Industrial Automation and Control

INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION AND
CONTROL
KCES's COLLAGE OF ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT,JALGAON
Assist.Prof.Priyanka Gajare
(Department Of Electrical Engineering )
KCES's COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
Unit 1
Introduction to Industrial
Automation and Control
BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Industry
In a general sense the term “Industry” is defined as follows.
Definition: Systematic Economic Activity that could be related
to Manufacture/Service/ Trade.
In this course, we shall be concerned with Manufacturing Industries only.
Automation
The word ‘Automation’ is derived from greek words “Auto”(self) and
“Matos” (moving). Automation therefore is the mechanism for systems that “move
by itself”. However, apart from this original sense of the word, automated systems
also achieve significantly superior performance than what is possible with manual
systems, in terms of power, precision and speed of operation.
Definition: Automation is a set of technologies that results in operation of

machines and systems without significant human intervention and achieves
performance superior to manual operation
A Definition from Encyclopaedia Britannica

The application of machines to tasks once performed by human beings
or, increasingly, to tasks that would otherwise be impossible. Although the
term mechanization is often used to refer to the simple replacement of human
labour by machines, automation generally implies the integration of machines
into a self-governing system.

Control
It is perhaps correct to expect that the learner for this course has already been exposed to
a course on Control Systems, which is typically introduced in the final or pre-final year
of an undergraduate course in Engineering in India. The word control is therefore
expected to be familiar and defined as under.
Definition: Control is a set of technologies that achieves desired patterns of variations

of operational parameters and sequences for machines and systems by providing the
input signals necessary.
It is important at this stage to understand some of the differences in the senses that these two
terms are generally interpreted in technical contexts and specifically in this course. These are
given below.
1. Automation Systems may include Control Systems but the reverse is not true. Control
Systems may be parts of Automation Systems.
2. The main function of control systems is to ensure that outputs follow the set points.
However, Automation Systems may have much more functionality, such as computing
set points for control systems, monitoring system performance, plant startup or shutdown,
job and equipment scheduling etc.

Industrial Automation vs. Industrial Information Technology

Industrial Automation makes extensive use of Information Technology. Fig. 1.1 below
shows some of the major IT areas that are used in the context of Industrial Automation.
Industrial IT
Control and Signal Communication
Processing and Networking
Simulation, Design,
Real-time Computing
Analysis, Optimization
Database
Fig. 1.1 Major areas of IT which are used in the context of Industrial Automation.
Industrial IT mentioned in Fig. 1.1 (Hint: Try using the internet)
However, Industrial Automation is distinct from IT in the following senses
A. Industrial Automation also involves significant amount of hardware technologies, related

to Instrumentation and Sensing, Actuation and Drives, Electronics for Signal
Conditioning, Communication and Display, Embedded as well as Stand-alone Computing
Systems etc.
B. As Industrial Automation systems grow more sophisticated in terms of the knowledge
and algorithms they use, as they encompass larger areas of operation comprising several
units or the whole of a factory, or even several of them, and as they integrate
manufacturing with other areas of business, such as, sales and customer care, finance and
the entire supply chain of the business, the usage of IT increases dramatically. However,
the lower level Automation Systems that only deal with individual or , at best, a group of
machines, make less use of IT and more of hardware, electronics and embedded
computing.

A. Industrial information systems are generally reactive in the sense that they receive stimuli
from their universe of discourse and in turn produce responses that stimulate its environment.
Naturally, a crucial component of an industrial information system is its interface to the
world.
B. Most of industrial information systems have to be real-time. By that we mean that the
computation not only has to be correct, but also must be produced in time. An accurate result,
which is not timely may be less preferable than a less accurate result produced in time.
Therefore systems have to be designed with explicit considerations of meeting computing
time deadlines.
C. Many industrial information systems are considered mission-critical, in the sense that the
malfunctioning can bring about catastrophic consequences in terms of loss of human life or
property. Therefore extraordinary care must be exercised during their design to make them
flawless. In spite of that, elaborate mechanisms are often deployed to ensure that any
unforeseen circumstances can also be handled in a predictable manner. Fault-tolerance to
emergencies due to hardware and software faults must often be built in.
Role of automation in industry

9 Manufacturing processes, basically, produce finished product from raw/unfinished
material using energy, manpower and equipment and infrastructure.
9 Since an industry is essentially a “systematic economic activity”, the fundamental
objective of any industry is to make profit.
9 Roughly speaking,
Profit = (Price/unit – Cost/unit) x Production Volume (1)
So profit can be maximised by producing good quality products, which may sell at higher
price, in larger volumes with less production cost and time. Fig 1.2 shows the major
parameters that affect the cost/unt of a mass-manufactured industrial product.

Cost/unit
Material Energy Manpower Infrastructure
Fig. 1.2 The Components of per unit Manufacturing Cost
Automation can achieve all these in the following ways,

9 Figure 1.4 shows how overall production time for a product is affected by various factors.
Automation affects all of these factors. Firstly, automated machines have significantly
lower production times. For example, in machine tools, manufacturing a variety of parts,
significant setup times are needed for setting the operational configuration and
parameters whenever a new part is loaded into the machine. This can lead to significant
unproductive for expensive machines when a variety of products is manufactured. In
Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Machining Centers set up time is reduced
significantly with the help of Automated Tool Changers, Automatic Control of Machines
from a Part Program loaded in the machine computer. Such a machine is shown in Figure
1.3. The consequent increase in actual metal cutting time results in reduced capital cost
and an increased volume of production.
Fig. 1.3 A CNC Machine with an Automated Tool Changer and the Operator Console
with Display for Programming and Control of the Machine

Production Volume
Production Material Idle Quality Assurance Time

Time Handling Time
Time
Fig. 1.4 The major factors that contribute to Overall Production Time
9 Similarly, systems such as Automated Guided Vehicles, Industrial Robots, Automated

Crane and Conveyor Systems reduce material handling time.
9 Automation also reduces cost of production significantly by efficient usage of energy,
manpower and material.
9 The product quality that can be achieved with automated precision machines and
processes cannot be achieved with manual operations. Moreover, since operation is
automated, the same quality would be achieved for thousands of parts with little
variation.
9 Industrial Products go through their life cycles, which consists of various stages.
¾ At first, a product is conceived based on Market feedbacks, as well as Research and

Development Activities.
¾ Once conceived the product is designed. Prototype Manufacturing is generally needed to
prove the design.
¾ Once the design is proved, Production Planning and Installation must be carried out to
ensure that the necessary resources and strategies for mass manufacturing are in place.
¾ This is followed by the actual manufacture and quality control activities through which
the product is mass-produced.
¾ This is followed by a number of commercial activities through which the product is
actually sold in the market.
¾ Automation also reduces the over all product life cycle i.e., the time required to complete
(i) Product conception and design (ii) Process planning and installation (iii) Various
stages of the product life cycle are shown as in Figure 1.5.

Research and
Development Product
Design
Process
Market Planning,
Feedbacks Installation
Production,
Quality
Control
Fig. 1.5 A Typical Industrial Product Life Cycle
Economy of Scale and Economy of Scope

In the context of Industrial Manufacturing Automation, Economy of Scale is defined as follows.
Economy of Scale
Definition: Reduction in cost per unit resulting from increased production,
realized through operational efficiencies. Economies of scale can be accomplished
because as production increases, the cost of producing each additional unit falls.
Obviously, Automation facilitates economy of scale, since, as explained above, it enables

efficient large-scale production. In the modern industrial scenario however, another kind of
economy, called the economy of scope assumes significance.
Economy of Scope
Definition : The situation that arises when the cost of being able manufacture
multiple products simultaneously proves more efficient than that of being able
manufacture single product at a time.
Economy of scope arises in several sectors of manufacturing, but perhaps the most
predominantly in electronic product manufacturing where complete product life cycle, from
conception to market, are executed in a matter of months, if not weeks. Therefore, to shrink the
time to market drastically use of automated tools is mandated in all phases of the product life
cycle. Additionally, since a wide variety of products need to be manufactured within the life
period of a factory, rapid programmability and reconfigurability of machines and processes
becomes a key requirement for commercial success. Such an automated production system also
enables the industry to exploit a much larger market and also protects itself against fluctuations
in demand for a given class of products. Indeed it is being driven by the economy of scope, and

enabled by Industrial Automation Technology that Flexible Manufacturing (i.e.

producing various products with the same machine) has been conceived to increase
the scope of manufacturing.
Next let us see the various major kinds of production systems, or factories, exist. This would
be followed by a discussion on the various types of automation systems that are appropriate for
each of these categories.
Types of production systems

Major industrial processes can be categorized as follows based on their scale and scope
of production.
¾ Continuous flow process: Manufactured product is in continuous quantities i.e., the

product is not a discrete object. Moreover, for such processes, the volume of production
is generally very high, while the product variation is relatively low. Typical examples of
such processes include Oil Refineries, Iron and Steel Plants, Cement and Chemical
Plants.
¾ Mass Manufacturing of Discrete Products: Products are discrete objects and
manufactured in large volumes. Product variation is very limited. Typical examples are
Appliances, Automobiles etc.
¾ Batch Production: In a batch production process the product is either discrete or
continuous. However, the variation in product types is larger than in continuous-flow
processes. The same set of equipment is used to manufacture all the product types.
However for each batch of a given product type a distinct set of operating parameters
must be established. This set is often referred to as the “recipe” for the batch. Typical
examples here would be Pharmaceuticals, Casting Foundries, Plastic moulding, Printing
etc.
¾ Job shop Production: Typically designed for manufacturing small quantities of discrete
products, which are custom built, generally according to drawings supplied by customers.
Any variation in the product can be made. Examples include Machine Shops, Prototyping
facilities etc.
The above types of production systems are shown in Figure 1.6 categorized according to
volumes of production and variability in product types. In general, if the quantity of product is
more there is little variation in the product and more varieties of product is manufactured if the
quantity of product is lesser.

Oil Refinery
Iron & Steel
Chemical
Appliances
Bicycles
Continuous
Flow
Process Foundry
Mass Food Processing
Manufacturing
Of Discrete
Products
Quantity
Machine Tools
Batch Prototypes
Production
Job shop
Production
Variety
Fig. 1.6 Types of Production Systems
Types of Automation Systems

Automation systems can be categorized based on the flexibility and level of integration
in manufacturing process operations. Various automation systems can be classified as follows
¾ Fixed Automation: It is used in high volume production with dedicated equipment, which
has a fixed set of operation and designed to be efficient for this set. Continuous flow and
Discrete Mass Production systems use this automation. e.g. Distillation Process,
Conveyors, Paint Shops, Transfer lines etc.
A process using mechanized machinery to perform fixed and repetitive operations in
order to produce a high volume of similar parts.
¾ Programmable Automation: It is used for a changeable sequence of operation and
configuration of the machines using electronic controls. However, non-trivial
programming effort may be needed to reprogram the machine or sequence of operations.
Investment on programmable equipment is less, as production process is not changed
frequently. It is typically used in Batch process where job variety is low and product
volume is medium to high, and sometimes in mass production also. e.g. in Steel Rolling
Mills, Paper Mills etc.
¾ Flexible Automation: It is used in Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) which is
invariably computer controlled. Human operators give high-level commands in the form
of codes entered into computer identifying product and its location in the sequence and
the lower level changes are done automatically. Each production machine receives
settings/instructions from computer. These automatically loads/unloads required tools
and carries out their processing instructions. After processing, products are automatically
transferred to next machine. It is typically used in job shops and batch processes where

product varieties are high and job volumes are medium to low. Such systems typically
use Multi purpose CNC machines, Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) etc.
¾ Integrated Automation: It denotes complete automation of a manufacturing plant, with
all processes functioning under computer control and under coordination through digital
information processing. It includes technologies such as computer-aided design and
manufacturing, computer-aided process planning, computer numerical control machine
tools, flexible machining systems, automated storage and retrieval systems, automated
material handling systems such as robots and automated cranes and conveyors,
computerized scheduling and production control. It may also integrate a business system
through a common database. In other words, it symbolizes full integration of process and
management operations using information and communication technologies. Typical
examples of such technologies are seen in Advanced Process Automation Systems and
Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM)
As can be seen from above, from Fixed Automation to CIM the scope and complexity of
automation systems are increasing. Degree of automation necessary for an individual
manufacturing facility depends on manufacturing and assembly specifications, labor conditions
and competitive pressure, labor cost and work requirements. One must remember that the
investment on automation must be justified by the consequent increase in profitability. To
exemplify, the appropriate contexts for Fixed and Flexible Automation are compared and
contrasted.
Fixed automation is appropriate in the following circumstances.

A. Low variability in product type as also in size, shape, part count and material
B. Predictable and stable demand for 2- to 5-year time period, so that manufacturing
capacity requirement is also stable
C. High production volume desired per unit time
D. Significant cost pressures due to competitive market conditions. So automation systems
should be tuned to perform optimally for the particular product.
Flexible automation, on the other hand is used in the following situations.

A. Significant variability in product type. Product mix requires a combination of
different parts and products to be manufactured from the same production system
B. Product life cycles are short. Frequent upgradation and design modifications alter
production requirements
C. Production volumes are moderate, and demand is not as predictable

Unit 1
Architecture of Industrial
Automation Systems

The Functional Elements of Industrial Automation

An Industrial Automation System consists of numerous elements that perform a variety
of functions related to Instrumentation, Control, Supervision and Operations Management
related to the industrial process. These elements may also communicate with one another to
exchange information necessary for overall coordination and optimized operation
of the plant/factory/process. Below, we classify the major functional elements typically
found in IA systems and also describe the nature of technologies that are employed to realize
the functions.
Sensing and Actuation Elements

These elements interface directly and physically to the process equipment and machines.
The sensing elements translate the physical process signals such as temperature,
pressure or displacement to convenient electrical or pneumatic forms of information, so that
these signals can be used for analysis, decisions and finally, computation of control inputs.
These computed control inputs, which again are in convenient electrical or pneumatic forms of
information, need to be converted to physical process inputs such as, heat, force or flow-rate,
before they can be applied to effect the desired changes in the process outputs. Such
physical control inputs are provided by the actuation elements.
Industrial Sensors and Instrument Systems

Scientific and engineering sensors and instrument systems of a spectacular variety of
size, weight, cost, complexity and technology are used in the modern industry. However, a
close look would reveal that all of them are composed of a set of typical functional elements
connected in a specified way to provide signal in a form necessary. The various tasks
involved in the automation systems. Fig 2.1 below shows the configuration of a typical sensor
system. Sensing Signal Signal Target Signal
Medium element Conditioning Processing Handling
element element element
Fig. 2.1 Functional configuration of a typical sensor system
In Fig. 2.1 a sensor system is shown decomposed into three of its major functional components,
along with the medium in which the measurement takes place. These are described below.

A. The physical medium refers to the object where a physical phenomenon is taking place
and we are interested in the measurement of some physical variable associated with the
phenomenon. Thus, for example, the physical medium may stand for the hotga in a
furnace in the case of temperature measurement or the fluid in a pipe section in the case
of measurement of liquid flow rate.
B. The sensing element is affected by the phenomenon in the physical medium either
through direct or physical contact or through indirect interaction of the phenomenon in
the medium with some component of the sensing element. Again, considering the case of
temperature measurement, one may use a thermocouple probe as the sensing element that
often comes in physical contact with the hot object such as the flue gas out of a boiler-
furnace or an optical pyrometer which compares the brightness of a hot body in the
furnace with that of a lamp from a distance through some window and does not come in
direct contact with the furnace. In the more common case where the sensing element
comes in contact with the medium, often some physical or chemical property of the
sensor changes in response to the measurement variable. This change then becomes a
measure of the physical variable of interest. A typical example is the change in resistivity
due to heat in a resistance thermometer wire. Alternatively, in some other sensors a signal
is directly generated in the sensing element, as is the case of a thermocouple that
generates a voltage in response to a difference in temperature between its two ends.
C. The signal-conditioning element serves the function of altering the nature of the signal
generated by the sensing element. Since the method of converting the nature of the signal
generated in the sensor to another suitable signal form (usually electrical) depends
essentially on the sensor, individual signal conditioning modules are characteristic of a
group of sensing elements. As an example consider a resistance Temperature Detector
(RTD) whose output response is a change in its resistance due to change in temperature
of its environment. This change in resistance can easily be converted to a voltage signal
by incorporating the RTD in one arm of a Wheatstone's bridge. The bridge therefore
serves as a signal-conditioning module. Signal conditioning modules are also used for
special purpose functions relating to specific sensors but not related to variable
conversion such as `ambient referencing' of thermocouples. These typically involve
analog electronic circuits that finally produce electrical signals in the form of voltage or
current in specific ranges.
D. The signal processing element is used to process the signal generated by the first stage
for a variety of purposes such as, filtering (to remove noise), diagnostics (to assess the
health of the sensor), linearisation (to obtain an output which is linearly related with the
physical measurand etc. Signal processing systems are therefore usually more general
purpose in nature.
E. The target signal-handling element may perform a variety of functions depending on the
target application. It may therefore contain data/signal display modules, recording
or/storage modules, or simply a feedback to a process control system. Examples include a
temperature chart recorder, an instrumentation tape recorder, a digital display or an
Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) followed by an interface to a process control
computer.
While the above description fits in most cases, it may be possible to discover some variations in
some cases. The above separation into subsystems is not only from a functional point of view,

more often than not, these subsystems are clearly distinguishable physically in a
measurement system.
Modern sensors often have the additional capability of digital communication using
serial, parallel or network communication protocols. Such sensors are called “smart” and
contain embedded digital electronic processing systems.
Industrial Actuator Systems

Actuation systems convert the input signals computed by the control systems into forms that
can be applied to the actual process and would produce the desired variations in the process
physical variables. In the same way as in sensors but in a reverse sense, these systems
convert the controller output, which is essentially information without the power, and in
the form of electrical voltages (or at times pneumatic pressure) in two ways. Firstly it
converts the form of the variable into the appropriate physical variable, such as torque, heat
or flow. Secondly it amplifies the energy level of the signal manifold to be able to causes
changes in the process variables. Thus, while both sensors and actuators cause variable
conversions, actuators are high power devices while sensors are not. It turns out that in most
cases, actuators are devices that first produce motion from electrical signal, which is then
further converted to other forms. Based on the above requirement of energy and variable
conversion most actuation systems are are structured as shown in Fig. 2.2.
Signal Power Variable Energy

Processing Amplifying Process
Conversion Conversion
element Element Element Element
Fig. 2.2 Functional configuration of a typical actuator system
In Fig.2.2 an actuator system is shown decomposed into its major functional components, The
salient points about the structure are described below.
A. The electronic signal-processing element accepts the command from the control system
in electrical form. The command is processed in various ways. For example it may be
filtered to avoid applying input signals of certain frequencies that may cause resonance.
Many actuators are themselves closed feedback controlled units for precision of the
actuation operation. Therefore the electronic signal-processing unit often contains the
control system for the actuator itself.

B. The electronic power amplification element sometimes contains linear power

amplification stages called servo-amplifiers. In other cases, it may comprise power
electronic drive circuits such as for motor driven actuators.
C. The variable conversion element serves the function of altering the nature of the signal
generated by the electronic power amplification element from electrical to non-electrical
form, generally in the form of motion. Examples include electrohydraulic servo valve,
stepper/servo motors, Current to Pneumatic Pressure converters etc.
D. The non-electrical power conversion elements are used to amplify power further, if
necessary, typically using hydraulic or pneumatic mechanisms.
E. The non-electrical variable conversion elements may be used further to tranform the
actuated variable in desired forms, often in several stages. Typical examples include
motion-to-flow rate conversion in flow-valves, rotary to linear motion converters using
mechanisms, flow-rate to heat conversion using steam or other hot fluids etc.
F. Other Miscellaneous Elements such as Auxiliaries for Lubrication/Cooling/Filtering,
Reservoirs, Prime Movers etc., sensors for feedback, components for display, remote
operations, as well as safety mechanisms since the power handling level is significantly
high.
Industrial Control Systems

By industrial control systems, we denote the sensors systems, actuator systems as a
controller. Controllers are essentially (predominantly electronic, at times pneumatic/
hydraulic) elements that accept command signals from human operators or Supervisory
Systems, as well as feedback from the process sensors and produce or compute signals that
are fed to the actuators. Control Systems can be classified into two kinds.
Continuous Control
This is also often termed as Automatic Control, Process Control, Feedback Control etc. Here
the controller objective is to provide such inputs to the plant such that the output y(t) follows
the input r(t) as closely as possible, in value and over time. The structure of the common
control loop with its constituent elements, namely the Controller, the Actuator, the Sensor
and the Process itself is shown. In addition the signals that exist at various points of the

Disturbances
di do
+ e Controller uA Actuator
uP Plant
r (t) GP(s) y(t)
GC(s) GA(s)
Command/ Output
reference/
Setpoint
ds
+ Sensor
GS(s)
+
Fig. 2.3 Typical control loop
system are also marked. These include the command (alternatively termed the set point or the
reference signal), the exogenous inputs (disturbances, noise).
The difficulties in achieving the performance objective is mainly due to the unavoidable
disturbances due to load variation and other external factors, as well as sensor noise, the
complexity, possible instability, uncertainty and variability in the plant dynamics, as well as
limitations in actuator capabilities.
Most industrial control loop command signals are piecewise constant signals that indicate
desirable levels of process variables, such as temperature, pressure, flow, level etc., which ensure
the quality of the product in Continuous Processes. In some cases, such as in case of motion
control for machining, the command signal may be continuously varying according to the
dimensions of the product. Therefore, here deviation of the output from the command signal
results in degradation of product quality. It is for this reason that the choice of the feedback
signals, that of the controller algorithm (such as, P, PI pr PID), the choice of the control loop
structure (normal feedback loop, cascade loop or feedforward) as well as choice of the controller
gains is extremely important for industrial machines and processes. Typically the control
configurations are well known for a given class of process, however, the choice of controller
gains have to be made from time to time, since the plant operating characteristics changes with
time. This is generally called controller tuning.
A single physical device may act as the controller for one or more control loops (single-
loop/multi-loop controller). Today, many loop controllers supplement typical control laws such
as PID control by offering adaptive control and fuzzy logic algorithms to enhance controller
response and operation. PID and startup self-tuning are among the most important features.
Among other desired and commonly found characteristics are, ability to communicate upward
with supervisory systems, as well as on peer-to-peer networks (such as Fieldbus or DeviceNet),
support for manual control in the event of a failure in the automation. Software is an important
factor in loop controllers. Set-up, monitoring and auto-tuning and alarm software for loop
controllers is now a common feature. The controllers also accept direct interfacing of process
sensors and signals. Choice of inputs includes various types of thermocouples, RTDs, voltage to
10 V dc, or current to 20 mA. While most sophisticated controllers today are electronic,

pneumatic controllers are still being used. Pneumatic controllers are easy to use, easy
to maintain, and virtually indestructible.
Sequence / Logic Control

Many control applications do not involve analog process variables, that is, the ones which can
assume a continuous range of values, but instead variables that are set valued, that is they
only assume values belonging to a finite set. The simplest examples of such variables are
binary variables, that can have either of two possible values, (such as 1 or 0, on or off, open
or closed etc.). These control systems operate by turning on and off switches, motors, valves,
and other devices in response to operating conditions and as a function of time. Such systems
are referred to as sequence/logic control systems. For example, in the operation of
transfer lines and automated assembly machines, sequence control is used to coordinate the
various actions of the production system (e.g., transfer of parts, changing of the tool, feeding of
the metal cutting tool, etc.).
There are many industrial actuators which have set of command inputs. The control inputs to
these devices only belong to a specific discrete set. For example in the control of a conveyor
system, analog motor control is not applied. Simple on-off control is adequate. Therefore for
this application, the motor-starter actuation system may be considered as discrete having
three modes, namely, start, stop and run. Other examples of such actuators are solenoid
valves, discussed in a subsequent lesson.
Similarly, there are many industrial sensors (such as, Limit Switch / Pressure Switch/ Photo
Switch etc.) which provide discrete outputs which may be interpreted as the presence/absence
of an object in close proximity, passing of parts on a conveyor, or a given pressure value
being higher or lower than a set value. These sensors thus indicate, not the value of a process
variable, but the particular range of values to which the process variable belongs.
A modern controller device used extensively for sequence control today in transfer
lines, robotics, process control, and many other automated systems is the Programmable
Logic Controller (PLC). In essence, a PLC is a special purpose industrial microprocessor
based real-time computing system, which performs the following functions in the context
of industrial operations

Supervisory Control
Supervisory control performs at a hierarchically higher level over the automatic
controllers, which controls smaller subsystems.
Supervisory control systems perform, typically the following functions:
♦ Set point computation: Set points for important process variables are computed
depending on factors such as nature of the product, production volume, mode of
processing. This function has a lot of impact on production volume, energy and quality
and efficiency.
♦ Performance Monitoring / Diagnostics: Process variables are monitored to check for
possible system component failure, control loop detuning, actuator saturation, process
parameter change etc. The results are displayed and possibly archived for subsequent
analysis.
♦ Start up / Shut down / Emergency Operations : Special discrete and continuous control
modes are initiated to carry out the intended operation, either in response to operator
commands or in response to diagnostic events such as detected failure modes.
♦ Control Reconfiguration / Tuning: Structural or Parametric redesign of control loops are
carried out, either in response to operator commands or in response to diagnostic events
such as detected failure modes. Control reconfigurations may also be necessary to
accommodate variation of feedback or energy input e.g. gas fired to oil fired.
♦ Operator Interface: Graphical interfaces for supervisory operators are provided, for
manual supervision and intervention.
Naturally, these systems are dependent on specific application processes, in contrast

with automatic control algorithms, which are usually generic (e.g. PID). Computationally
these are a mixture of hard and soft real time algorithms. These are also often very expensive
and based on proprietary knowledge of automating specific classes of industrial plants.
A. State three major functions of a Supervisory Control System

B. Consider the motor driven automatic position control system, as commonly found in CNC
Machine drives. Explore and find out from where such systems get their set points during
machining. Identify some of the other functionalities
Level 3: Production Control

Production control performs at a hierarchically higher level over the supervisory
controllers. Typical functions they perform are:
♦ Process Scheduling: Depending on the sequence of operations to be carried on the

existing batches of products, processing resource availability for optimal resource
utilization.

♦ Maintenance Management: Decision processes related to detection and deployment of

maintenance operations.
♦ Inventory Management: Decision processes related to monitoring of inventory status
of raw material, finished goods etc. and deployment of operations related to their
management.
♦ Quality Management : Assessment, Documentation and Management of Quality
Typically, the algorithms make use of Resource Optimisation Technology and are non-real-
time although they may be using production data on-line.
The Architecture of Elements: The Automation Pyramid

Industrial automation systems are very complex having large number of devices
with confluence of technologies working in synchronization. In order to know the performance
of the system we need to understand the various parts of the system. Industrial automation
systems are organized hierarchially as shown in the following figure.
Level 4
Enterprise
Industrial
IT Productio
Level 3
n
Control
Level 2 Supervisory
Control
Level 1
Automati
Industrial Auto c
Control
Level 0
Sensors
Actuator
s
Process /
Fig. 2.4 Automation pyramid

Various components in an industrial automation system can be explained using the

automation pyramid as shown above. Here, various layers represent the wideness ( in the
sense of no. of devices ), and fastness of components on the time-scale.
Sensors and Acuators Layer: This layer is closest to the proceses and machines, used
to translate signals sothat signals can be derived from processes for analysis and decisions
and hence control signals can be applied to the processes. This forms the base layer of the
pyramid also called ‘level 0’ layer.
Automatic Control Layer: This layer consists of automatic control and monitoring
systems, which drive the actuators using the process information given by sensors. This is
called as ‘level 1’ layer.
Supervisory Control Layer: This layer drives the automatic control system by setting target/
goal to the controller. Supervisory Control looks after the equipment, which may consis of
several control loops. This is called as ‘level 2’ layer.
Production Control Layer: This solves the decision problems like production targets,
resource allocation, task allocation to machines, maintenance management etc. This is called
‘level 3’ layer.
Enterprise control layer: This deals less technical and more commercial activities like
supply, demand, cash flow, product marketing etc. This is called as the ‘level 4’ layer.
The spatial scale increases as the level is increased e.g. at lowest level a sensor works in
a single loop, but there exists many sensors in an automation system which will be visible as
the level is increased. The lowest level is faster in the time scale and the higher levels are
slower. The aggregation of information over some time interval is taken at higher levels.
All the above layers are connected by various types of communication systems. For example
the sensors and actuators may be connected to the automatic controllers using a point-to-point
digital communication, while the automatic controllers themselves may be connected
with the supervisory and production control systems using computer networks. Some of
these networks may be proprietary. Over the last decade, with emergence of embedded
electronics and computing, standards for low level network standards (CANBus,
Fieldbus etc.) for communication with low level devices, such as sensors and actuators are
also emerging.
A concrete example of the Automation Functionality in a large manufacturing plant is presented

in the appendix below. The appendix reveals the nature of functionality expected in modern
automation systems, the elements that are used to realise them, and the figures of merit for such
systems. The learner is encouraged to study it.

Appendix: An Example Industrial Specification for Automatic and

Supervisory Level Automation Systems
This appendix contains the specification of a section of a Cold Rolling Mill complex, referred to
here as PL-TCM which stands for Pickling Line and Tandem Control Mill. Such specification
documents are prepared when automation systems for industrial plants are procured and
installed. The document captures the visualisation of automation functionality of the customer.
Here basic level refers to the automatic control supervisory control levels, while process control
level refers to a level. Some of the terms and concepts described below have been discussed in
subsequent lessons.
Platforms: The above levels of controls shall be achieved through programmable controllers
PLCs, micro-processor based systems as well as PCs / Work stations, as required.
Each of the automation systems of the PL-TCM shall be subdivided in accordance with the
functional requirements and shall cover the open loop and closed loop control functions of the
different sections of the line and the mill.
Modes of Operation: The systems shall basically have two modes of operation. In the semi-
automatic mode the set point values shall be entered manually for different sections of the line
through VDU and the processors shall transmit these values to the controls in proper time
sequence. In fully automatic mode the process control system shall calculate all set point values
through mathematical models and transfer the same to the subordinate systems over data link.
The functions to be performed by the basic level automation shall cover but not be limited to
the following.
Functionality at Basic Level: The Basic Level shall cover control of all equipment, sequencing,
interlocking micro-tracking of strip for specific functions, dedicated technological functions,
storage of rolling schedules and look-up tables, fault and event logging etc. Some of these are
mentioned below.
♦ All interlocking and sequencing control of the machinery such as for entry and exit
handling of strips, shear control etc. Interlocking, sequencing, switching controls of the
machines. This shall also cover automatic coil handling at the entry and exit sides,
automatic sequencial operation of welding/rewelding machine and strip threading
sequence control as well as for acid regeneration plant.
♦ Calculation of coil diameter and width at the entry pay-off reels.
♦ Position control of coil ears for centrally placing of coils on the mandrels.
♦ Generation of master speed references for the line depending on operator's input and line
conditions and down loading to drive control systems.
♦ Speed synchronising control of the drives, as required.
♦ Strip tenstion, position and catenary control through control of related drives and
machinery.

♦ Initiation of centre position control for Power Operated Rolls, steering/dancer rolls;
Looper car position control. Automatic pre-setting control, measurement and control of
tension and elongation for tension leveller. Auto edge position control at tension reels if
required.
♦ Control of entry shear for auto-cutting of off-gauge strip.
♦ Control of pickling parameters for correct pickling with varying speed of strip in the
pickling section.
♦ Side trimmer automatic setting contro.
♦ Interlockings, sequencing and control of scrap baller, if provided.
♦ Auto calibration for position control/precision positioning shall be provided as necessary.
♦ Manual/Auto slowdown/stoppage of strip at weld point at tension leveller, side trimmer,
mill and exit shear.
♦ Control of technological functions for tandem mill such as :
o Automatic gauge control along with interst and tension control.
o Shape control
o Roll force control
♦ Storage of tandem mill rolling schedules, for the entire product mix and all possible
variations. Suitable look-up tables as operators guidance for line/equipment setting.
♦ Automatic roll changing along with automatic spindle positioning.
♦ Constant pass line control based on roll wear as well as after roll change.
♦ Automatic control of rotary shear before tension rells.
♦ Automatic sequence control of inspection reel.
♦ Provision of manual slow down/stoppage of strip as well as chearing for `run' for
inspection of defects at tension leveller, side trimmer entry and exit of the Tandem
Mill throuth push button stations.
♦ Micro-tracking of strip and flying gauge change (set point change) for continuous
operation with varying strip sizes.
♦ Setting up the mill either from the stored rollings schedule with facility for modification
by the operator of down-loading from process control level system.
♦ Automatic control of in-line coil weighing, marking and circumferential banding after
delivery tension reels.
Supervisory Functions at Basic Level: Centralised supervisory and monitoring control system
shall be provided under basic level automation with dedicated processors and MMI. All
necessary signals shall be acquired through drive control system as well as directly from the
sensors/instruments as, required. The system shall be capable of carrying out the following
fuctions.

