Topic 1

Introduction To Process Control

The University of Jordan

Chemical Engineering Department
Fall 2022
Prof. Yousef Mubarak
 Goal of Plant Operation

 Safety

 Production schedule

 Product quality

 Maximum profit

Industrial Perspectives
 Accidents should be avoided (human, properties)
 Exploit the opportunities
 Enterprise image, loyal customers, competitiveness
 Game of survival

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 Classification of Processes

 Based on time: Steady-state (no variations with time) and unsteady state
(variations with time).

 Based on flowing streams: continuous, non-continuous, batch, and semi-

batch.

 Examples:

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 Examples:

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• What is Process Control?
- Monitor the process status
- To drive the process to desired condition
• By manipulating adjustable handles
• How to Monitor Process Status?
- Measure important process variables by sensors
- Estimate the important variable through indirect measurements
• What are Adjustable Handles?
- Process variables manipulated by actuators
- Example: flow rate by control valve, motor speed by inverter

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Example: refinery

Some Important Issues:

 Measure product quality
 Adjust energy input and product distribution
 Make more valuable products with least energy
 Not to violate any process constraints

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 Specific Objectives of Control:

 Increase product throughput

 Increase yield of higher valued products

 Decrease energy consumption

 Decrease pollution

 Decrease off-spec product

 Increase safety

 Extend life of equipment

 Improve operability

 Decrease production labor

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 Justifications of Process Control

 Stronger competition

 Tougher environment regulation

 Tougher safety regulation

 Rapidly changing economic conditions

 Highly integrated plants

 Strict quality control

 Due to the uncertainties:

o Imperfect process design

o Disturbances and changes in operating conditions

o Difficulties in startup and shutdown

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 Through Control, We Can Achieve

 Safe operation

 Satisfying environmental constraints

 Economic benefits

 Increased production level

 Reduced raw material cost

 Enhanced product quality

 Extended equipment life

 Potential benefits of improved process control

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 Process Control Terminology

 Controlled variables (CV’s): important process variables to be controlled at

some desired values (set points).

 Manipulated variables (MV’s): adjustable variables to keep the controlled

variables at their set-points.

 Disturbance variables (DV’s): also called “load” variables and represent input
variables that can cause the controlled variables to deviate from their
respective set points.
Remarks:

 All important variables to be controlled (CV) must be identified and measurable. (CVs
are usually direct or indirect quality variables).

 Manipulated variables (MV) to be adjusted must have significant impacts on

controlled variable. (MV’s are usually affect the CV’s)
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 Process Control Terminology

 Set-point change: implementing a change in the desired operating

conditions. The set-point signal is changed, and the manipulated
variable is adjusted appropriately to achieve the new operating
conditions. Also called servomechanism (or “servo”) control.

 Disturbance change: when a disturbance enters, also called

regulatory control or load change. A control system should be able to
return each controlled variable back to its set-point.

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 How to Control a Process?

Control Objective:
Maintain controlled variable at its set point, despite disturbances.

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 How to Control a Process?

- Manual control:

• Read the sensors, then decide the amount of change in adjustable

variable, then adjust the variable by changing the knob, or dialing
and so on.

• See if the controlled variable is moving toward the desired set point
(SP) fast enough.

• Repeat this procedure perpetually unless you are 100% sure that the
process will not deviate from set points.

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Example (crude oil furnace):

• Operator has to change two MV’s for one CV

• Operator relies on the observations and prior experiences

• Corrected by trial-and-error, inconsistent, unreliable

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- Automatic Control: Different Control Strategies

A. Feedback (FB) control

B. Feedforward (FF) control

C. Combined FF/FB control

D. Advance control…

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A. Feedback (FB) Control

 Widely used (e.g., PID controllers)

 Controller will adjust the fuel valve somehow until T is settled at set
point

 The fuel valve will be adjusted only after some change happen at the
measurement.

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• Distinguishing feature: measure the controlled variable and transmit its
value to the controller

• Advantages:

 Corrective action is taken regardless of the source and type of the

disturbance.

 Reduces sensitivity of the controlled variable to disturbances and changes

in the process ( shown later).

 Requires little knowledge about the process.

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• Disadvantages:

 FB control takes no corrective action until a deviation in the controlled

variable.

 FB control is incapable of correction a deviation from set point at the

time of its detection.

 Theoretically not capable of achieving “perfect control”.

 Very oscillatory responses, or even instability (process may not settle

out) for frequent and severe disturbances.

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B. Feedforward (FF) Control

 If there is a change in feed flow, controller will change fuel flow and exit
temperature will not deviate too much

 But the correction is based on the estimated effect of feed flow rate on T
and if it is not accurate, the exit T will not be at set point.

 Distinguishing feature: measure a disturbance variable and transmit its

value to the controller.

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• Advantages:

 Correct for disturbance before it upsets the process.

 Theoretically capable of “perfect control”.

 Does not affect system stability.

• Disadvantages:

 Must be able to measure the disturbance.

 No corrective action for unmeasured disturbances.

 Requires more knowledge of the process to be controlled ( process

model).

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C. Combined FF/FB Control

 Obtain combined advantages of FF and FB control:

FF control: attempts to eliminate the effects of measurable disturbances.

FB control: Corrects for unmeasurable disturbances, modeling errors, etc.

