Fundamentals of Instrumentation 2A

Control Loop Fundamentals

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Process Control Basics

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Process Control Basics

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Process Control Basics
Process control is the regulation of an industrial process.

In the past before the automation of industry, operators

manually controlled processes.

A operator observed a process and adjusted a hand valve to

control the process.

Automatic devices have simplified the operators job by

controlling the industrial processes.

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Process Control Basics
The key characteristic of control is to influence or modify a
process.

This modification to the process is introduced by a control

system.

A control system is an organisation of parts connected

together.

If a human operator is physically involved in the control

system then this is a manual control system.

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Manual control

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Functions of a Control
System
In order for a control system to operate it must have the
abilities of measurement, comparison, computation and
correction.
Measurement: This is an appraisal of the process being
controlled by the system.

Comparison: This is an examination of the likeness of the

measured values and the desired values. This carried out in
the brain of the operator.

Computation: This is a calculated judgment that indicates

how much the measured value and the desired values differ
and what action be taken.

Correction: This is necessary action which is taken. 7

Automatic process control

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Automatic process control
Automatic controls have replaced human operators in many
industrial processes.

An automatic control measures the same process variables

as the human operator and makes the same adjustments.

In a regulated process there is at least one variable that

must be held to a specific value.

The value that you want the system to maintain is called the
set point.

……I NEED TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AUTO AND

MANUAL DISCUSS THEM AND GIVE EXAMPLE 9
Automatic process control
Some of the Hardware required for an automatic control
system:

Sensor: A piece of equipment to measure system variables.

Controller: A piece of equipment to perform the functions of

comparison and computation.

Control Element: A piece of equipment to perform the control

action or to exert direct influence on the process.
This element receives signals from the controller and performs
some type of operation on the process.

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A control system consists of different types of variables.

The control variable is the basic process value being regulated

by the system.

The Set point is the predetermined desired value for the

controlled variable. The object of the control system is to
regulate the controlled variable at its set point.

To achieve the control objective there must be one or more

variables we can alter or adjust. These are called manipulated
variables.

In a control system we adjust the manipulated variable to

maintain the controlled variable at its set point.

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Process control basics: Definitions
Process control system: is an automatic control system in
which the output is a variable such as temperature, pressure,
flow, liquid level or pH.
These control systems are widely applied in industry.

Disturbances: A disturbance is a signal which tends to

adversely affect the value of the output of a system.

Feedback control: A feedback control system is one which

tends to maintain a prescribed relationship between the
output and the reference input by comparing these and using
the difference as a means of control.

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Control loop sensing/measuring
devices

Pressure sensor Flow sensor

Temperatu
re sensor
Level sensor

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Controllers

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Final Control Device

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Open loop control system
An open loop system is any process where there is no
feedback to the controller on what is happening to the
process.

A timer or some other device controls the process. Example

washing machine or an electric clothes dryer.

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Open loop control system
Electric clothes dryer.

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Open loop control system

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Open loop control system
Example: Electric clothes dryer.

Depending upon the amount of clothes or how wet they are, a

user or operator would set a timer (controller) to 30 minutes
and at the end of the 30 minutes the dryer will automatically
stop and turn-off even if the clothes are still wet or damp.

In this case, the control action is the manual operator

assessing the wetness of the clothes and setting the process
(the dryer) accordingly.

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Open loop control system
Then in this example, the clothes dryer would be an open-loop
system as it does not monitor or measure the condition of the
output signal, which is the dryness of the clothes.

The accuracy of the drying process, or success of drying the

clothes will depend on the experience of the user (operator).

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Open loop control system

An Open-loop system, also referred to as non-feedback

system, is a type of continuous control system in which the
output has no influence or effect on the control action of the
input signal.

An open-loop system is expected to follow its input command

or set point regardless of the final result.

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Closed loop control system
The process is regulated by information that comes from the
process itself.
Changes in the process variables lead to adjustments in the
process so that you can achieve the desired results.

If the value of a process variable starts to change, the change

is detected by a primary element.

A transducer then sends a standard signal to the controller.

The controller senses that this signal differs from the set point.
As a result, the controller generates a signal to activate a final
element.

The final element alters the input in a way that brings the
controlled variable back toward its desired value. 22
 Closed loop control system

Input Output
Controller Plant or process

Measuring
Element

In a system of this nature the output signal has a direct effect

upon the action of the controller. Closed loop control systems
are feedback control systems.

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 Closed loop control system
The error signal, which is the difference between the input and
the feedback signal is fed to the controller so as to reduce the
error and bring the output of the system to a desired value.

“Closed Loop” implies the use of feedback action in order to

reduce systems error.

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Closed Loop

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Closed Loop Electric Dryer

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 Closed loop
Consider our electric clothes dryer from the previous open-loop.

