Practical Process Control

Using Control Station

Prof. Doug Cooper
Chemical Engineering Dept.
University of Connecticut (Storrs)

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 1. Fundamental Principles of Process Control
Motivation for Automatic Process Control
 
 Safety First:
– people, environment, equipment
 
 The Profit Motive:
– meeting final product specs
– minimizing waste production
– minimizing environmental impact
– minimizing energy use
– maximizing overall production rate

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 “Loose” Control Costs Money
Process: Gravity Drained Tank Controller: Manual Mode

4.4
7 0 operatingconstraint
Process: Gravity Drained Tank Controller: Manual Mode

4.2
4.2
6 0

4.0
4.0
5 0
Mor e Pr o f it a bl e O perMora t ioe nPr o f i t a ble O per a t i o n

poorcontrolm eans
3.8
3.8
4 0 largevariability,so
theprocessm ustbe
operatedinaless
3.6
3 0
processvariable profitableregion

3.4 60 80 100 120 140

Time (mins)

 It takes more
80
material
100
toTime120(mins)make a 140product160thicker, so greatest
profit is to operate as close to the minimum thickness
constraint as possible without going under
 It takes more processing to remove impurities, so greatest
profit is to operate as close to the maximum impurities
constraint as you can without going over
Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Tight Control = Most Profitable Operation
Process: Gravity Drained Tank Controller: Manual Mode

4.20
7 operatingconstraint
Process: Gravity Drained Tank Controller: Manual Mode

4.2
4.00
6

4.0
tightcontrolperm its
3.80
5
operationn earthe
processvariable
constraint,which
M or e Pr o fi ta bl e Oper aMtioorn e Pr o fi ta bl e Oper a tio n

3.8
4
3.60
m eansm oreprofit

3.6
3
3.40

3.4 80 100 120 140 160

Time (mins)

80 100 120 140 160

 A well controlled process has less variability in the
Time (mins)

measured process variable, so the process can be

operated close to the profitable constraint

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 An introductory example

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Consider Heating a House

Thermostat Temperature
controller sensor/transmitter
set point
TC TT
heat loss
(disturbance)
Control
signal

fuel flow
furnace 1. Measurement
valve
2. Computation/
Decision

Copyright © 2002
3. Action
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Automatic Control is
Measurement  Computation  Action
Error

 Is house cooler than set point? ( T Setpoint  Thouse > 0 )

Action  open fuel valve

 Is house warmer than set point? ( TSetpoint  THouse < 0 ) 

Action  close fuel valve

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Feedback Control Loop Block Diagram:
Components and Variables for home heating

Controller Manipulated House

Controller output fuel flow to temperature
error signal furnace

Set Point T
+ Thermostat Fuel Valve Home Heating
TSP - Process

Comparator Heat Loss Disturbance

house temperature

Q d
measurement
signal

Tm Temperature T
Sensor/Transmitter

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Terminology

 Control Objective
 Controlled Process Variable
 Measured Variable
 Set point
 Error
 Controller Output
 Manipulated Variable
 Disturbances

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 General Feedback Control Loop Block Diagram

“Actual” controller
Manipulated Controlled
Controller Controller Process Process
error output variable variable

Set Point Final

+ Controller Control Process
ySP(t) - (t) o(t) Element m(t) y(t)

Comparator Disturbance
d(t)
measured variable
(feedback signal)

Measurement
ym(t) Sensor/Transmitter
Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Examples
 Measurement Sensors:
temperature, pressure, pressure drop, level,
flow density, concentration

 Final Control Element:

solenoid, valve, variable speed pump or
compressor, heater or cooler

 Automatic Controllers:
on/off, PID, cascade, feed forward, model-
based Smith predictor, multivariable, sampled
data, parameter scheduled adaptive control

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 3. Graphical Modeling of Dynamic Process Data
Process Behavior and Controller Tuning
 Consider cruise control for a car vs a truck
– how quickly can each accelerate or decelerate
– what is the effect of disturbances (wind, hills, etc.)
 Controller (gas flow) manipulations required to maintain set point
velocity in spite of disturbances (wind, hills) are different for a car
and truck because the dynamic behavior of each "process" is
different
Dynamic behavior 
how the measured process variable responds over time to changes in
the controller output and disturbance variables

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Understanding Dynamic Process Behavior
 To learn about the dynamic behavior of a process, analyze
measured process variable test data

 Process variable test data can be generated by suddenly

changing the controller output signal

 Be sure to move the controller output far enough and fast

enough so that the dynamic behavior of the process is clearly
revealed as the process responds

