the feedforward controller.
Advantages of Using Feedforward Control
1. Defined - Feedforward is an ideal control scheme when there is a known or
defined source of routine disturbances. Feedforward is able to key in on the
source, and by modeling the range of disturbances emanating from that
source, feedforward control can prepare an appropriate response.
2. Proactive - Whereas PID control is reactive, feedforward control is proactive.
Once an upstream disturbance is identified, feedforward control immediately
seizes the initiative and prescribes an appropriate change. It is feedforward’s
proactive nature that either minimizes or eliminates the negative effects of a
known disturbance.
3. Measured - Since the PID responds to error, it is always catching up as the
effects of a disturbance steadily build over time. In contrast, feedforward’s
use of a disturbance model allows it to assess the full magnitude of the
disturbance and to implement an appropriate countermeasure.
4. Timely - The value of feedforward’s timeliness shouldn’t be underestimated.
If feedforward control simply delivered a countermeasure as soon as the
disturbance was identified, then it might do more harm to the process.
Fortunately, it is designed to deliver the countermeasure as the disturbance
hits the process, essentially nullifying the negative effects of the disturbance.
Disadvantages of Using Feedforward Control
1. The disturbance variable must be measured on-line. In many applications,
this is not feasible.
2. To make use of feedforward control, at least an approximate process model
should be available. In particular, we need to know how the controlled
variable responds to changes in both the disturbance and manipulated
variables. The quality of feedforward control depends on the accuracy of the
process model.
 3. Ideal feedforward controllers that are theoretically capable of achieving
perfect control may not be physically realizable. Fortunately, practical
approximation of these ideal controllers often provides very effective control.
CASCADE CONTROL
In cascade control a process is controlled by two controllers in such way that
both are acting for each other. It is a technique which contains two closed loop control
cascade to each other in such way that first loop controller output will be set point for
second loop controller. For example, a level controller driving the set point of a flow
controller to keep the level at its set point. The flow controller, in turn, drives a control
valve to match the flow with the set point the level controller is requesting.

The first loop controller driving the set point (the level controller in the example
above) is called the primary, outer, or master controller. Master controller then
generates the set point for the second controller. The second loop controller receiving
the set point (flow controller in the example) is called the secondary, inner or slave
controller. Finally, slave controller control the process depending upon the remote set
point provided by the master controller.
Importance of Cascade Control
In simple closed loop control, controller is controlling single measured variable
at a point, so it is called single point closed loop control. In short, the process has only
one stage information for control and is less effective with respect to change in set point.
While in cascade control, we are controlling single variable in two stages. Thus, we
have an effective control of process with respect to disturbance and set point change. It
is also used when precise and critical control is required. Lastly, cascade control is able
to compensate the load change of process and maintains it at desired set value of any
physical quantity.
Advantages of Using Cascade Control
1. Reduce the dead time and phase lag time in the control system.
2. Can be combined with feedforward and other types of controllers.
 3. Improved dynamic response and performance and provide limit on secondary
variable.
4. Cascade control should always be used if you have a process with relatively
slow dynamics (level, temperature, composition, humidity) and liquid or gas
flow, or some other relatively fast processes that has to be manipulated to
control the slow process.
Disadvantages of Using Cascade Control
1. Cascade control makes the system more complex.
2. Cascade control requires more instruments and equipment which leads to
more costs.
3. Tuning of cascade controllers are more difficult than simple closed loop
control.
4. It requires an additional measurement (usually flow rate) to work.
5. Cascade control should generally not be used if the inner loop is not at least
three times faster than the outer loop, because the improved performance may
not justify the added complexity.
CASCADE CONTROL: A Continuation
When multiple sensors are available for measuring conditions in a controlled
process, a cascade control system can often perform better than a traditional single-
measurement controller. Consider, for example, a steam-fed water heater shown in the
figures.

Fig. 1 A Traditional Single-Measurement, Single-Controller Feedback Loop

 In Figure 1, a traditional controller is shown measuring the temperature inside
the tank and manipulating the steam valve opening to add more or less heat as inflowing
water disturbs the tank temperature. This arrangement works well enough if the steam
supply and the steam valve are sufficiently consistent to produce another X% change in
tank temperature every time the controller calls for another Y% change in the valve
opening.
However, several factors could alter the ratio of X to Y or the time required for
the tank temperature to change after a control effort. The pressure in the steam supply
line could drop while other tanks are drawing down the steam supply they share, in
which case the controller would have to open the valve more than Y% in order to
achieve the same X% change in tank temperature.
Or, the steam valve could start sticking as friction takes its mechanical toll over
time. That would lengthen the time required for the valve to open to the extent called
for by the controller and slow the rate at which the tank temperature changes in response
to a given control effort.