♦ Centralised switching and start up of various line drives and auxiliary systems through
mimic displays.
♦ Status of plant drives and electrical equipment for displaying maintenance information.
♦ Monitoring and display of measured values for tandem mill main drives and other
large capacity drives such as winding temperature, for alarm and trip conditions.
♦ Centralised switching and status indication of 33 kV and 6.6 kV switchboards.
♦ Display of single line diagram of 33 kV and 6.6 kV switchboards, main drives, in-line
auxiliary drives etc.
♦ Acquisition of fault signals from various sections of the plant with facility for display
and print-out of the fault messages in clear text.
Comprehensive diagnostic functions

Functionality at Process Control Level: The Process Control Level shall be responsible
for computation and control for optimization of operation. Functions like set point
generation using mathematical models, learning control, material tracking within the
process line/unit including primary data input, real time control of process functions
through basic level automation, generation of reports etc. shall be implemented through this
level of automation. Some of the specific functions to be performed by the process control
level automation are the following.
♦ Coil strip tracking inside the process line/unit by sensing punched holes at weld seams.
♦ Primary Data Input (PDI) of coils at entry to PL-TCM with provision for down loading
of data from production control level.
♦ Generation of all operating set points for the mill using PDI data, mill model, roll
force model, power model, strip thickness control model, shape/profile control model
with thermal strip flatness control as well as for other sections of the line.
♦ Learning (Adaptive) control using actual data and the mathematical model for set-up
calculations.
♦ Storage of position setting values of levellers, side trimmer. Input of strip flaw data
manually through inspection panel at the inline inspection facility after side trimmer.
♦ Processing of actual data on rolling operation, generation of reports logs and sending
data to production control level.
Information System Functions: The information system shall generally comply with the
following features.
♦ Data of importance shall be available with the concerned personnel in the form of logs
and reports.
♦ Output of logs and reports at preset times or on occurance of certain events.
♦ It shall be possible to change the data items and log formats without undue interference
to the system.

♦ Logged information shall be stored for adequate time period ensuring the availability of
historical data record.
♦ Data captured by the system shall be checked for integrity with respect to their validity
and plausibility with annunciation.
Man Machine Interface: The visualisation system for both the automation levels shall be
through man-machine interface (MMI) for the control and operation of the complete line. The
system shall display the following screens, with facilities for hard copy print out.
♦ Process mimics for the complete line using various screens with status information of
all important in-line drives as well as the references and actual values of important
parameters.
♦ Dynamic information’s in form of bar graph for indication of reference and actual values
of important parameters.
♦ Screens providing trends of the important process variables.
♦ Acquisition of actual parameters (averaging/maximum/minimum) for the complete line,
on coil to coil basis through weld seam tracking or TCM exit shear cut for the generation
of logs on process/parameters and production.
Standards: The programmable controllers and other micro processor based equipment offered
shall generally be designed/structured, manufactured and tested in accordance with the
guidelines laid down in IEC-1131 (Part 2) apart from the industry standards being adopted by the
respective manufactures.
Hardware: The hardware of each basic controller/equipment of a system will generally

comprise main processing unit, memory units, stabilised power supply unit, necessary
communication interface modules, auxiliary storage where required. I/O modules in the main
equipment, remote I/O stations where required and the programming and debugging tool
(PADT). The hardware and software structure shall be modular to meet wide range of
technological requirements. I/Os shall be freely configurable depending on the requirement.
The programming units shall preferable be lap-top type.
Networking: The networking would conform to the following specifications.
♦ In each of the two automation levels, all the controllers of a system shall be connected
as a node over suitable data bus forming a LAN system using standardised hardware
and software.
♦ The LAN system shall be in line with ISO-Open system Interconnect.
♦ All drive level automation equipment shall be suitably linked with the basic level for
effective data/signal exchange between the two levels. However, all the emergency
and safety signals shall be directly hardwired to the respective controllers.
♦ Similarly, the LAN systems for the basic level and process control level shall be
suitably linked through suitable bridge/interface for effective data/signal exchange.
Provision shall also be made for interfacing suitably the process control level with the
production level automation system specified in item .

♦ The data highways shall be designed to be optimally loaded and the same shall be clearly
indicated in the offer.
♦ The remote I/Os, the microprocessor based measuring instruments and the micro-
processor based special machines like coil weighing, marking and circumferantial
banding machines shall be connected over serial links with the respective controllers.
♦ The personal computers and work stations shall be connected as a LAN system of the
corresponding level.
Data and Visualisation: The following specifications would apply in respect of data security,
validity and its proper visualisation.
♦ All the operator interfaces comprising colour VDU and keyboard as MMI for interacting
with the respective system and located at strategic locations, shall be connected to the
corresponding LAN system.
♦ Keylock/password shall be provided to prevent unauthorised entry.
♦ Entry validity and plansibility check shall also be incorporated.
♦ An Engineer's console comprising of necessary processor, color VDU, keyboard/mouse
and a printer unit shall be provided for the automation systems. The console shall have
necessary hardware and software of communicating with the LAN and shall have access
to the complete system. Basic functions of this console shall be off-line data base
configuration, programme development, documentation etc.
Application Software: The application software shall be through functional block type software
modules as well as high level language based software modules. The software shall be
user friendly and provided with help functions etc. Only one type of programming language
shall be used for the complete system. However, ladder type programming language may be
used for simple logical functions. Only industrially debugged and tested software shall be
provided.
Basis of System Selection

Future Expandibility: The selection of equipment, standard software and networking shall
be such as to offer optimum flexibility for future expansion without affecting the system
reliability.
Fault Tolerance: The system shall be designed to operate in automatic or semi automatic
mode of operation under failure conditions.
Spare Capacity: The system shall have sufficient capacity to perform all functions as required.
A minimum of 30 per cent of the total memory shall be kept unallocated for future use.
Loading: The data highway shall be designed to be optimally loaded and the same shall
be clearly indicated in the offer.
Software Structure and Quality Programs: shall be in high level language that is effective
and economical for the proposed system in respect of Modularisation, rate of coding, store
usage and running time. The software structure of the system shall besuitably distributed/
centralised for supervision and control of the related process areas following the
state of the art architecture.

Integration: The communication software shall be such that the systems shall be able
to communicate independently among themselves as well as with the lower level
Basic Control/Process control automation system, as required. Provision shall be made for
interfacing the production control system with the higher level Business Computer system to be
provided for the entire steel plant in future.
Programmability: The information system shall generally be designed such that it shall
be possible to change the data items and log formats without undue interference to the system.
Data Integrity and Protection: Logged information shall be stored for adequate time period
ensuring the availability of historical data record. Data captured by the system shall be
checked for integrity with respect to their validity and plausibility with annunciation.
Storing of essential data to be protected against corruption when the system loses
power supply or during failure.

Unit 2
Measurement Systems
Specifications

Introduction
One of the most frequent tasks that an Engineer involved in the design, commissioning, testing,
purchasing, operation or maintenance related to industrial processes, is to
interpret manufacturer’s specifications for their own purpose. It is therefore of paramount
importance that one understands the basic form of an instrument specification and at least the
generic elements in it that appear in almost all instrument specifications.
Different blocks of a measurement system have been discussed in lesson-2. The
combined performance of all the blocks is described in the specifications. Specifications of an
instrument are provided by different manufacturers in different wrap and quoting different
terms, which sometimes may cause confusion. Moreover, there are several application
specific issues. Still, broadly speaking, these specifications can be classified into three
categories: (i) static characteristics, (b) dynamic characteristics and (iii) random
characteristics.
1. Static Characteristics
Static characteristics refer to the characteristics of the system when the input is either
held constant or varying very slowly. The items that can be classified under the heading
static characteristics are mainly:
Range (or span)

It defines the maximum and minimum values of the inputs or the outputs for which the
instrument is recommended to use. For example, for a temperature measuring instrument
the input range may be 100-500 oC and the output range may be 4-20 mA.
Sensitivity
It can be defined as the ratio of the incremental output and the incremental input. While
defining the sensitivity, we assume that the input-output characteristic of the instrument is
approximately
μ / 0C , it
linear in that range. Thus if the sensitivity of a thermocouple is denoted as 10V
indicates the sensitivity in the linear range of the thermocouple voltage vs. temperature
characteristics. Similarly sensitivity of a spring balance can be expressed as 25 mm/kg
(say), indicating additional load of 1 kg will cause additional displacement of the spring by
25mm.

Again sensitivity of an instrument may also vary with temperature or other external factors.
This is known as sensitivity drift. Suppose the sensitivity of the spring balance mentioned above
is 25 mm/kg at 20 oC and 27 mm/kg at 30oC. Then the sensitivity drift/oC is 0.2 (mm/kg)/oC. In
order to avoid such sensitivity drift, sophisticated instruments are either kept at controlled
temperature, or suitable in-built temperature compensation schemes are provided inside the
instrument.
Linearity
Linearity is actually a measure of nonlinearity of the instrument. When we talk about
sensitivity, we assume that the input/output characteristic of the instrument to be
approximately linear. But in practice, it is normally nonlinear, as shown in Fig.1. The linearity
ΔO deviation from the linear characteristics as a percentage of the full
is defined as the maximum
Linearity = (1)
scale output. Thus, O − O
max min
where, ΔO = max(ΔO1 , ΔO2 ) .
Output Output
OMAX OMAX
ΔΟ1
H
ΔΟ2
OMIN OMIN
IMIN IMAX Input IMIN IMAX Input
Fig. 1 Linearity Fig. 2 Hysteresis
Hysteresis
Hysteresis exists not only in magnetic circuits, but in instruments also. For example,
the deflection of a diaphragm type pressure gage may be different for the same pressure, but
one for increasing and other for decreasing, as shown in Fig.2. The hysteresis is
expressed as the maximum hysteresis as a full scale reading, i.e., referring fig.2,
H
Hysteresis = X 100. (2)
Omax − Omin
Resolution
In some instruments, the output increases in discrete steps, for continuous increase in the
input, as shown in Fig.3. It may be because of the finite graduations in the meter scale;
or the

1
instrument has a digital display, as a result the output indication changes discretely. A 3 -digit
2
voltmeter, operating in 0-2V range, can have maximum reading of 1.999V, and it cannot
measure any change in voltage below 0.001V. Resolution indicates the minimum change in input
variable that is detectable. For example, an eight-bit A/D converter with +5V input can measure
5
the minimum voltage of 8 or 19.6 mv. Referring to fig.3, resolution is also defined in terms
2 −1
of percentage as:
ΔI
Resolution = X 100 (3)
I max − I min
The quotient between the measuring range and resolution is often expressed as dynamic range
and is defined as:
measurement range
Dynamic range = (4)
resolution
And is expressed in terms of dB. The dynamic range of an n-bit ADC, comes out to be
approximately 6n dB.
Output
ΔΙ
Imin Imax Input
Fig. 3 Resolution
Accuracy
Accuracy indicates the closeness of the measured value with the actual or true value, and
is expressed in the form of the maximum error (= measured value – true value) as a percentage
of full scale reading. Thus, if the accuracy of a temperature indicator, with a full scale range of
0-500 oC is specified as ± 0.5%, it indicates that the measured value will always be within ± 2.5
o
C of the true value, if measured through a standard instrument during the process of
calibration. But if it indicates a reading of 250 oC, the error will also be ± 2.5 oC, i.e. ± 1% of
the reading. Thus it is always better to choose a scale of measurement where the input is near
full-scale value. But the true value is always difficult to get. We use standard calibrated
instruments in the laboratory for measuring true value if the variable.
Precision
Precision indicates the repeatability or reproducibility of an instrument (but does not
indicate accuracy). If an instrument is used to measure the same input, but at different
instants, spread

over the whole day, successive measurements may vary randomly. The random fluctuations of
readings, (mostly with a Gaussian distribution) is often due to random variations of several other
factors which have not been taken into account, while measuring the variable. A precision
instrument indicates that the successive reading would be very close, or in other words, the
standard deviation σ e of the set of measurements would be very small. Quantitatively, the
precision can be expressed as:
measured range
Precision = (5)
σe
The difference between precision and accuracy needs to be understood carefully.
Precision means repetition of successive readings, but it does not guarantee accuracy;
successive readings may be close to each other, but far from the true value. On the other hand,
an accurate instrument has to be precise also, since successive readings must be close to the true
value (that is unique).
2. Dynamic Characteristics
Dynamic characteristics refer to the performance of the instrument when the input variable is
changing rapidly with time. For example, human eye cannot detect any event whose duration
is more than one-tenth of a second; thus the dynamic performance of human eye cannot be said
to be very satisfactory. The dynamic performance of an instrument is normally expressed
by a differential equation relating the input and output quantities. It is always convenient to
express the input-output dynamic characteristics in form of a linear differential equation.
So, often a nnonlinear mathematical model is linearised and expressedmin the form:
d x0 d n −1 x 0 dx 0 d m xi d −1 xi dx
an n
+ a n −1 n −1
+ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ + a1 + a 0 x 0 = bm m
+ bm −1 m −1
+ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ +b1 i + b0 xi
dt dt dt dt dt dt
(6)
where xi and x 0 are the input and the output variables respectively. The above expression can
also be expressed in terms of a transfer function, as:
x ( s ) bm s m + bm −1 s m −1 ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ +b1 s + b0
G ( s) = 0 = (7)
xi ( s ) a n s n + bn −1 s n −1 ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ + a1 s + a 0
Normally m<n an n is called the order of the system. Commonly available sensor
characteristics can usually be approximated as either zero-th order, first order or second order
dynamics. Here are few such examples:
Potentiometer
Displacement sensors using potentiometric principle (Fig.4) have no energy storing
elements. The output voltage eo can be related with the input displacement xi by an algebraic
equation: e ( s) E
eo (t ) xt = Exi (t ); or , o = = constant (8)
xi ( s ) x t
where xt is the total length of the potentiometer and E is the excitation voltage.. So, it can be
termed as a zeroth order system.

Thermocouple
A bare thermocouple (Fig.5) has a mass (m) of the junction. If it is immersed in a fluid at
a temperature Tf , then its dynamic performance relating the output voltage eo and the
input temperature Tf , can be expressed by the transfer function:
eo ( s ) Kv
= (9)
T f ( s) 1 + sτ
where, K v = steady state voltage sensitivity of the thermocouple in V/ oC.
mC
τ = time constant of the thermocouple =
hA
m = mass of the junction
C = specific heat
h = heat transfer co-efficient
A = surface area of the hot junction.
Hence, the bare thermocouple is a first order sensor. But if the bare thermocouple is put inside
a metallic protective well (as it is normally done for industrial thermocouples) the order of
the system increases due to the additional energy storing element (thermal mass of the well)
and it becomes a second order system.
Seismic Sensor
Seismic sensors (Fig.6.) are commonly used for vibration or acceleration measurement of
foundations. The transfer function between the input displacement xi and output displacement
xo can be expressed as:
xo ( s) Ms 2
= (10)
xi ( s) Ms 2 + Bs + K
where: M = mass of the seismic body
B = damping constant
K= spring constant
From the above transfer function, it can be easily concluded that the seismic sensor is a second
order system.
eo
- +
xo
M
E xt
K B
xi eo
Tf xi
Fig. 4 Potentiometer Fig. 5 Thermocouple Fig. 6 Seismic sensor

Dynamic characteristics specifications are normally referred to the referred to the performance of
the instrument with different test signals, e.g. impulse input, step input, ramp input and
sinusoidal input. Few important specifications are:
Normalised response 1 Mp
2%
ts
0 time
Fig. 7 Step response of a dynamic system
Step response performance

The normalized step response of a measurement system normally encountered is shown in Fig.
7. Two important parameters for classifying the dynamic response are:
Peak Overshoot (Mp): It is the maximum value minus the steady state value, normally
expressed in terms of percentage.
Settling Time (ts): It is the time taken to attain the response within ± 2% of the steady
state value.
Rise time (tr): It is the time required for the response to rise from 10% to 90% of its final value.
Frequency Response Performance

The frequency response performance refers to the performance of the system subject
to sinusoidal input of varying frequency.
A sinωt Dynamic System B sin(ωt + φ)
G(s)
Fig. 8 Frequency Response

Suppose G(s) is the transfer function of the dynamic measurement system, represented by the
general relation (7). If the input is a sinusoidal quantity of amplitude A and frequency ω , then in
the steady state, the output will also be of same frequency, but of different amplitude B, and there
would be a phase difference between the input and output. It can be shown that the amplitude
ratio and the phase difference can be obtained as:
B
= G ( jω ) and φ = ∠G ( jω ) (11)
A
Normalized Amplitude
ratio
1
0.707
Bandwidth
10 102 104 106

ω
Fig. 9 Amplitude vs. frequency characteristics of a piezoelectric accelerometer
The plots showing variations of amplitude ratios and phase angle with frequency are called
the magnitude and phase plots of the frequency response. Typical amplitude vs.
frequency characteristics of a piezoelectric accelerometer is shown in Fig.9.
Bandwidth and Natural Frequency

From fig. 9, it is apparent that the amplitude is fairly constant over a range of frequencies.
This range is called the bandwidth of the measuring system (to be precise, it is the frequency
range in which the normalized amplitude ratio does not fall below 0.707, or -3 dB limit). The
instrument is suitable for use in this range. The lower and upper limits are called the lower and
upper cut off frequencies. The frequency at which the amplitude ratio attains a peak is called
the (damped) natural frequency of the system. For further details, the reader is requested to
refer any standard book on control systems.
3. Random Characteristics
If repeated readings of the same quantity of the measurand are taken by the same
instrument, under same ambient conditions, they are bound to differ from each other. This is
often due to some inherent sources of errors of the instrument that vary randomly and at any
point of time it is very difficult to exactly say, what would be its value. For example, the
characteristics of resistance and diode elements of an electronic circuit are random, due to
two sources of noises: thermal noise and flicker noise. To characterize these behaviors,
statistical terminologies are

often used. Most common among them are Mean and Standard deviation. The mean of a set of
readings is the most accurate estimation of the actual value, since, the positive and negative
errors often cancelled out. On the other hand the standard deviation ( σ ) is a measure of the
spread of the readings. If successive measurements of the same parameter under same ambient
condition are taken and the mean and standard deviations are calculated, then assuming normal
distribution of the randomness in measurements, we can say that 68% of the readings would fall
within the range of mean ± σ . Naturally, smaller the value of σ , more would be the repeatability
and higher would be the precision (refer equation (5)). This uncertainty limit is often extended to
the 3 σ limit, that means, that with 99% confidence, we can say that the any reading taken, would
give a value within the range of mean ± 3 σ . The interval of uncertainty is often called as the
confidence interval. This part is discussed in detail in Lesson10.

Unit 2
Temperature Measurement

1. Introduction
The word temper was used in the seventeenth century to describe the quality of steel. It
seems, after the invention of crude from of thermometer, the word temperature was coined to
describe the degree of hotness or coolness of a material body. It was the beginning of
seventeenth century when the thermometer – a temperature measuring instrument was first
developed. Galileo Galilei is credited with the construction of first thermometer, although a
Dutch scientist Drebbel also made similar instrument independently. The principle was
simple. A bulb containing air with long vertical tube was inverted and dipped into a basin
of water or coloured liquid. With the change in temperature of the bulb, the gas inside
expanded or contracted, thus changing the level of the liquid column inside the vertical tube. A
major drawback of the instrument was that it was sensitive not only to variation of temperature,
but also to atmospheric pressure variation.
Successive developments of thermometers came out throughout seventeenth and

eighteenth century. The liquid thermometer was developed during this time. The
importance of two reference fixed temperatures was felt while graduating the temperature
scales. Boiling point of water and melting point of ice provided two easily available
references. But some other references were also tried. Fahrenheit developed a thermometer
where, it seems, temperature of ice and salt mixture was taken as 0o and temperature of
human body as 96o. These two formed the reference points, with which, the temperature of
melting ice came as 32o and that of boiling water as 212o. In Celsius scale, the melting point
of ice was chosen as 0o and boiling point of water as 100o. The concept of Kelvin scale came
afterwards, where the absolute temperature of gas was taken as 00 and freezing point of water as
273o.
The purpose of early thermometers was to measure the variation of atmospheric or

body temperatures. With the advancement of science and technology, now we require
temperature measurement over a wide range and different atmospheric conditions, and that
too with high accuracy and precision. To cater these varied requirements, temperature
sensors based on different principles have been developed. They can be broadly classified in
the following groups:
1. Liquid and gas thermometer

2. Bimetallic strip
3. Resistance thermometers (RTD and Thermistors)
4. Thermocouple

Within the limited scope of this course, we shall discuss few of the above mentioned
temperature sensors, that are useful for measurement in industrial environment.
2. Resistance Thermometers
It is well known that resistance of metallic conductors increases with temperature, while that
of semiconductors generally decreases with temperature. Resistance thermometers
employing metallic conductors for temperature measurement are called Resistance
Temperature Detector (RTD), and those employing semiconductors are termed as Thermistors.
RTDs are more rugged and have more or less linear characteristics over a wide temperature
range. On the other hand Thermistors have high temperature sensitivity, but nonlinear
characteristics.
Resistance Temperature Detector

The variation of resistance of metals with temperature is normally modeled in the form:
R t = R 0 [1 + α( t − t 0 ) + β( t − t 0 ) 2 + ......] (1)
o o
where R t and R 0 are the resistance values at t C and t0 C respectively; α, β, etc. are constants
that depends on the metal. For a small range of temperature, the expression can be approximated
as:
R t = R 0 [1 + α( t − t 0 )] (2)
For Copper, α = 0.00427 / o C .
Copper, Nickel and Platinum are mostly used as RTD materials. The range of temperature
measurement is decided by the region, where the resistance-temperature characteristics are
approximately linear. The resistance versus temperature characteristics of these materials is
shown in fig.1, with to as 0oC. Platinum has a linear range of operation upto 650oC, while the
useful range for Copper and Nickel are 120oC and 300oC respectively.

4 Nickel
Rt/R0
3 Copper
2 Platinum
1
0 200 400 600
Temperature (ºC)
Fig. 1 Resistance-temperature characteristics of metals
Construction
For industrial use, bare metal wires cannot be used for temperature measurement. They must
be protected from mechanical hazards such as material decomposition, tearing and other
physical damages. The salient features of construction of an industrial RTD are as follows:
• The resistance wire is often put in a stainless steel well for protection against mechanical
hazards. This is also useful from the point of view of maintenance, since a defective
sensor can be replaced by a good one while the plant is in operation.
• Heat conducting but electrical insulating materials like mica is placed in between the well
and the resistance material.
• The resistance wire should be carefully wound over mica sheet so that no strain is
developed due to length expansion of the wire.
Fig. 2 shows the cut away view of an industrial RTD.

Stainless steel well
Resistance wire
Mica
Ceramic powder
Fig. 2 Construction of an industrial RTD
Signal conditioning
The resistance variation of the RTD can be measured by a bridge, or directly by volt-
ampere method. But the major constraint is the contribution of the lead wires in the overall
resistance measured. Since the length of the lead wire may vary, this may give a false
reading in the temperature to be measured. There must be some method for compensation so
that the effect of lead wires is resistance measured is eliminated. This can be achieved by using
either a three wire RTD, or a four wire RTD. Both the schemes of measurement are shown in
fig. 3. In three wire method one additional dummy wire taken from the resistance element and
connected in a bridge (fig. 3(a)) so that the two lead wires are connected to two adjacent
arms of the bridge, thus canceling each other’s effect. In fig. 3(b) the four wire method of
measurement is shown. It is similar to a four terminal resistance and two terminals are used
for injecting current, while two others are for measuring voltage.
V
c
d
b c
a a, b, c: lead wires
RX
Fig. 3(b) Four wire RTD
a, b, c: lead wires
Fig. 3(a) Three wire RTD

Thermistor
Thermistors are semiconductor type resistance thermometers. They have very high sensitivity
but highly nonlinear characteristics. This can be understood from the fact that for a typical 2000
Ω the resistance change at 25oC is 80Ω/oC, whereas for a 2000 Ω platinum RTD the change in
resistance at 25oC is 7Ω/oC. Thermistors can be of two types: (a) Negative temperature co-
efficient (NTC) thermistors and (b) Positive temperature co-efficient (PTC) thermistors. Their
resistance-temperature characteristics are shown in fig. 4(a) and 4(b) respectively.
The NTC thermistors, whose characteristics are shown in fig. 4(a) is more common.
Essentially, they are made from oxides of iron, manganese, magnesium etc. Their
characteristics can be expressed as:
1 1
β( − )
R T = R 0e T T0
(3)
where,
RT is the resistance at temperature T (K)
R0 is the resistance at temperature T0 (K)
T0 is the reference temperature, normally 25oC
β is a constant, its value is decided by the characteristics of the material, the nominal
value is taken as 4000.
From (3), the resistance temperature co-efficient can be obtained as:
1 dR T β
αT = =− 2 (4)
R T dT T
It is clear from the above expression that the negative sign of α T indicates the negative
resistance-temperature characteristics of the NTC thermistor.
Resistance
Resistance
TR
Temperature Temperature
Fig. 4(a) Characteristics of a NTC Fig. 4(b) Characteristics of a PTC
thermistor thermistor
Useful range of themistors is normally -100 to +300oC. A single thermistor is not suitable for the
whole range of measurement. Moreover, existing thermistors are not interchangeable. There is a
marked spread in nominal resistance and the temperature coefficient between two thermistors of
same type. So, if a defective thermistor is to be replaced by a new thermistor similar type, a fresh

calibration has to be carried out before use. Commercially available thermistors have
nominal values of 1K, 2K, 10K, 20K, 100K etc. The nominal values indicate the resistance
value at 25oC. Thermistors are available in different forms: bead type, rod type disc type etc.
The small size of the sensing element makes it suitable for measurement of temperature at
a point. The time constant is also very small due to the small thermal mass involved.
The nonlinear negative temperature characteristics also give rise to error due to self-
heating effect. When current is flowing through the thermistor, the heat generated due to the
I 2 R -loss may increase the temperature of the resistance element, which may further
decrease the resistance and increase the current further. This effect, if not tackled properly,
may damage the thermistor permanently. Essentially, the current flowing should be restricted
below the specified value to prevent this damage. Alternatively, the thermistor may be excited
by a constant current source.
The nonlinear characteristics of thermistors often creates problem for temperature

measurement, and it is often desired to linearise the thermistor characteristics. This can be done
by adding one fixed resistance parallel to the thermistor. The resistance temperature
characteristics of the equivalent resistance would be more linear, but at the cost of sensitivity.
The Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC) thermistor have limited use and they
are particularly used for protection of motor and transformer widings. As shown in fig. 4(b),
they have low and relatively constant resistance below a threshold temperature TR, beyond
which the resistance increases rapidly. The PTC thermistors are made from compound of
barium, lead and strontium titanate.
3. Thermocouple
Thomas Johan Seeback discovered in 1821 that thermal energy can produce electric
current. When two conductors made from dissimilar metals are connected forming two
common junctions and the two junctions are exposed to two different temperatures, a net
thermal emf is produced, the actual value being dependent on the materials used and the
temperature difference between hot and cold junctions. The thermoelectric emf generated,
in fact is due to the combination of two effects: Peltier effect and Thomson effect. A typical
thermocouple junction is shown in fig. 5. The emf generated can be approximately expressed by
the relationship:
e 0 = C1 (T1 − T2 ) + C 2 (T12 − T22 ) μv (5)
where T1 and T2 are hot and cold junction temperatures in K. C1 and C2 are constants depending
upon the materials. For Copper/ Constantan thermocouple, C1=62.1 and C2=0.045.

T1 T2
(hot junction) (cold junction)
B B
e0
Fig. 5 A typical thermocouple
Thermocouples are extensively used for measurement of temperature in industrial situations. The major
reasons behind their popularity are: (i) they are rugged and readings are consistent, (ii) they can
measure over a wide range of temperature, and (iii) their characteristics are almost linear with an
accuracy of about ± 0.05%. However, the major shortcoming of thermocouples is low sensitivity compared
to other temperature measuring devices (e.g. RTD, Thermistor).
Thermocouple Materials
Theoretically, any pair of dissimilar materials can be used as a thermocouple. But in practice, only few
materials have found applications for temperature measurement. The choice of materials is
influenced by several factors, namely, sensitivity, stability in calibration, inertness in the operating
atmosphere and reproducibility (i.e. the thermocouple can be replaced by a similar one without any
recalibration). Table-I shows the common types of thermocouples, their types, composition, range,
sensitivity etc. The upper range of the thermocouple is normally dependent on the atmosphere whre it
has been put. For example, the upper range of Chromel/ Alumel thermocouple can be increased in
oxidizing atmosphere, while the upper range of Iron/ Constantan thermocouple can be increased in
reducing atmosphere.
Table-1 Thermocouple materials and Characteristics

Type Positive Negative Temperature Temperature Most linear
lead lead range coeff.variation range and
o
μv/ C sensitivity in
the range
o
R Platinum- Platinum 0-1500 C 5.25-14.1 1100-1500oC
Rhodium 13.6-14.1
(87% Pt, μv/oC
13% Rh)
S Platinum- Platinum 0-1500oC 5.4-12.2 1100-1500 oC
Rhodium 13.6-14.1
(90% Pt, μv/oC
10% Rh)
K Chromel Alumel -200-1300oC 15.2-42.6 0-1000 oC
(90%Ni, (Ni94Al2 38-42.9 μv/oC
10% Cr) Mn3Si)

E Chromel Constantan -200-1000oC 25.1-80.8 300-800 oC

(57%Cu, 77.9-80.8
43%Ni) μv/oC
T Copper Constantan -200-350oC 15.8-61.8 nonlinear
J Iron Constantan -150-750oC 21.8-64.6 100-500 oC

54.4-55.9
Laws of Thermocouple
The Peltier and Thompson effects explain the basic principles of thermoelectric emf
generation. But they are not sufficient for providing a suitable measuring technique at
actual measuring situations. For this purpose, we have three laws of thermoelectric circuits
that provide us useful practical tips for measurement of temperature. These laws are known
as law of homogeneous circuit, law of intermediate metals and law of intermediate
temperatures. These laws can be explained using fig. 6.
The first law can be explained using fig. 6(a). It says that the net thermo-emf generated
is dependent on the materials and the temperatures of two junctions only, not on any
intermediate temperature.
According to the second law, if a third material is introduced at any point (thus forming
two additional junctions) it will not have any effect, if these two additional junctions remain
at the same temperatures (fig. 6(b)). This law makes it possible to insert a measuring device
without altering the thermo-emf.

Same net emf

T4 T9
T3 T5 T8 T10
A A
T1 T2 T1 T2
+ - B + - B
B B
e
T6 T7 T11 T12
(a)
A Same net emf A

T2
T3
T1 e C
T1 T2
T4
B e B B T2
(b)
A A A
T2 T3 T3
T1 + - T2 + - T1 + -
B e1 B B e2 B B e3 B
e3 = e1 + e2
(c)
Fig. 6 Laws of Thermocouple
The third law is related to the calibration of the thermocouple. It says, if a

thermocouple produces emf e1, when its junctions are at T1 and T2, and e2 when its junctions
are at T2 and T3; then it will generate emf e1+e2 when the junction temperatures are at T1 and T3
(fig. 6(c)).
The third law is particularly important from the point of view of reference
junction compensation. The calibration chart of a thermocouple is prepared taking the cold or
reference junction temperature as 0oC. But in actual measuring situation, seldom the
reference junction temperature is kept at that temperature, it is normally kept at ambient
temperature. The third law helps us to compute the actual temperature using the calibration
chart. This can be explained from the following example.
Example-1
The following table has been prepared from the calibration chart of iron-constantan
thermocouple, with reference temperature at 0oC.

Temperature 15 30 40 .…….. 180 190 200 208 210

(oC)
emf (mv) 0.778 1.56 2.11 ……… 9.64 10.25 10.74 11.20 11.32
Suppose, the temperature of the hot junction is measured with a iron-constantan

thermocouple, with the reference junction temperature at 30oC. If the voltage measured is
9.64mv, find the actual temperature of the hot junction.
Solution
Referring fig. 6(c), for this problem, T1 is the unknown temperature, T2= 30oC, T3= 0oC.
The voltages are e1=9.64mv (measured) and e2= 1.56mv (from chart). Therefore, e3=
e1+e2= 11.20mv. Hence, from the calibration chart, the actual hot junction temperature is T1 =
208oC.
Reference Junction Compensation

From above discussions, it is imminent that the thermocouple output voltage will vary if
the reference junction temperature changes. So, for measurement of temperature, it is desirable
that the cold junction of the thermocouple should be maintained at a constant temperature. Ice
bath can be used for this purpose, but it is not practical solution for industrial situation. An
alternative is to use a thermostatically controlled constant temperature oven. In this case, a
fixed voltage must be added to the voltage generated by the thermocouple, to obtain the
actual temperature. But the most common case is where the reference junction is placed at
ambient temperature. For high temperature measurement, the error introduced due to
variation of reference junction temperature is not appreciable. For example, with a
thermocouple measuring 1500oC, if the ambient temperature variation is within 25 ±15 oC,
then the error introduced in the reading due to this variation would be around 1%. Such a
typical scheme is shown in fig. 7. Here a constant voltage corresponding to the ambient
temperature is added through the offset of the op-amp. The thermocouple voltage is also
amplified by the same op-amp.
A more accurate method for reference junction temperature compensation is shown in fig.
8. Here a thermistor, or a RTD is used to measure the ambient temperature and compensate
the error through a bridge circuit. The bridge circuit is balanced at 0oC. When the
ambient temperature goes above 0oC, the emf generated in the thermocouple is reduced; at the
R2 to maintain the overall voltage
same time bridge unbalanced voltage is added to it in order
at the same value.
R1
-
Hot +
junction Cold
junction
Offset adjust
Fig.7 Simple method for reference junction compensation

Thermistor R
RP
R To amplifier
Hot Cold
junction junction
Fig. 8 Compensation scheme using wheatstone bridge
As referred to Fig.8, the cold junction compensation is normally kept along with the signal
conditioning circuits, away from the measuring point. This may require use of long
thermocouple wires to the compensation circuit. In order to reduce the length of costly
thermocouple wires (platinum in some case) low-cost compensating wires are normally used
in between the thermocouple and the compensation circuit. These wires are so selected that
their temperature emf characteristics match closely to those of the thermocouple wires
around the ambient temperature.