Suppose we used a sensor or transducer (input device) to monitor

the temperature or dryness of the clothes and fed the signal back
to the controller as shown above.

This sensor would monitor the actual dryness of the clothes and
compare it with (or subtract it from) the input reference.

The error signal (error = required dryness - actual dryness) is

amplified by the controller, and the controller output makes the
necessary correction to the heating system to reduce any error.

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Closed loop vs. Open Loop

In closed loop systems the use of feedback makes the system

response relatively insensitive to disturbances.

Thus possible to use relatively inaccurate and inexpensive

components to obtain the accurate control of a given plant,
whereas this is not possible in the open loop system.

Open loop systems are easier to build.

Open loop systems are poorly equipped to handle disturbances

or changes in process conditions.

The choice of open/closed loop systems are dependent on

application, cost and size. 28
On Off Control
This is the simplest and most commonly used type of control.

The final control element is moved relatively quickly from one

of two fixed positions.
Two positions of the final control element are usually open and
closed i.e. ON/OFF.

Advantage of this type of control action is that it is inexpensive

and simple.

Disadvantage: Two position control cannot make an exact

correction therefore no stable balanced condition of I/P to O/P
energy can be achieved. (i.e. the controlled variable continues
to cycle up and down. 29
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Control Outputs
Reverse Acting Control: Typically this type of control is used in
a heating application. As the temperature increases the power
output to the heater decreases. As the temperature decreases,
power to the heater is increased.

Direct Acting control: This type of control output is used in a

cooling application. As the temperature increases the power
output to the cooling system increases. As the temperature
decreases the power output to the cooler decreases.

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 Proportional Control

Proportional Control (Throttling or Modulating Control): In

proportional control, the controller moves the final control
element to a definite position which is directly proportional to
the deviation of the measured variable from the set point.

Proportional Band: The change in value of the controlled

variable (as a percentage of its Final State value) that is
necessary to cause full travel of the final control element.
The proportional band is defined as the amount of change in
input (or deviation), as a percent of span, required to cause the
control output to change from 0% to 100%
Prop. Band can be expressed in terms of gain:

Gain = 100/P.B 33
 Proportional Control
Disadvantage: Prop. control can produce an exact correction
for only one load condition, there is always some offset at other
loads.

Offset: Deviation of the controlled variable from the set point.

The amount of offset is dependant on:

1. The magnitude of the load change
2. Width of the prop. Band

The offset is directly proportional to load changes.

The wider the PB the greater the offset and the less sensitive
the controller.
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 The proportional float controller
The proportional float controller can only respond to a load
change, it must move away from its set point.

The only time this process will be on the set point is when the
load is 50%. At all other times the level will travel up and down
on its ‘operating line’ as a function of the load.

The gain of this mechanical controller is the ratio of the lengths

of the two arms around the pivot. Kc = A/B; PB = 100/Kc

One can increase the gain of this controller moving the pivot to
the left. This would result in requiring a smaller change in level
to fully stroke the valve, which in turn would narrow the
throttling range of the system.
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 The proportional float controller
By increasing the gain the offset will be reduced.
Unfortunately most processes become unstable with high
proportional gains.

The only exceptions are slow processes.

Plain proportional control is limited to processes which can

tolerate high controller gains (narrow PB), eg float valves,
thermostats.

By reducing the gain a bigger change in level is required to

stroke the valve (FCE) operating range will decrease.

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Proportional Band

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FCE MV

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FCE MV

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Material heating control system

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Effects of load changes on the
temperature of the material

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Integral Control
Integral Control is used to eliminate the offset that occurs from
using proportional action.
Integral action only changes its output as long as an offset is
present.
The longer the offset exist, the greater will be the correcting
signal from the integral controller.

The integral mode continuously looks at the total past history of

the error.

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Integral Control

Integral variable change in response to a change in a

variable, and in the area under the change in a variable.
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Derivative Control
Derivative Control (Rate Action): Derivative action provides an
output proportional to the speed (rate) at which the controlled
variable is changing.

Derivative Action is never used on its own because it will only

produce a change in valve position while the deviation from the
set point is changing.

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Derivative control
When the deviation is constant, derivative action will produce
no change in valve position.

Derivative action is highly susceptible to noise.

Most applications use PI control only.

THESE ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF OF DERIVATIVE CONTROL

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Derivative Control

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PID control
To give an approximate indication of the use of PID
controllers for different types of loops, the following are
general rules:

• Pressure control requires P and I, but D is not normally

required.

• Level control uses P and sometimes I, but D is not normally

required.

• Flow control requires P and I, but D is not normally

required.

• Temperature control uses P, I, and D, usually with I set for a 49

long time period.

Cascade Control
Cascade control is two feedback loops operating together in a
series mode.
The interaction that occurs between two control systems can
sometimes be used to achieve an overall improvement in
performance.