Fig. 2 A Cascade Control System

Now, a cascade control system could solve both of these problems as shown in
Figure 2 where a second controller has taken over responsibility for manipulating the
valve opening based on measurements from a second sensor monitoring the steam
flow rate. Instead of dictating how widely the valve should be opened, the first
controller now tells the second controller how much heat it wants in terms of a desired
steam flow rate.
 The second controller then manipulates the valve opening until the steam is
flowing at the requested rate. If that rate turns out to be insufficient to produce the
desired tank temperature, the first controller can call for a higher flow rate, thereby
inducing the second controller to provide more steam and more heat (or vice versa).
That may sound like a convoluted way to achieve the same result as the first
controller could achieve on its own, but a cascade control system should be able to
provide much faster compensation when the steam flow is disturbed. In the original
single-controller arrangement, a drop in the steam supply pressure would first have to
lower the tank temperature before the temperature sensor could even notice the
disturbance. With the second controller and second sensor on the job, the steam flow
rate can be measured and maintained much more quickly and precisely, allowing the
first controller to work with the belief that whatever steam flow rate it wants it will in
fact get, no matter what happens to the steam pressure.
The second controller can also shield the first controller from deteriorating
valve performance. The valve might still slow down as it wears out or gums up, and
the second controller might have to work harder as a result, but the first controller
would be unaffected as long as the second controller is able to maintain the steam
flow rate at the required level.
Without the acceleration afforded by the second controller, the first controller
would see the process becoming slower and slower. It might still be able to achieve
the desired tank temperature on its own, but unless a perceptive operator notices the
effect and re-tunes it to be more aggressive about responding to disturbances in the
tank temperature, it too would become slower and slower.
Similarly, the second controller can smooth out any quirks or nonlinearities in
the valve's performance, such as an orifice that is harder to close than to open. The
second controller might have to struggle a bit to achieve the desired steam flow rate,
but if it can do so quickly enough, the first controller will never see the effects of the
valve's quirky behavior.
Cascade Control Block Diagram
A cascade control system reacts to physical phenomena shown in blue and
process data shown in green.
In the water heater example:
1. Setpoint - temperature desired for the water in the tank
2. Primary controller (master) - measures water temperature in the tank and asks
the secondary controller for more or less heat
3. Secondary controller (slave) - measures and maintains steam flow rate directly
4. Actuator - steam flow valve
5. Secondary process - steam in the supply line
6. Inner loop disturbances - fluctuations in steam supply pressure
7. Primary process - water in the tank
8. Outer loop disturbances - fluctuations in the tank temperature due to
uncontrolled ambient conditions, especially fluctuations in the inflow
temperature
9. Secondary process variable - steam flow rate
10. Primary process variable - tank water temperature
The Cascade Control Block Diagram shows a generic cascade control system
with two controllers, two sensors, and one actuator acting on two processes in series.
A primary or master controller generates a control effort that serves as the setpoint for
a secondary or slave controller. That controller in turn uses the actuator to apply its
control effort directly to the secondary process. The secondary process then generates
a secondary process variable that serves as the control effort for the primary process.
The geometry of this block diagram defines an inner loop involving the
secondary controller and an outer loop involving the primary controller. The inner
loop functions like a traditional feedback control system with a setpoint, a process
variable, and a controller acting on a process by means of an actuator. The outer loop
does the same except that it uses the entire inner loop as its actuator.
In the water heater example, the tank temperature controller would be primary
since it defines the setpoint that the steam flow controller is required to achieve. The
water in the tank, the tank temperature, the steam, and the steam flow rate would be
the primary process, the primary process variable, the secondary process, and the
secondary process variable, respectively (refer to the Cascade Control Block
Diagram). The valve that the steam flow controller uses to maintain the steam flow
rate serves as the actuator which acts directly on the secondary process and indirectly
on the primary process.
References:
Smuts, J. (2010, March 15). A Tutorial on Cascade Control. Retrieved from Control
Notes: Reflections of a Process Control Practitioner:
http://blog.opticontrols.com/archives/105
Smuts, J. (2011, January 17). A Tutorial on Feedforward Control. Retrieved from
Control Notes: Reflections of a Process Control Practitioner:
http://blog.opticontrols.com/archives/297
Marlin, T. (1995). Process control. McGraw-Hill
LeBlanc, S. E. (2009). Process Systems Analysis and Control (3rd ed). McGraw-Hill
Varmah, K. R. (2010). Control system. McGraw-Hill
Eckman, D. P., Automatic Process Control, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1958.
Shinskey, F. G., Process Control Systems, 4th ed., New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996.
VanDoren, V. (2014, August 17). Fundamentals of Cascade Control. Retrieved from
Control Engineering: https://www.controleng.com/single-article/fundamentals-
of-cascade-control.html