Basic Elements in Control
System
Steam in
TC
TT
Fluid in Fluid out
Heat Exchanger
Ti T desired
Steam out
Measured = T desired (sensor transmitter)
Decision = Steam in (Feedback controller)
Action = valve (final control element)
Basic component of control
system
Measurement (M) – sensor-transmitter combination
Decision (D) – feedback controller
Action (A) – control valve
Unit 1: Process Control Loop
Process control loop
Pressure
Flow
Level
Process Temperature
pH
dP cell
Capacitance
I/P
Sensor Radar, Sonic
Magnetic
Resistance
IR/Laser
4-20 mA
Transmitter 1-5 Vdc
Controller PID
Fuzzy logic
4-20 mA
Transducer 3-15 psig
Linear
Control valve Equal percentage
© Abdul Aziz Ishak, Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia (2009)
Measurement (M)
Sensor-transmitter combination
typical process transducer.
Block diagram of sensor-transmitter combination
• the general configuration of a measurement typically consists of
a sensing element combined with a driving element
(transmitter).
• It generates a signal (transmitter output) which related to the
process variable.
Ideally the relationship should be linear.
-the transmitter output is proportional to the process
variable.
pressure, level and resistance temperature devices
(RTDs)
Some situations the relationship is nonlinear
-thermocouples and orifice flowmeter.
Three important terms
1. range – low and high value of the variable that is
measured.
– consider a pressure sensor-transmitter that has
been calibrated to measure process pressure
between the value of 20psig and 50psig .
– range of this sensor-transmitter combination is
20 to 50psig .
2. span – difference between high and low value of the range
–for previous example : the span is 30 psi
3. zero –low value of the range is often referred to as the zero of
the instrument
– for previous example : the zero is 20 psig
Span =30
zero =20
20 50
P (psig)
100 20
c(t), %TO c(t), mA
0 4
0 p(t), psig 200
What is the gain for each transmitter? What is zero for each
transmitter? What is span for each transmitter?
PV(s) C(s)
H(s)
Process variable Transmitter output
C(s) KT
H(s) = =
PV(s) T s + 1
KT = transmitter gain
T = transmitter time constant
100 20
c(t), %TO c(t), mA
0 4
0 p(t), psig 200
KT =
(20− 4)mA = 16mA = 0.08mA/ psig
(200− 0)psig 200psig
Or in percent transmitter output (%TO)
KT =
(100− 0)%TO = 0.5%TO/ psig
(200− 0)psig
Gain of a sensor-transmitter is the ratio of the span of the
output signal to the span of variable
Gain of nonlinear transducer
For nonlinear instrument, the gain at any particular operating
point is the tangent to the characteristic input-output relation
at the operating point.
Question
Calculate the gain, in
a)percent transmitter output (%TO) per variable unit
b) current output per variable unit
write the transfer function and draw the block
diagram.
i) A temperature transmitter with a range of 100 to
350oF and a time constant of 30s
ii) A pressure transmitter with a range of 0 to 50 psig
and a time constant of 3s
Transmitter
Remember!!
The signal
Pneumatic transmitter 3–15 psi.
electronics -current transmitter 4–20-mA output.
-Voltage transmitter 1-5 volt (VDC)
KT =
(20− 4)mA KT =
(5 −1)Volt
(200− 0)psig (200− 0)psig
KT =
(15− 3)psi
(200− 0)psig
Question
Calibration:
A temperature transmitter with a range of 100 to 350oF
If the measured temperature in the outlet flow is 200oF, calculate
a) the current signal transmitted to the controller
b) The percent signal transmitted to the controller
