CHAPTER-5

PROCESS APPLICATIONS

OBJECTIVES LEARNING OUTCOMES

5. Develop skills necessary to design, analyze, 5. Design and tune feedback and feedforward and

simulate and tune control systems. cascade controllers and obtain a hands-on
experience in doing this via simulation and
experimentally on pilot-scale processes.

1
TYPES OF CONTROLLER IN
PROCESS PLANT
 5.1.Control Algorithms:

• Classical:
• PID, Cascade, Override, Ratio, Split range, Inferential
• Advanced:
• Adaptive control
• Fuzzy logic control
• Internal model control (IMC)
• Optimal control
• Neural network control
• Globally linearizing control
• Model predictive control (MPC)
 1. Controlled 3. Disturbance
2. Manipulated
Variables (CV) Variables (DV)
Variables (MV)

CONTROL
TERMINOLOGY
7. Controller 4. Setpoint

6. Final Control 5. Sensor

Element
 CONTROL TERMINOLOGY
• Controlled Variables (CV) - these are the variables which quantify the
performance or quality of the final product, which are also called output variables
(Set point).
• Manipulated Variables (MV) - these input variables are adjusted dynamically to
keep the controlled variables at their set-points.
• Disturbance Variables (DV) - these are also called "load" variables and
represent input variables that can cause the controlled variables to deviate from
their respective set points (Cannot be manipulated).

• Set-point – the desired o specified value for the CV.

• Sensor – the device that measures a process variable.

• Final Control Element – the system that changes the level of the MV. The final
control element usually involves a control valve and associated equipment (or) a
variable speed pump.

• Controller – a unit which adjusts the MV level, to keep the CV at or near its set-
point.
TYPE OF PROCESS CONTROL LOOP

Feedback Control

Feed-forward Control

Feed-forward-plus-
Feedback Control

Cascade Control
Ratio Control
Split Range Control
Differential Control
DESIRED OUTPUT
 BACKGROUND
 Normally a chemical (or) biochemical process has numerous
inputs & many outputs.
 Consider the diagram below:

The objective of a control system is to keep the CV’s at their

desired values (or set-points). This is achieved by manipulating the
MV’s using a control algorithm.
 5.2.CASCADE CONTROL

 The normal block diagram representation of a cascade control loop is shown below.
In cascade control, there are two control loops:

Primary loop (receives the set-point from the operator)

Secondary loop (receives the set-point from the primary loop)

 CASCADE CONTROL

Cascade Control

 Cascade Control uses the output of the primary controller to manipulate the set point of
the secondary controller as if it were the final control element.

Reasons for cascade control:

• Allow faster secondary controller to

handle disturbances in the secondary
loop.
• Allow secondary controller to handle
non-linear valve and other final control
element problems.
• Allow operator to directly control
secondary loop during certain modes of
operation (such as startup).
 • Fig.18.1(a).The system consists of a kettle through which water, entering at
temperature Ti, is heated to To by the flow of hot oil through a jacket
surrounding the kettle.
Example- Jacketed
•
Kettle
The temperature of the water in the kettle is measured and transmitted to the
controller, which in turn adjusts the flow of hot oil through the jacket.

• This control system is satisfactory for controlling the kettle temperature;

however, if the temperature of the oil-supply should drop, the kettle
temperature can undergo a large prolonged excursion from the set point,
before control is again established.

• The reason for this is that the controller does not take corrective action, until
the effect of the drop in oil-supply temperature has worked itself through the
system of several resistances to reach the measuring element.
• To prevent the sluggish response of kettle temperature to a disturbance in oil-
supply temperature, the control system shown in Fig. 18. l b is proposed.

 In this system, which includes two controllers & two measuring elements, the output
of the primary controller is used to adjust the set point of a secondary controller,
which is used to control the jacket temperature.

 Under these conditions, the primary controller adjusts indirectly the jacket ’T’.

 If the oil temperature should drop, the secondary control loop will act quickly to
maintain the jacket temperature close to the value determined by the set point that is
adjusted by the primary controller.Thus Fig.18.l b is called a cascade control system.

