EL8603 PROCESS DYNAMICS AND CONTROL

1.1. Definition of Laplace Transform ...................................................................................................... 2

1.2. Properties of Laplace Transform ..................................................................................................... 2
1.3. Final Value Theorem: ........................................................................................................................... 3
1.4. Initial Value Theorem: ......................................................................................................................... 3
1.5. Laplace transform of a few basic functions ................................................................................. 3
1.6. Laplace Transform of derivatives.................................................................................................... 9
1.7. Solution of linear ODEs using Laplace Transform .................................................................. 10
1.8. Derivation of Transfer function ..................................................................................................... 10
1.9. State Space Approach ......................................................................................................................... 12
1.10 Transfer function Matrix ................................................................................................................. 15
2.1. Standard Form for First-Order Transfer Functions ............................................................... 16
2.2. PROPERTIES OF TRANSFER FUNCTIONS. ................................................................................. 17
2.3. Dynamic Response of a First Order Process to a step change in the input .................. 17
2.6. Example of a first order process .................................................................................................... 25
MERCURY THERMOMETER. .................................................................................................................... 25
Liquid Level Tank Example ...................................................................................................................... 32
Mixing Process Example ............................................................................................................................ 36
Heating Process Example .......................................................................................................................... 37
2.7. Linearization.......................................................................................................................................... 50
2.8. Non-Interacting Systems .................................................................................................................. 50
2.9. Interacting Systems ............................................................................................................................ 52
2.10. Second Order Process...................................................................................................................... 57
2.11. Example of a second order process............................................................................................ 58
2.11. Features of the process response ............................................................................................... 63
2.12. Characteristics of an underdamped process ......................................................................... 65
2.13. Transportation lag ............................................................................................................................ 67
 UNIT I
MATHEMATICAL TOOLS FOR PROCESS DYNAMICS MODELING

I. Laplace transformation and its application in process control,

II. Solution of differential equations by Laplace transform techniques,
III. Development of transfer functions,
IV. State variables, state space methods, transfer function matrix

1.1. Definition of Laplace Transform

Consider a function f(t). The Laplace transform of the function is represented by f(s) and
defined by the following expression:

Hence, the Laplace Transform is a transformation of a function from the t -domain (time
domain) to s -domain (Laplace domain) where both t and s are independent variables.

1.2. Properties of Laplace Transform

• The variable s is defined in the complex plane as where .

• Laplace Transform of a function exists if the integral has a finite

value, i.e. , it remains bounded; eg . if , then f(s) exists only for , as the
integral becomes unbounded for .

• Laplace Transform is a linear operation.

1.3. Final Value Theorem:

1.4. Initial Value Theorem:

1.5. Laplace transform of a few basic functions

The Fig. III.1 shows a few basic functions which are frequently used in process control applications

(a) Step function (b) Ramp function

 (c) Pulse function (d) Impulse function
Fig. 1: Few basic functions which are frequently used in process control applications

Step function : See 1(a) for the schematic of a step function

hence,

Ramp function : See Fig. 1(b) for the schematic of a ramp function f(t)=at for t>0 where a is a
constant

Hence,

Exponential function : for t>0 where a is a constant

Hence,
Sinusoidal function :

Hence,

Delayed function : , i.e .f(t) is delayed by seconds

Now, let us take , hence . At and at

. Thus,

Hence,

Pulse function : See Fig. 1(c) for the schematic of an unit pulse function. The area under the

pulse is 1. The duration of pulse is T and hence it achieves maximum intensity of . Thus the

function is defined by

It can also be defined as the “addition” of two step functions which are equal but with opposite
intensity, however, the second function is delayed by T .

Hence, it is evident that is equal to in intensity however it is delayed by time

Thus, . Since is a step function of intensity , the following
expression will hold.

Hence,

Impulse function : See Fig. 1(d) for the schematic of an unit impulse function. This is analogous
to a pulse function whose duration is shrinked to zero without losing the strength. Hence the area
under the impulse remains 1. The function can be expressed as the following:

As the duration of the impulse tends to zero, its maximum intensity ideally tends to .
Mathematically it is termed as Dirac Delta function and is represented as . The following
relation holds for unit impulse:

Thus the Laplace transform of the impulse function can be derived as the following:

L'Hospital's rule has been applied in the above derivation. Hence,

The following table presents the Laplace transforms of various functions.

Table 1: Laplace transforms of various functions

1.6. Laplace Transform of derivatives
The Laplace transform of derivative of a function f(t) is derived in the following manner:

(III.19
)

Where f(0) is the value of the function at t=0. Similarly it can be proved that

(III.20)

Where f'(0) is the value of the derivative of the function at t=0. In general, it can be proved that

(III.21
)

Where are the initial conditions of the respective-

order derivatives of the function.
1.7. Solution of linear ODEs using Laplace Transform
Following example illustrates the method of solving ODEs using Laplace Transform.
Consider the following set of equations arisen from a modeling exercise:

(i)

(ii)

With . Task is to find a solution for x(t) and y(t).