Unit 2
Pressure and Force Measurement

1. Introduction
In this lesson, we will discuss different methods for measurement of pressure and force.
Elastic elements, namely diaphragms and Bourdon tubes are mainly used for pressure
measurement. On the other hand, strain gages are commonly used for measurement of force.
The constructions and principles of operation of different elastic elements for pressure
measurement have been discussed in the next section. This is followed by principle of strain
gage and measurement of force using strain gages.
2. Pressure Measurement
Measurement of pressure inside a pipeline or a container in an industrial environment is
a challenging task, keeping in mind that pressure may be very high, or very low (vacuum);
the medium may be liquid, or gaseous. We will not discuss the vacuum pressure
measuring techniques; rather try to concentrate on measurement techniques of pressure
higher than the atmospheric. They are mainly carried out by using elastic elements:
diaphragms, bellows and Bourdon tubes. These elastic elements change their shape with
applied pressure and the change of shape can be measured using suitable deflection
transducers. Their basic constructions and principle of operation are explained below.
2.1 Diaphragms
Diaphragms may be of three types: Thin plate, Membrane and Corrugated diaphragm.
This classification is based on the applied pressure and the corresponding displacements. Thin
plate (fig. 1(a)) is made by machining a solid block and making a circular cross sectional
area with smaller thickness in the middle. It is used for measurement of relatively higher
pressure. In a membrane the sensing section is glued in between two solid blocks as shown
in fig. 1(b). The thickness is smaller; as a result, when pressure is applied on one side, the
displacement is larger. The sensitivity can be further enhanced in a corrugated diaphragm
(fig. 1(c)), and a large deflection can be obtained for a small change in pressure; however at
the cost of linearity. The materials used are Bronze, Brass, and Stainless steel. In recent
times, Silicon has been extensively used the diaphragm material in MEMS (Micro Electro
Mechanical Systems) pressure sensor. Further, the natural frequency of a diaphragm can be
expressed as:

1 k
fn = (1)
2π meq
where meq = equivalent mass, and
k= elastic constant of the diaphragm.
The operating frequency of the pressure to be measured must be less than the natural frequency
of the diaphragm.
When pressure is applied to a diaphragm, it deflates and the maximum deflection at the centre
( y0 ) can measured using a displacement transducer. For a Thin plate, the maximum deflection
y0 is small ( y0 < 0.3 t ) and referring fig. 2, a linear relationship between p and y0 exists as:
3 (1 − ν 2 ) 4
y0 = p R (2)
16 Et 3
where, E= Modulus of elasticity of the diaphragm material, and
ν = Poisson’s ratio.
However, the allowable pressure should be less than:
2
⎛t ⎞
pmax = 1.5 ⎜ ⎟ σ max (3)
⎝R⎠
where, σ max is the safe allowable stress of the material.
For a membrane, the deflection is larger, and the relationship between p and y0 is nonlinear and
can be expressed as (for ν = 0.3):
E t3 3
p = 3.58 4 y0 (4)
R

For a corrugated diaphragm, it is difficult to give any definite mathematical relationship between p and
y0 ; but the relationship is also highly nonlinear.
As the diaphragm deflates, strains of different magnitudes and signs are generated at different
locations of the diaphragm. These strains can also be measured by effectively placing four strain gages
on the diaphragm. The principle of strain gage will be discussed in the next section.
2.2 Bellows
Bellows (fig. 3) are made with a number of convolutions from a soft material and one end of it is fixed,
wherein air can go through a port. The other end of the bellows is free to move. The
displacement of the free end increases with the number of convolutions used. Number of
convolutions varies between 5 to 20. Often an external spring is used opposing the movement of the
bellows; as a result a linear relationship can be obtained from the equation:
pA=k x (5)
where, A is the area of the bellows,
k is the spring constant and
x is the displacement of the bellows.
Phosphor Bronze, Brass, Beryllium Copper, Stainless Steel are normally used as the materials for
bellows. Bellows are manufactured either by (i) turning from a solid block of metal, or
(ii) soldering or welding stamped annular rings, or (iii) rolling (pressing) a tube.
2.3 Bourdon Tube

Bourdon tube pressure gages are extensively used for local indication. This type of pressure
gages were first developed by E. Bourdon in 1849. Bourdon tube pressure gages can be used to
measure over a wide range of pressure: form vacuum to pressure as high as few thousand psi.
It is basically consisted of a C-shaped hollow tube, whose one end is fixed and connected to
the pressure tapping, the other end free, as shown in fig. 4. The cross section of the tube is
elliptical. When pressure is applied, the elliptical tube tries to acquire a circular cross section;
as a result, stress is developed and the tube tries to straighten up. Thus the free end of the
tube moves up, depending on magnitude of pressure. A deflecting and indicating mechanism
is attached to the free end that rotates the pointer. The materials used are commonly Phosphor
Bronze, Brass and Beryllium Copper. For a 2" overall diameter of the C-tube the useful
travel of the free end is

"
1
approximately . Though the C-type tubes are most common, other shapes of tubes, such as
8
helical, twisted or spiral tubes are also in use.
3. Measurement of Force
The most popular method for measuring force is using strain gage. We measure the
strain developed due to force using strain gages; and by multiplying the strain with the
effective cross sectional area and Young’s modulus of the material, we can obtain force. Load
cells and Proving rings are two common methods for force measurement using strain gages.
We will first discuss the principle of strain gage and then go for the force measuring techniques.
3.1 Strain Gage

Strain gage is one of the most popular types of transducer. It has got a wide range
of applications. It can be used for measurement of force, torque, pressure, acceleration and
many other parameters. The basic principle of operation of a strain gage is simple: when
strain is applied to a thin metallic wire, its dimension changes, thus changing the resistance of
the wire. Let us first investigate what are the factors, responsible for the change in resistance.
3.1.1 Gage Factor

Let us consider a long straight metallic wire of length l circular cross section with diameter d
(fig. 5). When this wire is subjected to a force applied at the two ends, a strain will be generated
and as a result, the dimension will change (l changing to l + Δl , d changing to d + Δd and A
changing to A + ΔA ). For the time being, we are considering that all the changes are in positive
direction. Now the resistance of the wire:

ρl
R= , where ρ is the resistivity.
A
From the above expression, the change in resistance due to strain:
⎛ ∂R ⎞ ⎛ ∂R ⎞ ⎛ ∂R ⎞
ΔR = ⎜ ⎟ Δl + ⎜ ⎟ ΔA + ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ Δρ
⎝ ∂l ⎠ ⎝ ∂A ⎠ ⎝ ∂ρ ⎠
ρ ρ l
= Δl − 2 ΔA + Δρ
A A A
Δl ΔA Δρ
=R −R +R
l A ρ
or,
ΔR Δl ΔA Δρ
= − + (6)
R l A ρ
πd 2 πd
Now, for a circular cross section, A = ; from which, ΔA = Δd . Alternatively,
4 2
ΔA Δd
=2
A d
Hence,
ΔR Δl Δd Δ ρ
= −2 + (7)
R l d ρ
Now, the Poisson’s Ratio is defined as:
Δd
lateral strain d
υ =− =−
longitudinal strain Δl
l
The Poisson’s Ratio is the property of the material, and does not depend on the dimension. So,
(6) can be rewritten as:
ΔR Δl Δρ
= (1 + 2υ ) +
R l ρ
Hence,

ΔR Δρ
R = 1 + 2υ + ρ
Δl Δl
l l
The last term in the right hand side of the above expression, represents the change in resistivity
of the material due to applied strain that occurs due to the piezo-resistance property of the
material. In fact, all the elements in the right hand side of the above equation are independent of
the geometry of the wire, subjected to strain, but rather depend on the material property of the
wire. Due to this reason, a term Gage Factor is used to characterize the performance of a strain
gage. The Gage Factor is defined as:
ΔR Δρ
R ρ
G := = 1 + 2υ + (8)
Δl Δl
l l
For normal metals the Poisson’s ratio υ varies in the range:
0.3 ≤ υ ≤ 0.6 ,
while the piezo-resistance coefficient varies in the range:
Δρ
ρ
0.2 ≤ ≤ 0.6 .
Δl
l
Thus, the Gage Factor of metallic strain gages varies in the range 1.8 to 2.6. However, the
semiconductor type strain gages have a very large Gage Factor, in the range of 100-150. This is
attained due to dominant piezo-resistance property of semiconductors. The commercially
available strain gages have certain fixed resistance values, such as, 120Ω, 350 Ω, 1000 Ω, etc.
The manufacturer also specifies the Gage Factor and the maximum gage current to avoid self-
heating (normally in the range 15 mA to 100 mA).
The choice of material for a metallic strain gage should depend on several factors. The material
should have low temperature coefficient of resistance. It should also have low coefficient for
thermal expansion. Judging from all these factors, only few alloys qualify for a commercial
metallic strain gage. They are:
Advance (55% Cu, 45% Ni): Gage Factor between 2.0 to 2.2
Nichrome (80% Ni, 20% Co): Gage Factor between 2.2 to 2.5
Apart from these two, Isoelastic -another trademarked alloy with Gage Factor around 3.5 is also
in use. Semiconductor type strain gages, though having large Gage Factor, find limited use,
because of their high sensitivity and nonlinear characteristics.

3.1.2 Metallic Strain Gage

Most of the strain gages are metallic type. They can be of two types: unbonded and bonded.
The unbonded strain gage is normally used for measuring strain (or displacement) between a
fixed and a moving structure by fixing four metallic wires in such a way, so that two
are in compression and two are in tension, as shown in fig. 6 (a). On the other hand, in the
bonded strain gage, the element is fixed on a backing material, which is permanently
fixed over a structure, whose strain has to be measured, with adhesive. Most commonly used
bonded strain gages are metal foil type. The construction of such a strain gage is shown in fig.
6(b). The metal foil type strain gage is manufactured by photo-etching technique. Here the thin
strips of the foil are the active elements of the strain gage, while the thick ones are for
providing electrical connections. Because of large area of the thick portion, their resistance is
small and they do not contribute to any change in resistance due to strain, but increase the heat
dissipation area. Also it is easier to connect the lead wires with the strain gage. The strain gage
in fig. 6(b) can measure strain in one direction only. But if we want to measure the strain in two
or more directions at the same point, strain gage rosette, which is manufactured by stacking
multiple strain gages in different directions, is used. Fig. 7 shows a three-element strain gage
rosette stacked at 450.

The backing material, over which the strain gage is fabricated and which is fixed with the strain
measuring structure has to satisfy several important properties. Firstly, it should have
high mechanical strength; it should also have high dielectric strength. But the most important it
should have is that it should be non-hygroscopic, otherwise, absorption of moisture will cause
bulging and generate local strain. The backing materials normally used are impregnated
paper, fibre glass, etc. The bonding material used for fixing the strain gage permanently to
the structure should also be non-hygroscopic. Epoxy and Cellulose are the bonding materials
normally used.
3.1.3 Semiconductor type Strain Gage

Semiconductor type strain gage is made of a thin wire of silicon, typically 0.005 inch to 0.0005
inch, and length 0.05 inch to 0.5 inch. They can be of two types: p-type and n-type. In the former
the resistance increases with positive strain, while, in the later the resistance decreases
with temperature. The construction and the typical characteristics of a semiconductor strain
gage are shown in fig.8.
MEMS pressure sensors is now a days becoming increasingly popular for measurement
of pressure. It is made of a small silicon diagram with four piezo-resistive strain gages
mounted on it. It has an in-built signal conditioning circuits and delivers measurable
output voltage corresponding to the pressure applied. Low weight and small size of the sensor
make it suitable for measurement of pressure in specific applications.

3.1.4 Strain Gage Bridge

Normal strain experienced by a strain gage is in the range of micro strain (typical value: 100 x
10-6). As a result, the change in resistance associated with it is small ( ΔR R = Gε ). So if a single
strain gage is connected to a wheatstone bridge, with three fixed resistances, the bridge output
voltage is going to be linear (recall, that we say the bridge output voltage would be linearly
varying with ΔR R , if ΔR R does not exceed 0.1). But still then, a single strain gage is normally
never used in a wheatstone bridge. This is not because of improving linearity, but for obtaining
perfect temperature compensation. Suppose one strain gage is connected to a bridge with
three fixed arms. Due to temperature rise, the strain gage resistance will change, thus
making the bridge unbalance, thus giving an erroneous signal, even if no strain is applied. If
two identical strain gages are fixed to the same structure, one measuring compressional strain
and the other tensile strain, and connected in the adjacent arms of the bridge, temperature
compensation can be achieved. If the temperature increases, both the strain gage resistances
will be affected in the same way, thus maintaining the bridge balance under no strain
condition. One more advantage of using the push-pull configuration is increasing the
sensitivity. In fact, all the four arms of the bridge can be formed by four active gages; this
will improve the sensitivity further, while retaining the temperature compensation property.
A typical strain gage bridge is shown in fig. 9. It can be shown that if nominal resistances of
the strain gages are same and also equal gage factor G, then the unbalanced voltage is given
be: EG
e0 = ( ε1 + ε 3 − ε 2 − ε 4 ) (9)
4
where ε1 , ε 2 , ε 3 , ε 4 are the strains developed with appropriate signs.

3.2 Load Cell

Load cells are extensively used for measurement of force; weigh bridge is one of the most
common applications of load cell. Here two strain gages are fixed so as to measure the
longitudinal strain, while two other measuring the transverse strain, as shown in fig. 10. The
strain gages, measuring the similar strain (say, tensile) are placed in the opposite arms, while the
adjacent arms in the bridge should measure opposite strains (one tensile, the other
compressional). If the strain gages are identical in characteristics, this will provide not only the
perfect temperature coefficient, but also maximum obtainable sensitivity from the bridge. The
longitudinal strain developed in the load cell would be compressional in nature, and is given
F
by: ε1 = − , where F is the force applied, A is the cross sectional area and Y is the Young’s
A E
modulus of elasticity. The strain gages 1 and 3 will experience this strain, while for 2 and 4 the
νF
strain will be ε 2 = , where ν is the Poisson’s ratio.
AE

3.3 Proving Ring

Proving Rings can be used for measurement of both compressional and tensile forces. The
advantage of a Proving Ring is that, because of its construction more strain can be developed
compared to a load cell. The typical construction of a Proving Ring is shown in fig.11. It consists
of a hollow cylindrical beam of radius R, thickness t and axial width b. The two ends of the ring
are fixed with the structures between which force is measured. Four strain gages are mounted on
the walls of the proving ring, two on the inner wall, and two on the outer wall. When force is
applied as shown, gages 2 and 4 will experience strain –ε (compression), while gages 1 and 3
will experience strain + ε (tension). The magnitude of the strain is given by the expression:
1.08FR
ε= (10)
Ebt 2
The four strain gages are connected in a bridge and the unbalanced voltage can easily be
calibrated in terms of force to be measured.
3.4 Cantilever Beam

Cantilever beam can be used for measurement up to 10 kg of weight. One end of the cantilever
is fixed, while the other end is free; load is applied at this end, as shown in fig. 12. The
strain developed at the fixed end is given by the expression:
6Fl
ε= (11)
Ebt 2
where,
l = length of the beam
t = thickness of the cantilever
b = width of the beam
E = Young’s modulus of the material
The strain developed can be measured by fixing strain gages at the fixed end: two on the top side
of the beam, measuring tensile strain +ε and two on the bottom measuring compressional strain –
ε (as shown in fig. 12) and using eqn. (9).


Unit 2
Displacement and Speed
Measurement

Introduction
Displacement and speed are two important parameters whose measurements are important
in many position and speed control schemes. Error free measurements of these two parameters
are necessary in order to achieve good control performance.
Displacement measurement can be of different types. The displacement may be in the range of
few μm to few cm. Moreover the measurement may be of contact type or noncontact type. Again
displacement to be measured can be linear or angular (rotary). Similar is the case for speed
measurement. Accordingly different measuring schemes are used for measurement of these two
parameters. In this lesson, we shall discuss about few such schemes.
Displacement Measurement
Broadly speaking, displacement measurement can be of two types: contact and noncontact
types. Besides the measurement principles can be classified into two categories: electrical
sensing and optical sensing. In electrical sensing, passive electrical sensors are used
variation of either inductance or capacitance with displacement is measured. On the other
hand the optical method mainly works on the principle of intensity variation of light with
distance. Interferometric technique is also used for measurement of very small displacement
in order of nanometers. But this technique is more suitable for laboratory purpose, not very
useful for industrial applications.
Potentiometer
Potentiometers are simplest type of displacement sensors. They can be used for linear as well
as angular displacement measurement, as shown in Fig. 1. They are the resistive type of
transducers and the output voltage is proportional to the displacement and is given by:
xi
eo = E ,
xt
where xi is the input displacement, xt is the total displacement and E is the supply voltage.

The major problem with potentiometers is the contact problem resulting out of wear and tear
between the moving and the fixed parts. As a result, though simple, application of potentiometers
is limited.
θi
E xt
xi eo
eo
(a)
E
(b)
Fig. 1 Potentiometer
(a) Linear
(b) Rotary
Linear Variable Differential transformer (LVDT)

LVDT works on the principle of variation of mutual inductance. It is one of the most popular
types of displacement sensor. It has good linearity over a wide range of displacement. Moreover
the mass of the moving body is small, and the moving body does not make any contact with the
static part, thus minimizing the frictional resistance. Commercial LVDTs are available with full
scale displacement range of ± 0.25mm to ± 25mm. Due to the low inertia of the core, the LVDT
has a good dynamic characteristics and can be used for time varying displacement measurement
range.
The construction and principle of operation of LVDT can be explained with Fig. 2(a) and Fig.
2(b). It works on the principle of variation of the mutual inductance between two coils with
displacement. It consists of a primary winding and two identical secondary windings of a
transformer, wound over a tubular former, and a ferromagnetic core of annealed nickel-iron alloy
moves through the former. The two secondary windings are connected in series opposition, so
that the net output voltage is the difference between the two. The primary winding is excited by
1-10V r.m.s. A.C. voltage source, the frequency of excitation may be anywhere in the range of
50 Hz to 50 KHz. The output voltage is zero when the core is at central position (voltage induced
in both the secondary windings are same, so the difference is zero), but increasing as the core
moves away from the central position, in either direction. Thus, from the measurement of the
output voltage only, one cannot predict, the direction of the core movement. A phase sensitive
detector (PSD) is a useful circuit to make the measurement direction sensitive. It is connected at
the output of the LVDT and compares the phase of the secondary output with the primary signal
to judge the direction of movement. The output of the phase sensitive detector after low pass
filtering becomes a d.c voltage for a steady deflection. The output voltage after PSD vs.
displacement characteristics is shown in Fig. 2(c).

V0
(Measurement)
Primary
Coil
Insulating
Form
Core
Displacement
X
(Measurand)
Ferromagnetic Core
Secondary Vref Secondary

Coil Coil
Fig. 2(a) Construction of LVDT.
vo
Secondary
Coil
Core
Primary
Coil
vref
Fig. 2(b) Series opposition connection of secondary windings.

vo
(d.c)
Voltage
Level
Displacement x
Linear
Range
Fig. 2(c) Output voltage vs. displacement characteristics of LVDT after

Phase sensitive detection.
Inductive type Sensors

LVDT works on the principle of variation of mutual inductance. There are inductive sensors for
measurement of displacement those are based on the principle of variation of self
inductance. These sensors can be used for proximity detection also. Such a typical scheme is
shown in Fig. 3. In this case the inductance of a coil changes as a ferromagnetic object
moves close to the magnetic former, thus change the reluctance of the magnetic path. The
measuring circuit is usually an a.c. bridge.
AC
Supply
vref
Inductance
Measuring
Circuit
Ferromagnetic
Target Object X
(Measurand)
Fig. 3 Schematic diagram of a self inductance type proximity sensor.

Rotary Variable Differential Transformer (RVDT)

Its construction is similar to that of LVDT, except the core is designed in such a way that when
it rotates the mutual inductance between the primary and each of the secondary coils
changes linearly with the angular displacement. Schematic diagram of a typical RVDT is shown
in Fig. 4.
vo
Secondary
Coil
Core
Primary
Coil
vref
Fig. 4 Rotary Variable Differential Transformer (RVDT)
Resolver
Resolvers also work on the principle of mutual inductance variation and are widely used for
measurement of rotary motion. The basic construction is shown in Fig. 5. A resolver consists
of a rotor containing a primary coil and two stator windings (with equal number of turns)
placed perpendicular to each other. The rotor is directly attached to the object whose rotation
is being measured. If a.c. excitation of r.m.s voltage Vr is applied, then the induced voltages at
two stator coils are given by:
v01 = KVr cosθ
and v02 = KVr sin θ ; where K is a constant.
By measuring these two voltages the angular position can be uniquely determined, provided
(0 ≤ θ ≤ 900 ) . Phase sensitive detection is needed if we want to measure for angles in all the
four quadrants.
Synchros work widely as error detectors in position control systems. The principle of operation
of synchros is similar to that of resolvers. However it will not be discussed in the present lesson.

Output
vo2 = Kvref sin θ
Rotor
AC
Supply
vref
Stator Output
vo1 = Kvref cos θ
Stator
Fig. 5 Schematic diagram of the resolver.
Capacitance Sensors
The capacitance type sensor is a versatile one; it is available in different size and shape. It
can also measure very small displacement in micrometer range. Often the whole sensor is
fabricated in a silicon base and is integrated with the processing circuit to form a small chip.
The basic principle of a capacitance sensor is well known. But to understand the various
modes of operation, consider the capacitance formed by two parallel plates separated by a
dielectric. The capacitance between the plates is given by:
ε ε A
C= r 0 (1)
d
where A=Area of the plates
d= separation between the plates
ε r = relative permittivity of the dielectric
ε 0 = absolute permittivity in free space = 8.854 × 10 −12 F / m .
A capacitance sensor can be formed by either varying (i) the separation (d), or, (ii) the area (A),
or (iii) the permittivity ( ε r ). A displacement type sensor is normally based on the first two
(variable distance and variable area) principles, while the variable permittivity principle is used
for measurement of humidity, level, etc. Fig.6 Shows the basic constructions of variable gap and
variable area types of capacitance sensors mentioned above. Fig. 6(a) shows a variable distance
type sensor, where the gap between the fixed and moving plates changes. On the other hand, the
area of overlap between the fixed plate and moving plate changes in Fig. 6(b), maintaining the
gap constant. The variable area type sensor gives rise to linear variations of capacitance with the
input variable, while a variable separation type sensor follows inverse relationship.

Fixed
(a) (b)
Fig.6 Capacitive type displacement Sensors:
a) variable separation type,
b) variable area type.
Capacitance sensors are also used for proximity detection. Such a typical scheme is shown in
Fig. 4. Capacitive proximity detectors are small in size, noncontact type and can detect presence
of metallic or insulating objects in the range of approximately 0-5cm. For detection of insulating
objects, the dielectric constant of the insulating object should be much larger than unity. Fig. 7
shows the construction of a proximity detector. Its measuring head consists of two electrodes,
one circular (B) and the other an annular shaped one (A); separated by a small dielectrical
spacing. When the target comes in the closed vicinity of the sensor head, the capacitance
between the plates A and B would change, which can be measured by comparing with a fixed
reference capacitor.
The measuring circuits for capacitance sensors are normally capacitive bridge type. But it should
be noted that, the variation of capacitance in a capacitance type sensor is generally very small
(few pF only, it can be even less than a pF in certain cases). These small changes in capacitor, in
presence of large stray capacitance existing in different parts of
Target
A B
Fig. 7 Capacitance Proximity Detector.

the circuit are difficult. So the output voltage would generally be noisy, unless the sensor
is designed and shielded carefully, the measuring circuit should also be capable of reducing
the effects of stray fields.
Optical Sensors
Optical displacement sensors work on the basic principle that the intensity of light decreases
with distance. So if the source and detector are fixed, the amount of light reflected from a
moving surface will depend on the distance of the moving surface from the fixed ones.
Measurement using this principle requires proper calibration since the amount of light received
depends upon the reflectivity of the surface, intensity of the source etc. Yet it can provide a
simple method for displacement measurement. Optical fibers are often used to transmit
light to and from the measuring zone. Such a scheme with bundle fibers is shown in Fig. 8.
It uses two bundle fibers, one for transmitting light from the source and the other to the
detector. Light reflected on the receiving fiber bundle by the surface of the target object is
carried to a photo detector. The light source could be Laser or LED; photodiodes or
phototransistors are used for detection.
Laser, LED, etc.
Transmitting
Power Light Fibers
Source Source
Photodiode, Target
Phototransistor, Object
Position etc.
Measurement
Signal Photo-
Processor detector Receiving X
Fibers (Measurand)
Fig. 8 A Fiber optic position sensor.
Speed Measurement
The simplest way for speed measurement of a rotating body is to mount a tachogenerator on
the shaft and measure the voltage generated by it that is proportional to the speed. However this
is a contact type measurement. There are other methods also for noncontact type measurements.
The first method is an optical method shown in Fig. 9. An opaque disc with perforations
or transparent windows at regular interval is mounted on the shaft whose speed is to be
measured. A LED source is aligned on one side of the disc in such a way that its light can pass
through the transparent windows of the disc. As the disc rotates the light will alternately passed
through the transparent windows and blocked by the opaque sections. A photodetector fixed
on the other side of the disc detects the variation of light and the output of the
detector after signal conditioning would be a square wave (as shown) whose frequency is
decided by the speed and the number of holes (transparent windows) on the disc.

vo
Output
t
LED
Light Source
Transparent
Windows
Photocell, Phototransistor,
or Photodiode
(Light Sensor)
Opaque Disk
Fig. 9 Schematic arrangement of optical speed sensing arrangement.
Fig.10 shows another scheme for speed measurement. It is a variable reluctance type speed
sensor. A wheel with projected teethes made of a ferromagnetic material is mounted on the shaft
whose speed is to be measured. The static sensor consists of a permanent magnet and a search
coil mounted on the same assembly and fixed at a closed distance from the wheel. The flux
through the permanent magnet completes the path through the teeth of the wheel and cut the
search coil. As the wheel rotates there would be change in flux cut and a voltage will be induced
in the search coil. The variation of the flux can be expressed as:
φ (t ) = φo + φm sin ω t (2)
where ω is the angular speed of the wheel. Then the voltage induced in the coil is:
dφ
e = −N = − Nω φm cos ω t (3)
dt
where N is the number of turns in the search coil. So both the amplitude and frequency of the
induced voltage is dependent on the speed of rotation. This voltage is fed to a comparator circuit
that gives a square wave type voltage whose amplitude is constant, but frequency is proportional
to the speed. A frequency counter is used to count the number of square pulses during a fixed
interval and displays the speed.
d Yoke Permanent
magnet
Search
Coil
Terminals
Coil
Fig. 10 Variable reluctance type speed sensor.

Unit 2
Flow Measurement

1. Introduction
Accurate measurement of flow rate of liquids and gases is an essential requirement
for maintaining the quality of industrial processes. In fact, most of the industrial control
loops control the flow rates of incoming liquids or gases in order to achieve the control
objective. As a result, accurate measurement of flow rate is very important.
Needless to say that there could be diverse requirements of flow measurement, depending
upon the situation. It could be volumetric or mass flow rate, the medium could be gas or
liquid, the measurement could be intrusive or nonintrusive, and so on. As a result there are
different types of flow measuring techniques that are used in industries. The common types of
flowmeters that find industrial applications can be listed as below:
(a) Obstruction type (differential pressure or variable area) (b) Inferential (turbine type), (c)
Electromagnetic, (d) Positive displacement (integrating), (e) fluid dynamic (vortex shedding),
(f) Anemometer, (g) ultrasonic and (h) Mass flowmeter (Coriolis).
In this lesson, we would learn about the construction and principle of operation few types of
flowmeters.
2. Obstruction type flowmeter

Obstruction or head type flowmeters are of two types: differential pressure type and variable
area type. Orifice meter, Venturimeter, Pitot tube fall under the first category, while rotameter
is of the second category. In all the cases, an obstruction is created in the flow passage
and the pressure drop across the obstruction is related with the flow rate.
Basic Principle
It is well know that flow can be of two types: viscous and turbulent. Whether a flow is
viscous or turbulent can be decided by the Reynold’s number RD. If RD > 2000, the flow is
turbulent. In the present case we will assume that the flow is turbulent, that is the normal
case for practical situations. We consider the fluid flow through a closed channel of
variable cross section, as

shown in fig. 1. The channel is of varying cross section and we consider two cross sections of the
channel, 1 and 2. Let the pressure, velocity, cross sectional area and height above the datum be
expressed as p1, v1, A1 and z1 for section 1 and the corresponding values for section 2 be p2, v2,
A2 and z2 respectively. We also assume that the fluid flowing is incompressible.
Now from Bernloulli’s equation:
p1 v12 p v2
+ + z1 = 2 + 2 + z2 (1)
γ 2g γ 2g
where γ is the specific weight of the fluid.
1 Flow
p1 p2
v2
v1 z2
z1
Fig. 1 Flow through a varying cross section
If z1=z2, then
p1 v12 p v2
+ = 2+ 2 (2)
γ 2g γ 2g
If the fluid is incompressible, then v1 A1 = v2 A2 .

Therefore,
2g
v22 − v12 = ( p1 − p2 )
γ
or,
A2 2g
v22 (1 − 22 ) = ( p1 − p2 )
A1 γ
Therefore,
1 2g 1 2g
v2 = ( p1 − p2 ) = ( p1 − p2 )
A22 γ 1− β 4 γ
(1 − 2 )
A1
Considering circular cross section, we define β as the ratio of the two diameters, i.e.
d A
β = 2 , and so, 2 = β 2 .
d1 A1
Therefore, the volumetric flow rate through the channel can be expressed as:

A2 2g
Q = v2 A2 = ( p1 − p2 ) (3)
1− β 4 γ
From the above expression, we can infer that if there is an obstruction in the flow path that
causes the variation of the cross sectional area inside the closed flow channel, there would
be difference in static pressures at two points and by measuring the pressure difference, one
can obtain the flow rate using eqn. (3). However, this expression is valid for incompressible
fluids (i.e. liquids) only and the relationship between the volumetric flow rate and pressure
difference is nonlinear. A special signal conditioning circuit, called square rooting circuit is
to be used for getting a linear relationship.
Orifice meter
Depending on the type of obstruction, we can have different types of flow meters. Most
common among them is the orifice type flowmeter, where an orifice plate is placed in the
pipe line, as shown in fig.2. If d1 and d2 are the diameters of the pipe line and the orifice
opening, then the flow rate can be obtained using eqn. (3) by measuring the pressure difference
(p1-p2).
Flow profile
Orifice Plate Vena Contacta
Flow
d1 d2
p1 p2
Fig. 2 Orifice type flowmeter
Corrections
The flow expression obtained from eqn.(3) is not an accurate expression in the actual case,
and some correction factor, named as discharge co-efficient (Cd) has to be incorporated in (3), as
C A 2g
Q = v2 A2 = d 2 ( p1 − p2 ) (4)
1− β 4 γ
Cd is defined as the ratio of the actual flow and the ideal flow and is always less than one. There
are in fact two main reasons due to which the actual flow rate is less than the ideal one (obtained
from eqn. (3)). The first is that the assumption of frictionless flow is not always valid. The
amount of friction depends on the Reynold’s number (RD). The more important point is that, the
minimum flow area is not the orifice area A2, but is somewhat less and it occurs at a distance
from the orifice plate, known as the Vena Contracta, and we are taking a pressure tapping around

that point in order to obtain the maximum pressure drop. As a result, the correction factor Cd
<1, has to be incorporated.
In fact Cd depends on β, as well as on RD. But it has been observed that for RD>104, the flow is
totally turbulent and Cd is independent on RD. In this range, the typical value of Cd for orifice
plate varies between 0.6 and 0.7.
Orifice Plate, Venturimeter and Flow nozzle

The major advantages of orifice plate are that it is low cost device, simple in construction
and easy to install in the pipeline as shown in fig.3. The orifice plate is a circular plate with a
hole in the center. Pressure tappings are normally taken distances D and 0.5D upstream and
downstream the orifice respectively (D is the internal diameter of the pipe). But there are many
more types of pressure tappings those are in use.
Permanent
Pressure drop
Fig. 3 Orifice plate and permanent pressure drop
The major disadvantage of using orifice plate is the permanent pressure drop that is normally
experienced in the orifice plate as shown in fig.3. The pressure drops significantly after the
orifice and can be recovered only partially. The magnitude of the permanent pressure drop is
around 40%, which is sometimes objectionable. It requires more pressure to pump the liquid.
This problem can be overcome by improving the design of the restrictions. Venturimeters and
flow nozzles are two such devices.
The construction of a venturimeter is shown in fig.4. Here it is so designed that the change in the
flow path is gradual. As a result, there is no permanent pressure drop in the flow path. The
discharge coefficient Cd varies between 0.95 and 0.98. The construction also provides high
mechanical strength for the meter. However, the major disadvantage is the high cost of the meter.