This could be achieved in a feedback loop by measuring a

second variable to give enhanced control.

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Example
Cascade Control System

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Cascade Control System

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Cascade Control

An example of cascade control is shown in Figure.

Initially a controller measures the temperature of the fluid

and adjusts the fuel flow into the heater to control the
temperature.

A secondary control loop is introduced to measure the rate of

flow of fuel. The primary controller now adjusts the set point
of the secondary loop to give improved fuel flow and better
temperature control.

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 Ratio Control System
Ratio control is used to reference one variable to another
variable.

An example of this is shown in Figure below, where a controlled

flow rate is set to a primary flow rate by a fixed ratio.

The primary flow rate is measured and the ratio is used as the
set point to the controller, setting the secondary flow rate.

The primary flow rate (wild flow) is uncontrolled, and can be used
as a reference to control several other variables.

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Example

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Ratio Control System

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Feed Forward Control System
Feed-forward control is used to anticipate a change and on its
own is an open loop control, but is normally used in
conjunction with a feedback control system.

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Feed Forward Control System

In Figure above the flow sensor is used to detect the increase

(or decrease) in the rate of material flow, which will eventually
lead to a temperature drop in the measured variable.

The controller will increase the fuel to the heater in

anticipation that the temperature of the material is going to
drop, because of the increase in demand.

The change in flow rate can be sensed before the actual

temperature drops, because of the reservoir of hot material in
the heater.

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Example

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Negative Feedback
The output is measured, fed back and after subtraction from
the input arrives at the process through the controller.

Negative feedback loops generate actions aimed at moving a

system towards or keeping a system at a desired state.
Generally negative feedback processes stabilize systems.

Negative feedback is used when a change (increase/decrease)

in some variable results in an opposite change
(decrease/increase) in a second variable.

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Positive Feedback
Positive loops are self reinforcing processes where an action
creates a result that generates more of the action and hence
more of the result.

Generally positive feedback processes destabilize systems and

cause them to “run away” from their current position.

Positive loops are responsible for the growth or decline of

systems.

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Example

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Process Measurement Basics:
Range and Span

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Accuracy and Repeatability

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Linearity

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Hysteresis

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Other Terminologies

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Common measuring
instruments

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Calibration

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Examples

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Transmitter calibration
equipment

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Transmission Signals
The accuracy of signal transmission in process control is crucial
to loop performance.

Any errors introduced during transmission will be acted upon

by the controller resulting in reduced control loop
performance.

Pneumatic and electrical signal transmission is used in process

instrumentation.

All signals have to be within some standard range of values to

allow them to connect to different controller.

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Transmission Signals
Pneumatic: 20 to 100 kPa

Voltage: 1 to 5 Volts

Current : 4 to 20mA

Frequency: 9 to 15Hz

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Pneumatic Signals
Pneumatic signals are intrinsically safe and can be used in
intrinsically hazardous environment such as the petrochemical
industry.

These environments are rated according to classes and only

equipment that are intrinsically safe can be installed.

The DP (Differential Pressure) cell is normally used for

pneumatic transmission.

Differential Pressure is converted to a mechanical movement

which provides feedback to a pneumatic relay.
The relay outputs a signal within a standard range.

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Pneumatic Signals
Disadvantages:

High cost, air supply and pneumatic equipment required to

receive and act on signals.

Slow reaction time (Time lag).

Lower accuracy.

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Electrical Signals
Electrical signals can be transmitted in the form of voltages,
currents, digital signals and wireless signals.

Electrical signals can be converted to light signals and

transmitted optically.

Voltage Transmission: Standard 1 to 5 volts (0 to 10 V).

Disadvantages:
Signal cable have to be adequately screened to prevent
transmission of noise.

Voltage transmission is limited due to the voltage drop along the

length of the signal cable.
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Intrinsic Safety

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How signals are sent in a
control loop

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Current Transmission
Current source: The power source is part of the instrument.

Disadvantage: Separate signal and power cables for each

instrument.

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Current Transmission
Current sink: The transmitter derives its power from the
transmission loop. An external Power supply is used.

A resistor within the instrument develops a volt drop across it.

This volt drop is used to power the instrument.

250 ohm resistor is used to convert 4 to 20 mA to 1 to 5V.

Advantage: voltage drop along the length of cable not an issue.

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Electrical Control loops : 4-wire
(“self-powered”) transmitter
current loops

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Electrical Control loops:
2-wire (“loop-powered”) transmitter current loops

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Frequency Transmission
The info to be transmitted is carried in the frequency of the
signal.

9 to 15 Hz is the most common range.

Advantage: larger transmission distances than voltage and

current.

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Examples
A pneumatic transmitter with output range of 20 to 100 kPa is
used to monitor water level inside a tank, its calibrated range is
100 to 200cm.

