2

Historical note

The first application of PID controller was in 1922 by Minorsky on ship

steering.

Minorsky (1922) “Directional stability of automatically steered

bodies”, J. Am. Soc. Naval Eng., 34, p.284.

This was the first mathematical treatment of the type of controller

that is now used to control almost all industrial processes.
Historical note

The first application of PID controller was in 1922 by Minorsky on ship

steering.

Minorsky (1922) “Directional stability of automatically steered

bodies”, J. Am. Soc. Naval Eng., 34, p.284.

This was the first mathematical treatment of the type of controller

that is now used to control almost all industrial processes.
The current situation

Despite the abundance of sophisticated tools, including advanced

controller design techniques, PID controllers are still the most
widely used controller structure in modern industry, controlling
more that 95% of closed-loop industrial processes.

Different PID controllers differ in the way how their parameters be

tuned, manually, or automatically.

Most of the DCS systems have built-in routines to perform auto-

tuning of PID controllers based on the loop characteristics. They
are often called: auto-tuners.
The PID Algorithm
• The PID algorithm is the most popular feedback controller
algorithm used. It is a robust easily understood algorithm
that can provide excellent control performance despite the
varied dynamic characteristics of processes.

• As the name suggests, the PID algorithm consists of three

basic modes:
the Proportional mode,
the Integral mode
& the Derivative mode.
PID controllers
P, PI or PID Controller
• When utilizing the PID algorithm, it is necessary to decide
which modes are to be used (P, I or D) and then specify the
parameters (or settings) for each mode used.

• Generally, three basic algorithms are used: P, PI or PID.

• Controllers are designed to eliminate the need for

continuous operator attention.

 Cruise control in a car and a house thermostat

are common examples of how controllers are used to
automatically adjust some variable to hold a measurement
(or process variable) to a desired variable (or set-point)
Controller Output

• The variable being controlled is the output of the controller

(and the input of the plant):

provides excitation to the plant system to be controlled

• The output of the controller will change in response to a
change in measurement or set-point (that said a change in the
tracking error)
PID Controller

• In the s-domain, the PID controller may be represented as:

 Ki 
U ( s)   K p   K d s  E (s)
 s 
• In the time domain:
t de(t )
u (t )  K p e(t )  K i  e(t )dt  K d
0 dt
proportional gain integral gain derivative gain
PID Controller

• In the time domain:

t de(t )
u (t )  K p e(t )  K i  e(t )dt  K d
0 dt
• The signal u(t) will be sent to the plant, and a new output y(t)
will be obtained. This new output y(t) will be sent back to the
sensor again to find the new error signal e(t). The controllers
takes this new error signal and computes its derivative and
its integral gain. This process goes on and on.
Definitions
• In the time domain:
t de(t )
u (t )  K p e(t )  K i  e(t )dt  K d
0 dt
 1 t de(t ) 
 K p  e(t )   e(t )dt  Td 
 Ti 0 dt 
integral time constant derivative time constant
Kp Kd
where Ti  , Td 
Ki Kp derivative gain

proportional gain integral gain

PID structures

Standard PID controllers have the following structures:

Proportional only:

Proportional plus Integral:

Proportional plus derivative:

Proportional, integral and derivative:

What is an Op-Amp?
• An Operational Amplifier is an electronic device used to
perform mathematical operations in a circuit – they are
generally abbreviated as “Op-Amps”
• Op-Amps are high gain devices that amplify a signal using
an external power supply
• They are composed of multiple transistors, resistors, and
capacitors
• Common types of op-amps:
• Inverting
• Non-Inverting
• Integrating
• Differential
• Summing
 What is an Op-Amp?
• All op-amps use a voltage supply (Vcc) to amplify the signal
• The supply voltages can either have equal value but opposite signs, or
the low side is grounded and the high side has a value of twice the
voltage input
• Some common applications of op-amps:
• Low Pass Filters
• Strain Gauges
• PID Controllers +Vcc

V-
V- Inverting Input Vout
V-
Vout V+
Vout
V+ Non-Inverting Input
V+ -Vcc
 Amplifier Gain
• All op-amps can be represented by the
formula: V-
Vout = K (V+ - V-)
Vout
V+
Op-Amp
• Where K is the gain, and is a property of the
individual op-amp
• This gain should be distinguished from the
gain of the op-amp circuit which is generally
denoted by Av
Av = Vout / Vin

• A potential source of confusion comes from Op-Amp Circuit

failing to properly distinguish between the
op-amp and the op-amp circuit
 Derivative Op-Amp
R
Vin
Vin C
V- - d 
(RC)
dt
Vout
R V+ +
Vout

 Applying Kirchhoff’s Rules and Op-Amp Calculation Rules yields:

dVin ( t )
Vout  ( RC)
dt
Integrating Op-Amp
C

Vin
Vin R V-
- 1
   dt
Vout RC
R V+ +
Vout

 Applying Kirchhoff’s Rules and Op-Amp Calculation Rules yields:

1 t
Vout   Vin  d
RC 0
 PID Controller – System Block Diagram

VSET VERROR VOUT

I Output
Process

VSENSOR
Sensor

•Goal is to have VSET = VOUT

•Remember that VERROR = VSET – VSENSOR
•Output Process uses VERROR from the PID controller to adjust Vout such that it is
~VSET
 Applications
PID Controller – PID Controller Circuit Diagram

Adjust Change
Kp RP1, RP2
Ki RI, CI
Kd RD, CD

VERROR VERROR PID

21
22
23
24
25
26
Closed-loop Response
Rise time Maximum Settling Steady-
overshoot time state error
P Decrease Increase Small Decrease
change
I Decrease Increase Increase Eliminate

D Small Decrease Decrease Small

change change

• Note that these correlations may not be exactly accurate,

because P, I and D gains are dependent of each other.
 Ex (cont’d): Summary

P PD

PI
PID
PID Controller Functions
• Output feedback
 from Proportional action
compare output with set-point

• Eliminate steady-state offset (=error)

 from Integral action
apply constant control even when error is zero

• Anticipation
 From Derivative action
react to rapid rate of change before errors grows too big