Flow nozzle is a compromise between orifice plate and venturimeter. The typical construction is
shown in fig. 5.
p2
p1
Fig. 4 Venturimeter
p1 p2
Fig. 5 Flow nozzle
In general, few guidelines are to be followed for installation of obstruction type

flowmeters. Most important among them is that, no other obstruction or bending of the
pipe line is not allowed near the meter. Though this type of flowmeters are most popular
in industries, their accuracy is low for low flow rates. As a result, they are not
recommended for low flow rate measurement.
Flow measurement of compressible fluids

So far we have discussed about the flow measurement of incompressible fluids (liquids). For
of compressible fluids, i.e. gases, the flow rates are normally expressed in terms of mass flow
rates. The same obstruction type flowmeters can be used, but an additional correction factor
needs to be introduced to take in to account the compressibility of the gas used. The mass flow
rate gases can be expressed as :
⎡ C A 2 g ( p1 − p2 ) ⎤
W =Y ⎢ d 2 ⎥ (5)
⎢⎣ 1 − β 4 v1 ⎥⎦
where,
v1= specific volume of the gas in m3/kgf

p1 − p2 1
Y = 1 − (0.41 + 0.35β 4 )
p1 K
C
K= Specific heat ratio p of the gas at state 1
Cv
And all other terms are as defined in (1).
Pitot Tube
Pitot tube is widely used for velocity measurement in aircraft. Its basic principle can
be understood from fig. 6(a). If a blunt object is placed in the flow channel, the velocity of
fluid at the point just before it, will be zero. Then considering the fluid to be incompressible,
from eqn. (2), we have,
p1 v12 p v2
+ = 2+ 2
γ 2g γ 2g
Now v 2 = 0 .
Therefore,
v12 p − p1
= 2
2g γ
2g
or, v1 = ( p 2 − p1 ) (6)
γ
However, as mentioned earlier corrections are to be incorporated for compressible fluids. The
typical construction of a Pitot tube is shown in fig. 6(b).
Blunt object
PL V1
V2 = 0 p1 p2
Fig. 6(a) Pitot Tube: Basic Principle Fig. 6(b) Pitot Tube: Construction
Rotameter
The orificemeter, Venturimeter and flow nozzle work on the principle of constant area
variable pressure drop. Here the area of obstruction is constant, and the pressure drop changes
with flow rate. On the other hand Rotameter works as a constant pressure drop variable area
meter. It can be only be used in a vertical pipeline. Its accuracy is also less (2%) compared to
other types of flow meters. But the major advantages of rotameter are, it is simple in
construction, ready to install and the flow rate can be directly seen on a calibrated scale,
without the help of any other device, e.g. differential pressure sensor etc. Moreover, it is useful
for a wide range of variation of flow rates (10:1).

The basic construction of a rotameter is shown in fig. 7. It consists of a vertical pipe, tapered
downward. The flow passes from the bottom to the top. There is cylindrical type metallic float
inside the tube. The fluid flows upward through the gap between the tube and the float. As the
float moves up or down there is a change in the gap, as a result changing the area of the orifice.
In fact, the float settles down at a position, where the pressure drop across the orifice will create
an upward thrust that will balance the downward force due to the gravity. The position of the
float is calibrated with the flow rate.
Float p2 Tapered pipe
p1
Orifice area
Flow
Fig. 7 Basic construction of a rotameter.
Let us consider,
γ 1 = Specific weight of the float
γ 2 = specific weight of the fluid
v f = volume of the float
Af = Area of the float.
At = Area of the tube at equilibrium (corresponding to the dotted line)
From equation (4), for incompressible fluid, we have, for the orifice,
Cd A2 2g
Q= ( p1 − p2 ) (7)
A2 2 γ 2
1− ( )
A1
Now consider the free body diagram of the float, shown in fig. 8. Let,
W
Fd
Fu
Fig. 8 Forces acting on the float
Fd = Downward thrust on the float

Fu = Upward thrust on the float

W = Apparent weight of the float

At balance,
W = Fu − Fd
or, V f (γ 1 − γ 2 ) = p1 Af − p2 Af
Therefore,
vf
p1 − p2 = (γ 1 − γ 2 )
Af
Substituting the above expression in (7), we obtain:
Cd ( At − Af ) ⎡ 2g v f ⎤
Q= ⎢ (γ 1 − γ 2 ) ⎥ (8)
⎧ At − Af ⎫ ⎣⎢ γ 2 Af
2
⎦⎥
1− ⎨ ⎬
⎩ At ⎭
2
⎧ At − Af ⎫
The term within the third bracket in the above expression is constant. If ⎨ ⎬ << 1 , then,
⎩ At ⎭
we can have,
Q = K ( At − Af )
If the tube is made in such a way that At varies linearly with the displacement, one have a linear
relationship in the form,
Q = K1 + K 2 x (9)
that is, the scale of the tube can be graduated linearly in terms of flow rate. Otherwise,
the displacement of the float can be converted to electrical signal by using a LVDT or similar
type of displacement sensor. For large flow rate measurement, the rotameter is normally
place in a bypass line.
The major source of error in rotameter is due to the variation of density of the fluid. Besides,
the presence of viscous force may also provide an additional force to the float.
Construction of the float

The construction of the float decides heavily, the performance of the rotameter. In general,
a float should be designed such that:
(a) it must be held vertical
(b) it should create uniform turbulence so as to make it insensitive to viscosity
(c) it should make the rotameter least sensitive to the variation of the fluid density.
A typical construction of the float is shown in fig. 9. The top section of the float has a sharp edge
and several angular grooves. The fluid passing through these grooves, causes the rotation of the
float. The turbulence created in this process reduces the viscous force considerably.

Angular grooves
Sharp edge
Fig. 9 Construction of a float
From (8) the expression for volumetric flowrate can be written as:
2g v f
Q=K (γ − γ ) (10)
γ 2 Af 1 2
The performance of the flowmeter can be made almost independent of the variation of fluid
density, if we select the material of the float, such that, γ 1 >> γ 2 .
For measurement of mass flow rate (W), we can write,
W = γ 2Q = K K1 (γ 1 − γ 2 )γ 2 (11)
dW
The condition, = 0 , can be satisfied, if we select γ 1 = γ 2 . This can be achieved by using a
dγ 2
hollow float, or a plastic float.
Electromagnetic Flowmeter
Electromagnetic flowmeter is different from all other flowmeters due to its uniqueness on
several accounts. The advantages of this type of flowmeter can be summarized as:
1. It causes no obstruction to flow path.
2. It gives complete linear output in form of voltage.
3. The output is unaffected by changes in pressure, temperature and viscosity of the fluid.
4. Reverse flow can also be measured.
5. Flow velocity as low as 10-6m/sec can be measured.
Electrodes
e0 v
B
B
e0
v
Fig. 10 Electromagnetic Flowmeter

Electromagnetic flowmeters are suitable for measurement of velocity of conducting (Mercury)

and weakly conducting (water) liquid. The basic principle of operation can be understood from
fig. 10. It works on the principle of basic electromagnetic induction; i.e. when a conductor moves
along a magnetic field perpendicular to the direction of flow, a voltage would be induced
perpendicular to the direction of movement as also to the magnetic filed. The flowing liquid acts
like a conductor. External magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the direction of the flow and
two electrodes are flushed on the wall of the pipeline as shown. The expression for the voltage
induced is given by:
eo = B l v (12)
where l is the length of the conductor (diameter d in this case) and v is the velocity of the liquid.
The above expression shows the complete relationship between the voltage induced and the
velocity. However, the magnetic field applied is not d.c. if the liquid medium is water or any
other polarizable liquid. This is because, if the magnetic field is d.d. the voltage induced will
also be d.c. and a small amount of d.c. current will flow if a measuring circuit is connected to the
terminals. This small d.c. current will cause electrolysis; oxygen and hydrogen bubbles will be
formed and they will stick to the electrodes surfaces for some time. This will provide an
insulating layer on the electrodes surfaces that will disrupt the voltage generation process. As a
result, the magnetic field applied for these cases is a.c., or pulsed d.c. excitation. The meter can
only be used for liquids having moderate conductivities (more than 10 μ mho / cm ). As a result, it
is not suitable for gases or liquid hydrocarbons. The accuracy is around ±1% .
Turbine type Flowmeter

Turbine type flowmeter is a simple way for measuring flow velocity. A rotating shaft with
turbine type angular blades is placed inside the flow pipe. The fluid flowing through the pipeline
will cause rotation of the turbine whose speed of rotation can be a measure of the flowrate.
Referring fig.11, let blades make an angle α with the body. Then,
ωr R
−
= tan α
v
where,
− Q
v = Average velocity of the fluid =
A
Q = Volumetric flowrate
A = Effective flow area of the pipe
R = Radius of the blade
ω r = Angular speed of the blade.
From the above expression, the volumetric flow rate can be related with the angular speed, as:
ωr = k Q (13)
where,
tan α
k=
RA

ωr
ωrR
α
Fig. 11 Turbine type flowmeter

The speed of rotation of the turbine can be measured using several ways, such as,
optical method, inductive pick up etc.
Vortex type Flowmeter

Formation of vortex on a flowing stream by an obstruction like straw or stone is a
common observation. But what is probably not commonly known is the fact that, the frequency
of vortex formation is proportional to flow velocity.
Transmitter
d
Flow
Blunt object Receiver

Karman Votex
Fig. 12 Vortex type flowmeter

Fig.12 shows the basic principle of vortex type flowmeter. It is based on the principle of vertex
shading. When a blunt object is placed on the passage of a flowing stream, vortices are formed.
A vortes of this sort is called Karman Vortex. If the flow is turbulent and the Reynold’s number
is RD > 104 , then the frequency of vortex formation is given by:
N
f = st v (14)
d
where,
d= width of the blunt object

v = velocity of the fluid

Nst = A constant, called Strouhal Number.
The fig. 12 shows a typical arrangement of measurement of frequency of vorticex
formation using ultrasonic technique. Formation of a vortex will modulate the intensity of
ultrasound received by the receiver, and the frequency of modulation can be measured easily.

Unit 2
Measurement of Level, Humidity
and pH

1. Introduction
Level, humidity and pH are three important process parameters and their measurement
find wide application in chemical and manufacturing industries. In this chapter we
would provide a brief overview of the different techniques adopted for measurement
of liquid level and humidity. The basic principle of pH measurement and the
construction of pH electrodes are explained in section 4.
2. Level Measurement
There are several instances where we need to monitor the liquid level in vessels. In
some cases the problem is simple, we need to monitor the water level of a
tank; a simple float type mechanism will suffice. But in some cases, the vessel may
be sealed and the liquid a combustible one; as a result, the monitoring process
becomes more complex. Depending upon the complexity of the situation, there are
different methods for measuring the liquid level, as can be summarized as follows:
(a) Float type
(b) Hydrostatic differential pressure gage type
(c) Capacitance type
(d) Ultrasonic type
(e) Radiation technique.
Some of the techniques are elaborated in this section.
Hydrostatic Differential Pressure type

The hydrostatic pressure developed at the bottom of a tank is given by:
p=hρg
where h is the height of the liquid level and ρ is the density of the liquid. So by putting two
pressure tapings, one at the bottom and the other at the top of the tank, we can measure the
differential pressure, which can be calibrated in terms of the liquid level. Such a
schematic arrangement is shown in Fig. 1 . The drum level of a boiler is normally measured
using this basic principle. However proper care should be taken in the measurement
compensate for variation of density of water with temperature and pressure.

Capacitance type
This type of sensors are widely used for chemical and petrochemical industries; and can be
used for a wide range of temperature (-40 to 200 oC) and pressure variation (25 to 60 kg/cm2).
It uses a coaxial type cylinder, and the capacitance is measured between the inner rod and
the outer cylinder, as shown in Fig. 2. The total capacitance between the two terminals is the
sum of (i) capacitance of the insulating bushing, (ii) capacitance due to air and liquid
vapour and (iii) capacitance due to the liquid. If the total capacitance measured when the
tank is empty is expressed as C1, then the capacitance or the liquid level of h can be expressed
as: 2πε 0 (ε 1 − ε 2 )h
Ct = C1 +
ln (r2 / r1 )
where, ε 1 is the relative permittivity of the liquid and ε 2 is the relative permittivity of the air and
liquid vapour (≈ 1) . Hence a linear relationship can be obtained with the liquid level.
The advantage of capacitance type sensor is that permittivity of the liquid is less sensitive to
variation of temperature and can be easily compensated.

Ultrasonic type
Ultrasonic method can be effectively used for measurement of liquid level in a sealed tank.
An ultrasonic transmitter/receiver pair is mounted at the bottom of the tank. Ultrasonic wave
can pass through the liquid, but gets reflected at the liquid-air interface, as shown in Fig.3. The
time taken to receive the pulse is measured, that can be related with the liquid level. For
accurate measurement, variation of speed of sound with the liquid density (and temperature)
should be properly compensated.
Radiation technique
Radioactive technique also finds applications in measurement of level in sealed
containers. Radioactive ray gets attenuated as it passes through a medium. The intensity of the
radiation as it passes a distance x through a medium is given by:
I ( x) = I 0 e−α x
where I0 is the incidental intensity and α is the absorption co-efficient of the medium. Thus if we
measure the intensity of the radiation, knowing I0 , and α, x can be determined. There are several
techniques which are in use. In one method, a float with a radioactive source inside is allowed to
move along a vertical path with the liquid level. A Geiger Muller Counter is placed at the bottom
of the tank along the vertical path and the intensity is measured. The basic scheme is shown in
Fig. 4.
The method used in a batch filling process of bottles, uses a source-detector assembly that can
slide along the two sides of the bottle, as shown in Fig. 5 . As soon as the source-detector
assembly passes through the liquid-air interface, there would be a large change in the signal
received by the detector. Radioactive methods, though simple in principle, find limited
applications, because of possible radiation hazards. However radioactive methods are routinely
used for level measurement of grains and granular solids.

3. Humidity Measurement
Humidity measurement finds wide applications in different process industries. Moisture in
the atmosphere must be controlled below a certain level in many manufacturing processes,
e.g., semiconductor devices, optical fibres etc. Humidity inside an incubator must be
controlled at a very precision level. Textiles, papers and cereals must be dried to a standard
storage condition in order to prevent the quality deterioration. The humidity can be expressed
in different ways: (a) absolute humidity, (b) relative humidity and (c) dew point.
Humidity can be measured in different ways. Some of the techniques are explained below.
Hygrometer
Many hygroscopic materials, such as wood, hair, paper, etc. are sensitive to humidity.
Their dimensions change with humidity. The change in dimension can be measured and
calibrated in terms of humidity.
Psychrometer
Psychrometric method for measurement of relative humidity is a popular method. Two bulbs
are used- dry bulb and wet bulb. The wet bulb is soaked in saturated water vapour and the dry
bulb is kept in the ambient condition. The temperature difference between the dry bulb and wet
bulb is used to obtain the relative humidity through a psychrometric chart. The whole process
can also be automated.
Dew point measurement

If a gas is cooled at constant pressure to the dew point, condensation of vapour will start.
The dew point can be measured by placing a clean glass mirror in the atmosphere. The
temperature of the mirror surface is controlled and reduced slowly; vapour starts condensation
over the mirror. Optical method is used to detect the condensation phenomena, and the
temperature of the mirror surface is measured.
Conductance/Capacitance method of measurement

Many solids absorb moisture and their values of the conductance or capacitance change with the
degree of moisture absorption. Moisture content in granules changes the capacitance
between two electrodes placed inside. By measuring the capacitance variation, the moisture
content in the

granules can be measured. Similarly, moisture content in paper and textiles change their
resistance. A schematic arrangement for measurement of moisture content in paper or textiles
using Resistance Bridge is shown in Fig. 6.
Infrared Technique
Water molecule present in any material absorb infrared wave at wavelengths 1.94µm, 2.95
µm and 6.2µm. The degree of absorption of infrared light at any of these wavelengths may
provide a measure of moisture content in the material.
4. Measurement of pH
pH is a measure of hydrogen ion concentration in aqueous solution. It is an important
parameter to determine the quality of water. The pH value is expressed as:
1
pH =
log10 C
Where C is the concentration of H+ ions in a solution. In pure water, the concentration of H+
ions is 10-7 gm/ltr at 25o C. So the pH value is
1
pH = =7.
log10 10−7
The advantage of using pH scale is that the activities of all strong acids and bases can be brought
down to the scale of 0-14. The pH value of acidic solutions is in the range 0-7 and alkaline
solutions in the range 7-14.
The pH value of a solution is measured by using pH electrode. It essentially consists of a pair of

electrodes: measuring and reference electrode, both dipped in the solution of unknown pH.
These two electrodes essentially form two half-cells; the total potential developed is the
difference between the individual electric potential developed in each half cell. While the
potential developed in the reference cell is constant, the measuring cell potential is dependent on
the hydrogen ion concentration of the solution and is governed by Nernst’s equation:
RT
E = E0 + ln(a C )
nF
Where:

E= e.m.f of the half cell

E0= e.m.f of the half cell under saturated condition
R= Gas constant (8.314 J/ 0C)
T= Absolute temperature (K)
N= valance of the ion
F= Faraday Constant = 96493 C
a= Activity co-efficient (0≤ a ≤ 1) ; for a very dilute solution, a →1
C= molar concentration of ions.
Measuring Electrode
The measuring electrode is made of thin sodium ion selective glass. A potential is
developed across the two surfaces of this glass bulb, when dipped in aqueous solution. This
potential is sensitive to the H+ ion concentration, having a sensitivity of 59.2 mv/pH at 250C.
Fig. 7 shows the basic schematic of a measuring probe. The buffer solution inside the glass bulb
has a constant H+ ion concentration and provides electrical connection to the lead wire.
Reference Electrode
The basic purpose of a reference electrode is to provide continuity to the electrical circuit,
since the potential across a single half cell cannot be measured. With both the measuring and
reference cells dipped in the same solution, the potential is measured across the two lead
wires. A reference electrode should satisfy the following basic requirements:
(i) The potential developed should be independent of H+ ion concentration.
(ii) The potential developed should be independent of temperature
(iii) The potential developed should not change with time.
Considering all these requirements, two types of reference electrodes are commonly used: (i)
Calomel (Mercury-Mercurous Chloride) and (ii) Silver-Silver Chloride. The construction of a
Calomel reference electrode is shown in Fig. 8. The electrical connection is maintained through
the salt bridge.

Sometimes the reference and measuring electrodes are housed together, as shown in Fig. 9. This
type of electrode is known as Combination Electrode. The reference electrode used in this case is
Silver-Silver Chloride. The combination is dipped in the solution whose pH is to be measured
and the output voltage is the difference between the e.m.f.s generated by the measuring glass
electrode and the reference electrode.

Measuring scheme
The sensitivity of pH probe is around 59.2mv/pH at 250C. This sensitivity should be sufficient for
measurement of voltage using ordinary electronic voltmeters. But, that is not the case; special
measuring circuits are required for measurement of pH voltage. This is because of the fact that
the internal resistance of the pH probe as a voltage source is very high, in the order of 108-109 Ω.
This is because of the fact; the electrical path between the two lead wires is completed through
the glass membrane. As a result, the input resistance for of the measuring device must be at least
ten times electrode resistance of the electrode. FET-input amplifier circuits are normally used
for amplifying the voltage from the pH probe. Not only that, the insulation resistance between
the leads must also be very high. They are normally provided with moisture resistance insulation
coating.
The voltage in the pH probe is temperature dependent, as evident from Nernst equation. As a
result suitable temperature compensation scheme should also be provided in the
measuring scheme

Unit 2
Signal Conditioning Circuits

1. Introduction
It has been mentioned in Lesson-2 that a basic measurement system consists mainly of the
three blocks: sensing element, signal conditioning element and signal processing element, as
shown in fig.1. The sensing element converts the non-electrical signal (e.g. temperature) into
electrical signals (e.g. voltage, current, resistance, capacitance etc.). The job of the signal
conditioning element is to convert the variation of electrical signal into a voltage level
suitable for further processing. The next stage is the signal processing element. It takes the
output of the signal conditioning element and converts into a form more suitable for
presentation and other uses (display, recording, feedback control etc.). Analog-to-digital
converters, linearization circuits etc. fall under the category of signal processing circuits.
The success of the design of any measurement system depends heavily on the design
and performance of the signal conditioning circuits. Even a costly and accurate transducer may
fail to deliver good performance if the signal conditioning circuit is not designed
properly. The schematic arrangement and the selection of the passive and active elements in
the circuit heavily influence the overall performance of the system. Often these are decided by
the electrical output characteristics of the sensing element. Nowadays, many commercial
sensors often have in-built signal conditioning circuit. This arrangement can overcome the
problem of incompatibility between the sensing element and the signal conditioning circuit.
Input Signal Signal Output

Sensing
conditioning processing
Measurand element Electrical
element element
output
Fig. 1 Elements of a measuring system.

If one looks at the different cross section of sensing elements and their signal conditioning
circuits, it can be observed that the majority of them use standard blocks like bridges (A.C. and
D.C.), amplifiers, filters and phase sensitive detectors for signal conditioning. In this lesson, we
would concentrate mostly on bridges and amplifiers and ponder about issues on the design
issues.
2. Unbalanced D.C. Bridge

We are more familiar with balanced wheatstone bridge, compared to the unbalanced one; but the
later one finds wider applications in the area of Instrumentation. To illustrate the properties of
unbalanced d.c. bridge, let us consider the circuit shown in fig.2 .Here the variable resistance can
be considered to be a sensor, whose resistance varies with the process parameter. The output
voltage is e0 , which varies with the change of the resistance x (= ΔR / R) . The arm ratio of the
bridge is p and E is the excitation voltage.
R1 = pR R2 = R(1+x)
e0
R4 = pR R3 = R
E
Fig. 2 Unbalanced D.C. bridge.
Then,
⎡ R (1 + x) R ⎤
e0 = ⎢ − ⎥E
⎣ pR + R (1 + x ) pR + R ⎦
px
= E (1)
( p + 1 + x )( p + 1)
From the above expression, several conclusions can be drawn. These are:
A. e0 vs. x Characteristics is nonlinear (since x is present in the denominator as well as in

the numerator).
B. Maximum sensitivity of the bridge can be achieved for the arm ratio p=1.

The above fact can easily be verified by differentiating e0 with respect to p and equating to
zero; i.e.
de0
= 0 gives,
dp
x( p + 1 + x )( p + 1) − px ( 2 p + 2 + x) = 0
or, p 2 = 1 + x,
i.e. p = 1 + x ≈ 1 , for small x. (2)
C. Nonlinearity of the bridge decreases with increase in the arm ratio p, but the
sensitivity is also reduced.
e
This fact can be verified by plotting 0 vs. x for different p, as shown in fig. 3.
E
D. For unity arm ratio (p=1), and for small x, we can obtain an approximate linear
relationship as,
x
e0 = E . (3)
4
0.25
0.2
Unbalanced voltage (eo/E)
0.15 p=1
0.1 p = 10
0.05
p = 100
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
x
Fig. 3 Bridge characteristics for different arms ratio.
E. We have seen that the maximum sensitivity of the bridge is attained at the arm ratio
p=1. Instead of making all the values of R1, R2, R3, R4 equal under balanced
condition, it could also be achieved by selecting different values with R1= R2, R3 = R4
for x = 0. But this is not advisable, since the output impedance of the bridge will be
higher in the later case. So, from the requirement of low output impedance of a
signal-conditioning element, it is better to construct the basic bridge with all equal
resistances.
F. It may appear from the above discussions, that, there is no restriction on selection of
the bridge excitation voltage E. Moreover, since, more the excitation voltage, more is
the output voltage sensitivity, higher excitation voltage is preferred. But the

restriction comes from the allowable power dissipation of resistors. If we increase E,

there will be more power loss in a resistance element and if it exceeds the allowable
power dissipation limit, self heating will play an important role. In this case, the
temperature of the resistance element will increase, which again will change the
resistance and the power loss. Sometimes, this may lead to the permanent damage of
the sensor (as in case of a thermistor).
Push-pull Configuration
The characteristics of an unbalanced wheatstone bridge with single resistive element as one
of the arms can greatly be improved with a push-pull arrangement of the bridge, comprising of
two identical resistive elements in two adjacent arms: while the resistance of one sensor
decreasing, the resistance of the other sensor is increasing by the same amount, as shown
in fig.4. The unbalanced voltage can be obtained as:
⎡ R(1 + x) R⎤
e0 = ⎢ − ⎥E
⎣ R(1 + x) + R(1 − x) 2 R ⎦
⎡1 + x 1 ⎤
=⎢ − ⎥E
⎣ 2 2⎦
x
= E (4)
2
R1 = R(1-x) R2 = R(1+x)
e0
R4 = R R3 = R
E
Fig. 4 Unbalanced D.C. bridge with push pull configuration of resistance sensors.
Looking at the above expression, one can immediately appreciate the advantage of using push-
pull configuration. First of all, the nonlinearity in the bridge output can be eliminated
completely. Secondly, the sensitivity is doubled compared to a single sensor element bridge.
The same concept can also be applied to A.C. bridges with inductive or capacitive sensors. These
applications are elaborated below.

3. Unbalanced A.C. Bridge with Push-pull Configuration

Figures 5(a) and (b) shows the schematic arrangements of unbalanced A.C. bridge with
inductive and capacitive sensors respectively with push-pull configuration. Here, the D.C.
excitation is replaced by an A.C. source and two fixed resistances of same value are kept in
the two adjacent arms and the inductive (or the capacitive) sensors are so designed that
if the inductance (capacitance) increases by a particular amount, that of the other one would
decrease by the same amount.
For fig. 5(a),

⎡ jwL(1 + x) R⎤
e0 = ⎢ − ⎥E ,
⎣ jwL (1 + x) + jwL(1 − x) 2 R ⎦
where w is the angular frequency of excitation, L is the nominal value of the inductance and
x = ΔL . Simplifying, we obtain,
L
L(1-x) L(1+x) C(1-x) C(1+x)
e0 e0
R4 = R R3 = R R4 = R R3 = R
~ ~
E, ω E, ω
Fig. 5 Unbalanced A.C. bridge with push-pull configuration: (a) for inductive sensor, and
(b) for capacitive sensor.
x
e0 = E, (5)
2
which again shows the linear characteristics of the bridge.
For the capacitance sensor with the arrangement shown in fig. 5(b), we have:

⎡ 1 ⎤
⎢ jwC (1 + x) R⎥
e0 = − E
⎢1 + 1 2R ⎥
⎣⎢ jwC (1 + x) jwC (1 − x) ⎦⎥
⎡ jwC (1 − x) R⎤
=⎢ − ⎥E
⎣ jwC (1 + x) + jwC (1 − x) 2 R ⎦
x
=− E (6)
2
where x = ΔC . As expected, we would also obtain here a complete linear characteristic,
C
irrespective of whatever is the value of x. But here is a small difference between the performance
of an inductive sensor bridge and that of a capacitance sensor bridge (equation (5) and (6)): a
negative sign. This negative sign in an A.C. bridge indicates that the output voltage in fig. 4(b)
will be 1800 out of phase with the input voltage E. But this cannot be detected, if we use a simple
A.C. voltmeter to measure the output voltage. In fact, if the value of x were negative, there would
also be a phase reversal in the output voltage, which cannot be detected, unless a special
measuring device for sensing the phase is used. This type of circuit is called a Phase Sensitive
Device (PSD) and is often used in conjunction with inductive and capacitive sensors. The circuit
of a PSD rectifies the small A.C. voltage into a D.C. one; the polarity of the D.C. output voltage
is reversed, if there is a phase reversal.
Capacitance Amplifier
Here we would present another type of circuit configuration, suitable for push-pull type
capacitance sensor. The circuit can also be termed as a half bridge and a typical configuration
has been shown in fig.6. Here two identical voltage sources are connected in series, with their
common point grounded. This can be also achieved by using a center-tapped transformer. Two
sensing capacitors C1 and C2 are connected as shown in the fig. 5 and the unbalanced current
flows through an amplifier circuit with a feedback capacitor Cf . Now the current through the
capacitors are:
I 1 = V . jwC1 and I 2 = −V . jwC 2
Hence the unbalanced current:
I = I 1 + I 2 = V . jw(C1 − C 2 )
And the voltage output of the amplifier:
I C − C2
V0 = − =− 1 V (7)
jwC f Cf
As expected, a linear response can also be obtained by connecting a push-pull configuration of
capacitance in fig.6. The gain can be adjusted by varying Cf. However, this is an ideal circuit, for
a practical circuit, a high resistance has to be placed in parallel with Cf.

C1
Cf
+
V
~
-
+
~
+ V0
V
C2
Fig. 6 A capacitance amplifier.
4. Amplifiers
An Amplifier is an integral part of any signal conditioning circuit. However, there are
different configurations of amplifiers, and depending of the type of the requirement, one should
select the proper configuration.
Inverting and Non-inverting Amplifiers

These two types are single ended amplifiers, with one terminal of the input is grounded.
From the schematics of these two popular amplifiers, shown in fig.7, the voltage gain for the
inverting amplifier is:
e0 R
=− 2
ei R1
while the voltage gain for the noninverting amplifier is:
e0 R
= 1+ 2
ei R1
Apparently, both the two amplifiers are capable of delivering any desired voltage gain, provided
the phase inversion in the first case is not a problem. But looking carefully into the circuits, one
can easily understand, that, the input impedance of the inverting amplifier is finite and is
approximately R1 , while a noninverting amplifier has an infinite input impedance. Definitely, the
second amplifier will perform better, if we want that, the amplifier should not load the sensor (or
a bridge circuit).

R2
R2
R1
- R1
+ -
e0 e0
ei +
Fig. 7 (a) Inverting amplifier, (b) noninverting amplifier.
Differential Amplifier
Differential amplifiers are useful for the cases, where both the input terminals are floating.
These amplifiers find wide applications in instrumentation. A typical differential amplifier with
single op.amp. configuration is shown in fig.8. Here, by applying superposition theorem, one
can easily obtain the contribution of each input and add them algebraically to obtain the output
voltage as: R4 R R
e0 = (1 + 2 ) e2 − 2 e1 (8)
R3 + R4 R1 R1
If we select
R4 R2
= , (9)
R3 R1
then, the output voltage becomes:
R
e0 = 2 (e2 − e1 ) (10)
R1
R2
R1
e1 -
R3 e0
e2 +
R4
Fig. 8 Differential amplifier.
However, this type of differential amplifier with single op. amp. configuration also suffers from
the limitation of finite input impedance. In fact, several criteria are used for judging the

performance of an amplifier. These are mainly: (i) offset and drift, (ii) input impedance, (iii) gain
and bandwidth, and (iv) common mode rejection ratio (CMRR).
The performance of an operational amplifier is judged by the gain- bandwidth product, which is
fixed by the manufacturer’s specification. In the open loop, the gain is very high (around 105) but
the bandwidth is very low. In the closed loop operation, the gain is low, but the achievable
bandwidth is high. Normally, the gain of a single stage operational amplifier circuit is kept
limited around 10, thus large bandwidth is achievable. For larger gains, several stages of
amplifiers are connected in cascade.
CMRR is a very important parameter for instrumentation circuit applications and it is desirable
to use amplifiers of high CMRR when connected to instrumentation circuits.
The CMRR is defined as:
A
CMRR = 20 log10 d (11)
Ac
where, Ad is the differential mode gain and Ac is the common mode gain of the amplifier. The
importance of using a high CMRR amplifier can be explained with the following example:
Example -1
The unbalanced voltage of a resistance bridge is to be amplified 200 times using a differential
amplifier. The configuration is shown in fig. 9 with R= 1000Ω and x=2 x 10-3. Two amplifiers
are available: one with Ad =200 and CMRR= 80 dB and the other with Ad =200 and CMRR=
60dB. Find the values of V0 for both the cases and compute errors.
R R2 = R(1+x)
+10V v0
Amplifier
R R
Fig. 9
Solution
Here x=2 x 10-3. Using (3),

x
ei = x10 = 5 mv = v d
4
The common mode voltage to the amplifier is vc = 5V , half the supply voltage.