Calculate the output of the transmitter when the water level is

at 175 cm above the base of the tank.

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Examples
An electronic transmitter with an output of 4 to 20mA is
calibrated for a pressure range of 7 to 10 Mpa.
What pressure is the represented by a 12 mA signal ?

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Current to Pneumatic Converter
Current is used to generate a magnetic field using an
electromagnet.

This magnetic field then acts on a force bar connected to a

pneumatic flapper/nozzle.

The input current tends to rotate the force bar about the pivot
point so that it changes the nozzel back pressure.

The back pressure from the flapper/nozzle is boosted to

provide an output signal, as well as the feedback signal.

This can be adjusted to give a value of 20 to 100 Kpa.

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87
Digital Signal Transmission
Digital signal transmission allows for error detection, these
errors can be eliminated without affecting the process.

Digital signal transmission is more popular, constant

improvement in speed and resolution.

Digital signal transmission is more flexible than analogue

transmission.

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RS232 Serial Communication
Serial communication is the transmission of data one bit at a
time.

The serial port contains a UART Universal Asynchronous

Receiver/Transmitter.

Four RS232 standards – two used today, RS232-C and RS232-D

The difference in these standard is the voltage levels at which
they operate.

RS232-C operates at +- 15V

RS232 –D operates at +- 25V

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Serial Communication
RS232 travel longer distances and also have a higher transfer
rate.

Data is moved serially 8bits with start and stop bits.

Error checking: two common forms of error checking- parity

checking and CRC cyclical redundancy checking.

RS232 signals can be unidirectional or bidirectional.

RS422: allows for up to 16 receivers connected to one

transmitter.

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Serial Communication
RS485 is an extension of the RS422 protocol, It allows for up to
32 transmitters or 32 receivers on the same two-wire signal.

four wire systems allows for full duplex transmission, each

instrument can transmit and receive data simultaneously.

Each instrument on an RS485 network has a unique address,

able to distinguish between different instrument.

Limited to the number of transmitters/receivers on 2 wire loop

and by the maximum speed of data transmission.

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RS232

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TCP/IP
Due to the limitations of RS485 network, two more protocols
were designed.

IP (Internet protocol) - flexible data transfer

- unreliable due to no error checking.

TCP (Transmission control protocol): was introduced to reduce

instability of IP. TCP performs error checking.

TCP/IP – Ethernet network

Each instrument or hardware on the TCP/IP network has a

unique address.

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The Advantages of using TCP/IP
An Instrument plugged into the network, will automatically be
assigned a unique address.

Remote access, allows a Technician to log onto the network

from anywhere in the world.

Conversion between standard analogue signals not required.

All instruments on the network will transmit data serially.

Disadvantage: Network prone to hacking, security has to be

maintained.

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HART Protocol
The HART (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer) Protocol
is the global standard for sending and receiving digital
information across analogue wires between smart devices and
control or monitoring system.

HART is a bi-directional communication protocol that provides

data access between intelligent field instruments and host
systems. A host can be any software application from
technician's hand-held device or laptop to a plant's process
control, asset management, safety or other system using any
control platform.

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Hart Communicator

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HART Protocol
HART is a bi-directional communication protocol that provides
data access between intelligent field instruments and host
systems.

A host can be any software application from technician's hand-

held device or laptop to a plant's process control, asset
management, safety or other system using any control
platform.

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HART Protocol
HART technology is reliable and offers the benefits of intelligent
devices with digital communication.

Most applications cannot retrofit their existing automation

systems with a system that can accept the digital data which is
provided by the HART Protocol.

Because most automation networks in operation today are

based on traditional 4-20mA analogue wiring, HART technology
serves a critical role because the digital information is
simultaneously communicated with the 4-20mA signal.

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HART Protocol
HART technology is easy to use and very reliable when used for
commissioning and calibration of smart devices as well as for
continuous online diagnostics.

There are several reasons to have a host communicate with

smart devices. These include:

•Device Configuration or re-configuration

•Device Diagnostics
•Device Troubleshooting
•Reading the additional measurement values provided by the
device
•Device Health and Status

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Wireless HART Protocol
Wireless HART is a wireless mesh network communications
protocol for process automation applications. It adds wireless
capabilities to the HART Protocol while maintaining
compatibility with existing HART devices, commands, and tools.

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Wireless HART Protocol
Each Wireless HART network includes three main elements:
Wireless field devices connected to process or plant
equipment. This device could be a device with Wireless HART
built in or an existing installed HART-enabled device with
a Wireless HART adapter attached to it.

Gateways enable communication between these devices and

host applications connected to a high-speed backbone or other
existing plant communications network.

A Network Manager is responsible for configuring the network,

scheduling communications between devices, managing
message routes, and monitoring network health.

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Wireless HART Protocol

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Wireless HART Protocol

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Wireless HART Protocol

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