 But if there is a change in fuel pressure, this strategy will act only after the
effects appears at exit temperature.
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D. Advanced Control

Example. Cascade control:

“Cascade Control of an exothermic chemical reactor”

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 Cascade Control (multi-loop)

 Distinguishing features:

1. Two FB controllers but only a single control valve ( or other-final

control element).

2. Output signal from the “master” controller is the set-point for “slave”
controller.

3. Two FB control loops are “nested” with the “slave”(or “secondary”)

control loop inside the “master” (or “primary”) control loop.

 Terminology:

Slave vs Master Secondary vs Primary Inner vs Outer

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 FF/FB + Cascade Control

 Better than the others (Best so far).

 There can be other requirements to enhance the control performance.

 Need to design controllers based on the objectives given.

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- Identification letters in instrumentation and process control:

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Instrument description examples

- TT : Temperature Transmitter

- LT: Level Transmitter

- LC: Level Controller

- FC: Flow Controller

- PI: Pressure Indicator

- TAH/L: Temperature Alarm High/Low, (Normal)

- TI: Temperature Indicator

- TR: Temperature Recorder

- TIRC: Temperature Indicator, Recorder, and Controller.

Etc….

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Illustrative example : Stirred-Tank blending system

Notation:
• w1,w2 and w are mass flow rates
• x1,x2 and x are mass fractions of component A

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Assumptions:

1. w1 is constant

2. X2 = constant = 1 (stream 2 is pure A)

3. Perfect mixing in the tank

Control Objective: keep x at a desired value (or “set point”) xsp, despite
variations in x1(t). Flow rate w2 can be adjusted for this purpose.

Terminology:

• Controlled variable (or “output variable”): x

• Manipulated variable (or “input variable”): w2

• Disturbance variable ( or “load variable”): x1

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Design Question. What value of w̅2 is required to have x̅ = xSP?

(the overbar denotes nominal steady-state design values.)

Overall balance:

0 = w1 + w2 - w (1)

Component A mass balance:

w1x1 + w2x̅2 - wx̅ = 0 (2)

• At the design conditions: x̅ = xSP but x̅2 = 1

• Solve Eqns.(1) and (2) for w̅2 to have:
xSP x̅
w̅2= w̅1 xSP
(3)

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• Eq. (3) is the design equation for the blending system.

• If our assumptions are correct, then this value of w̅2 will keep x̅ at xSP.
But what if conditions change?

Control question. Suppose that the inlet concentration x1 changes with time.
How can we ensure that x remains at or near the set point xSP?

As a specific example, if x1> x̅1 and w2= w̅2 , then x>xSP

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Some possible control strategies:
Method 1. Measure x and adjust w2 manually.
• Intuitively, if x is too high, we should reduce w2;
Method 2. Measure x and adjust w2 automatically:

“Feedback control of composition (x) in Stirred-Tank blending system”

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Method 3. Measure x1 and adjust w2 automatically

• Thus, if x1 is greater than x̅1, we would decrease w2 so that w2< w ̅2

• One approach: Consider Eq. (1-3) and replace x ̅1 and w ̅2 with x1(t) and
w2(t) to get a control law:

( )
W2(t)= w ̅1 (4)

• Remark. Because Eq.(3) applies only at steady state, it is not clear how
effective the control law (Eq.4) will be for transient conditions.

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Measure x1 and adjust w2 automatically

“Feedforward control of composition (x) in Stirred-Tank Blending

System”

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Method 4: Measure x1 and x, adjust w2.

• This approach is a combination of methods 1 and 2.

Method 5. Use a larger tank

• If a larger tank is used, fluctuations in x1 will tend to be damped out due

to the larger capacitance of the tank contents.

• However, a larger tank means an increased capital cost.

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Table. 1: Control strategies for the blending system

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More illustrative examples:

“Feedback control of liquid level in a boiler drum”

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More illustrative examples:

“Feedforward control of liquid level in a boiler drum”

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More illustrative examples:

“Feedforward-feedback control of liquid level in a boiler drum”

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Classification of control strategies
• Based on the decision:
- Feedback control: based on measurement of CV
- Feedforward control: based on measurement of DV
- Open-loop control (manual): based on
predetermined scenario

• Based on set point type:

- Regulatory control: follow constant set point
overcoming the disturbance
- Servo control: follow the changing set point
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 Classification of variables

• Input

- MV (manipulated Var.): Operator can adjust it.

- DV ( disturbance Var.): Decided by external reasons (feed flow, fuel

press.)(measured DV and unmeasured DV)

- Fixed inputs.

• Output

- CV(Controlled Var.): Decided by the changes in input variables (assumed

to be measured)

- Measured and unmeasured outputs.

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 In this course we will focus on the feedback control

 Elements of process control loop;

• Process

• Sensors

• Transmitters

• Controller

• Actuator

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 The block diagram of feedback control system is:

• In this course we will visit all the block elements of the control system,
first.
• Then, analyze the whole system all together.
• Then, consider the variations of the elements.

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Illustrative examples:
• Closed-loop artificial Pancreas:

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 Illustrative examples:

• Schematic diagram of a temperature feedback control system for stirred-

tank heater:

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 Illustrative examples:

“Block diagram for temperature feedback control system”

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 Major steps in control system development:

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 Performance assessment of process control:

 Closeness to set points

 Short transient from one set point to other set points

 Smaller overshoot and less oscillation( stable control system)

 Smooth and minimum changes of variable manipulation

 Minimum usage of materials and energy

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