 The dynamic behavior of a process is different as operating

level changes (nonlinear behavior) so collect process data at
normal operating levels (design level of operation)

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Modeling Dynamic Process Behavior
 The best way to understand process data is through modeling

 Modeling means fitting a first order plus dead time (FOPDT)

dynamic process model to the data set:
dy (t )
P  y (t )  K P u (t   P )
dt

where:
y(t) is the measured process variable
u(t) is the controller output signal

 The FOPDT model is low order and linear so it can only

approximate the behavior of real processes

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 FOPDT
 When a first order plus dead time (FOPDT) model is fit to
dynamic process data
dy (t )
P  y (t )  K P u (t   P )
dt
 

 The important parameters that result are:

– Steady State Process Gain, KP
– Overall Process Time Constant, P
– Apparent Dead Time, P

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 PID Tuning
Guide

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 The FOPDT Model is All Important
 model parameters (KP, P and P) are used in correlations to compute initial
controller tuning values

 sign of KP indicates the action of the controller

(+KP  reverse acting; KP  direct acting)

 size of P indicates the maximum desirable loop sample time (be sure
sample time T  0.1P)

 ratio P /P indicates whether MPC (Smith predictor) would show benefit
(useful if P  P)

 model becomes part of the feed forward, Smith predictor, decoupling and
other model-based controllers

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Step Test
OpenOpen
LoopLoop
Step Step
Test Test
Process:Process:
CustomCustom
Process Process Controller: ManualManual
Controller: Mode Mode

60 60
StepTest
55 55
Process Varia ble
Process Varia ble

50 50

60 60

55 55
Contr olle r Outp ut
Contr olle r Outp ut

50 50

0 0 5 5 10 10 15 15 20 20
Time (miTinms)e (mins)

 The controller is set to manual mode

 Process starts at steady state
 Controller output signal is stepped to new value
Copyright © 2002  Measured process variable allowed to complete response
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Process Gain From Step Test Data
 KP describes how much the measured process variable, y(t), changes
in response to changes in the controller output, u(t)
 A step test starts and ends at steady state, so KP can be computed
from plot axes

Steady State Change in the Measured Process Variable, y (t )

KP 
Steady State Change in the Controller Output, u (t )

where u(t) and y(t) represent the total change from initial to final
steady state
 A large process gain means the process will show a big response to
each control action

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 KP for Gravity Drained Tanks
Gravity Drained Tanks - Open Loop Step Test
Process: Gravity Drained Tank Controller: Manual Mode
3.0
2.8
2.6
2.4 y=(2.88- 1.93) m
Process Varia ble 2.2
2.0
1.8

60

55 u=(60- 50) %
Cont r olle r O utp ut

50

45
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Time (mins)

y 2.88  1.93 m m
KP    0.095
u 60  50% %

Steady state process gain has a:

size (0.095), sign (+0.095), and units (m/%)
Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 2. Hands-On Case Studies
Gravity Drained Tanks

manipulated variable
controller output
.

measured
process variable level sensor
& controller

disturbance
variable

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Non-Interacting Gravity Drained Tanks

TANK 1
dh1 h1 
  A   V1 ( t )
I.C.: t=0  h1 = h1s
dt R1
 
 
TANK 2
dh 2 h2  h1
  A   VP ( t ) 
I.C.: t=0  h2 = h2s
dt R2 R1

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Overall Time Constant From Step Test Data
OpenOpen
LoopLoop
Step Test
Step Test
Process:Process:
Custom Custom
Process Process Controller: ManualManual
Controller: Mode Mode

60 60
StepTest
55 55

Process Varia ble

Process Varia ble
50 50

60 60

55 55
Cont r olle r Out p ut
Contr olle r Outp ut

50 50

0 0 5 5 10 10 15 15 20 20
Time (miTinms)e (mins)

Time Constant P describes how fast the measured process

variable, y(t), responds to changes in the controller output, u(t)
P is how long it takes for the process variable to reach 63.2% of
its total change, starting from when the response first begins

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 P for Gravity Drained Tanks
1) Locate where the measured process variable first shows a clear initial response to the step change – call this time tYstart
From plot, tYstart = 9.6 min

Gravity Drained Tanks - Open Loop Step Test

Process: Gravity Drained Tank Controller: Manual Mode
3.0
2.8
2.6
2.4
Process Varia ble

