ChE 4745

Process Control and Dynamics

Chapter 8

Feedback Controllers
 Feedback Controllers
Chapter 8
Chapter 8

Figure 8.1 Schematic diagram for a stirred-tank blending

system.
 On-Off Controllers

• Simple
• Cheap
Chapter 8

• Used In residential heating and domestic refrigerators

• Limited use in process control due to continuous
cycling of controlled variable  excessive wear
on control valve.
Chapter 8
 On-Off Controllers (continued)
Synonyms:
Chapter 8 “two-position” or “bang-bang” controllers.
Chapter 8

Controller output has two possible values.

 Practical case (dead band)

Chapter 8
Chapter 8
 Basic Control Modes
Next we consider the three basic control modes starting
with the simplest mode, proportional control.

Proportional Control
Chapter 8

In feedback control, the objective is to reduce the error

signal to zero where
Chapter 8

e t   ysp t   ym t  (8-1)

and
e t   error signal
ysp  t   set point
ym  t   measured value of the controlled variable
(or equivalent signal from the sensor/transmitter)
Chapter 8

Chapter 8
 Chapter 8
Chapter 8
8
Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 Integral Control
Chapter 8
 Proportional-Integral (PI) Control

Chapter 8
Chapter 8
 The corresponding transfer function for the PI controller in
Eq. 8-8 is given by

Chapter 8

Some commercial controllers are calibrated in terms of 1/ τ I

(repeats per minute) rather than τI (minutes, or minutes per
repeat).
Chapter 8

Reset Windup

• An inherent disadvantage of integral control action is a

phenomenon known as reset windup or integral windup.
• Recall that the integral mode causes the controller output to
change as long as e(t*) ≠ 0 in Eq. 8-8.
 • When a sustained error occurs, the integral term becomes
quite large and the controller output eventually saturates.
• Further buildup of the integral term while the controller is
saturated is referred to as reset windup or integral windup.

Derivative Control
Chapter 8

The function of derivative control action is to anticipate the future

behavior of the error signal by considering its rate of change.
Chapter 8

• The anticipatory strategy used by the experienced operator can

be incorporated in automatic controllers by making the
controller output proportional to the rate of change of the error
signal or the controlled variable.
 • Thus, for ideal derivative action,

where τD , the derivative time, has units of time.

For example, an ideal PD controller has the transfer function:
Chapter 8
Chapter 8

• By providing anticipatory control action, the derivative mode

tends to stabilize the controlled process.
• Unfortunately, the ideal proportional-derivative control
algorithm in Eq. 8-10 is physically unrealizable because it
cannot be implemented exactly.
 • For analog controllers, the transfer function in (8-11) can be
approximated by

Chapter 8

where the constant α typically has a value between 0.05 and

0.2, with 0.1 being a common choice.
Chapter 8

• In Eq. 8-12 the derivative term includes a derivative mode

filter (also called a derivative filter) that reduces the sensitivity
of the control calculations to high-frequency noise in the
measurement.
 Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) Control
Now we consider the combination of the proportional, integral,
and derivative control modes as a PID controller.
• Many variations of PID control are used in practice.
• Next, we consider the three most common forms.
Chapter 8

Parallel Form of PID Control

The parallel form of the PID control algorithm (without a
Chapter 8

derivative filter) is given by

The corresponding transfer function is:

 Expanded Form of PID Control
In addition to the well-known series and parallel forms, the
expanded form of PID control in Eq. 8-16 is sometimes used:

Series Form of PID Control

Chapter 8

Historically, it was convenient to construct early analog

controllers (both electronic and pneumatic) so that a PI element
Chapter 8

and a PD element operated in series.

Commercial versions of the series-form controller have a
derivative filter that is applied to either the derivative term, as in
Eq. 8-12, or to the PD term, as in Eq. 8-15:
 Features of PID Controllers
Elimination of Derivative and Proportional Kick
• One disadvantage of the previous PID controllers is that a
sudden change in set point (and hence the error, e) will cause the
derivative term momentarily to become very large and thus
Chapter 8
provide a derivative kick to the final control element.
• This sudden change is undesirable and can be avoided by basing
the derivative action on the measurement, ym, rather than on the
Chapter 8

error signal, e.
• We illustrate the elimination of derivative kick by considering
the parallel form of PID control in Eq. 8-13.
• Replacing de/dt by –dym/dt gives
 Reverse or Direct Action
• The controller gain can be made either negative or positive.
• For proportional control, when Kc > 0, the controller output p(t)
increases as its input signal ym(t) decreases, as can be seen by
combining Eqs. 8-2 and 8-1:
Chapter 8

This controller is an example of a reverse-acting controller.

Chapter 8

• When Kc < 0, the controller is said to be direct acting because

the controller output increases as the input increases.
• Equations 8-2 through 8-16 describe how controllers perform
during the automatic mode of operation.
• However, in certain situations the plant operator may decide to
override the automatic mode and adjust the controller output
manually.
 Chapter 8
Figure 8.11 Reverse
and direct-acting
proportional
Chapter 8

controllers. (a) reverse

acting (Kc > 0. (b)
direct acting (Kc < 0)
 Automatic and Manual Control Modes
• Automatic Mode
Controller output, p(t), depends on e(t), controller
constants, and type of controller used.
( PI vs. PID etc.)
Chapter 8

 Manual Mode
Controller output, p(t), is adjusted manually.
 Manual Mode is very useful when unusual
Chapter 8

conditions exist:
plant start-up
plant shut-down
emergencies
• Percentage of controllers "on manual” ??
(30% in 2001, Honeywell survey)
Chapter 8 Typical Response of Feedback Control Systems
 Typical Changes in Input

• Two Type of excitation or input

- changes in set-point
- changes in disturbance
Chapter 8

• Changes may be various types

• Consider only step input
1. Step input in set-point
2. Step input in disturbance
 Response for Step Input in Disturbance

y
Chapter 8

0
Chapter 8

Figure 8.12. Typical process responses with feedback control

for step input in disturbance.
 Step Disturbance

No Control

P control
Chapter 8

PI
PID
Chapter 8

Taui increasing

36
 Figure 8.13. Proportional control: eff
of controller gain.
y
Chapter 8
Chapter 8

Figure 8.15. PID

control: effect of
derivative time.
 y y
Chapter 8
Chapter 8

Figure 8.14. PI control: (a) effect of reset time (b) effect of

controller gain.
 Effect of Kc, step input in set-point, P controller

Kc increases
Chapter 8
 Effect of Kc, step input in set-point, PI controller

Kc increases
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 Effect of i, step input in set-point, PI controller

I increases

32
 Effect of No, P, PI and PID Control

No control
PID control PI control
Chapter 8

P Control

33
 PID Controller
 Ideal controller

• Transfer function (ideal)

 1
t
de 
Chapter 8

p(t)  p  K c e(t)   e(t )dt    D 

 I 0 dt 
P(s)  1 
Chapter 8


 K c 1   Ds 
E(s)   Is 
 Transfer function (actual)
P(s)   Is 1 
  Ds 1 
 Kc
E(s)   Is  Ds 1 
α = small number (0.05 to 0.20) lead / lag units
 Controller Comparison

P - Simplest controller to tune (Kc).

- Offset with sustained disturbance or setpoint
Chapter 8

change
PI - More complicated to tune (Kc, I) .
- Better performance than P
Chapter 8

- No offset
- Most popular FB controller
PID - Most complicated to tune (Kc, I, D) .
- Better performance than PI
- No offset
- Derivative action may be affected by noise