Ad
For amp.-1, Ad = 200 , 20 log = 80dB
Ac
Ad 200
Therefore, = 10 4 , or, Ac = 4 = 0.02 .
Ac 10
So, v0 = Ad v d + Ac vc = 200 × 5 × 10 −3 + 0.02 × 5 = 1.1 V
Ideally, the voltage should have been 1.0 V, 200 times the bridge unbalanced voltage, but due to
the presence of common voltage, 10% error is introduced.
In the second case, CMRR is 60 dB, all other values remaining same. For this case,
200
Ac = 3 = 0.2 . Therefore,
10
v0 = Ad v d + Ac vc = 200 × 5 × 10 −3 + 0.2 × 5 = 2.0 V
an error of magnitude 100% is introduced due to the common mode voltage!
Referring to fig. 8, if we consider, the op. amp. to be an ideal one, then by selecting the
resistances, such that,
R4 R2
= ,
R3 R1
the effect of the common mode voltage can be eliminated completely, as is evident from
eqn. (10). But if the resistance values differ, due to the tolerance of the resistors, the common
mode voltage will cause error in the output voltage. The other alternative in the above
example is to apply +5 and –5V at the bridge supply terminals, instead of +10V and 0V.
Instrumentation Amplifier
Often we need to amplify a small differential voltage few hundred times in
instrumentation applications. A single stage differential amplifier, shown in fig.8 is not
capable of performing this job efficiently, because of several reasons. First of all, the
input impedance is finite; moreover, the achievable gain in this single stage amplifier is also
limited due to gain bandwidth product limitation as well as limitations due to offset current of
the op. amp. Naturally, we need to seek for an improved version of this amplifier.
A three op. amp. Instrumentation amplifier, shown in fig.10 is an ideal choice for achieving
the objective. The major properties are (i) high differential gain (adjustable up to 1000) (ii)
infinite input impedance, (iii) large CMRR (80 dB or more), and (iv) moderate bandwidth.
From fig. 10, it is apparent that, no current will be drown by the input stage of the op. amps.
(since inputs are fed to the non inverting input terminals). Thus the second property
mentioned above is achieved. Looking at the input stage, the same current I will flow
through the resistances R1 and R2. Using the properties of ideal op. amp., we can have:
e −e e −e e − e2
I = 1 i1 = i1 i 2 = i 2 (12)
R1 R2 R1
from which, we obtain,

R1
e1 = ei1 + (ei1 − ei 2 )
R2
R1
e2 = ei 2 − (ei1 − ei 2 )
R2
Therefore,
2 R1
e1 − e2 = (1 + )(ei1 − ei 2 )
R2
The second stage of the instrumentation amplifier is a simple differential amplifier, and hence,
using (10), the over all gain:
R R 2R
e0 = 4 (e2 − e1 ) = 4 (1 + 1 )(ei 2 − ei1 ) (13)
R3 R3 R2
ei1 + e1
- R4
I R1
ei1 R3
-
I R2 R3 e0
ei2 +
I R1
- R4
e2
ei2 +
Fig. 10 Three op. amp. Instrumentation Amplifier.

Thus by varying R2 very large gain can be achieved, but the relationship is inverse. Since
three op. amps. are responsible for achieving this gain, the bandwidth does not suffer.
There are many commercially available single chip instrumentation amplifiers in the
market. Their gains can be adjusted by connecting an external resistance, or by selecting
the gains (50, 100 or 500) through jumper connections.
5. Concluding Remarks
Several issues have to be taken into consideration for the design of a signal conditioning
circuit. Linearity, sensitivity, loading effect, bandwidth, common mode rejection are the
important issues that affect the performance of the signal conditioning circuits. In this
lesson, we have learnt about different configurations of unbalanced D.C. and A.C
bridges, those are suitable for resistive, capacitive and inductive type transducers.
Besides the characteristics of different types of amplifiers using common operational
amplifiers have also been discussed in details. However, the actual design is dependent on
the particular sensing element to be used and its characteristics.

Unit 2
Errors and Calibration
Introduction
Through measurement, we try to obtain the value of an unknown parameter. However
this measured value cannot be the actual or true value. If the measured value is very close to
the true value, we call it to be a very accurate measuring system. But before using the measured
data for further use, one must have some idea how accurate is the measured data. So error
analysis is an integral part of measurement. We should also have clear idea what are the
sources of error, how they can be reduced by properly designing the measurement methodology
and also by repetitive measurements. These issues have been dwelt upon in this lesson.
Besides, for maintaining the accuracy the readings of the measuring instrument are frequently
to be compared and adjusted with the reading of another standard instrument. This process is
known as calibration. We will also discuss about calibration in details.
Error Analysis
The term error in a measurement is defined as:
Error = Instrument reading – true reading. (1)
Error is often expressed in percentage as:
Instrument reading − true reading
% Error = X 100 (2)
true reading
The errors in instrument readings may be classified in to three categories as:
1. Gross errors
2. Systematic errors
3. Random Errors.
Gross errors arise due to human mistakes, such as, reading of the instrument value before
it reaches steady state, mistake of recording the measured data in calculating a derived
measured, etc. Parallax error in reading on an analog scale is also is also a source of gross
error. Careful reading and recording of the data can reduce the gross errors to a great extent.
Systematic errors are those that affect all the readings in a particular fashion. Zero error, and
bias of an instrument are examples of systematic errors. On the other hand, there are few errors,

the cause of which is not clearly known, and they affect the readings in a random way. This type
of errors is known as Random
errors and random errors. In most of the case, the systematic errors can be corrected
by calibration, whereas the random errors can never be corrected, the can only be
reduced by averaging, or error limits can be estimated.
Systematic Errors
Systematic errors may arise due to different reasons. It may be due to the shortcomings of
the instrument or the sensor. An instrument may have a zero error, or its output may be varying
in a nonlinear fashion with the input, thus deviating from the ideal linear input/output
relationship. The amplifier inside the instrument may have input offset voltage and
current which will contribute to zero error. Different nonlinearities in the amplifier circuit
will also cause error due to nonlinearity. Besides, the systematic error can also be due to
improper design of the measuring scheme. It may arise due to the loading effect, improper
selection of the sensor or the filter cut off frequency. Systematic errors can be due to
environmental effect also. The sensor characteristics may change with temperature or other
environmental conditions.
The major feature of systematic errors is that the sources of errors are recognisable and can be
reduced to a great extent by carefully designing the measuring system and selecting its
components. By placing the instrument in a controlled environment may also help in reduction
of systematic errors. They can be further reduced by proper and regular calibration of
the instrument.
Random Errors
It has been already mentioned that the causes of random errors are not exactly known, so
they cannot be eliminated. They can only be reduced and the error ranges can be estimated by
using some statistical operations. If we measure the same input variable a number of times,
keeping all other factors affecting the measurement same, the same measured value would not
be repeated, the consecutive reading would rather differ in a random way. But fortunately, the
deviations of the readings normally follow a particular distribution (mostly normal
distribution) and we may be able to reduce the error by taking a number of readings and
averaging them out.
Few terms are often used to chararacterize the distribution of the measurement, namely,
_
1 n
Mean Value x = ∑ xi
n i =1
(3)
where n is the total number of readings and xi is the value of the individual readings. It can be
shown that the mean value is the most probable value of a set of readings, and that is why it has a
very important role in statistical error analysis. The deviation of the individual readings from the
mean value can be obtained as :
_
Deviation d i = xi − x (4)
We now want to have an idea about the deviation, i.e., whether the individual readings are far
away from the mean value or not. Unfortunately, the mean of deviation will not serve the
purpose, since,
1 n _ _
1 _
Mean of deviation = ∑ ( xi − x) = x − (n x) = 0
n i =1 n

So instead, variance or the mean square deviation is used as a measure of the deviation of the set
of readings. It is defined as:
1 n _
Variance V = ∑
n − 1 i =1
( xi − x )2 = σ 2 (5)
The term σ is denoted as standard deviation. It is to be noted that in the above expression, the
averaging is done over n-1 readings, instead of n readings. The above definition can be justified,
if one considers the fact that if it is averaged over n, the variance would become zero when n=1
and this may lead to some misinterpretation of the observed readings. On the other hand the
above definition is more consistent, since the variance is undefined if the number of reading is
one. However, for a large number of readings (n>30), one can safely approximate the variance
as,
1 n _
Variance V = ∑ ( xi − x) 2 = σ 2 (6)
n i =1
The term standard deviation is often used as a measure of uncertainty in a set of
measurements. Standard deviation is also used as a measure of quality of an instrument. It has
been discussed in Lesson-3 that precision, a measure of reproducibility is expressed in terms of
standard deviation.
Quite often, a variable is estimated from the measurement of two parameters. A typical
example may be the estimation of power of a d.c circuit from the measurement of voltage and
current in the circuit. The question is that how to estimate the uncertainty in the estimated
variable, if the uncertainties in the measured parameters are known. The problem can be stated
mathematically as,
Let y = f ( x1 , x2 ,....., xn ) (7)

If the uncertainty (or deviation) in xi is known and is equal to Δxi , (i = 1,2,..n) , what is the
overall uncertainty in the term y?
Differentiating the above expression, and applying Taylor series expansion, we obtain,
∂f ∂f ∂f
Δy = Δx1 + Δx2 + ...... + Δxn (8)
∂x1 ∂x2 ∂xn
Since Δxi can be either +ve or –ve in sign, the maximum possible error is when all the errors are
positive and occurring simultaneously. The term absolute error is defined as,
∂f ∂f ∂f
Absolute error : Δy = Δx1 + Δx2 + ...... + Δxn (9)
∂x1 ∂x2 ∂xn
But this is a very unlikely phenomenon. In practice, x1 , x2 ,....., xn are independent and all errors
do not occur simultaneously. As a result, the above error estimation is very conservative. To
alleviate this problem, the cumulative error in y is defined in terms of the standard deviation.
Squaring equation (8), we obtain,
2 2
⎛ ∂f ⎞ ⎛ ∂f ⎞ ∂f ∂f
(Δy ) = ⎜⎜
2
⎟⎟ (Δx1 ) 2 + ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ (Δx2 ) 2 + ...... + 2 .(Δx1Δx2 ) + ....... (10)
⎝ ∂x1 ⎠ ⎝ ∂x2 ⎠ ∂x1 ∂x2
If the variations of x1 , x2 ,..... are independent, positive value of one increment is equally likely to
be associated with the negative value of another increment, so that the some of all the cross

product terms can be taken as zero, in repeated observations. We have already defined variance
V as the mean squared error. So, the mean of (Δy ) 2 for a set of repeated observations, becomes
the variance of y, or
2 2
⎛ ∂f ⎞ ⎛ ∂f ⎞
V ( y ) = ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ V ( x1 ) + ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ V ( x2 ) + ...... (11)
∂
⎝ 1⎠
x ∂
⎝ 2⎠
x
So the standard deviation of the variable y can be expressed as:
1
⎡⎛ ∂f ⎞ 2 ⎛ ∂f ⎞ 2
2
⎤ 2
σ ( y ) = ⎢⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ σ ( x1 ) + ⎜⎜
2
⎟⎟ σ ( x2 ) + ......⎥ (12)
⎢⎣⎝ ∂x1 ⎠ ⎝ ∂x2 ⎠ ⎥⎦
Limiting Error
Limiting error is an important parameter used for specifying the accuracy of an instrument.
The limiting error (or guarantee error) is specified by the manufacturer to define the maximum
limit of the error that may occur in the instrument. Suppose the accuracy of a 0-100V
voltmeter is specified as 2% of the full scale range. This implies that the error is guaranteed
to be within
± 2V for any reading. If the voltmeter reads 50V, then also the error is also within ± 2V. As a
2
result, the accuracy for this reading will be ×100 = 4% . If the overall performance of a
5
measuring system is dependent on the accuracy of several independent parameters, then the
limiting or guarantee error is decided by the absolute error as given in the expression in (9). For
example, if we are measuring the value of an unknown resistance element using a wheatstone
bridge whose known resistors have specified accuracies of 1%, 2% and 3% respectively, then,
R1 R2
Since Rx = , we have,
R3
R2 R RR
ΔRx = ΔR1 + 1 ΔR2 − 1 2 2 ΔR3
R3 R3 R3
ΔRx ΔR1 ΔR2 ΔR3
or, = + −
Rx R1 R2 R3
Then following the logic given to establish (9), the absolute error is computed by taking
the positive values only and the errors will add up; as a result the limiting error for the
unknown resistor will be 6%.
Importance of the Arithmetic Mean

It has been a common practice to take a number of measurements and take the arithmetic
mean to estimate the average value. But the question may be raised: why mean? The answer
is: The most probable value of a set of dispersed data is the arithmetic mean. The statement
can be substantiated from the following proof.
Let x1 , x2 , x3 ,...., xn be a set of n observed data. Let X be the central value (not yet specified).
So the deviations from the central value are ( x1 − X ), ( x2 − X ),....(xn − X ).

The sum of the square of the deviations is:

S sq = ( x1 − X ) 2 + ( x2 − X ) 2 + ... + ( xn − X ) 2
= x12 + x22 + .... + xn2 − 2 X ( x1 + x2 + ... + xn ) + nX 2
So the problem is to find X so that Ssq is minimum. So,
dS sq
= −2( x1 + x2 + ... + xn ) + 2nX = 0
dX
or,
1 _
X = ( x1 + x2 + ... + xn ) = x
n
So the arithmetic mean is the central value in the least square sense. If we take another set
of readings, we shall reach at a different mean value. But if we take a large number of
readings, definitely we shall come very close to the actual value (or universal mean). So the
question is, how to determine the deviations of the different set of mean values obtained
from the actual value?
Standard deviation of the mean

Here we shall try to find out the standard deviation of the mean value obtained from the
universal mean or actual value.
Consider a set of n number of readings, x1 , x2 , x3, ...., xn . The mean value of this set expressed as:
_
1
x= ( x1 + x2 + ... + xn ) = f ( x1 + x2 + ... + xn )
n
Using (11) for the above expression, we can write:
2 2 2
_ ⎛ ∂f ⎞ ⎛ ∂f ⎞ ⎛ ∂f ⎞
V ( x) = ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ V ( x1 ) + ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ V ( x2 ) + ...... + ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ V ( xn )
⎝ ∂x1 ⎠ ⎝ ∂x2 ⎠ ⎝ ∂xn ⎠
1
= 2 [V ( x1 ) + V ( x2 )..... + V ( xn )]
n
Now the standard deviation for the readings x1 , x2 ,..., xn is defined as:
1
⎡1 ⎤ 2
σ = ⎢ [V ( x1 ) + V ( x2 )..... + V ( xn )]⎥ , where n is large.
⎣n ⎦
Therefore,
_
1 σ2
V ( x ) = 2 ( n.σ 2 ) =
n n
Hence, the standard deviation of the mean,
_
σ
σ ( x) = (13)
n
_
which indicates that the precision can be increased, (i.e. σ ( x) reduced) by taking more number of
observations. But the improvement is slow due to the n factor.

Example: Suppose, a measuring instrument produces a random error whose standard deviation is
1%. How many measurements should be taken and averaged, in order to reduce the standard
deviation of the mean to <0.1%?
Solution: In this case,
σ 1
< 0. 1 ; ∴ n > = 10 ; or , n > 100.
n 0 .1
Least square Curve Fitting

Often while performing experiments, we obtain a set of data relating the input and
output variables (e.g. resistance vs. temperature characteristics of a resistive element) and we
want to fit a smooth curve joining different experimental points. Mathematically, we
want to fit a polynomial over the experimental data, such that the sum of the square of the
deviations between the experimental points and the corresponding points of the
polynomial is minimum. The technique is known as least square curve fitting. We shall
explain the method for a straight line curve fitting. A typical case of least square straight
line fitting for a set of dispersed data is shown in Fig. 1. We want to obtain the best fit
straight line out of the dispersed data shown.
y
x
x x
x x
x x
0 x
Fig. 1 Least square straight line fitting.
Suppose, we have a set of n observed data ( x1 , y1 ), ( x2 , y2 ),..., ( xn , yn ) . We want to estimate a

straight line
y∗ = a0 + a1 x (14)
such that the integral square error is minimum. The unknowns in the estimated straight line are
the constants a0 and a1 . Now the error in the estimation corresponding to the i-th reading:
ei = yi − y ∗ = yi − a0 − a1 xi
The integral square error is given by,
n n
Se = ∑ ei2 = ∑ ( yi − a0 − a1 xi ) 2
i =1 i =1
For minimum integral square error,

∂Se ∂Se
=0, =0
∂a0 ∂a1
or,
∂Se n
= − 2∑ ( yi − a0 − a1 xi ) = 0 (15)
∂a0 i =1
∂Se n
and = − 2∑ xi ( yi − a0 − a1 xi ) = 0 (16)
∂a1 i =1
From (15) and (16), we obtain,

n n
∑y i =1
i − a 0 .n − a 1 ∑ x i = 0 ,
i =1
n n n
∑x y −a ∑x −a ∑x
i =1
i i 0
i =1
i 1
i =1
2
i =0.
Solving, we obtain,
n n n
n∑ xi yi − ∑ xi ∑ yi
a1 = i =1
n
i =1
n
i =1
n∑ xi − (∑ xi ) 2
2
i =1 i =1
or,
1 n _ _
∑ i i .y
n i =1
x y − x
a1 = 2
(17)
1 n 2 _
∑i
n i =1
x − x
_ _
where x and y are the mean values of the experimental readings xi and yi respectively. Using
(14), we can have,
_ _
a0 = y − a1 x (18)
Calibration and error reduction

It has already been mentioned that the random errors cannot be eliminated. But by taking
a number of readings under the same condition and taking the mean, we can considerably
reduce the random errors. In fact, if the number of readings is very large, we can say that the
mean value will approach the true value, and thus the error can be made almost zero. For
finite number of readings, by using the statistical method of analysis, we can also estimate
the range of the measurement error.
On the other hand, the systematic errors are well defined, the source of error can be
identified easily and once identified, it is possible to eliminate the systematic error. But even
for a simple instrument, the systematic errors arise due to a number of causes and it is a
tedious process to identify and eliminate all the sources of errors. An attractive alternative
is to calibrate the instrument for different known inputs.

Calibration is a process where a known input signal or a series of input signals are applied to the
measuring system. By comparing the actual input value with the output indication of the system,
the overall effect of the systematic errors can be observed. The errors at those calibrating points
are then made zero by trimming few adjustable components, by using calibration charts or by
using software corrections.
Strictly speaking, calibration involves comparing the measured value with the standard
instruments derived from comparison with the primary standards kept at Standard Laboratories.
In an actual calibrating system for a pressure sensor (say), we not only require a standard
pressure measuring device, but also a test-bench, where the desired pressure can be generated at
different values. The calibration process of an acceleration measuring device is more difficult,
since, the desired acceleration should be generated on a body, the measuring device has to be
mounted on it and the actual value of the generated acceleration is measured in some indirect
way.
The calibration can be done for all the points, and then for actual measurement, the true value
can be obtained from a look-up table prepared and stored before hand. This type of calibration, is
often referred as software calibration. Alternatively, a more popular way is to calibrate the
instrument at one, two or three points of measurement and trim the instrument through
independent adjustments, so that, the error at those points would be zero. It is then expected that
error for the whole range of measurement would remain within a small range. These types of
calibration are known as single-point, two-point and three-point calibration. Typical input-output
characteristics of a measuring device under these three calibrations are shown in fig.2.
The single-point calibration is often referred as offset adjustment, where the output of the system
is forced to be zero under zero input condition. For electronic instruments, often it is done
automatically and is the process is known as auto-zero calibration. For most of the field
instruments calibration is done at two points, one at zero input and the other at full scale input.
Two independent adjustments, normally provided, are known as zero and span adjustments.
One important point needs to be mentioned at this juncture. The characteristics of an instrument
change with time. So even it is calibrated once, the output may deviate from the calibrated points
with time, temperature and other environmental conditions. So the calibration process has to be
repeated at regular intervals if one wants that it should give accurate value of the measurand
through out.
Output variable
Output variable
Output variable
Ideal Ideal Ideal
Actual Actual Actual
Input variable Input variable Input variable

(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 2 (a) single point calibration, (b) two point calibration, (c) three point calibration

Unit 3
Introduction to Process
Control

1. Introduction
We often come across the term process indicating a set up or a plant that we want to
control. Thus by a process we may mean a unit of chemical plant (say, a distillation
column), or a manufacturing system (say, an assembly shop), or a food processing industry and
so on. We may want to automate the process; we may also like to control certain parameters of
the system output (say, level of a tank, pressure of steam etc.). Broadly speaking, there
could be two types of control; we might want to carry out. The first one is called sequential
control, where the control action is carried out in a sequence. A good example for this type
of operation could be in an automated car manufacturing system, where the assembly of
parts is carried out in a sequence (on a conveyor line). Here the control action is
sequential in nature and works in a preprogrammed open loop fashion (implying that
there is no feedback of the output signal to the controller). Programmable Logic Controller
(PLC) is often used to carry out these operations.
But there are cases, where the control action needed is continuous in nature and precise control
of the output variable is required. Take for example, the drum level control of a boiler. Here,
the water level of the drum has to be maintained within a small band, in spite of variations of
steam flow rate, steam pressure etc. This type of control is sometimes called modulating
control, as the control variable is modulated to keep the process variable at a constant value.
Feedback principle is used for these types of control. Now onwards, we would concentrate on
the control of these types of processes. But in order to design a controller effectively, we
must have a thorough knowledge about the dynamics of the process. A mathematical model
of the process dynamics often helps us to understand the process behaviour under different
operational conditions.
In this lesson, we would discuss the basic characteristics of this type of processes where
continuous control is used for controlling certain variables at the outputs.

2. Characteristics of a Process
Different processes have different characteristics. But, broadly speaking, there are
certain characteristics features those are more or less common to most of the processes. They
are:
(i) The mathematical model of the process is nonlinear in nature.
(ii) The process model contains the disturbance input
(iii) The process model contains the time delay term.
In general a process may have several input variables and several output variables. But only one
or two (at most few) of the input variables are used to control the process. These inputs, used for
manipulating the process are called manipulating variables. The other inputs those are left
uncontrolled are called disturbances. Few outputs are measured and fed back for comparison
with the desired set values. The controller operates based on the error values and gives the
command for controlling the manipulating variables. The block diagram of such a closed loop
process can be drawn as shown in Fig. 1.
In order to understand the behavour of a process, let us take up a simple open loop process as
shown in Fig. 2. It is a tank containing certain liquid with an inflow line fitted with a valve V1
and an outflow line fitted with another valve V2. We want to maintain the level of the liquid in
the tank; so the measured output variable is the liquid level h. It is evident from Fig.2 that there
are two variables, which affect the measured output (henceforth we will call it only output) - the
liquid level. These are the throttling of the valves V1 and V2. The valve V1 is in the inlet line, and
it is used to vary the inflow rate, depending on the level of the tank. So we can call the inflow
rate as the manipulating variable. The outflow rate (or the throttling of the valve V2 ) also affect
the level of the tank, but that is decided by the demand, so not in our hand. We call it a
disturbance (or sometimes as load).
The major feature of this process is that it has a single input (manipulating variable) and a single
output (liquid level). So we call it a Single-Input-Single-Output (SISO) process. We would see
afterwards that there are Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) processes also.

3. Mathematical Modeling
In order to understand the behaviour of a process, a mathematical description of the
dynamic behaviour of the process has to be developed. But unfortunately, the mathematical
model of most of the physical processes is nonlinear in nature. On the other hand, most of the
tools for analysis, simulation and design of the controllers, assumes, the process dynamics is
linear in nature. In order to bridge this gap, the linearization of the nonlinear model is
often needed. This linearization is with respect to a particular operating point of the system.
In this section we will illustrate the nonlinear mathematical behaviour of a process and the
linearization of the model. We will take up the specific example of a simple process described
in Fig.2.
Let Qi and Qo are the inflow rate and outflow rate (in m3/sec) of the tank, and H is the height of
the liquid level at any time instant. We assume that the cross sectional area of the tank be A. In
a steady state, both Qi and Qo are same, and the height H of the tank will be constant. But
when they are unequal,
dH we can write,
Qi − Qo = A (1)
dt
But the outflow rate Qo is dependent on the height of the tank. Considering the Valve V2 as an
orifice, we can write, (please refer eqn.(4) in Lesson 7 for details)
Cd A2 2g
Qo = ( P1 − P2 ) (2)
1− β 4 γ
We can also assume that the outlet pressure P2=0 (atmospheric pressure) and
P1 = ρ gH (3)
Considering that the opening of the orifice (valve V2 position) remains same throughout the
operation, equation (2) can be simplified as:
Qo = C H (4)
Where, C is a constant. So from equation (1) we can write that,
dH
Qi − C H = A (5)
dt
The nonlinear nature of the process dynamics is evident from eqn.(5), due to the presence of the
term H .

In order to linearise the model and obtain a transfer function between the input and output, let us
assume that initially Qi =Qo =Qs; and the liquid level has attained a steady state value Hs. Now
suppose the inflow rate has slightly changed, then how the height will change?
Now expanding Qo in Taylor’s series, we can have:

•
Qo = Qo ( H s ) + Qo ( H s ) ( H − H s ) + ..... (6)
Taking the first order approximation, from eqn.(4),
Qo ( H s ) = C H s = Qs
• C
Qo ( H s ) =
2 Hs
Then from (1) and (6), we can write,
C dH d (H − H s )
Qi − Qs − (H − H s ) = A =A (7)
2 Hs dt dt
Now, we define the variables q and h, as the deviations from the steady state values,
q = Qi − Qs
(8)
h = H − Hs
We can write from (7),
dh 1
q=A + h (9)
dt R
2 Hs
Where, R = (10)
C
It can be easily seen, that eqn.(9) is a linear differential equation. So the transfer function of the
process can easily be obtained as:
h( s ) R
= (11)
q(s) τ s + 1
Where, τ = RA .
It is to be noted that all the input and output variables in the transfer function model represent,
the deviations from the steady state values. If the operating point (the steady state level Hs in the
present case) changes, the parameters of the process (R and τ ) will also change.
The importance of linearisation needs to be emphasized at this juncture. The mathematical
models of most of the physical processes are nonlinear in nature; but most of the tools for design
and analysis are for linear systems only. As a result, it is easier to design and evaluate the
performance of a system if its mathematical model is available in linear form. Linearised model
is an approximation of the actual model of the system, but it is preferred in order to have a
physical insight of the system behaviour. It is to be kept in mind that this model is valid as long
as the variation of the variables around the operating point is small. There are few systems whose
dynamic behaviour is highly nonlinear and it is almost impossible to have a linear model of a
system. For example, it is possible to develop the linearised transfer function model of an a.c.
servomotor, but it is not possible for a step motor.
Referring to Fig. 2, if the valve V1 is motorized and operated by electrical signal, we can also
develop the model relating the electrical input signal and the output. Again, we have so far
assumed that the opening of the valve V2 to be constant, during the operation. But if we also

consider its variation, that would also affect the dynamics of the tank model. So, the effect of
disturbance can be incorporated in the overall plant model, as shown in Fig.3, by introducing a
disturbance transfer function D(s). D(s) can be easily by using the same methodology as
described earlier in this section.
4. Higher Order System Model

We have considered a single tank and developed the linearised model of it. So it has a single
time constant τ . But there are more complex processes. If there are two tanks coupled together,
as shown in Fig.4, then we would have two time constants τ 1 and τ 2 . But it is evident that the
dynamics of two tanks are coupled. Considering the change in the inflow q(t) as the input and the
change in the level of the second tank h2 (t ) as the output variable, with a little bit of calculation,
it can be shown that the transfer function of this coupled tank system is,
h2 ( s ) R2
= (12)
q( s) τ 1τ 1s + (τ 1 + τ 2 + A1R2 ) s + 1
2
The constants are similar to the earlier section with added suffixes corresponding to tank 1 and
tank 2 respectively. In this case we have neglected the effects of the disturbances.
5. Time delay
It has been mentioned earlier that one of the major characteristics of a process is the presence
of time delay. This time delay term is often referred as “transportation lag”, since it is generated
due to the delay in transportation of the output to the measuring point. The presence and
effect of time delay can be easily explained with an example of a simple heat exchanger, as
shown in Fig. 5.

In this case the transfer of heat takes place between the steam in the jacket and water in the tank.
The measured output is the water temperature at the outlet T(t). For controlling this temperature,
we may vary the steam flow rate at its inlet. So the manipulating variable is the steam flow rate.
We can also identify a number of input variables those act as the disturbance, thus affecting the
temperature at the water outlet; for example, inlet steam temperature, inlet water temperature and
the water flow rate.
The temperature transducer should be placed at a location in the water outlet line just after the
tank (location A in Fig. 5). But suppose, due to the space constraint, the transducer was placed at
location B, at a distance L from the tank. In that case, there would be a delay sensing this
temperature. If T(t) is the temperature measured at location A, then the temperature measured at
location B would be T (t − τ d ) . The time delay term τ d can be expressed in terms of the physical
parameters as:
τd = L v (13)
where L is the distance of the pipeline between locations A and B;
and v is the velocity of water through the pipeline.
Noting from the Laplace Transformation table,
L f (t − τ d ) = e − sτ F ( s )
d
(14)
we can conclude that an additional term of e − sτ d would be introduced in the transfer function of
the system due to the time delay factor. Thus the transfer function of an ordinary first order plant
with time delay is
Ke − sτ d
G (s) =
1 + sτ
and its step response to a unit step input is as shown in Fig. 6.

It can be seen that though the input has been at t = 0, the output remains zero till t = τ d . This
time delay present in the system may often be the main cause for instability of a closed loop
system operation.
6. Multiple Input Multiple Output Systems

So far we have considered the behviour of single input single output (SISO) systems only.
In these cases, we had a single manipulating variable to control a single output variable.
But in many cases, we have a number of inputs to control a number of outputs simultaneously,
and the input-outputs are not decoupled. This will be evident if we consider a system, slightly
modified system from that one shown in Fig. 4. In the modified system, we have added another
inlet flow line in tank 2, as shown in Fig. 7.
If we consider the changes in inflow rates q1 and q2 are in inputs and the changes in the liquid
levels of the two tanks h1 and h2 as the outputs, then the complete input-output behaviour can be
modeled using the transfer function matrix, as shown below:
⎡ h1 ( s ) ⎤ ⎡G11 ( s ) G12 ( s ) ⎤ ⎡ q1 ( s ) ⎤
⎢ h ( s ) ⎥ = ⎢G ( s ) G22 ( s ) ⎥⎦ ⎢⎣ q2 ( s ) ⎥⎦
(15)
⎣ 2 ⎦ ⎣ 21
We define G ( s ) as the transfer function matrix and

⎡G11 ( s ) G12 ( s ) ⎤
G ( s) = ⎢
⎣G21 ( s ) G22 ( s ) ⎥⎦

In general, if there are m inputs and p outputs, then the order of the transfer function matrix is p
X m. The MIMO system can also be further classified depending on the number of inputs and
outputs. If the number of inputs is more than the number of outputs (m>p), then the system is
called an overactuated system. If the number of inputs is less than the number of outputs (m<p),
then the system is an underactuated system; while they are equal then the system is square
(implying the G(s) is a square matrix).
A Multi-input-multi-output nonlinear system can be described in its state variable form as:
•
x = f ( x, u )
y = g ( x, u )
where x is the state vector, u is the input vector and y is the output vector. f and g are nonlinear
functions of x and u.
The above nonlinear system can also be linearised over its operating point and can be described
in the state-space form as:
•
x = Ax + Bu (16)
y = Cx + Du
where u is the input vector of dimension m; y is the output vector of dimension p and x is an n-
dimensional vector representing the states. The transfer function matrix G ( s ) can be obtained
as:
G ( s ) = C ( sI − A ) B + D
−1
(17)
For more details, please refer any book on Control Systems.
Example -1
A typical example of a MIMO process and development of its model has been taken up in this
example. This is related to the control of temperature and humidity in order to maintain an
artificial tropical climate inside a room in winter. Fresh cold air is forced inside the room
through a fan. Steam is added to the air in order to maintain the humidity. An electric heater is
used to increase the temperature of the room. So the control inputs are the steam valve position θ
(t ) and
the voltage applied to the heater v(t). The measured outputs are room temperature c(t) and
the relative humidity h(t). The detail process description is shown in Fig. 8.

