Feedback Controllers

Chapter 8

Figure 8.1 Schematic diagram for a stirred-tank blending

system. 1
 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
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)

2
 Although Eq. 8-1 indicates that the set point can be time-varying,
in many process control problems it is kept constant for long
periods of time.
For proportional control, the controller output is proportional to
the error signal,
Chapter 8

p t   p  K c e t  (8-2)

where:

p t   controller output
p  bias (steady-state) value
K c  controller gain (usually dimensionless)

3
 Chapter 8

4
 The key concepts behind proportional control are the following:

1. The controller gain can be adjusted to make the controller

output changes as sensitive as desired to deviations between
set point and controlled variable;
2. the sign of Kc can be chosed to make the controller output
Chapter 8

increase (or decrease) as the error signal increases.

For proportional controllers, bias p can be adjusted, a procedure

referred to as manual reset.
Some controllers have a proportional band setting instead of a
controller gain. The proportional band PB (in %) is defined as

100%
PB  (8-3)
Kc

5
 In order to derive the transfer function for an ideal proportional
controller (without saturation limits), define a deviation variable
p t  as
p t   p t   p (8-4)

Then Eq. 8-2 can be written as

p t   K c e t 
Chapter 8

(8-5)

The transfer function for proportional-only control:

P  s 
 Kc (8-6)
E s 

An inherent disadvantage of proportional-only control is that a

steady-state error occurs after a set-point change or a sustained
disturbance.

6
 Integral Control
For integral control action, the controller output depends on the
integral of the error signal over time,
1 t
p t   p  0 e t *dt * (8-7)
τI
Chapter 8

where τ I , an adjustable parameter referred to as the integral time

or reset time, has units of time.

Integral control action is widely used because it provides an

important practical advantage, the elimination of offset.
Consequently, integral control action is normally used in
conjunction with proportional control as the proportional-integral
(PI) controller:
 1 t 
p  t   p  K c  e t   0 e t * dt *  (8-8)
 τI
7
 The corresponding transfer function for the PI controller in
Eq. 8-8 is given by

P  s   1   τI s 1 
 K c 1    Kc   (8-9)
E s  τ s
I  τ
 I  s
Chapter 8

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

(repeats per minute) rather than τ I (minutes, or minutes per
repeat).

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.
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.
• 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.

9
 • Thus, for ideal derivative action,

de t 
p t   p  τ D (8-10)
dt
where τ D , the derivative time, has units of time.
For example, an ideal PD controller has the transfer function:
Chapter 8

P  s 
 K c 1  τ D s  (8-11)
E s 

• 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.
10
 • For analog controllers, the transfer function in (8-11) can be
approximated by

P  s   τDs 
 K c 1   (8-12)
E s  ατ D s  1 
Chapter 8

where the constant α typically has a value between 0.05 and

0.2, with 0.1 being a common choice.
• 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.

11
 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
derivative filter) is given by

 1 t de t  
p  t   p  K c  e t   0 e t * dt *  τ D dt  (8-13)
 τI

12
 The corresponding transfer function is:

P  s   1 
 K c 1   τDs (8-14)
E s   τI s 

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
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:

P  s   τ I s  1  τ D s  1 
 Kc    (8-15)
E s  τ
 I  Ds ατ s  1 
13