Taking Laplace Transform of eqns. (i) & (ii) we obtain,

(III.29)

(III.30)

After rearrangement of the above we obtain,

Taking the inverse Laplace Transform we obtain,

y(t)

1.8. Derivation of Transfer function

A first order process is a process whose output y(t) is modeled by a first order differential
equation.

where, are input and output of the process espectively. If , then define

the following: and

Hence, the first order differential equation takes the following form:

(1)

At steady state condition , the equation can be re-written as

(2)

Subtracting eq. (1) from eq. (2), we obtain

Alternatively,

(3)

Where, and are the deviation forms of the input and

output variables of the process around the steady state, whose initial conditions are
assumed to be the following: .

Taking Laplace Transform of the eq. (3) we obtain,

Rearranging the above we obtain,

Gp(s) is called the transfer function of the process. Kp and τp are called as gain and
time constant of the process. The unit of gain is the ratio of the units of output to that
of input, whereas the unit of time constant is same as that of time.
 General Form of Transfer function:

1.9. State Space Approach

Input variables : independently stimulate the system; they can induce change in the
internal conditions of the process.

manipulated (or control) variables:

Output variables : measurements y, by which one obtains information about the internal
state of the system (e.g. temperature, level, viscosity, refractive index)

States : minimum set x of variables essentials for completely describing the internal
condition of a process (e.g. composition, holdup, enthalpy)

State-space models can be derived directly from the general conservation equation:
Accumulation = (Inlet – Outlet) + (Generation – Consumption)
They are written in terms of differential equations relating process states to time 
They occur in the “time domain”.

State-Space Description
In general, a physical system can be described by state variables as follows
where x 1 , x 2 , . . ., x n are n state variables and u 1 , u 2 , . . ., u m are m inputs or forcing
terms. The above set of equations may be written as a matrix expression as follows:

We shall be concerned with time-invariant systems for which xi is a linear combination

of state variables and the coefficients are constant. For the time invariant case, we may
write the general term xi

for i _ 1, 2, 3, . . ., n. The equivalent matrix expression for Eq. is

The outputs of interest to the control engineer may differ from the state variables
x i . The most general statement for relating the output to the state variables is
y = Cx

or in other form:

d x(t )
 f (x; u; d ; t )
dt
State Variable
y  h( x)
Output Variable

Input-output models completely disregard the process states. They only give a
relationship between process inputs and process outputs  They occur in the “Laplace
domain”

Example of state-space model:

State-space representation is an alternative to the transfer function representation of a
physical system that we have used up to this point. A transfer function that relates an
output variable to an input variable represents an n th-order differential equation. In the
state-space representation, the n th-order differential equation is written as n first-order
differential equations in terms of n state variables.

1.10 Transfer function Matrix

The term G ( s ) is called the transfer function matrix and serves the same purpose as the
transfer function for the scalar case; namely, it relates a set of state variables X ( s ) to a
set of inputs U ( s ).
 Unit II
OPEN LOOP SYSTEMS
I. First order systems and their transient response for standard input functions,
II. first order systems in series,
III. linearization and its application in process control,
IV. second order systems and their dynamics;
V. Transportation lag.

2.1. Standard Form for First-Order Transfer Functions

The general form for a first-order system is

where y is the output variable and x ( t ) is the input forcing function. The initial
conditions
are

Introducing deviation variables gives

and rearranging, we obtain the standard first-order transfer function

2.2. PROPERTIES OF TRANSFER FUNCTIONS.
In general, a transfer function relates two variables in a physical process; one of these is
the cause (forcing function or input variable), and the other is the effect (response or
output variable). In terms of the example of the mercury thermometer, the surrounding
temperature is the cause or input, whereas the thermometer reading is the effect or
output. We may write

2.3. Dynamic Response of a First Order Process to a step change in the

input

For a step input of magnitude A, the Laplace Transform of u(t) would be,

(1)

Hence, for a first order process affected by a step input, the output is

(2)

Taking inverse Laplace Transform of the above equation,

(3)

The above equation is the dynamic response of the first order process to a step change in the
input of magnitude A .
Let us take the following dimensionless forms of the output response and the time,

(4)

(5)

Then the dynamic response of the first order process to the step change in the input can be re-
written as

(6)

Fig. shows the plot Y(T) vs. T.