The room humidity is controlled by manipulating the valve position in steam input. The
dynamics of the humidity inside the room can be expressed as:
dh
τθ + h(t ) = K hθ (t ) (18)
dt
On the other hand, both the steam flow rate and the voltage to the heater contribute in deciding
the temperature of the room. The dynamics of the room temperature can be expressed by the
equations as:
dcθ
τθ + cθ (t ) = Kθ θ (t )
dt
dc
τ v v + cv (t ) = K v v(t ) (19)
dt
c(t ) = cθ (t ) + cv (t )
Taking the Laplace transformation, the overall system dynamics can be written in form of the
transfer function matrix as:
⎡ kh ⎤
0
⎡ h( s) ⎤ ⎢⎢ sτ θ + 1 ⎥ ⎡θ ( s) ⎤
⎥
⎢c( s ) ⎥ = ⎢ k kv ⎥ ⎢⎣v( s ) ⎥⎦
(20)
⎣ ⎦ θ
⎢ sτ + 1 sτ v + 1 ⎥⎦
⎣ θ

Unit 3
P-I-D Control

Introduction
In the last lesson, a brief introduction about a process control system has been given. The
basic control loop can be simplified for a single-input-single-output (SISO) system as in Fig.1.
Here we are neglecting any disturbance present in the system.
The controller may have different structures. Different design methodologies are there for
designing the controller in order to achieve desired performance level. But the most popular
among them is Proportional-Integral-derivative (PID) type controller. In fact more than 95% of
the industrial controllers are of PID type. As is evident from its name, the output of the PID
controller u(t) can be expressed in terms of the input e(t), as:
⎡ de(t ) 1
t
⎤
u (t ) = K p ⎢ e ( t ) + τ d + ∫ e(τ ) dτ ⎥ (1)
⎣ dt τi 0 ⎦
and the transfer function of the controller is given by:
⎛ 1 ⎞
C ( s) = K p ⎜1 + τ d s + ⎟ (2)
⎝ τis ⎠
The terms of the controller are defined as:
K p = Proportional gain
τ d = Derivative time, and

τ i = Integral time.
In the following sections we shall try to understand the effects of the individual components-
proportional, derivative and integral on the closed loop response of this system. For the sake of
simplicity, we consider the transfer function of the plant as a simple first order system without
time delay as:
K
P(s) = (3)
1+τ s
Proportional control
With the proportional control action only, the closed loop system looks like:
Now the closed loop transfer function can be expressed as:

KK p
= 1+τ s =
c( s ) KK p KK p 1
= (4)
r (s) KK p 1 + KK p + τ s 1 + KK p 1 + τ ' s
1+
1+τ s
τ
where τ =
'
.
1 + KK p
A
For a step input r ( s ) = ,
s
KK p A
c( s) =
(
1 + KK p s 1 + τ ' s )
AKK p ⎛ − sτ ' ⎞
or, c(t ) = ⎜1 − e
τ
⎟ (5)
1 + KK p ⎝ ⎠
The system response is shown in Fig. 2.

From eqn. (5) and Fig. 2, it is apparent that:

1
1. The time response improves by a factor (i.e. the time constant decreases).
1 + KK p
2. There is a steady state offset between the desired response and the output response =
⎛ KK p ⎞ A
A ⎜1 − =
⎜ 1 + KK p ⎟⎟ 1 + KK p
.
⎝ ⎠
This offset can be reduced by increasing the proportional gain; but that may also cause increase
oscillations for higher order systems.
The offset, often termed as “steady state error” can also be obtained from the error transfer
function and the error function e(t) can be expressed in terms of the Laplace transformation
form:
1 A 1+τ s A
e( s ) = =
KK p s 1 + KK p + τ s s
1+
1+τ s
Using the final value theorem, the steady state error is given by:
1+τ s A A
ess = Lt e ( t ) = Lt s e( s) = Lt =
t →∞ s →0 s →0 1 + KK + τ s s 1 + KK p
p
Often, the proportional gain term, Kp is expressed in terms of “Proportional Band”. It is
inversely proportional to the gain and expressed in percentage. For example, if the gain
is 2, the proportional band is 50%. Strictly speaking, proportional band is defined as the %
error to move the control valve from fully closed to fully opened condition. However, the
meaning of this statement would be clear to the reader afterwards.
Integral Control
If we consider the integral action of the controller only, the closed loop system for the
same process is represented by the block diagram as shown in Fig. 3.

Proceeding in the same way as in eqn. (4), in this case, we obtain,
K
c( s ) τ s(1 + τ s) K
= i =
r (s) 1 + K K + τ i s + ττ i s 2
τ i s(1 + τ s)
From the first observation, it can be seen that with integral controller, the order of the closed
loop system increases by one. This increase in order may cause instability of the closed loop
system, if the process is of higher order dynamics.
A
For a step input r ( s ) = ,
s
1 A τ i s (1 + τ s ) A
e( s ) = =
1+
K s τ i s (1 + τ s ) + K s
τ i (1 + τ s )
ess = Lt s e( s ) = 0
s →0
So the major advantage of this integral control action is that the steady state error due to step
input reduces to zero. But simultaneously, the system response is generally slow, oscillatory and
unless properly designed, sometimes even unstable. The step response of this closed loop system
with integral action is shown in Fig. 4.
Proportional Plus Integral (P-I) Control

With P-I controller the block diagram of the closed loop system with the same process is given
in Fig. 5.

It is evident from the above discussions that the P-I action provides the dual advantages of fast
response due to P-action and the zero steady state error due to I-action. The error transfer
function of the above system can be expressed as:
e( s ) 1 τ i s(1 + τ s)
= = 2
r ( s) KK p (1 + τ i s) s ττ i + (1 + KK p )τ i s + KK p
1+
τ i s(1 + τ s)
In the same way as in integral control, we can conclude that the steady state error would be zero
for P-I action. Besides, the closed loop characteristics equation for P-I action is:
s 2ττ i + (1 + KK p )τ i s + KK p = 0 ;
from which we can obtain, the damping constant as:
⎛ 1 + KK p ⎞ τi
ξ =⎜ ⎟
⎝ 2 ⎠ KK pτ
whereas, for simple integral control the damping constant is:
⎛1⎞ τ
ξ =⎜ ⎟ i
⎝ 2 ⎠ Kτ
Comparing these two, one can easily observe that, by varying the term Kp, the damping constant
can be increased. So we can conclude that by using P-I control, the steady state error can be
brought down to zero, and simultaneously, the transient response can be improved. The output
responses due to (i) P, (ii) I and (iii) P-I control for the same plant can be compared from the
sketch shown in Fig. 6.
Proportional Plus Derivative (P-D) Control

The transfer function of a P-D controller is given by:
C ( s ) = K p (1 + τ d s )

K
P-D control for the process transfer function P ( s ) = apparently is not very useful, since it
1+τ s
cannot reduce the steady state error to zero. But for higher order processes, it can be shown that
the stability of the closed loop system can be improved using P-D controller. For this, let us take
1
up the process transfer function as P ( s ) = 2 . Looking at Fig.7, we can easily conclude that
Js
with proportional control, the closed loop transfer function is
Kp
c( s) 2 Kp
= Js = 2
r (s) K Js + K p
1 + p2
Js
and the characteristics equation is Js 2 + K p = 0 ; giving oscillatory response. But with P-D
controller, the closed loop transfer function is:
K p (1 + τ d s )
c( s) Js 2 K p (1 + τ d s )
= = 2
r (s) K (1 + τ s ) Js + K p (1 + τ d s )
1+ p 2 d
Js
whose characteristics equation is Js 2 + K pτ d s + K p = 0 ; that will give a stable closed loop
response.
The step responses of this process with P and P-D controllers are compared in Fig.8.

Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control

It is clear from above discussions that a suitable combination of proportional, integral
and derivative actions can provide all the desired performances of a closed loop system. The
transfer function of a P-I-D controller is given by:
⎛ 1 ⎞
C ( s) = K p ⎜1 + τ d s + ⎟
⎝ τis ⎠
The order of the controller is low, but this controller has universal applicability; it can be used in
any type of SISO system, e.g. linear, nonlinear, time delay etc. Many of the MIMO systems are
first decoupled into several SISO loops and PID controllers are designed for each loop. PID
controllers have also been found to be robust, and that is the reason, it finds wide acceptability
for industrial processes. However, for proper use, a controller has to be tuned for a particular
process; i.e. selection of P,I,D parameters are very important and process dependent. Unless the
parameters are properly chosen, a controller may cause instability to the closed loop system. The
method of tuning of P,I,D parameters would be taken up in the next lesson.
It is not always necessary that all the features of proportional, derivative and integral actions
should be incorporated in the controller. In fact, in most of the cases, a simple P-I structure will
suffice. A general guideline for selection of Controller mode, as suggested by Liptak [1], is given
below.
Guideline for selection of controller mode

1. Proportional Controller: It is simple regulating type; tuning is easy. But it normally
introduces steady state error. It is recommended for process transfer functions having a pole at
origin, or for transfer functions having a single dominating pole; for example with
K
P( s ) = ; with τ 1 τ 2 ,τ 1 τ 3 .
(1 + sτ 1 )(1 + sτ 2 )(1 + sτ 3 )
2. Integral Control: It does not exhibit steady state error, but is relatively slow responding. It is
particularly effective for:
(i) very fast process, with high noise level
(ii) process dominated by dead time
(iii) high order system with all time constants of the same magnitude.
3. Proportional plus Integral (P-I) Control: It does not cause offset associated with
proportional control. It also yields much faster response than integral action alone. It is widely
used for process industries for controlling variables like level, flow, pressure, etc., those do not
have large time constants.
4. Proportional plus Derivative (P-D) Control: It is effective for systems having large number
of time constants. It results in a more rapid response and less offset than is possible by pure
proportional control. But one must be careful while using derivative action in control of very fast
processes, or if the measurement is noisy (e.g. flow measurement).
5. Proportional plus Integral plus Derivative (P-I-D) Control: It finds universal application.
But proper tuning of the controller is difficult. It is particularly useful for controlling slow
variables, like pH, temperature, etc. in process industries.

Unit 3
Controller Tuning

1. Introduction
The importance of P-I-D controller and the features of P, I and D actions were elaborated in
the last lesson. It was also mentioned that the controller could be easily incorporated in a
process, whatever be the type of a process: linear or nonlinear, having dead time or not. It is
needless to say that the controller parameters influence heavily the performance of the closed
loop system. Again, the choice of the value of the P, I and D parameters is very much process
dependent. As a result, thorough knowledge about the plant dynamics is important for
selection of these parameters. In most of the cases, it is difficult to obtain the exact
mathematical model of the plant. So, we have to rely on the experimentation for finding out
the optimum settings of the controller for a particular process. The process of
experimentation for obtaining the optimum values of the controller parameters with respect
to a particular process is known as controller tuning.
It is needless to say, that controller tuning is very much process dependent and any
improper selection of the controller settings may lead to instability, or deterioration of the
performance of the closed loop system. In 1942 two practicing engineers, J.G. Ziegler and
N.B. Nichols, after carrying out extensive experiments with different types of processes
proposed certain tuning rules, there were readily accepted and till now are used as basic
guidelines for tuning of PID controllers. Subsequently, G.H. Cohen and G.A. Coon in 1953
proposed further modifications of the above techniques. Still then, the methods are commonly
known as Ziegler-Nichols method.
Substantial amount of research has been carried out on tuning of P-I-D controllers since last
six decades. Several other methods have also been proposed. Most of them are model based, i.e.
they assume that the mathematical model of the system is available to the designer. In fact,
if the mathematical model of the system is available, many of them perform better than
conventional Ziegler-Nichols method. But the strength of the ZN method is that it does
not require a mathematical model, but controller parameters can simply be chosen by
experimentation. We would be discussing the three experimental techniques those come under
the commonly known Ziegler-Nichols method.
Now let us look back to whatever discussed in lessons 11 and 12. The closed loop system can be
described as shown in Fig. 1.

The error signal is fed to the controller and the controller provides output u(t). Since the capacity
of the controller to deliver output power is limited, an actuator is needed in between the
controller and the process, which will actuate the control signal. It may be a valve positioner to
open or close a valve; or a damper positioner to control the airflow through a damper. The
controller considered here is a P-I-D controller whose input and output relationship is given by
the equation:
⎡ de(t ) 1
t
⎤
u (t ) = K p ⎢ e(t ) + τ d + ∫ e(τ ) dτ ⎥
⎣ dt τi 0 ⎦
Our objective is to find out the optimum settings of the P,I,D parameters, namely K p , τ d and τ i
through experimentation, which will provide satisfactory closed loop performance, of
the particular process in terms of, say, stability, overshoot, setting time etc. Three methods of
tuning are elaborated in the following sections.
2. Reaction Curve Technique

This is basically an open loop technique of tuning. Here the process is assumed to be a
stable first order system with time delay. The closed loop system is broken as shown in Fig.2;
a step input is applies at m' , output is measured at b. In fact, a bias input may be necessary so
that the plant output initially becomes close to the nominal value. The step input is
superimposed on this bias value. The input and the output response are plotted by suitable means
as shown in Fig. 3.

M,L and K are measured. Let us define the following terms corresponding to Fig. 2:
Slope = N,
Time Constant T=K/N
Lag Ratio R=L/T
Then, the recommended optimum settings, for P, P-I and P-I-D controller are as follows.
Optimum settings
M R
P-Control: Kp = (1 + )
NL 3
M 9 R ⎛ 30 + 3R ⎞
P-I Control: Kp = ( + ); τ i = L⎜ ⎟
NL 10 12 ⎝ 9 + 20 R ⎠
M 4 R ⎛ 32 + 6R ⎞
P-I-D Control: K p = ( + ); τ i = L⎜ ⎟
NL 3 4 ⎝ 13 + 8R ⎠
⎛ 4 ⎞
τ d = L⎜ ⎟
⎝ 11 + 2R ⎠
3. Closed Loop Technique (Continuous Cycling method)
The major objection to the tuning methodology using reaction curve technique is that process
has to be run in open loop that may not always be permissible. For tuning the controller
when the process is in under closed loop operation, there are two methodologies. The first one,
continuous cycling method is explained below.

Referring Fig.1, the loop is closed with the controller output connected to the actuator input.
Here, the controller is first set to P-mode, making τ d = 0 and τ i = ∞ . The proportional gain Kp is
increased gradually to K p = K p max , till the system just starts oscillating with constant
amplitude continuously. The output waveform is plotted as shown in Fig.4. The time period of
continuous oscillation Tu is noted. The recommended optimum settings are:
P Control: K p = 0.5K p max
Tu
P-I Control: K p = 0.45K p max , τi =
1.2
Tu T
P-I-D Control: K p = 0.6 K p max , τi = , τd = u
2 8
4. Closed Loop Technique (Damped oscillation method)

In many cases, plants are not allowed to undergo through sustained oscillations, as is the case
for tuning using continuous cycling method. Damped oscillation method is preferred for these
cases. Here, initially the closed loop system is operated initially with low gain proportional
mode with τ d = 0 and τ i = ∞ . The gain is increased slowly till a decay ratio (p2/p1) of 1/4th is
control
obtained in the step response in the output, as shown in Fig. 5. Under this condition, the period of
damped oscillation, Td is also noted. Let Kd be the proportional gain setting for obtaining 1/4th
decay ratio.
The optimum settings for a P-I-D controller are:
Td T
K p = Kd ; τ i = ;τd = d
6 1.5

5. General comments about controller tuning

The different methodologies of controller tuning, known as Ziegler-Nichols method have
been illustrated in the earlier sections. It is to be remembered that the recommended
settings are empirical in nature, and obtained from extensive experimentation with number
of different processes; there is no theoretical basis behind these selections. As a result, a better
combination of the P, I, D values may always be found, that will give less oscillation and better
settling time. But with no a-priori knowledge of the system, it is always advisable to
perform the experimentation and select the controller settings, obtained from Ziegler-
Nichols method. But there is always scope for improving the performance of the controller by
fine-tuning. So, Ziegler-Nichols method provides initial settings that will give satisfactory,
result, but it is always advisable to fine-tune the controller further for the particular process
and better performance is expected to be achieved.
Nowadays digital computers are replacing the conventional analog controllers. P-I-D
control actions are generated through digital computations. Digital outputs of the
controllers are converted to analog signals before they are fed to the actuators. In many
cases, commercial software are available for Auto tuning the process. Here the
controller generates several commands those are fed to the plant. After observing the
output responses, the controller parameters are selected, similar to the cases discussed above.
6. Integration windup and Bumpless transfer

Two major issues of concern with the close loop operation with P-I-D controllers are
the Integration Windup and the requirement of providing Bumpless Transfer. These two
issues are briefly elaborated below. The methodologies for providing Anti-integration
Windup and Bumpless Transfer would be discussed in the next lesson.
Integration Windup
A significant problem with integral action is that when the error signal is large for a
significant period of time. This can occur every time when there is large change in set point.
If there is a sudden large change in set point, the error will be large and the integrator
output in a P-I-D control will build up with time. As a result, the controller output may exceed
the saturation limit of the actuator. This windup, unless prevented may cause continuous
oscillation of the process that is not desirable.

Bumpless Transfer
When a controller is switched from manual mode to auto-mode, it is desired that the input of
the process should not change suddenly. But since there is always a possibility that
the decision of the manual mode of control and the auto mode of control be different, there
may be a sudden change in the output of the controller, giving rise to a sudden jerk
in the process operation. Special precautions are taken for bumpless transfer from manual
to auto-mode

Unit 3
Implementation of P-I-D
Controllers

Introduction
We have discussed in the last lesson the tuning rules for PID controllers. In this lesson, we
shall discuss about how to implement a PID controller in an actual system.
Looking back to the history of the PID controller, the PID controllers in the initial days were all
pneumatic. In fact, all the experimentation by Ziegler and Nichols were carried out
with pneumatic controllers. But pneumatic controllers were slow in nature. After the
development of electronic devices and operational amplifiers, the electronic controllers
started replacing the conventional pneumatic controllers. But with the advent of the
microprocessors and microcontrollers, the focus of development is now towards the
implementation with digital PID controllers. The major advantage of using digital PID
controllers is that the controllers parameter can be programmed easily; as a result, they can
be changed without changing any hardware. Moreover, the same digital computer can be
used for a number of other applications besides generating the control action.
In this lesson, we shall first discuss about the PID controller implementation with pneumatic
and electronic components and then discuss about the different algorithms those can be
used for digital implementation of PID controllers. But before that, we shall discuss about
the different schemes of implementation of bumpless transfer and antiwindup actions. These
two issues were described in the last lesson. We shall now see, how they can be implemented in
actual practice.
Bumpless Transfer
It is quite normal to set up some processes using manual control initially, and once the process
is close to normal operating point, the control is transferred to automatic mode
through auto/manual switch. In such cases, in order to avoid any jerk in the process the
controller output immediately after the changeover should be identical to the output set in the
manual mode. This can be achieved by forcing the integral output at the instant of
transfer to balance the proportional and derivative outputs against the previous manual
output; i.e.
Integral output = {(previous manual) – (proportional + derivative) output}.
Similarly, for automatic to manual transfer, initially the manual output is set equal to
the controller output and the difference is gradually reduced by incrementing or
decrementing the manual output to the f
change over.
Another way to transfer from Auto to Manual mode in a bumpless manner, the set point may
be made equal to the present value of the process variable and then slowly changing the set
point to its desired value.
The above features can be easily be implemented if a digital computer is used as a
controller. This provision eliminates the chance of the process receiving sudden jolt during
transfer.
Prevention of Integration Windup

The effect of integration windup has been discussed in the last lesson. If there is a sudden large
change in set point, the error between the set point and the process output will suddenly shoot
up and the integrator output due to this error will build up with time. As a result, the
controller output may exceed the saturation limit of the actuator. This windup, unless prevented
may cause continuous oscillation of the process.
There exits several methods through which integration windup can be prevented. Before we
go to the actual methods, let us consider the input-output characteristics of an actuator as
shown in Fig. 1. Its characteristics is similar to of an amplifier, where the output varies
linearly with the input till the input is within a certain range; beyond that the output becomes
constant either at the maximum or the minimum values of the output. The upper and lower
limits of the output may correspond to the flow rates of a control valve when the valve is at
fully open and fully closed position.
The first method uses a switch to break the integral action, whenever the actuator goes to
saturation. This can be illustrated by Fig. 2. Consider schematic arrangement of a controller
shown in the figure. When the switch is closed, transfer function of the controller can be
obtained as:

⎛ ⎞
u ( s) ⎜ 1 ⎟ ⎛ 1+τis ⎞ 1
= Kp ⎜ ⎟ = Kp ⎜ ⎟ = K p (1 + )
e( s ) ⎜ 1− 1 ⎟ ⎝ τis ⎠ τis
⎜ τ s +1 ⎟
⎝ i ⎠
So when the switch is closed, the controller acts as a P-I controller. On the other hand, if the
switch is open, it is a simple P- controller. The switch is activated by the position of the actuator.
If the actuator is operating in the linear range, the switch is closed, and the controller is in P-I
mode. But whenever the actuator is in the saturation mode, the switch is automatically opened;
the controller becomes a P-controller. As a result, any windup due to the presence of integral
mode is avoided.
Another technique for antiwindup action is illustrated in Fig.3. Here we assume that the slope of
the actuator in the linear range is unity. As a result, when the actuator is operating in the linear
range the error eA is zero, and the controller acts as a PI controller. But when the actuator is in
saturation mode, the error eA is negative for a positive e. This will reduce the integral action in
the overall control loop.
Other anti-windup precautions are:

(i) Closing the I-action only when the error is small (say 5% to 10% of the range),
(ii) Limiting the output of the I-action block.
However, application of these techniques require an intimate knowledge of the plant behaviour.
Pneumatic Controller
It has been already mentioned that the early days PID controllers were all pneumatic type.
The advantage of pneumatic controllers is its ruggedness, while its major limitation is its
slow response. Besides it requires clean and constant pressure air supply. The major
components of a pneumatic controller are bellows, flapper nozzle amplifier, air relay and
restrictors (valves). The integral and derivative actions are generated by controlling the
passage of air flow through restrictors to the bellows. However, the details of the scheme for
generation of PID action in a pneumatic controller will be elaborated in Lesson 29 and
30. A simple scheme for

implementation of a pneumatic PI controller is shown in Fig. 4. Details explanation will be

provided in Lessons 29 and 30.
Here four bellows are connected to a force beam as shown. The measured process variable
is converted to air pressure and connected to the bellows P1. Similarly the air
pressure corresponding to the set point signal is applied to the bellow P2. The error
corresponding to the measured value and the set point generates a force on the left hand side of
the force beam. There is an adjustable pivot arrangement that sets the proportional gain of the
amplifier. The right hand side of the force beam is connected to two bellows, P3 and P4 and a
flapper nozzle amplifier. The output air pressure is dependent on the gap between the
flapper and nozzle. An air relay enhances the air handling capacity. The output pressure
is directly fed back to the feedback bellows P4, and also to P3 through a restrictor (valve).
The opening of this restrictor decides the integral action to be applied. With a slight
modification of this scheme, a pneumatic PID controller can also be implemented.
Electronic PID Controllers

Electronic PID controllers can be obtained using operational amplifiers and passive
components like resistors and capacitors. A typical scheme is shown in Fig. 5. With little
calculations, it can be shown that the circuit is capable of delivering the PID actions as:
⎡ 1 de(t ) ⎤
e0 (t ) = K p ⎢e(t ) + ∫ e(τ ) dτ + τ d ⎥ (1)
⎣ τi dt ⎦

R2
It is evident from Fig. 5, the proportional gain Kp is decided by the ratio of the first amplifier;
R1
the integral action is decided by R3 and C1 and the derivative action by R5 and C2. The final
output however comes out with a negative sign, compared to eqn. (1) (though the positive sign can
also be obtained by using a noninverting amplifier at the input stage, instead of the inverting
amplifier). The op. amps. Shown in the circuits are assumed to be ideal.
Digital P-I-D Control

In the digital control mode, the error signal is first sampled and the controller output is
computed numerically through a digital processor.
Now Controller output for a continuous-type P-I-D controller:
⎡ 1 de( t ) ⎤
u ( t ) = K p ⎢e( t ) + ∫ e(τ) dτ + τ d ⎥ (1)
⎣ τi dt ⎦
The above equation can be discretised at small sampling interval T0 as shown in Fig. 6.

Taking the first order derivative,

de
⇒
1
[e(k ) − e(k − 1)]
dt T0
and using rectangular integration, we can approximate as:
t k −1
∫ e(τ)dt ⇒ T0 ∑ e(i) ; t = kT0

0 i =0
Now replacing the derivative and integral terms in eqn. (1), one can obtain,
⎡ T k −1
τ ⎤
u (k ) = K p ⎢e(k ) + 0
τi
∑ e(i) + T {e(k) − e(k − 1)}⎥
d
(2)
⎣ i =0 0 ⎦
The above algorithm is known as Position algorithm. But the major problem here is that the error
values at all the time instants are to be stored (or at least the second term of the r.h.s of Eqn. (2)
at each instant have to be stored). An alternative approach known as velocity algorithm can be
obtained as follows.
From (2), one can write the error signal at the (k-1) th instant as:
⎡ T0 k −2 τ ⎤
u (k − 1) = K p ⎢e(k − 1) + ∑ e(i) + d {e(k − 1) − e(k − 2)}⎥ (3)
⎣ τ i i =0 T0 ⎦
Subtracting eqn. (3) from (2), we can have:
Δu (k ) = u (k ) − u (k − 1)
⎡ τ ⎤
= K p ⎢e(k ) − e(k − 1) + 0 e(k − 1) + d {e(k ) − 2e(k − 1) + e(k − 2)}⎥
T
⎣ τi T0 ⎦
= q 0 e(k ) + q1e(k − 1) + q 2 e(k − 2) (4)
where,

τd
q 0 = K p (1 + )
T0
2τ d T0
q1 = − K p (1 + − )
T0 τi
τd
q2 = K p
T0
The above algorithm is known as Velocity algorithm. The major advantage of this algorithm is
that it is of recursive type. It calculates the incremental output at each sample instant. As a result,
it requires only to store three previous values: e(k), e(k-1) and e(k-2). Besides it has got several
other advantages also those are elaborated below:
1. Bumpless Transfer
During the transfer from manual to auto mode, it is desired that the input command to the
process should not change suddenly. In Position algorithm, due to the difference between the set
point and the output variable, it is always possible that the existing error will wind up and the
value of ∑ e(k ) be large when the switching from manual to auto mode takes place. This will
cause a large change in the input u(k) in the auto mode. But in the velocity algorithm, this will be
prevented, since it provides only incremental change in input [u(k)-u(k-1)]. This will lead to
bumpless transfer.
2. Prevention of Integration Windup

If there is a sudden change in set point, the error will increase continuously to take the value of
∑ e(k ) in position algorithm to a large value. Afterwards, even if the error reduces to zero, or
changes sign, ∑ e(k ) will take a large time to come to zero, or change sign, resulting in
integration windup. But in velocity algorithm, as soon as the error changes sign, term
T
corresponding to the integration 0 e(k − 1) (in eqn. (4)) will change sign. Thus even if the
τI
actuator is saturated, it will come back to linear range within one sampling period.
3. Protection against Computer Failure

Another advantage of velocity algorithm is its ability to protect the process in case of computer
failure. In case there is a failure of the computer, there will be no increment or decrement of the
control input, and it will retain the last value before the computer failure, thus preventing process
failure.
However, there are certain pitfalls of velocity algorithm also. In case of presence of noise in the
measurement of the error value at a particular sampling instant, the controller will immediately
k −1
act, taking it to be a signal. But in position algorithm, the integration term ∑ e(i) will prevent
i =0

such a quick action. Some times, a digital filter with low pass characteristics is used to filter
out the unwanted noise before it reaches the controller input.
BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL
10 AUTOMATION CONTROL
Unit 3
Special Control Structures:
Feedforward and Ratio
Control

Introduction
In the last few lessons we have discussed about the different aspects of PID controllers,
their tuning, implementation etc. In all the cases the control action considered was feedback
type; i.e. the output was fed back and compared with the set point and the error was fed to the
controller. The output from the controller was used to control the manipulating variable.
However there are several cases, where apart from the feedback action few other control
structures are incorporated in order to satisfy certain requirements. In this lesson we would take
up two such special control structures: feedforward and ratio control.
Feedforward Control
When the disturbance is measurable, feedforward control is an effective means for cancelling
the effects of disturbance on the system output. This is advantageous, since in a simple
feedback system, the corrective action starts after the effect of disturbance is reflected at the
output. On the other hand, in feedforward control the change in disturbance signal is
measured and the corrective action takes place immediately. As a result, the speed and
performance of the overall system improves, if feedforward control, together with feedback
action is employed.
In order to illustrate the effect of feedforward control, let us consider the heat exchange
process shown in Fig.1. The cold water comes from a tank and flows to the heat exchanger. The
flow rate of cold water can be considered as a disturbance. The change in input flow line may
occur due to the change in water level in the tank. Suppose, the feedforward line is not
connected, and the controller acts as a feedback control only. If the water inlet flow rate
increases, the temperature of the outlet hot water flow will decrease. This will be sensed by the
temperature sensor that will compare with the set point temperature and the temperature
controller will send signal to open the control valve to allow more steam at the steam
inlet. The whole operation is a time consuming and as a result the response of the
controller due to the disturbance (inlet water flow rate) is normally slow. But if we measure
the change in inlet flow rate by a flowmeter and feed this information to the controller, the
controller can immediately take the correcting action anticipating the change in outlet
temperature. This will improve the speed of response. Thus feedforward action, in addition
to the feedback control improves the performance of the system, but provided, the disturbance
is measurable.
3

Let us now draw the block diagram of the overall control operation of the system shown in Fig.
1. The block diagram representation is shown in Fig. 2.
In general, the structure of the feedforward-feedback action in terms of the block diagram of
transfer functions can be represented as shown in Fig. 3. Where,
G ( s ) = Transfer function of the process (manipulating variable to output)
Gn ( s) = Disturbance transfer function (disturbance to output)
Gc ( s) = Transfer function of feedback controller

G f ( s) = Transfer function of the feedforward controller
So there are two controllers, one is the conventional feedback controller Gc ( s) , while the other is
the feedforward controller that is intended to nullify the effect of disturbance at the output. From
Fig. 3, the overall output is:
C(s) = G c ( s ) G(s) E(s) + G n ( s ) N(s)

= G c ( s ) G(s) [ R(s) - C(s) +G f N(s) ] + G n (s) N(s)
=G c ( s ) G(s) [ R(s) - C(s) ] + [ G c ( s ) G(s) G f (s) +G n (s) ] N(s)
If we want to select the feedforard transfer function, such that, the effect of disturbance at the
output is zero, then we require the co-efficient of N(s) in above equation to be set to zero. Thus,
G c ( s ) G(s) G f (s) +G n (s) = 0
G n (s)
or, G f (s) = - (1)
G c (s) G(s)
It is to be noted that complete disturbance rejection can be obtained if the transfer functions Gp(s)
and Gn(s) are known accurately, which is not possible in actual situation. As a result, the
performance of the feedforward controller will deteriorate and complete disturbance rejection
can not be achieved, through the effect can be reduced considerably. However the feedback
controller would reduce the residual error due to imperfect feedforward control and at the output,
the effect of imperfect cancellation may not be felt.
Example -1
Consider the composition control system of a certain reagent. The block diagram of the
feedforward-feedback control system is shown in Fig.4. Here we are using a P-I controller for
feedback action. Ci is the disturbance signal. Compared to Fig.3, the feedforward controller

output in the present case is added after the feedback controller. Suppose, the plant transfer
function and the disturbance transfer function are given by:
1
G p (s) =
(s+1)3
1
G n (s) =
(5s+1) (s+1)3
With a little calculation using eqn.(1), we obtain the transfer function of the feedforward
controller as:
1
G f (s) = −
5s+1
But in many cases, practical implementation of the feedforward controller as obtained from
eqn.(1) is difficult. It can be easily seen in the above example if the disturbance transfer function
is :
1
G n (s) =
(s+1) 2
In this case, the feedforward controller transfer function becomes:
G f (s) = −(s+1)
But since the above transfer function is not a proper one, practical realization of this transfer
function is difficult. In these cases, the transfer function of the feedforward controller is chosen
in the form of a lag-lead compensator as:
K (1+T1s)
G f (s) = − f , with T2 <<T1 and Kf is a constant.
(1+T2s)
In the present case the transfer function G f (s) = −(s+1) can be realized by approximating as:
s+1
G f (s) = − .
0.1s+1
In normal case, the transfer function of the process is not known exactly. So the question is how
to tune the parameters of the feedforward controller for optimum performance. This can be
carried out by performing some experimentation for tuning the controller. The details of the
tuning procedure for feedforward controllers can be found in [2].

Ratio Control
Ratio control is a special type of feedforward control where the disturbance is measured and
the ratio of the process output and the disturbance is held constant. It is mostly used to control
the ratio of flow rates of two streams. Flow rates of both the stream are measured, but only
one of them is controlled. There can be many examples of application of ratio control. Few
examples are:
1. fuel-air ratio control in burners,
2. control of ratio of two reactants entering a reactor at a desired ratio,
3. maintaining the ratio of two blended streams constant in order to maintain the
composition of the blend at the desired value.
There can be two schemes for achieving ratio control. The first scheme is shown in Fig. 5. In this
configuration the ratio of flow rates of two streams is measured and compared with the desired
ratio. The error is fed to the controller and the controller output is used to control the flow rate of
stream B.
The second possible scheme for ratio control is shown in Fig. 6. Suppose the flow rate of fluid B
has to be maintained at a constant fraction of flow rate of fluid A, irrespective of variation of
flow rate of A (qA). In this scheme the flow rate of fluid A is multiplied with the desired ratio (set
externally) that gives the desired flow rate of fluid B. This is compared with the actual flow rate
of fluid B and fed to the controller that operates the control valve.