 The primary controller is also referred to as the master controller and the secondary
controller is referred to as the slave controller.
• A simplified block diagram of the single-loop system is shown in Fig. 18.2a.& 18.2 b,
which is a block diagram representation of the cascade control system, shows clearly
that an inner loop has been added to the conventional control system.
 Block diagram for cascade Control for
Block diagram for cascade Control for
Load Change
Set-point Change
 • To develop the closed-loop transfer functions for a cascade control system,
consider the general block diagram shown in Fig. 18.3.

• In this diagram, the load disturbance ‘U’ enters between two blocks of the plant
and the inner loop encloses this load disturbance.

• To determine the transfer function C/R, the inner loop is reduced to one block.
• To obtain the transfer function relating output to load, C/U, the block diagram of
Fig. 18.3a is rearranged by placing the transfer function Gc2G1 in the feedback
paths of the primary and secondary loops; the new arrangement is shown in Fig.
18.4a.
• Since R = 0 for the case under consideration, the block diagram can be redrawn as
shown in Fig. 18.4b. This diagram, which has the same form as the one in Fig.
18.3a, can now be reduced to the form shown in Fig. 18.4c.
 Cascade Control Design
• Controllers and are often chosen from standard feedback controllers (i.e.
P, PI or PID).
• A P-controller usually suffices for controller transfer function.

• The design of the controllers should ensure that the secondary loop has a
faster closed-loop response than the primary loop to take full advantage of
the cascade configuration.

Tuning strategy for cascade control:

 Tune the secondary loop first.
 Specify P (or) PI controller

 Close the secondary loop & then tune the primary loop.
 This controller can be P, PI (or) PID.
 Design Considerations
• Secondary loop must be fast responding otherwise system
will not settle.
• Time constant in the secondary loop must be smaller than primary loop.

• Since secondary loop is fast, proportional action alone is

sufficient, offset is not a problem in secondary loop.

• Only disturbances within the secondary loop are

compensated by the secondary loop.

• Hence, cascading improves the response to these

disturbances.
 Principal Advantages and Disadvantages of Cascade Control

• Advantages
• Disturbances in the secondary loop are corrected by secondary
controllers.

• Response of the secondary loop is improved, thus increasing the

speed of response of the primary loop.

• Gain variations in secondary loop are compensated by secondary

loop.

• Disadvantages
• Increased cost of instrumentation.

• Need to tune two loops instead of one.

• Secondary variable must be measured.

 5.3.Feed-backward-Controller
Why Feed-backward ?
• Advantages of Feedback Control
 Corrective action is independent of sources of disturbances.
 No knowledge of process (process model) is required.
 Versatile & robust.

• Disadvantages
 No corrective action until disturbance has affected the output. Perfect
control is impossible.

 Nothing can be done about known process disturbance.

 If disturbances occur at a frequency comparable to the settling time of

the process. Then process may never settle down.
 Feed-forward Control
• Advantages
• Corrective action is taken as soon as disturbances arrives.
• Controlled variable need not be measured.
• Does not affect the stability of the processes
• Disadvantages
• Load variable must be measured
• A process model is required
• Errors in modeling can result in poor control
 1. Objectives 2. Applications

5. Process
8. Advantages FEEDFORWARD
Variables
& CONTROL (CV, MV,
Disadvantages DV, SP)

7. Control 6. Possible Block

System Diagram
Diagram
 When to use Feed-forward ?
• Feedback control is unsatisfactory.
• Disturbance can be measured & compensated.
• Frequency of disturbance variations are comparable
to frequency of oscillation of the system.
• Output variable cannot be measured.
• When there are large time delays in the system.
Figure 1.The feedback control of the liquid • A boiler drum with a conventional feedback control system
level in a boiler drum. is shown in Fig. 1.
• The level of the boiling liquid is measured & used to
adjust the feed water flow rate.
• This control system tends to be quite sensitive to rapid
changes in the disturbance variable, steam flow rate, as a
result of the small liquid capacity of the boiler drum.
Figure 2. The feed-forward control of • Rapid disturbance changes can occur as a result of steam
the liquid level in a boiler drum. demands made by downstream processing units.