Figure. Dynamic response of a first order process upon step change in input

Following characteristic features of a first order process are observed from the above analysis:

1. Slope of response at T=0 (or t=0 ) is . This implies that should the initial
rate of change of the process output were to be maintained, the output would reach its final value
in a period equivalent to one time constant. Hence, smaller is the time constant of the process,
faster is the response of the system.
2. Putting T=1 in the dimensionless equation of the process response, we
obtain , i.e . the process response reaches 63.2% of its final value
after a time period which is equal to one time constant.

3. Putting T=5 in the dimensionless equation of the process response, we

obtain , i.e . the process response reaches 99.33% of its final value
after a time period which is equal to five time constant. In other words, the system almost reaches
its steady state after a time period which is equal to five time constants.

4. The ultimate value of the process response is , in other words

. Hence, ratio of change in output and change in input may be given

as . By definition this is the gain of the process. If Kp is large, the

system becomes very sensitive because, even a small change in input yields a large change in
output. On the other hand, if Kp is small, the system is relatively insensitive because, even a large
change in input does not yield any appreciable change in output. This characteristic explains the
name steady state gain or static gain given to the parameter Kp.

2.4. Effect of parameters on the response of First Order Process

Suppose two first order processes have same static gain but different time constants.

It indicates that Process 1 is faster than process 2 as the time constant of Process 1 is smaller
than that of Process 2. The responses of the processes for same unit step change in input are
given in the figure below:
 Fig. Dynamic profile of two first order processes with same gain but different time constants

Since the gain of the processes are same, the ultimate response reaches the same value. On the
other hand, suppose two first order processes have different static gains but same time constants.

It indicates that Process 2 has higher static gain than Process 1. The responses of the processes
are given in the figure below:
Fig.: Dynamic profile of two first order processes with different gain but same time constants. We
observe that the processes have same initial slope of response. Process 2 settles at a higher steady
state value due to its higher static gain.
2.5. Response for different forcing Functions
2.6. Example of a first order process

MERCURY THERMOMETER.
We develop the transfer function for a first-order system by considering the unsteady-
state behaviour of an ordinary mercury-in-glass thermometer.

A cross-sectional view of the bulb is shown in Fig.

Consider the thermometer to be located in a flowing stream of fluid for which

the temperature x varies with time. Our problem is to calculate the response or the time
variation of the thermometer reading y for a particular change in x.

The following assumptions will be used in this analysis:

 1. All the resistance to heat transfer resides in the film surrounding the bulb (i.e., the
resistance offered by the glass and mercury is neglected).

2. All the thermal capacity is in the mercury. Furthermore, at any instant the mercury
assumes a uniform temperature throughout. It is assumed that the thermometer
is initially at steady state. This means that, before time 0, there is no change in
temperature with time. At time 0, the thermometer will be subjected to some
change in the surrounding temperature x ( t ).

By applying the unsteady-state energy balance

we get the result

Equation states that the rate of flow of heat through the film resistance surrounding the
bulb causes the internal energy of the mercury to increase at the same rate. The increase
in internal energy is manifested by a change in temperature and a corresponding
expansion of mercury, which causes the mercury column, or “reading” of the
thermometer, to rise. The coefficient h will depend on the flow rate and properties of the
surrounding fluid and the dimensions of the bulb. We will assume that h is constant for a
particular installation of the thermometer.

For the steady-state condition

The subscript s is used to indicate that the variable is the steady-state value.

If we define the deviation variables to be the differences between the variables

and their steady-state values
Then

Taking the Laplace transform

Rearranging

To summarize the procedure for determining the transfer function for a process:
Step 1. Write the appropriate balance equations (usually mass or energy balances
for a chemical process).
Step 2. Linearize terms if necessary (details on this step are given in Chap. 5).
Step 3. Place balance equations in deviation variable form.
Step 4. Laplace-transform the linear balance equations.
Step 5. Solve the resulting transformed equations for the transfer function, the
output divided by the input.
This procedure is a very useful summary for developing the transfer function for a
process.

Example: A thermometer having a time constant of 0.2 min is placed in a

temperature bath and after the thermometer comes to equilibrium with
the bath, the temperature of the bath is increased linearly with time at the
rate of I deg C / min what is the difference between the indicated
temperature and bath temperature
(a) 0.1 min
(b) 10. min
after the change in temperature begins.
(c) what is the maximum deviation between the indicated temperaturew
and bath temperature and when does it occurs.
(d) plot the forcing function and the response on the same graph. After the long enough
time buy how many minutes does the response lag the input.