Suppose that the above scheme (Fig. 6) is used for controlling the fuel-air ratio in a burner where
airflow rate (fluid B) is controlled. But the desired ratio is also dependent on the temperature of
the air. So an auxiliary measurement is needed to measure the temperature of air and set the
desired ratio. Such a scheme is shown in Fig. 7.

The controllers in ratio control are usually P-I type. This is in order to achieve zero steady state
error for maintaining the desired ratio. Derivative action is avoided because the flow is always
noisy.
Example -2
We have mentioned earlier that ratio control is a special type of feedforward control. We shall
elaborate this point in the following example [4]. Effects of control actions in feedback only
mode, feedforward only mode and feedforward-feedback mode will also be elaborated in the
context of control of a blending process.
Consider a blending system where two streams are blended; one is uncontrolled wild stream that
acts as disturbance and another is controlled and acts as the manipulated variable. The ratio of
these two streams affect the quality of the output of the process.

First consider a simple feedback system shown in Fig. 8(a). The composition of the output
stream is unmeasured and fed to the composition controller that controls the flow rate of the
manipulated stream. But the performance of this system may not be satisfactory, since any
variation of the wild stream will cause the change in composition of the output, that will be felt
after certain time. As a result the performance of the feedback controller is sluggish.
BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL
On the other hand the performance of the blending process can be made considerably faster if
he incorporate the ratio control scheme as shown in Fig. 8(b). In this case, the disturbance (flow
rate of wild stream) is measured and corrective action is taken immediately by
controlling manipulated stream so as to maintain a constant ratio between them. It is evident
that this the control action is feedforward only, since the composition of the output stream is not
unmeasured.
But the above scheme also suffers from certain limitations, since the composition variation
due to other disturbances is not taken into account. So though faster, if may not yield the
desired performance. The performance may be further improved by choosing a feedforward-
feedback control scheme (Fig. 8(c)) where the composition of the output stream is
measured and the composition controller sets the desired ratio to be maintained.
References
BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL
Unit 3
Predictive Control, Control of
Systems with Inverse Response

Predictive Control
It has already been mentioned earlier, how in a chemical process control transportation lag
(time delay) comes into picture affecting the model and performance of the process.
Model of a
− sτ
process having a time delayτ d will have a term e d in its numerator of the transfer function.
Processes having large time delays are normally difficult to control. A change in set point or
disturbance does not reach the output until a time τ d has elapsed. As a result, performance of the
closed loop control system is normally sluggish and any change in set point or disturbance will
give rise to large oscillations of the output before coming to a steady state value.
In order to improve the closed loop performances of such time delay systems, O.J.M. Smith
in 1957 first suggested a modification of conventional PID control schemes for processes
having large time delay. The scheme for taking a predictive action in presence of transportation
delay in the system is better known as Smith Predictor.
Let us consider that
-sτd the transfer function of the process is given by:
G p (s)=e G(s) (1)
where G(s) represents the system model without the delay. The basic scheme for Smith Predictor
is shown in Fig. 1. Here G(s) is the conventional PID controller designed fro the process G(s). If
the system model is exact, the output of the comparator-A would be zero and the outer loop can
be ignored. The closed loop system can be simplified as the block diagram shown in Fig. 2.
Since the time delay part is absent here, the controller will see the effect of control action much
earlier and the sluggish response of the system will improve. The outer loop comes into play if
the model of the process is not exact (normally that is expected). Fig. 1 can be redrawn as shown
in Fig. 3 with the actual controller is shown inside the dashed line.
The performance of the Smith Predictor depends heavily on the actual knowledge of the plant
model. Any change in the plant characteristics (particularly dead time) should be instantly taken
care of, or otherwise, can cause deterioration of its performance. Besides, the hardware
implementation of the controller using analog circuits is difficult. But the control scheme can be
implemented with relative ease with a digital controller.

Application of Predictive Control in Gage Control of Steel Rolling

Mills
In this section we shall give two examples of Predictive Control in control of gage thickness
in steel rolling mills. Automatic Gage Control (AGC) is the most important control scheme
in a rolling mill. Its main objective is to maintain the thickness of the sheet steel coming
out of a rolling mill constant. The basic feedback scheme for AGC in a single stand rolling mill
is shown in Fig. 4. The gage is controlled by varying the gap between the rollers in a stand. In
fact, there are a number of stands in a rolling milling and the rolling is carried out in
stages. Hydraulic actuators are normally used for roll gap adjustment. In this scheme, the
gage of the strip is measured at the exit stand and compared with the reference gage
command. The error is amplified to operate the servo valve of the hydraulic actuator. The
basic control scheme shown here is P-type. Nucleonic detector is used for measurement of
gage thickness at the exit stand.
BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION

But because of the fact that the thickness measuring device is installed at a distance from the roll,
it will introduce transportation lag in the closed loop system. There will be considerable time lag
to detect the variation of sheet thickness at the roll stand and that will lead to oscillatory and
unsatisfactory behaviour of closed loop gage control.
In order to improve the performance of the closed loop scheme, Predictive Control mechanism
are added with the basic feedback scheme. Here the actual roll gap (and subsequently the gage
thickness) is estimated at the roll stand. This can be achieved by two possible methods:
• estimating the roll gap
• estimating the gap thickness from constant mass flow principle.
In both the cases, the gap is estimated through an approximate model of the rolling stand.
Smith Predictor by estimating the roll gap

In this method, the gage thickness is predicted by estimating the roll gap using the expression:
P
h = C0 + (2)
Ks
where h is the exit thickness of the rolled product, C0 is the no-load roll gap, P is the roll force in
the hydraulic actuator and Ks is the structural stiffness of the mill. The overall scheme can be
represented as in Fig. 5.

Smith Predictor based on Constant Mass Flow principle

The thickness of the strip can also be predicted from constant mass flow principle. Consider
a multi-stand mill. Let hi-1 and vi-1 be the thickness and the velocity of the strip at the inlet of the
i-th stand (i.e. outlet at the (i-1)th stand). So hi and vi are the corresponding parameters at
the outlet of the i-th stand. Then from the principle of conservation of mass, we can write,
Rate of mass flow in = Rate of mass flow out
Considering the width of the strip to be same before and after the stand, we can write:
h i-1 vi-1 = h i vi
h i-1 vi-1
or, hi = (3)
vi
The velocities at the inlet and outlet of the stand can be measured by using a Laser Doppler
velocity meter, or in a more conventional way by measuring the roll speeds at the two
stands. However, some more correction factors are incorporated while predicting the
exact gage thickness using constant mass flow principle. A scheme similar to Fig. 5 can be
used here in the Smith Predictor scheme.
Systems with Inverse Response

We have seen different types of system response so far: first order system, second order
system, system with time lag etc. Another type of system can also be classified with its
typical step response pattern: system with inverse response. It is essentially a system whose
transfer function is having a zero on the right half plane. This type of system is also called,
nonminimum phase system.

Example of a system with inverse response

Before going into the details, let us consider a simple example of a system with inverse
response. Consider the dynamic characteristics of a boiler drum in a water tube boiler of a
steam power plant. High-pressure feedwater is pumped to the drum. Water from the drum
circulates through the boiler tubes, gets heated and is converted to steam. This steam again
comes back to the drum and subsequently is taken out through the steam flow line to the turbine.
So the drum is filled up partially with water and partially with steam, both at high pressure.
It is very important to control the water level of the drum at a desired level, by controlling the
feedwater flow, with the varying demand of steam. The schematic arrangement can be shown as
in Fig. 6.
The instantaneous level of water at the boiler drum is decided by the steam flow rate and the
feedwater flow rate and it would reach a steady state when both are equal. Now suppose, the
steam flow rate suddenly decreases, the feedwater flow rate remaining constant. At a first glance,
it would appear that the drum level should rise. But actually the drum level will initially drop for
some time before it rises and reaches a steady value. This is because of the fact that drop in
steam flow rate will initially cause the rise in steam pressure in the drum. Due to the rise in
pressure, the bubbles present inside the water in the drum will momentarily shrink. This will
cause the temporary fall in the drum level. Similarly, for a sudden increase in steam flow rate,
the drum level will momentarily swell before it drops down to a steady state vale. A typical
response curve of the drum level due to the sudden fall in steam level is plotted in Fig. 7.

Transfer function of a system with inverse response

The above response curve can be looked into as a combination of two first order process
responses in opposition as shown in Fig. 8. The block diagram representation is shown in Fig. 9.

The overall output response can be written as:

⎡ K K ⎤
c(s)= ⎢ 1 - 2 ⎥ u(s)
⎣1+τ1s 1+τ 2s ⎦
(K1τ 2 -K 2 τ1 )s+(K1 -K 2 )
or. c(s)= u(s) (4)
(1+τ1s)(1+τ 2s)
Let us assume
τ1 K1
> >1 (5)
τ2 K 2
Then for a step input, the response of process-2 will dominate during the initial phase, but
ultimately, process- 1 will dominate in the steady state. It can also be seen that under these two
conditions, the system has a zero on the right half of s-plane (it is evident from the fact that
K1>K2 and K1 τ 2 <K2 τ1 ). The inverse response is a typical characteristics of a nonminimum phase
system, i.e. a system with an unstable zero.
Control of a System with Inverse Response

It is evident that control of a system with inverse response is difficult as in the case of control
of a system with large time lag. For a closed loop time lag system with a simple
feedback
controller, the controller does not see any effect of control action till a time τ d has elapsed. On
the other hand, for an inverse system, the controller will see an opposite effect to the expected
one. So naturally, some special arrangement, similar to a Smith Predictor scheme is needed for
control of inverse systems. Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. 10. This also requires an
apriori knowledge of the system model.
From Fig. 10, if we neglect the additional compensator loop with Gc(s) then it is evident that the
feedback information received,

(K1τ 2 -K 2 τ1 )s+(K1 -K 2 )
y(s) = C(s) e(s) (6)
(1+τ1s)(1+τ 2s)
that has a zero in the right half plane. To eliminate the effect of inverse response, one additional
measurement signal must be added that excludes the information of inverse response. That can
be achieved by the loop through the compensator Gc(s), that gives an additional output
ys (s)=C(s)G c (s)e(s)
⎛ 1 1 ⎞ (7)
= C(s) k ⎜ - ⎟ e(s)
⎝ 1+τ 2s 1+τ1s ⎠
Combining (6) and (7), we can have,
y 0 (s) = y ( s ) + ys (s)
(K1τ 2 -K 2 τ1 )s+k(τ1 -τ 2 )s+(K1 -K 2 ) (8)
= C(s) e(s)
(1+τ1s)(1+τ 2s)
Now the loop transfer function, i.e. transfer function between yo and e, will have a zero on the
left half of s-plane, if the coefficient of s in the numerator of (8) is positive, i.e. using (6)
K 2 τ1 -K1τ 2
k> (9)
τ1 -τ 2
Thus it is evident that due the presence of the compensator, the inverse response behaviour (i.e.
r.h.p zero) will not be felt by the controller. It can be also easily seen that the compensator in Fig.
10 has a similar configuration as in Fig. 6 for smith predictor. In other words, the compensator in
Smith Predictor predicts the dead time behaviour of the process, while in the present case; the
compensator Gc(s) predicts the inverse behaviour of the process. The basic controller is normally
chosen of P-I type.
Further improvement of compensator design for an inverse system has been reported in [4].

Unit 3
Cascade, Override and Split
Range Control

Introduction
In last two lessons, we have discussed several special control structures those are commonly in
use for process control. We shall conclude this part with three more structures. Cascade,
override and split range control. Cascade control is widely used for minimizing the effects of
certain types of disturbance in the process. On the other hand, override and split range
controls are used for controlling certain types of multi variable processes.
Cascade Control
Consider the heat exchange process shown in Fig. 1.Steam is used to heat the water in the heat
exchanger. Feedback temperature controller is used to compare the water outlet temperature with
the set point and control the steam flow rate by opening or closing the control valve. However
due to the change in upstream steam pressure (Pi), the steam flow rate may change, though the
control valve is at the same position. This will affect the amount of heat exchanged and
the temperature at the water outlet. It will take some time to detect the change in temperature
and take subsequent corrective action. In a cascade control, this problem can be
overcome by measuring the disturbance (change in flowrate in steam due to upstream pressure
variation and a corrective action is taken to maintain constant flowrate of steam. There is an
additional controller (flow controller) whose set point is decided by the temperature
controller. The schematic arrangement of cascade control is shown in Fig.2. its block
diagram is shown in Fig.3. Clearly, there are two control loops – outer and inner, and two
controllers. The set point of the inner loop controller is decided by the outer loop primary
controller.


Broadly speaking, there are two major functions of cascade control: (1) to eliminate the effect of
some disturbances, and (2) to improve the dynamic performance of the control loop. It is evident
from Fig. 3, that the effect of disturbances arising within the inner loop (or secondary loop, as it
is called sometimes) is corrected by the secondary controller, before it can influence the output,
and the primary controller takes care of the other disturbances in the outer loop. As a result the
transient response of the overall system improves. Fig. 4 depicts typical responses of a closed
loop system with (a) simple P-I type feedback controller and (b) cascade with primary P-I
controller.
There are few other advantages of cascade control. They can be summarized as:
1. A strong (high gain) inner loop reduces the sensitivity and nonlinearity of the plant in the
closed loop. The outer loop therefore experiences less parameter perturbations.
2. Cascading makes the use of feedforward control more systematic. In the heat exchanger
example (Fig.2) it is possible to measure the water flow and add feedforward
compensation to the flow controller. This would improve the speed of response to
fluctuation in water flow, which is a disturbance (refer Lesson 15).

3. Cascade control often makes it possible to use simpler control action than what could be
needed for a single controller. Though the number of tunable parameters is more in
cascade control, a systematic tuning procedure (inner to outer) is available.
On the other hand the major disadvantages of cascade control are (i) more sensors and
transmitters and (ii) more number of controllers.
For proper operation of the cascade control arrangement, the dynamics of the inner loop (control
valve in the present case) should be considerably faster than the dynamics of the outer loop
process (heat exchanger in the present case). The inner loop secondary controller is normally
chosen as a simple P-type controller with high gain, while the outer loop primary controller is a
conventional P-I controller.
Due to the presence of two loops in cascade control, the stability of the overall system has to be
looked into more carefully. Considering the different elements of the arrangement to be linear,
the overall feedback control system can be drawn in terms of the transfer functions as shown in
Fig. 5. Here GC1 and GC2 are the two controllers. GP1 is the transfer function of there primary
process and GP2 is there transfer function of the valve dynamics.
For maintaining stability of the inner loop the roots of the characteristics equation:
1 + G C2G P2 = 0 (1)
must be on the left hand side of the s-plane. On the other hand, for maintaining the stability of
the primary control loop, the roots of the characteristics equation:
⎛ G G ⎞
1+G C1 ⎜ C2 P2 ⎟ G P1 =0 (2)
⎝ 1+G C2G P2 ⎠
must be on the left hand side of the s-plane. It is often advantageous to make the inner loop 3 to 4
times faster than the outer loop.
The cascade control scheme discussed in this scheme is called a series cascade control. Besides,
there is another scheme called parallel cascade control. However, the second one would not
been discussed in this lesson.

Override Control
In several processes, there may be a single manipulating variable and several output variables.
So the control loop should monitor more than just one control variable. Override control
(or a selective control, as it is sometimes called), is a special type of multivariable control,
where the manipulating variable is controlled by one output variable at a time. Normally only
one of the output variables is controlled; but it has also to be ensured that the other output
variables do not cross the safe limits. If it is so, a second controller takes over the controller
through a selector switch. This can be achieved by using “High Selector Switch” (HSS) or a
“Low Selector Switch” (LSS) as required. HSS is used when it is desired that a variable
should not exceed an upper limit. Similarly the LSS.
Let us consider a simple example of override control. Consider a boiler system shown in Fig.
6. Under normal circumstances, the steam pressure of the boiler is controlled by controlling
the flow through the discharge line. The pressure is maintained through the pressure transmitter
and the pressure controller. But the water level of the boiler should also not fall below a
specified lower limit, which is necessary to keep the heating coil immersed in water and thus
preventing the burning out. This can be achieved by using override control through the lower
limit switch (LSS). Under normal circumstances, the selector switch selects the pressure
control loop for control; but as soon as the level of water falls below a set value, the selector
switch switches to level control mode and the second loop takes over the control action.
Split Range Control

This type of control is used, where there are several manipulated variables, but a single
output variable. The coordination among different manipulated variables is carried out by
using Split Range Control.

Fig. 8 shows an example of a typical split range control scheme. The steam discharges
from several boilers are combine at a steam header. Overall steam pressure at the header is
to be maintained constant through a pressure control loop. The command from the pressure
controller is used for controlling simultaneously the steam flow rates from the boilers in
parallel. Clearly, there is a single output variable (steam header pressure) while there
are a number of manipulating variables (discharge from different boilers).

Unit 3
Introduction to Sequence/Logic
Control and Programmable Logic
Controllers

What is Sequence and Logic Control?

Many control applications do not involve analog process variables, that is, the ones which can
assume a continuous range of values, but instead variables that are set valued, that is they only
assume values belonging to a finite set. The simplest examples of such variables are binary
variables, that can have either of two possible values, (such as 1 or 0, on or off, open or closed
etc.). These control systems operate by turning on and off switches, motors, valves, and
other devices in response to operating conditions and as a function of time. Such systems are
referred to as sequence/logic control systems. For example, in the operation of transfer
lines and automated assembly machines, sequence control is used to coordinate the various
actions of the production system (e.g., transfer of parts, changing of the tool, feeding of the
metal cutting tool, etc.).
Typically the control problem is to cause/ prevent occurrence of

♦ particular values of outputs process variables
♦ particular values of outputs obeying timing restrictions
♦ given sequences of discrete outputs
♦ given orders between various discrete outputs
Note that some of these can also be operated using analog control methods. However, in specific
applications they may be viewed as discrete control or sensing devices for two reasons, namely,
A. The inputs to these devices only belong to two specific sets. For example in the control of
a reciprocating conveyor system, analog motor control is not applied. Simple on-off
control is adequate. Therefore for this application, the motor-starter actuation system may
be considered as discrete.
B. Often the control problem considered is supervisory in nature, where the problem is
provide different types of supervisory commands to automatic control systems, which in
turn carry out analog control tasks, such that over all system operating modes can be
maintained and coordinated to achieve system objectives.
Examples of some such devices is given below.

Industrial Example of Discrete Sensors and Actuators

There are many industrial sensors which provide discrete outputs which may be interpreted
as the presence/absence of an object in close proximity, passing of parts on a conveyor,
For example, tables x.y and a.b below show a set of typical sensors which provide a discrete
set of output corresponding to process variables.
Type Signal Remark
Switch Binary External

Command Input Device
Limit switch Position Feedback Sensor

Device
Thumbwheel switch Set valued External
Command Input Device
Thermostat Temperature Feedback Sensor
Level Device
Photo cell Position of Feedback Sensor
objects Device
Proximity detector Position of Feedback Sensor
objects Device
Push button Command External
(unlatched) Input Device
Table 3.1 Discrete Sensors

Fig. 18.1 Example Industrial Discrete Input and Sensing Devices:
Type Output Quantity Energy Source
Relay, Contactor voltage electrical

Motor Starter motion electrical
Lamp indication electrical
Solenoid motion electrical
On-off Flow Control valve Flow pneumatic,
hydraulic
Directional Valves Hydraulic pneumatic,
Pressure hydraulic
Table 18.2 Example Industrial Discrete Output and Actuation
Devices Below we provide an industrial example of Industrial Sequence Control

Industrial Example
Piston
Upper
limit
switch
Up
Sole-
noid
Down Die Lower
Solenoid limit
switch
Fig. 18.2 An Industrial Logic Control Example

The die stamping process is shown in figure below. This process consists of a metal stampin
die fixed to the end of a piston. The piston is extended to stamp a work piece and retracted
allow the work piece to be removed. The process has 2 actuators: an up solenoid and a dow
solenoid, which respectively control the hydraulics for the extension and retraction of the
stamping piston and die. The process also has 2 sensors: an upper limit switch that indica
when the piston is fully retracted and a lower limit switch that indicates when the piston
fully extended. Lastly, the process has a master switch which is used to start the process an
shut it down.
The control computer for the process has 3 inputs (2 from the limit sensors and 1 from the
master switch) and controls 2 outputs (1 to each actuator solenoid).
The desired control algorithm for the process is simply as follows. When the master swi
is turned on the die-stamping piston is to reciprocate between the extended and retracted
positions, stamping parts that have been placed in the machine. When the master switch is
switched off, the piston is to return to a shutdown configuration with the actuators of
the piston fully retracted.
Comparing Logic and Sequence Control with Analog Control

The salient points of difference between Analog Control and Logic/Sequence control
are presented in the table below.

Issue Logic/Sequence Control Analog Control

Model Logical Numerical
State-Transition Different ial/Difference Eqn
Simple Model/Easy to build Complex Model/Hard to build
Infrequent Liable to change
Signal Signal range/status Signal value
Temporal (Timed) sequence (Timed)Function/Trajectory
Property
Control On-off/logical linear/non linear analog
Redesign/Tuning Supervisory automatic
Open/Closed Loop Open/Closed Loop
Infrequent Tuning needed
Table 18.3 A Comparison of Continuous Variable (Analog) and Discrete Event
(Logic/Sequence) Control
Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC)

A modern controller device used extensively for sequence control today in transfer
lines, robotics, process control, and many other automated systems is the Programmable
Logic Controller (PLC). In essence, a PLC is a special purpose industrial microprocessor
based real-time computing system, which performs the following functions in the context
of industrial operations
• Monitor Input/Sensors
• Execute logic, sequencing, timing, counting functions for Control/Diagnostics
• Drives Actuators/Indicators
• Communicates with other computers
Some of the following are advantages of PLCs due to standardized hardware technology,
modular design of the PLCs, communication capabilities and improved development program
development environment:
• Easy to use to simple modular assembly and connection;
• Modular expansion capacity of the input, outputs and memory;
• Simple programming environments and the use of standardized task libraries and
debugging aids;
• Communication capability with other programmable controllers and computers

Evolution of the PLC

Before the advent of microprocessors, industrial logic and sequence control used to be
performed using elaborate control panels containing electromechanical or solid-state relays,
contactors and switches, indicator lamps, mechanical or electronic timers and counters etc.,
all hardwired by complex and elaborate wiring. In fact, for many applications such control
panels are used even today. However, the development of microprocessors in the early
1980’s quickly led to the development of the PLCs, which had significant advantages over
conventional control panels. Some of these are:
• Programming the PLC is easier than wiring physical components; the only wiring
required is that of connecting the I/O terminals.
• The PLC can be reprogrammed using user-friendly programming devices. Controls must
be physically rewired.
• PLCs take up much less space.
• Installation and maintenance of PLCs is easier, and with present day solid-state
technology, reliability is grater.
• The PLC can be connected to a distributed plant automation system, supervised and
monitored.
• Beyond a certain size and complexity of the process, a PLC-based system compare
favorably with control panels.
• Ability of PLCs to accept digital data in serial, parallel and network modes imply a
drastic reduction in plant sensor and actuator wirings, since single cable runs to remote
terminal I/O units can be made. Wiring only need to be made locally from that point.
• Special diagnostic and maintenance modes for quick troubleshooting and servicing,
without disrupting plant operations.
However, since it evolved out of relay control panels the PLCs adopted legacy concepts, which
were applicable to such panels. To facilitate maintenance and modification of the
physically wired control logic, the control panel was systematically organized so that each
control formed a rung much like a rung on a ladder. The development of PLCs retained the
ladder logic concept where control circuits are defined like rungs on a ladder where each
rung begins with one or more inputs and each rung usually ends with only one output. A
typical PLC ladder structure is shown below in Fig. 3.2

Relays and Contactors

+ve -ve
Power Solenoid
busbars Lamp
Motor
coil
Relay logic
A logical function
Realized with relays
Fig. 18.3 The structure of Relay Logic Circuits
Relay Ladder
Rung Logic
] Rung
• Relay coil
(Virtual)
•
Power
•
Rails
Fig. 18.4 The structure of Relay Ladder Logic Programs for PLCs
Application Areas
Programmable Logic Controllers are suitable for a variety of automation tasks. They provide
a simple and economic solution to many automation tasks such as
• Logic/Sequence control
• PID control and computing
• Coordination and communication

• Operator control and monitoring

• Plant start-up, shut-down
Any manufacturing application that involves controlling repetitive, discrete operations is a

potential candidate for PLC usage, e.g. machine tools, automatic assembly equipment, molding
and extrusion machinery, textile machinery and automatic test equipment. Some typical
industrial areas that widely deploy PLC controls are named in Table x.y. The list is only
illustrative and by no means exhaustive.
Chemical/ Petrochemical Metals Manufacturing/Machining

Batch process Blast Furnace Material Conveyors, Cranes
Pipeline Control Continuous Casting Assembly
Weighing, Mixing Rolling Mills Milling, Grinding, Boring
Finished Product Handling Soaking Pit Plating, Welding, Painting
Water/ Waste Treatment Steel Melting Shop Molding/ casting/forming
Table 18.4 Some Industrial Areas for Programmable Controller Applications
Architecture of PLCs
The PLC is essentially a microprocessor-based real-time computing system that often has
to handle significant I/O and Communication activities, bit oriented computing, as well as
normal floating point arithmetic. A typical set of components that make a PLC System is
shown in Fig. 3.5 below.
MMI Remote I/O

Analog I/O
Memory Digital I/O
Communication
Backplane
Processor CPU
Function Power
Modules
Network Printer
communication Programmer unit
Fig. 18.5 Conventional PLC Architecture
The components of the PLC subsystem shown in Fig. 3.5 are described below.

Central controller
The central controller (CC) contains the modules necessary for the main computing operation
of the Programmable controller (PC). The central controller can be equipped with the following:
♦ Memory modules with RAM or EPROM (in the memory sub modules) for the program
(main memory);
♦ Interface modules for programmers, expansion units, standard peripherals etc;
♦ Communications processors for operator communication and visualization,
communication with other systems and configuring of local area networks.
A bus connects the CPUs with the other modules.
Central Processing units

The CPUs are generally microprogrammed processors sometimes capable of handling
multiple data width of either 8, 16 or 24 bits. In addition some times additional circuitry, such
as for bit processing is provided, since much of the computing involves logical operations
involving digital inputs and auxiliary quantities. Memory with battery backup is also
provided for the following:
♦ Flags ( internal relays), timers and counters;
♦ Operating system data
♦ Process image for the signal states of binary inputs and outputs.
The user program is stored in memory modules. During each program scan, the processor reads
the statement in the program memory, executes the corresponding operations. The bit
processor, if it exists, executes binary operations. Often multiple central controllers can be
configured in hot standby mode, such that if one processor fails the other can immediately pick
up the computing tasks without any failure in plant operations.
Communications processors
Communications processors autonomously handle data communication with the following:
♦ Standard peripherals such as printers, keyboards and CRTs,
♦ Supervisory Computer Systems,
♦ Other Programmable controllers,
The data required for each communications processors is stored in a RAM or EPROM sub
module so that they do not load the processor memories. A local area network can also be
configured using communications processors. This enables the connection of various PLCs over
a wide distance in various configurations. The network protocols are often proprietary. However,
over the last decade, interoperable network protocol standards are also supported in modern
PLCs.

Program and Data memory

The program and data needed for execution are stored in RAM or EPROM sub modules.
These sub modules are plugged into the processors. Additional RAM memory modules can
also be connected.
Expansion units
Modules for the input and output of signals are plugged into expansion units. The latter are
connected to the central controller via interface modules. Expansion units can be connected in
two configurations.
A. Centralized configuration
The expansion units (EU) are located in the same cabinet as the central controllers or in
an adjacent cabinet in the centralized configuration, several expansion units can be
connected to one central controller. The length of the cable from the central controller to
the most distant expansion unit is often limited based on data transfer speeds.
B. Distributed configuration
The expansion units can be located at a distance of up to 1000 m from the central
controller. In the distributed configuration, up to 16 expansion units can be connected to
one central controller. Four additional expansion units can be connected in the centralized
configuration to each distributed expansion unit and to the central controller.
Input/Output Units
A host of input and output modules are connected to the PLC bus to exchange data with
the processor unit. These can be broadly categorized into Digital Input Modules, Digital
Output Modules, Analog Input Modules, Analog Output Modules and Special Purpose Modules.
Digital Input Modules
The digital inputs modules convert the external binary signals from the process to the
internal digital signal level of programmable controllers.
Digital Output Modules
The digital output modules convert the internal signal levels of the programmable
controllers into the binary signal levels required externally by the process.
Analog Input Modules
The analog input modules convert the analog signals from the process into digital values
which are then processed by the programmable controller.
Analog Output Modules
The analog output modules convert digital values from the programmable controller into
the analog signals required by the process.
Special Purpose Modules
These may include special units for:

• High speed counting

• High accuracy positioning
• On-line self-optimizing control
• Multi axis synchronisation, interpolation
These modules contain additional processors, and are used to relieve the main CPU from
the high computational loads involved in the corresponding tasks. These are discussed in
detail in Lesson 22
Programmers
External programming units can be used to download programs into the program memory of
the CPU. The external field programmers provide several software features that facilitate
program entry in graphical form. The programmers also provide comprehensive aids for
debugging and execution monitoring support logic and sequence control systems. Printer can
be connected to the programmers for the purpose of documenting the program. In
some cases, special programming packages that run on Personal Computers, can also be used
as programming units. There are two ways of entering the program:
A. Direct program entry to the program memory (RAM) plugged into the central controller.
For this purpose, the programmer is connected to the processor or to the programmer
interface modules.
B. Programming the EPROM sub modules in the programmer without connecting it to the
PC (off-line). The memory sub modules are then plugged into the central controller.

Unit 4
Programming Sequence Control :
Software Environment and
Programming of PLCs

Structure of a PLC Program

There are several options in programming a PLC, as discussed earlier. In all the options
the common control of them is that PLC programs are structured in their composition. i.e.
they consist of individual, separately defined programs sections which are executed in
sequence. These programs sections are called ‘blocks”. Each program section contains
statements. The blocks are supposed to be functionally independent. Assigning a particular
(technical) function to a specific block, which has clearly defined and simple interfaces with
other blocks, yields a clear program structure. The testing of such programs in sections is
substantially simplified.
Various types of blocks are available according to the function of the program section.
In general the major part of the program is contained in blocks that contain the program
logic graphically represented. For improved modularity, these blocks can be called in a
sequence or in nested configurations.
Special Function Blocks, which are similar to application library modules, are used to
realize either frequently reoccurring or extremely complex functions. The function block
can be “parameterized”.
The interface to the operating system of the PLC, which are similar to the system calls
in application programming for Personal Computers, are defined in special blocks. They are
only called upon by the system program for particular modes of execution and in the case
of the faults.
Function blocks are also used where the realization of the logic control STEP 5 statements
can’t be carried out graphically. Similarly, individual steps of a control sequence can be
programmed into such a block and reused at various points in a program or by various
programs. PLC manufacturers offer standard functions blocks for complex functions,
already tested and documented. With adequate expertise the user can produce his own
function blocks. Some very common function blocks (analog input put, interface function
blocks for communication processors and others) may be integrated as standard function
blocks and supported by the operating system of the PLC.
Users can also define separate data blocks for special purposes, such as monitoring, trending etc.,
and perform read/write on such areas.

Such facilities of structured programming result in programs, which are easier to read,
write, debug and maintain.
Program Execution
There are different ways and means of executing a user program. Normally a cyclic
execution program is preferred and this cyclic operators are given due priorities. Program
processing in a PLC happens cyclically with the following execution:
1. After the PLC is initialised, the processor reads the individual inputs. This status of the
input is stored in the process- image input table (PII).
2. This processor processes the program stored in the program memory. This consists of a
list of logic functions and instructions, which are successively processed, so that the
required input information will already be accessed before the read in PII and the
matching results are written into a process-image output table (PIQ). Also other storage
areas for counters, timers and memory bits will be accessed during program processing
by the processor if necessary.
3. In the third step after the processing of the user program, the status from the PIQ will
transfer to the outputs and then be switched on and/or off. Afterwards it begins the
execution of the next cycle from step 1.
The same cyclic process also acts upon an RLL program.
The time required by the microprocessor to complete one cycle is known as the scan time. After
all rungs have been tested, the PLC then starts over again with the first rung. Of course the scan
time for a particular processor is a function of the processor speed, the number of rungs, and the
complexity of each rung.
Initialise
Read all
inputs
Program
Update all
outputs
Fig. 19.1 The cyclic execution of PLC Programs

Interrupt Driven and Clock Driven Execution Modes

A cyclically executing program can however be interrupted by a suitably defined signal
resulting in an interrupt driven mode of program execution (when fast reaction time is
required). If the interrupting signal occurs at fixed intervals we can also realized time
synchronous execution (i.e. with closed loop control function). The cyclic execution,
synchronized by a real time clock is the most common program structure for a PLC.
Similarly, programmers can also define error-handling routines in their programs. Specific
and defined error procedures are then invoked if the PLC operating system encounters fault of
given types during execution.
The Relay Ladder Logic (RLL) Diagram

A Relay Ladder Logic (RLL) diagram, also referred to as a Ladder diagram is a
visual and logical method of displaying the control logic which, based on the inputs
determine the outputs of the program. The ladder is made up of a series of “rungs” of
logical expressions expressed graphically as series and parallel circuits of relay logic
elements such as contacts, timers etc. Each rung consist of a set of inputs on the left end of the
rung and a single output at the right end of each rung. The structure of a rung is shown below
in Fig. 19.1(a) & (b). Fig. 19.1 shows the internal structure of a simple rung in terms its
element contacts connected in a series parallel circuit.