2.2
2.0
1.8

60

55
Contr olle r O utp ut

50

45
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Time (mins)

tYstart
Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 P for Gravity Drained Tanks
2) Locate where the measured process variable reaches y63.2, or
where y(t) reaches 63.2% of its total final change

Label time t63.2 as the point in time where y63.2 occurs

Gravity Drained Tanks - Open Loop Step Test
Process: Gravity Drained Tank Controller: Manual Mode
3.0
2.8
y63.2
2.6
2.4
Process Varia ble

2.2
2.0
1.8

60

55
Cont r olle r Outp ut

50

45
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Time (mins)

tYstart t63.2
Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 P for Gravity Drained Tanks
Gravity Drained Tanks - Open Loop Step Test
Process: Gravity Drained Tank Controller: Manual Mode
3.0
2.8
y63.2 =2.53m
2.6
2.4 y =0.95m
Process Varia ble 2.2
2.0
1.8

60

55
Cont r olle r Outp ut

50

45
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Time (mins)

tYstart t63.2

 y(t) starts at 1.93 m and shows a total change y = 0.95 m

 y63.2 = 1.93 m + 0.632(y)

= 1.93 m + 0.632(0.95 m) = 2.53 m

 y(t) passes through 2.53 m at t63.2 = 11.2 min

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 P for Gravity Drained Tanks
- The time constant is the time difference between tYstart and t63.2
- Time constant must be positive and have units of time
From the plot: P = t63.2  tYstart = 11.2 min  9.6 min = 1.6 min

Gravity Drained Tanks - Open Loop Step Test

Process: Gravity Drained Tank Controller: Manual Mode
3.0
2.8
y63.2 =2.53m
2.6
2.4 y =0.95m
Process Varia ble

2.2
2.0
1.8

60

55
P =1.6minutes
Contr olle r Outp ut

50

45
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Time (mins)

tYstart t63.2
Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Apparent Dead Time From Step Test Data
 P is the time from when the controller output step is made until
when the measured process variable first responds
 Apparent dead time, P, is the sum of these effects:
– transportation lag, or the time it takes for material to travel
from one point to another
– sample or instrument lag, or the time it takes to collect analyze
or process a measured variable sample
– higher order processes naturally appear slow to respond

 Notes:
– Dead time must be positive and have units of time
– Tight control in increasingly difficult as P  0.7P
– For important loops, work to avoid unnecessary dead time

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 P for Gravity Drained Tanks
Gravity Drained Tanks - Open Loop Step Test
Process: Gravity Drained Tank Controller: Manual Mode
3.0
2.8
2.6
2.4
Process Varia ble 2.2
2.0
1.8

60

55
Contr olle r Outp ut

50
P =0.4minutes
45
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
tUstep Time (mins)

tYstart

P = tYstart  tUstep
= 9.6 min  9.2 min
= 0.4 min
Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Workshop 1:
Exploring Dynamics of Gravity Drained Tanks

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Processes Have Time-Varying Behaviors
 The predictions of a FOPDT model are constant over time
 But real processes change every day because
– surfaces foul or corrode
– mechanical elements like seals or bearings wear
– feedstock quality varies and catalyst activity drifts
– environmental conditions like heat and humidity change

 So the values of KP, P, P that best describe the dynamic

behavior of a process today may not be best tomorrow

 As a result, controller performance will degrade with time

and periodic retuning may be required

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Processes Have Nonlinear Behaviors
 The predictions of a FOPDT model are constant as operating level changes
 The response of a real process varies with operating level
Example Nonlinear Behavior
Process: Custom Process Controller: Manual Mode
80
responseshapeisdifferent
C
70 at different operatinglevels
60
Process Varia ble

B
50
A
70
65
60
Contr olle r Outp ut

55 eventhoughcontroller
50 output stepsarethesame
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Time (time units)

Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved
 Gravity Drained Tanks is Nonlinear
Nonlinear Behavior of Gravity Drained Tanks
Model: First Order Plus Dead Time (FOPDT) File Name: TEST.DAT
7
6 nonlinearprocess
5
4 variableresponse
Measure d Level (m )

3
2 constant param eter
1 FO PD Tm odel
90
80
70
60
Cont r o l e r Out p ut ( % )

50
equal u’s
40

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Time

Gain (K) = 0.075, Time Constant (T1) = 1.15, Dead Time (TD) = 0.53 SSE: 206.0

A controller should be designed for

a specific level of operation!
Copyright © 2002
Douglas J. Cooper
All Rights Reserved