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Ali M. Sahlodin
Department of Chemical Engineering
AmirKabir University of Technology
Fall 1397 S.H

Feedfoward control

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Pros
 Corrective action triggered as soon as process variable
(CV) deviates from set point (always true?)
 Minimal knowledge of the process model needed

Cons
No corrective action until after deviation in CV is
detected
Degraded performance with long time delays
No predictive action to compensate for disturbances
Degraded performance with large time constant and long
delays
Infeasible when CV cannot be measured online

Idea: measure important disturbances and

take corrective action before they upset the
process

Everyday examples?

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Level control in a boiler drum

Disturbance: steam flow changed by downstream
units

Seborg’s el a. Process Dynamics and Control book

Measure CV Measure DV

Feedback control Feedforward control

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Seborg’s el a. Process Dynamics and Control book

Feedback control

Feedforward control

Feedforward control: only the disturbance variable(s) measured

Requirements
•Disturbance variable (DV) must be measurable.
•Accurate process model should be available.
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Can you measure ALL disturbances?

Do you have an accurate model for
process and all disturbances?

The answer is almost always NO!

Seborg’s el a. Process Dynamics and Control book

Feedforward control is combined with feedback control

Seborg’s el a. Process Dynamics and Control book

Total control action =

feedback action + feedforward action

Feedforward: reduce effects of measured disturbances

Feedback: compensate for inaccuracies in process model,
measurement error, and unmeasured disturbances.

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Feedback-feedforward block diagram

Seborg’s el a. Process Dynamics and Control book

Ysp(s)=0

Objective Y(s)=0

Seborg’s el a. Process Dynamics and Control book

Combined FB+FF performs

better than FB only

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Chapter 16
Enhanced Single-Loop
Control Strategies
1. Time-delay compensation
2. Cascade control
3. Selective and override control

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Time delay
 Poor control performance
 Potential instability
Decrease control gain  sluggish response
Seborg’s el a. Process Dynamics and Control book

e  s
G p (s) 
 5 s  1 3s  1

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Seborg’s el a. Process Dynamics and Control book

Exclude delay from control calculations
Implement the action to the true process

Conventional feedback Feedback with delay compensator

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Improvement in control performance

Seborg’s el a. Process Dynamics and Control book

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Compensate for disturbances before they upset CV

 Add an inner feedback loop to take care of it!

Seborg’s el a. Process Dynamics and Control book

Single-loop feedback control Cascade control
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Seborg’s el a. Process Dynamics and Control book

Secondary (inner) loop

Primary (outer) loop

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Typically equal number of MV and CV exists

 One to one pairing

What if fewer MVs than CVs are available?
 How can we control all CVs?

Idea: share the MV among multiple CVs

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Temperature control in packed bed (hot spot)

Seborg’s el a. Process Dynamics and Control book

Select the highest temperature

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A minimum flow of slurry required

Seborg’s el a. Process Dynamics and Control book

High selector

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Use more than one MV to control the CV

 When there are more MVs than CVs
Examples

pH neutralization using both acid and base

Temperature control by both heating and
cooling

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Objective: control line pressure

Fuel A is cheaper than Fuel B
 Use as much of A as possible to maintain pressure

T. Marlin. Process Control, 2nd Ed

Solution: split range control

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Split-range design
 First open Valve A
 Open Valve B if Valve A
saturates

T. Marlin. Process Control, 2nd Ed

T. Marlin. Process Control, 2nd Ed T. Marlin. Process Control, 2nd Ed

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Objective: control car temperature

Available MVs: cooling mode, heating mode

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