Solution:
Consider thermometer to be in equilibrium with temperature bath at
temperature Xs

Example 2: A thermometer having first order dynamics with a time constant of 1

min is placed in a temperature bath at 100 deg F. After the thermometer
reaches steady state, it is suddenly placed in bath at 110 deg F at t = 0 and
left there for 1 min after which it is immediately returned to the bath at
100 deg F.
(a) draw a sketch showing the variation of the thermometer reading with
time.
(b) calculate the thermometer reading at t = 0.5 min and at t = 2.0 min
Example 3: A process of unknown transfer function is subjected to a unit impulse input.
The output of the process is measured accurately and is found to be represented by the
function Y(t) = t e-t. Determine the unit step response in this process.
Example 4:
A thermometer having a time constant of 1 min is initially at 50°C. it is immersed in a
bath maintained at 100° C at t = 0 . Determine the temperature reading at 1.2 min.
Liquid Level Tank Example
Mixing Process Example
Heating Process Example
Note: The section below is one other way to understand the examples of first order
processes.
2.7. Linearization

2.8. Non-Interacting Systems

2.9. Interacting Systems
2.10. Second Order Process

A second order process is a process whose output is modeled by a second order

differential equation.

where, u(t) and y(t) are input and output of the process respectively. If , then
define the following:

, and

Hence, the second order differential equation takes the following form:

At steady state condition , the equation can be re-written as

Subtracting steady state eq from unsteady state eq , we obtain

Alternatively,

Where, and are respectively the deviation forms of the

output and input of the process around the steady state, whose initial conditions are
assumed to be the following:

Taking Laplace Transform of the eq. we obtain,

Rearranging the above we obtain,

Kp is called the gain of the process.

2.11. Example of a second order process

Consider the U tube manometer as in figure above. The liquid inside the manometer has
been shown in a pressurized state. Initially mercury levels at both the legs were at the
same height. The present pressurized state is obtained upon exerting a pressure
of on Leg I.

Applying force balance on both the legs of the manometer across plane of initial
pressurized state, we obtain:

Or,

Where, cross-sectional area of manometer leg(s), density of manometer

liquid, f =Fanning' friction factor, v = velocity of manometer liquid, D = diameter of
manometer leg(s), L =length of manometer liquid in the tube, m = mass of manometer
liquid. Assuming laminar flow inside the manometer, the friction factor can be expressed

as , where is the Reynold's number. Hence the force balance equation takes
the form:

or,

The velocity of manometer liquid is rate of change of h . Hence,

or,
Comparing eq.(III.77) with eq.(III.67), the following can be obtained:

and

Dynamic Response of a Second Order Process to a Step Change in the Input

For a step input of magnitude A , the Laplace Transform of u(t) would be,

Hence, second order process takes the following form,

The process response will grossly depend upon the value of ξ and there can be three
distinguished cases of ξ, i.e. ξ >1; ξ = 1 and ξ <1 .

Case A: ξ = 1

In this case the process response equation in the Laplace domain takes the following
form:

Using the following:

in eq. (III.80), we obtain

or
For ξ ≠ 1, using the following:

Case B: When ξ >1

In the above equations, the following trigonometric identities have been used:

Hence we get the final expression for process response when ξ >1,

Case C:

In the above equations, the following trigonometric identities have been used:

One can also use the following trigonometric identity for the above expression:

Hence,
Hence we get the final expression for process response for ξ < 1,

The frequency of oscillation is

whereas the phase lag is

2.11. Features of the process response

Let us find out the initial and final values as well as initial and final slopes of second order
processes.

For

Hence,

For
Hence,

For either value(s) of ,

The figure below is the graphical representations of three cases of discussed so far.

Figure III.7: Step response of a second order process

For and , the process response never goes beyond the final steady state
value, whereas for , the response exceeds the ultimate steady state several times
during its transient motion. In other words, some oscillatory behavior is observed in
this case. Nevertheless a damping action is active in all the three cases which is high
for and low for . Hence, is called the damping coefficient . The response
is overdamped if , critically damped if and underdamped if .

2.12. Characteristics of an underdamped process

Following figure is a graphical representation of a typical second order underdamped

process.

Figure III.8: Step response of a second order underdamped process

Suppose P is the maximum amount by which the underdamped response overshoots its
ultimate steady state value and Q is the ultimate steady state value. Then the ratio is
called overshoot . Suppose R is the second largest value by which the response exceeds its
ultimate steady state value. Then the ratio is called the decay ratio . In general, decay
ratio is a measure of how rapidly the oscillations decrease. It is to be noted that the ratio
of two successive peaks is a constant quantity and is equal to the decay ratio for that
underdamped process.

Following are the important features of an underdamped process:

Period of Oscillation : Time elapsed between two successive peaks is called the period of
oscillation (T ). Hence,
Overshoot : The slope at every zenith and nadir of the oscillation would be zero. The first
zenith indicates the value of . The first zenith appears after a time of . Hence,

and

Hence,

and,

Decay Ratio : The second zenith indicates the values of and that appears at a
time .
Hence,

and,

Hence,

2.13. Transportation lag