Rung Logic
] Rung
Relay coil
•
(Virtual)
Power
•
Rails
Fig. 19.1(a) The structure of Relay Ladder Logic Programs for PLCs
Fig. 19.1(b) The internal structure of a simple Rung
RLL Programming Paradigms: Merits and Demerits

For the programs of small PLC systems, RLL programming technique has been regarded as
the best choice because a programmer can understand the relations of the contacts and
coils intuitively. Additionally, a maintenance engineer can easily monitor the operation of
the RLL program on its graphical representation because most PLC manufacturers provide an
animated display that clearly identifies the states of the contacts and coils. Although RLL
is still an important language of IEC 1131-3, as the memory size of today's PLC systems
increases, a large-sized RLL program brings some significant problems because RLL is
not particularly suitable for the well-structured programming: It is difficult to structure
an RLL program hierarchically.

Example: Forward Reverse Control
OP001
IN002
OP001
IN001 OP002
OP002
IN001 IN003
OP002
OP001
Fig. 19.2 RLL Diagram for the Forward Reverse Control Problem
This example explains the control process of moving a motor either in the forward direction or in
the reverse direction. The direction of the motor depends on the polarity of the supply. So in
order to control the motor, either in the forward direction or in the reverse direction, we have to
provide the supply with the corresponding polarity. The Fig 19.2 depicts the procedure to
achieve this using Relay Ladder Logic. Here, the Ladder consists of two rungs corresponding to
forward and reverse motions.
The rung corresponding to forward motion consists of

1. A normally closed stop push-button (IN001),
2. A normally opened forward run push-button (IN002) in parallel with a normally
opened auxillary contact(OP001),
3. A normally closed auxillary contact(OP002) and
4. The contacter for coil(OP001).
Similarly, the rung corresponding to reverse motion consists of

1. A normally closed stop push-button (IN001),
2. A normally opened forward run push-button (IN003) in parallel with a normally
opened auxillary contact(OP002),
3. A normally closed auxillary contact(OP001) and
4. The contacter for coil(OP002).
Operation: The push-buttons(PB) represented by IN--- are real input push-buttons, which are to
be manually operated. The auxillary contacts are operated through program. Initially the machine
is at standstill, no voltage supply is present in the coils, and the PBs are as shown in the fig. The
stop PB is intially closed, the motor will not move until the forward run PB/reverse run PB is
closed. Suppose we want to run the motor in the forward direction from standstill, the outputs of
the coils contacters have logic ‘0’ and hence both the auxillary contacts are turned on. If we press
and release the forward run PB, the positive voltage from the +ve voltage rail is passed to the

coil. Once the coil contacter gives the logic ‘1’, the following consequences takes place
simultaneously
A. The auxillary contact OP001 in the second rung becomes opened,which stops the voltage
for reverse motion of the motor. At this stage, the second rung is not turned on even the
reverse run PB is pressed by mistake.
B. The auxillary contact OP001 is the first rung is on, which provides the path for the
positive voltage until the stop PB is pressed. Here the auxillary contact OP001 acts as a
‘latch’, which facilitates even to remove the PB IN002 once the coil OP001 is on.
If we want to rotate the motor in the reverse direction, the stop PB is to be pressed sothat
no voltage in the coil is present, then we can turn on the PB corresponding to reverse run. This
is a simple example of ‘interlocking’, where each rung locks the operation of the other rung.
There are several other programming paradigms for PLCs. Two of them are mentioned here
for briefly.
The Function Chart (IEC)

Depicts the logic control task symbols in terms of functional blocks connected symbolically in
a graphic format.
The Statement List (STL)

Is made up of series of assembly language like statements each one of which represents a
logic control statement executable by the processor of the programmable controller. The
statement list is the most unrestricted of all the methods of representation. Individual
statements are made up of mnemonics, which represent the function to be executed. This
method of representation is favoured by those who have already had experience in
programming microprocessors or computers.
Typical Operands of PLC Programs

In the RLL Program that we have already seen we have already encountered contacts and
output coils. However, there are some other elements of a RLL diagram which are commonly
used in industrial applications. These are described in some detail below.
Inputs I, Output Q
Generally, the operands of a PLC program can be classified as inputs (I) and outputs (Q).
The input operands refer to external signals of the controlled system, whose values are acquired
from the input signal modules. The operating system of the PLC assigns the signal status of the
input and output modules into the process image of the inputs and outputs at the beginning
of the program. The operand area is located within the process image of the central controller
RAM. Within the program, the signal status of the operand area is scanned and
processed into logic functions in accordance with the user program; the individual bits
within the process output image are fixed. When the program has been executed the
operating system transfers the signal

status of the process image independently to the output modules. This method enables faster
program execution because access to the process image is executed much faster than access to
the I/O – modules.
In RLL Programs, inputs are represented as contacts. Two types of contacts are used, namely,
normally open and normally closed contacts. The difference in the sense of interpretation
between these contacts is shown below.
The switch shown here is a NO contact, i.e. it is closed when it is active.
NO NO NO NO
contact contact contact contact
inactive open active closed
Fig. 19.3 (a) NO Contact interpretation
The switch shown here is a NC contact. i.e. it is closed when it is not active.
NC NC NC NC
contact contact contact contact
inactive closed active open
Fig. 19.3 (b) NC Contact interpretation
Internal Variable Operands or Flags

In addition to the inputs and outputs, which correspond to physical signals in the
controlled systems internal variables are required to save the intermediate
computational values of the program. These are referred to as Flags, or the Auxiliary
Contacts in Relay Ladder Logic parlance. The number of such variables admissible in a
program may be limited. Such auxiliary contacts correspond to output values and are
assumed to be activated by the corresponding output values. They may be either of an NO
or an NC type. Therefore, an NO auxiliary contact would be closed if the corresponding output
is active i.e. has value “1”.

Timer
These are special operands of a PLC, which represent a time delay relay in a relay logic
system. The time functions are a fixed component of the central processing unit. The number
of these varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and from product to product. It is possible
to achieve time delays in the range of few milliseconds to few hours.
Set time
Run Logic delay value
Preset Goes high

Reg
When
Output TR = PR
Timing coil
Reg
Enable
Reset Stores Current
Logic Time
Fig. 19.4 Structure of a Typical Timer
Representation for timers is shown in Fig. 19.4. Timers have a preset register value, which
represent the maximum count it can hold and can be set using software/program. The figure
shown below has a ‘enable reset logic’ and ‘run logic’ in connection with the timer. The counter
doesnot work and the register consists of ‘zero’ until the enable reset logic is ‘on’. Once the
‘enable reset logic’ is ‘on’, the counter starts counting when the ‘run logic’ is ‘on’. The output is
‘on’ only when the counter reaches the maximum count.
Various kinds of timers are explained as follows
On delay timer: The input and output signals of the on delay timer are as shown in the Fig. 19.6.
When the input signal becomes on, the output signal becomes on with certain delay. But when
the input signal becomes off, the output signal also becomes off at the same instant. If the input
becomes on and off with the time which less than the delay time, there is no change in the output
and remains in the ‘off’ condition even the input is turned on and off i.e., output is not observed
until the input pulse width is greater than the delay time.

Input
Output
Delay
Fig. 19.5 A Typical Input output waveform for an On-Delay Timer
I01 O01
PR= O02
O01
Delay
Value
O01
Fig. 19.6 The realization of an On-delay timer from a general timer.
Realization of on-delay timer: The realization of on-delay timer using the basic timer shown in
the previous fig is explained here. The realization is as shown in the Fig. 19.6, which shows a
real input switch(IN001), coil1(OP002), two normally opened auxillary contacts(OP002),
coil2(OP002). When the real input switch is ‘on’ the coil(OP002) is ‘on’ and hence both the
auxillary switches are ‘on’. Now the counter value starts increasing and the output of the timer is
‘on’ only after it reaches the maximum preset count. The behaviour of this timer is shown in
figure, which shows the on-delay timer. The value in the counter is ‘reset’ when the input
switch(IN001) is off as the ‘enable reset logic’ is ‘off’. This is a non-retentive timer.
Off delay timer: The input and output signals of the off delay timer are as shown in the Fig.
19.7. When the input signal becomes on, the output signal becomes on at the same time. But
when the input signal becomes off, the output signal becomes ‘off’ with certain delay. If the
input becomes on and off with the time which less than the delay time, there is no change in the
output and remains in the ‘on’ condition even the ipnut is turned on and off i.e., the delay in the
output is not observed until the input pulse width is greater than the delay time.

Input
Output
Delay Del
Delay
Timer But
Starts resets
Fig. 19.7 A Typical Input output waveform for an Off-Delay Timer
Realization of off-delay timer: The realization of on-delay timer using the basic timer shown in
the previous fig is explained here. The realization is as shown in the Fig. 19.8, which shows a
real input switch(IN001), coil1(OP002), two normally closed input contacts(IN001), output
contacts (OP002,OP003). When the real input switch is ‘on’, the coil(OP002) is ‘on’ and both
the auxillary input switches are ‘off’. Now the output contact(OP002) becomes ‘off’ which in
turn makes the auxillary contact(OP002) in the third rung to become ‘on’ and hence the output
contact(OP003) is ‘on’. When the real input switch is ‘off’, the counter value starts increasing
and the output of the contact becomes ‘on’ after the timer reaches the maximum preset count. At
this time the auxillary contact in the third rung becomes ‘off’ and so is the output
contact(OP003). The input and output signals are as shown in the figure, which explain the off-
delay timer.
I01 O01
O02
I01 PR = delay value
I01
I01 O02
O03
O03
Fig. 19.8 The realization of an Off-delay timer from a general timer.
Fixed pulse width timer: The input and output signals of the fixed pulse width timer are as
shown in the Fig 19.9. When the input signal becomes on, the output signal becomes on at the

same time and remains on for a fixed time then becomes ‘off’. The output pulse width is
independent of input pulse width.
Input
Output
Fig. 19.9 A Typical Input output waveform for a Fixed Width Timer
O01
I01
I01 PR= O02

Pulse width
I01
I01 O02 O03
Fig. 19.10 The realization of a Fixed width timer from a general timer.
Retentive timer: The input and output signals of the retentive timer are as shown in the 19.11.
This is also implemented internally in a register as in the previous case. When the input is ‘on’ ,
the internal counter starts counting until the input is ‘off’ and at this time, the counter holds the
value till next input pulse is applied and then starts counting starting with the value existing in
the register. Hence it is named as ‘retentive’ timer. The output is ‘on’ only when the counter
reaches its ‘terminal count’.

Input
ACC
A B C
A+B+C=T
Reset
Fig. 19.11 A Typical Input output waveform for a Retentive Timer
Non-retentive timer: The input and output signals of the non-retentive timer are as shown in the
Fig. 19.11. This is implemented internally in a register. When the input is ‘on’, the internal
counter starts counting until the input is ‘off’ and at this time the value in the counter is reset to
zero. Hence it is named as non-retentive timer. The output is ‘on’ only when the counter reaches
its ‘terminal count’.
Input
Preset
Output
Fig. 19.12 A Typical Input output waveform for a Fixed Width Timer
MOOC
Counter
The counting functions (C) operate as hardware counters, but are a fixed component of
the central processing unit. The number of these varies for each of the
programmable controllers. It is possible to count up as well as to count down. The counting
range is from 0 to 999. The count is either dual or BCD coded for further processing.

Counter
Set terminal
Count valve
Count Goes high
Logic Preset When
CR incremented CR = PR
by 1 every time Output
Count Count coil
logic
goes high Enable/Reset Stores
Logic Current
count
Fig. 19.13 Structure of a Typical Counter
User defined Data

If the memory capacity of the flag area is not sufficient to memorize the signal status and
data, the operand area “data” (D) is applied. In general, in the flag area, primarily binary
conditions apply, whereas in the data area digital values prevail and are committed to memory.
The data is organized into data blocks (DB). 256 data words with 16 bit each can be addressed
to each data block. The data is stored in the user memory sub module. The available
capacity within the module has to be shared with the user program.
Addressing
The designation of a certain input or output within the program is referred to as
addressing. Different PLC manufacturers adopt different conventions for specifying the address
of a specific input or output signal. A typical addressing scheme adopted in PLCs
manufacturers by Siemens is illustrated in the sequel.
The inputs and outputs of the PLCs are mostly defined in groups of eight on digital input and/
or digital output devices. This eight unit is called a byte. Every such group receives a number
as a byte address. Each in/output byte is divided into 8 individual bits, through which it can
respond with. These bits are numbered from bit 0 to bit 7. Thus one receives a bit
address. For example, in the address I0.4, I denotes that the address type is specified as
Input, 0 is the byte address and 4 the bit address. Similarly in the address Q5.7, Q denotes
that the address type is specified as Output, 5 is the byte address and 7 is the bit address.
Operation Set
The operation set of PLC programming languages can be divided into four major function
groups:
¾ Binary or Logic functions

¾ Numeric or Arithmetic functions

¾ Program control functions and
¾ Other statements
Binary function combines primarily binary signal status with logic operations. The
logic functions (binary logic operation) are the AND and the OR functions, according to the
series and the parallel circuit arrangement on the ladder diagram. The result of the logic
operation together with the memory function is then assigned to the appropriate operand. The
majority of operands are inputs (I), output (O) and flags (F). With the result of logic operations
of binary logic, timers can be enabled and started and counters can be initiated, incremented to
count up or decremented to count down. Because the results of the time and count functions
can be combined with logic functions, the associated operations are considered to be part of the
group of binary functions.
Arithmetic functions are primarily used to perform arithmetic on numerical values. These
can be combined with logic operations, such that the numeric operations can be enabled or
disabled in a given scan based on logic conditions, much like “if then else” programming
constructs. Similarly, logic conditions can be derived from numeric variables using
operations like comparison.
Logic operations are established in the register of the processor (in the “accumulators”). The
registers are loaded with a loading operation (they are supplied with a value). The result of the
logic operation is then transferred back to the operand area via a transfer operation. Digital
functions are:
Program Control operations include, Function block calls and Jump functions.

On delay timer
On – Delay Timer
O01
O02
On delay
BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL
Off Delay timer
OP001
OP002
OP003
Off
Delay
Fixed Pulse Width
Fixed Pulse width
I01
003

Unit 4
Chapter : Sequence Control
Formal Modelling of Sequence

Control Specifications and
Structured RLL Programming

Motivation for Formal Modelling

To be convinced about the need for developing formal models for control problems in
a systematic way, consider the example shown below.
Industrial Logic Control Example Revisited

Consider the industrial logic control example of the stamping process presented in Lesson
18. Let us recall the description of the process given in the lesson. For convenience of
reference the description and a pictorial representation of the process is reproduced below.
Piston
Up Top limit switch

Sole-
noid Bottom limit switch
Down Die
Solenoid
Fig 20.1 An Industrial Logic Control Example
Linguistic description of the industrial stamping process

The die stamping process is shown in figure 20.1. This process consists of a metal stamping
die fixed to the end of a piston. The piston is extended to stamp a work piece and retracted to
allow the work piece to be removed. The process has 2 actuators: an up solenoid and a down
solenoid, which respectively control the electro-hydraulic direction control valves for the
extension and retraction of the stamping piston and die. The process also has 2 sensors: an
upper limit switch
3

that indicates when the piston is fully retracted and a lower limit switch that indicates when
the piston is fully extended. Lastly, the process has a master switch which is used to start the
process and to shut it down.
The control computer for the process has 3 inputs (2 from the limit sensors and 1 from the
master switch) and controls 2 outputs (1 to each actuator solenoid).
The desired control algorithm for the process is simply as follows. When the master switch
is turned on, the die-stamping piston is to reciprocate between the extended and retracted
positions, stamping parts that have been placed in the extended piston machine. When the
master switch is switched off, the piston is to return to a shutdown configuration with the
actuators off and the piston fully retracted.
At first, let us consider an Relay Ladder Logic program that has been written directly from
the linguistic description and assess it for suitability of operations.
The first version of sequence control program for the industrial

stamping process
Master Switch Bottom LS Up_sol
Dn_sol
Up_sol Top_LS
Master Switch Top_LS Dn_sol
Up_sol
Dn_sol Bottom LS
Fig. 20.2 An RLL program for the industrial stamping process

A hastily constructed RLL program for the above process may look like the one given in Figure
20.2. The above program logic indicates that the Up solenoid output becomes activated when the
Master Switch is on and the bottom Limit Switch is on. Also there is interlock provided, so that
when the Down solenoid is on, the Up solenoid cannot be on. Further, once the Up solenoid is
on, the output is latched by an auxiliary contact, so that it remains on till the bottom LS is made
on, when it turns off. A similar logic has been implemented for the activation of the Down
solenoid.
However, on closer examination, several problems may be discovered with the above program.
Some of these are discussed below.
• For example, there is no provision for a Master stop switch to stop the press from
stopping in an emergency, except by turning the Master Switch off. This would indeed
stop the process, however, if the press stops midway, both bottom and top limit switches
would be off. Now the process would not start, even if the Master switch is turned on
again. Therefore, either a manual jogging control needs to be provided, so that the

operator can return the piston to the up position by manually operating the hydraulics, or
special auto mode logic should be designed to perform this.
• As a second example, note that this process does not have a part detect sensor. This
implies that the moment the Master switch is on the press would start going up and down
at its own travel speed, regardless of whether a part has been placed for pressing or not.
Apart from wastage of energy, this could be safety hazard for an operator who has to
place the part on the machine between the interval of a cycle of operation.
The above discussion clearly indicates the need for a systematic approach towards
the development of RLL programs for industrial logic control problems. This is all the more
true since industrial process control is critical application domain where control errors can
lead to loss of production or operator safety. Therefore, in this chapter, we discuss a
systematic approach towards the design of RLL programs.
Steps in Sequence Control Design

The approach to Sequence control Design presented below is derived from the basic principles
of modern software engineering practices. An interested student is referred to standard
software engineering references for a more detailed discussion on these.
A brief description of the steps follows:
The broad initial steps are

- Requirement Analysis
- For Modelling of the process
- Design
- Design verification and validation
A. Requirements Analysis
This is a very important initial step. Errors in this step may be discovered very late
during commissioning of the control system and can result in loss of significant amount of
man-hours. Note that, since the control engineer is not necessarily an expert in plant operations.
Therefore it is quite natural that he may not understand requirements and characteristics of
process operations fully, without conscious and significant effort.

Therefore, this phase is to be carried out in close consultation with the plant engineers of the user
organization. It basically involves studying the system behavioral aspects of the system to:
i) identify the feedback inputs from sensors and the external operator inputs from Man
Machine Interface (MMI),
ii) identify the controller outputs to actuators and the outputs to the indicators/ MMI,
iii) study and document the sequence of actions and events under the various operational
‘modes’. This should not only indicate the ‘normal’ modes, but also ‘emergency’, ‘start-
up’, ‘shut-down’ and other special modes operation that may not be occurring very
frequently but important all the same.
iv) study the effects of possible failures in the process as well as sensors and identify
possible means of recovery. Although a failure may be very rare in occurrence, unless
they are considered, some of them may have devastating consequences when they occur.
Failures in a process can occur in the sensors, the actuators, or some time the process
equipment itself.
v) examine need for manual override control, additional sensors, indicators, and alarms for
maintenance, operational efficiency or safety.
Initially, often the above information may be collected in the form of informal linguistic
descriptions by direct discussion with plant personnel. Further, it must be remembered
that software development is often an iterative process and therefore, the above analysis steps
may have to be repeated a number of times for an actual design exercise.
Requirements Analysis for the Stamping Process

As given above the first step in requirement analysis is to identify the Process Control Inputs
that need to be sensed and the Process Control outputs that need to be actuated.
Process Control Inputs

• Part sensor: A position switch that detects when a part has been placed. In cases where
proper positioning of the part can take time. One may also consider using manual switch
to be operated by the operator once he is satisfied that the part is properly placed and
ready to be stamped. Here an automated part detect sensor has been assumed.
• Auto PB : A push button that indicates that machine is ready to stamp parts one after the
other in the ‘automatic mode’
• Stop PB: A push button that the operator can use to stop the machine any time during the
time that the piston is moving down. This is needed to avoid stamping a part if any last
second error is discovered by the operator regarding, say, the placement of the part.
• Reset PB: In case the piston has been stopped due to some error condition, it is desired
that the operator explicitly presses this push button to indicate that the error has been
taken care of, and the machine is ready to return to stamping in the auto mode.
• Bottom LS: This sensor indicates when the piston has reached the bottom position.
• Top LS: This sensor indicates when the piston has reached the top position.

Process Control Outputs

• Up Solenoid: Control output that drives the Up solenoid of the electro-hydraulic
direction control valve which in turn drives the piston up.
• Down Solenoid: Control output that drives the Up solenoid of the electro-hydraulic
direction control valve which in turn drives the piston up.
• Auto Mode Indicator: An indicator lamp that indicates that the machine is in ‘Auto’
mode.
• Part Hold: A gripping actuator that holds the part firmly to avoid movements during
stamping
Sequence of Events and Actions

A. The “Auto” PB turns the Auto Indicator Lamp on
B. When a part is detected, the press ram advances down to the bottom limit switch
C. The press then retracts up to top limit switch and stops
D. A “Stop” PB, if pressed, stops the press only when it is going down
E. If the “Stop” PB is pressed, the “Reset” PB must be pressed before the “Auto” PB can be
pressed
F. After retracting, the press waits till the part is removed and the next part is detected
Effects of failures
Among possible failures for this process are drops in hydraulic pump pressure, failures in top
and bottom limit switches etc. The exact nature of the failures and its impact need to be
understood for the application context. While this should be done, it requires domain
knowledge for the

control engineer. This is therefore not attempted here for reasons of conciseness. However,
the learner is encouraged to augment the control logic with additional logic to detect such
failures rapidly and initiate activities for fault tolerance.
Formal process modelling

Once the requirements have been ascertained, formal process modelling can be undertaken.
In this step the informal linguistic descriptions have to be rigorously checked for
ambiguity, inconsistency or incompleteness. This is best achieved by converting linguistic
descriptions into formal process models. Initially one may use intermediate forms like list of
operations, flowchart etc. Eventually and before developing the control programs, these are
to be converted into mathematically unambiguous and consistent description using a
formal modeling framework such as a Finite State Machine (FSM). It is the experience of
practical engineers that modelling paradigms that can be represented pictorially are particularly
suited to human beings.
For formal modelling, a process often can be viewed as a Discrete Event System (DES). Many
formalisms for creating timed or untimed models of DESs exist (e.g. Petri Nets). A
detailed description of these is beyond the scope of this lesson. An interested reader is
referred to literature on real-time systems for a more detailed discussion on these. In this
lesson, it is shown how the process dynamics can be modeled as a Finite State Machine. The
following facts which are very important to modelling are mentioned.
A. An FSM is a simple formalism for DES in which, at any time, the system exists
in any one discrete-state of a finite set of such states.
B. A state is basically an assignment of values to the set of variables of the system. For a
discrete event system, the process variables are assumed to take only a finite set of values.
For example, the limit switches can only take two values each, namely, either ON or OFF.
C. Further, the set of the process variables have to be chosen in such a manner that, the future
behaviour of the process would be determined solely based on the values of the chosen set of
variables at the present time. For example, for the stamping press example, the set of process
variables would include the values for the Top and Bottom limit switches. However, based
only on these the behaviour of the process cannot be determined. This is because from these
it cannot be determined whether the piston is moving up or moving down. Therefore one
would have to add the state of the motion as a state variable. The set of values that this
variable can take are: ‘going up’, ‘going down’ and ‘stationary’. In this case, one would also
have to add another variable, namely the value of the part detect sensor output to be able to
distinguish between the behavioral difference between the case when it is ON and when it is
OFF, when the piston is at the top position.
D. Some of the state variables may be measured physically with sensors. Others may not be.

E. The choice of state variables can be subjective and different designers might pick others.
The choice also depends on the nature of control actions that one would like to take.
Thus, the choice of states is specific to the machine and its operation.
F. During its life cycle, the process moves from state to state over time. Thus it spends
most of its time in the states. Occasionally however, it makes a transition from one
state to another. The occurrence of a transition depends entirely on the occurrence of
discrete events. Such events are names given to conditions involving states, some of
which may change due to external factors, such as operator inputs, or due to internal
factors, such passage of time. On occurrence of such an event, mechanisms causing
state transitions are triggered. State transitions or events are generally considered
instantaneous and thus, the system spends time only in the various states. State variables
are modified by the occurrence of transitions. In fact, it is this change in the values of
the state variables, which is taken to be a transition from one state to another.
G. All possible combinations of state variables may not be valid state assignments for a
system. In other words, the system can have only some of all the possible combinations
of state variables. These are said to be the combinations that are ‘reachable’ by the
system.
H. One of the states is generally taken to be an ‘initial state’. The system, when it starts its
life cycle, that is, at the time from which its behaviour is described by the State
Diagram, is supposed to be at the initial state.
I. At each state, a set of outputs are exercised. This is described by an output table, where
the values for each output variable at each of the states is shown. The output table for the
stamping press is shown in Figure 20.x.
1 F
G
A
2
B
3
C
D
4
5 E
Figure 20.3 The State Diagram for the industrial stamping press

State No.
6
O/P
Auto Indicator 0 1 1 1 0 1
Part Hold 0 0 1 1 0 0
Up Sol 0 0 0 1 0 0
Down Sol 0 0 1 0 0 0
Figure 20.4 The Output Table for the industrial stamping press
From the State Diagram in Fig. 20.3, the following may be noted.
A. The states are marked numerically using the numerals 1-6. At each state, one has a
unique set of values for the process state variables. For example, in state 3, both the limit
switches are OFF, the part detect switch in ON, the motion state variable of the piston is
‘going down’. State 1 is marked as the initial state with a double square.
B. The transitions are marked alphabetically using the letters A-G. Each transition has an
associated condition under which it occurs. For example, the condition for transition B
may be simply stated as “when it in state 2 and part detect goes ON’. Note that the
condition described by the phrase ‘in state 2’ can be further explained in terms of the
values of the state variable corresponding to state 2.
C. The outputs exercised at each state are described by the Output Table in Fig. 20.4.
Design of RLL Program

Based on the formal model, the sequence control program can be developed systematically.
In fact, one of the main advantages of formal process modelling is that the process of
development of the control program becomes mechanical. Thus it can be done quickly and
with a much reduced chance of error. In the case of FSM models one has to write the RLL
program such that over the scan cycles it executes the state machine itself. The outputs of the
state machine go to the process, and since the state machine is nothing but a behavioral
model for the process, the process also executes the transitions of the machine, as desired.
The realization of a state machine by an RLL program involves computation of the process
transitions, in terms of the inputs and the internal state variables of the program followed by
computation of the new states and finally, the outputs corresponding to the states. This method
is demonstrated here for RLL programming using the above example of the industrial stamping
process.
The ladder logic begins with a section to initialize the states and transitions to a single
value, corresponding to the initial state. Some PLCs programming languages provide
special instructions for such initialization. In this case, however, it is assumed that all auxiliary
variables representing the states are set to zero initially. Logic is provided such that in the
first scan the auxiliary state variable corresponding to the initial state would be set to 1.
The next section of the ladder logic considers the transitions and then checks for
transition conditions. Each transition condition contains an auxiliary NO contact
corresponding to the source state from which it is defined. For example, note that the logic for
the rung corresponding to transition A contains a contact corresponding to state 1, which is the
source state for transition A. Further, it contains the other logical terms corresponding to the
input state variables as well as

timer outputs, if applicable. In the case of transition A, the external condition is simply the
pressing of the Auto PB. Note that, in any scan cycle, at most one transition can be enabled.
The next block of rungs constitutes the state logic. If the transition logic for any transition is
satisfied, the following state logic which is the destination state for the enabled transition is to be
turned on and the state logic which is the source state for the enabled transition is to be turned
off. Therefore each of the rungs corresponding to a state contains one auxiliary NO contact
corresponding to the transition for which that state is a destination state. Similarly, each of the
rungs corresponding to a state contains one auxiliary NC contact corresponding to the transition
for which that state is a source state in series with the above NO contact. If there is more than
one transition for which the state is a destination, all the auxiliary NO contacts corresponding to
these transitions should be put in parallel. Similarly, if there is more than one transition, for
which the present state is a source, all the auxiliary NC contacts corresponding to these
transitions are to be put in series. This occurs in the same scan cycle in which the transition logic
is turned on, since the state logic rungs follow those corresponding to transition logic. Note that
at the end of every scan cycle, there is only one state logic that is enabled.
Now that the state logic has changed, in the next scan cycle the transition that was enabled, turns
off and the system stays in that state, till the next transition logic gets enabled. So that the state
logic remains turned on, even if a transition for which this state is a source, turns off, an NO
auxiliary contact corresponding to the state that latches the state logic is to be provided in
parallel with the parallel block of all the auxiliary NO contacts for each transition for which the
present state is a destination.
State 1 Auto PB Transition

A
State 2 Part Detect Transition B
State 3 Bottom LS Stop PB
Transition C
Fig. 20.5 State Transition Logic
BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION

State 1
Trans G
St 3 St 5 State 1
St 2 St 4 St 6 Trans A
Trans A Trans B
State 2
State 2 Trans D
Trans B State 3
Trans C
State 3 State 4
Trans E
Trans C
Fig. 20.6 State Logic
This is followed by ladder logic to turn on outputs as requires by the steps. This section of ladder
logic corresponds to the actions for each step. The rung for each output therefore contains one
NO auxiliary contact corresponding to the state in which it is enabled. If an output is enabled at
more than one state, the auxiliary NO contacts corresponding to those states would be connected
in parallel. Similarly, if Manual switch or PB contacts are required, they also have to be put in
parallel with the contacts for the states.
State 2
Auto Indicator Lamp
Manual Sw.
State 3 Dn Sol
Man Dn. Sol PB

Fig. 20.7 Output Logic
Some of the rungs corresponding to state, transition and output logics of the industrial stamping
process are shown in Fig. 20.5-20.7. These are mostly self explanatory. The reader is advised to
check the correctness of these rungs.

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INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION AND

KCES's COLLAGE OF ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT,JALGAON

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Definition: Automation is a set of technologies that results in operation of

A Definition from Encyclopaedia Britannica

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Definition: Control is a set of technologies that achieves desired patterns of variations

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Industrial Automation vs. Industrial Information Technology

Industrial IT mentioned in Fig. 1.1 (Hint: Try using the internet)

However, Industrial Automation is distinct from IT in the following senses

A. Industrial Automation also involves significant amount of hardware technologies, related

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Role of automation in industry

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Material Energy Manpower Infrastructure

Fig. 1.2 The Components of per unit Manufacturing Cost

Automation can achieve all these in the following ways,

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Production Material Idle Quality Assurance Time

9 Similarly, systems such as Automated Guided Vehicles, Industrial Robots, Automated

¾ At first, a product is conceived based on Market feedbacks, as well as Research and

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Fig. 1.5 A Typical Industrial Product Life Cycle

Economy of Scale and Economy of Scope

Obviously, Automation facilitates economy of scale, since, as explained above, it enables

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

enabled by Industrial Automation Technology that Flexible Manufacturing (i.e.

Types of production systems

¾ Continuous flow process: Manufactured product is in continuous quantities i.e., the

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Fig. 1.6 Types of Production Systems

Types of Automation Systems

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Fixed automation is appropriate in the following circumstances.

Flexible automation, on the other hand is used in the following situations.

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

The Functional Elements of Industrial Automation

Sensing and Actuation Elements

Industrial Sensors and Instrument Systems

Fig. 2.1 Functional configuration of a typical sensor system

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Industrial Actuator Systems

Signal Power Variable Energy

Fig. 2.2 Functional configuration of a typical actuator system

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

B. The electronic power amplification element sometimes contains linear power

Industrial Control Systems

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Fig. 2.3 Typical control loop

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Sequence / Logic Control

BTEEL604 INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION CONTROL

Supervisory control systems perform, typically the following functions:

Naturally, these systems are dependent on specific application processes, in contrast

A. State three major functions of a Supervisory Control System

Level 3: Production Control