• The feed-forward control scheme in Fig.2 can

provide better control of the liquid level.
• Here the steam flow rate is measured, and the
feed-forward controller adjusts the feed
water flow rate.
Figure 3. The feed-forward-feedback control of • In practical applications, feed-forward control is
the boiler drum level. normally used in combination with feedback
control which is shown in Fig.3.
• Feed-forward control is used, to reduce the
effects of measurable disturbances, while
feedback trim compensates for inaccuracies in
the process model, measurement error, and
unmeasured disturbances.
23
Feed-forward-rules
 5.4.Ratio Control Strategy
• Ratio control is used to control the ratio of the flow rates of two or more streams.
• Ratio control is used to ensure that two or more flows are kept at the same ratio, even if the
flows are changing.
• The objective of ratio control system is to maintain the ratio of two variables at a specified
value.
In ratio control configuration, the
flow of the other stream is set on a
Stream A “wild stream” given ratio with the “wild stream”.

FI

Blended Product
FI

Stream B

The blend property of interest can be the stream composition or the

stream temperature.
Ratio Control Strategy

• There are at least two possible ways to implement the

ratio control strategy:
Ratio computation
Set-point computation

Control system for blending ‘2’ liquid streams (A) & (B) to
produce a mixed stream having the ratio
Kr=Mass’B’/Mass’A’.
 PIPING AND INSTRUMENTATION DIAGRAM (P&ID)

Ratio Control

Application:
• Blending two or more flows to produce a mixture with specified composition.
• Blending two or more flows to produce a mixture with specified physical properties.
• Maintaining correct air & fuel mixture to combustion.

FIC
FF

FT FT

Water Acid

2 part of water
1 part of acid
 Ratio Control Strategy

Ratio Computation Stream A

(Wild)
• The ratio is calculated from the
measured values of both flow rates FI Desired
Ratio
and is supplied to the controller.
Actual
Ratio
FY FIC
• The set-point of the controller is
the desired blend ratio and the
flow rate of the manipulated FI
stream is adjusted accordingly.
Stream B
(Manipulated)
 Ratio Control Strategy

Stream A
Set-point Computation (Wild)

• In this case, the wild stream flow FI

rate is multiplied by the desired

Desired FY
ratio to generate the set-point of Ratio

the controller for the manipulated FIC

stream. FI

Stream B
(Manipulated)
 An important control problem in chemical industry is the combining of two or more streams to provide a mixture having
a desired ratio of components.
 Examples of this mixing operation include the blending of reactants entering a chemical reactor or for the injection of a
fuel-air mixture into a furnace.
 In Fig. 18.23.a is shown a control system for blending two liquid streams A and B to produce a mixed stream having the
ratio Kr in units of mass B/mass A.
 Stream A, which is uncontrolled, is used to adjust the flow of stream B so that the desired ratio is maintained.
 The measured signal for stream A is multiplied by the desired ratio Kr to provide a signal that is the set point for the
flow-control loop for stream B.
 The parameter Kr can be adjusted to the desired value.
 Control hardware is available to perform the multiplication of two control signals 30
 A block diagram of the ratio control system is shown in Fig. 18.23b. In a flow-control loop, the dynamic elements
consist of the controller, the flow-measuring element, and the control valve.
 For incompressible fluids, there is no lag between the change in valve position and the corresponding flow rate. For
this reason, the transfer function between the valve and the measurement of flow-rate is simply unity.
 The block diagram also shows a transfer function Gp that relates the flow rate of B to the supply pressure of B. A
transfer function 𝐺 is also shown that represents the dynamic lag of the flow measuring element for stream A.
• From the block diagram, the flow of B may be written:

• The control action for a flow-control system is usually PI. The integral action is needed to eliminate offset and
thereby establish a precise ratio of the mixed streams of A and B.

• Derivative action is usually avoided in flow control because the signal from a flow-measuring element is inherently
noisy. The presence of derivative action would amplify the noise and give poor control.
31
 5.5.SELECTIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS (Over-rides)
• For every controlled variable, there must be at least one manipulated
variable.
In some applications
NC  NM
Chapter 16

# of controlled # of manipulated
variables variables

•Low selector switch :

•High selector switch:

 (i). Selective control refers to a control system in which the more important of two
variables will be maintained.
• In several processes, there may be a single manipulating variable and several output
variables. So the control loop should monitor more than one control variable.
 (ii). Override control (or a selective control, as it is sometimes called), is a special type
of multivariable control, where the manipulating variable is controlled by one output
variable at a time.
• Normally only one of the output variables is controlled; but it has also to be ensured that
the other output variables do not cross the safe limits. If it is so, a second controller takes
over the controller through a selector switch.
• This can be achieved by using “High Selector Switch” (HSS) or a “Low Selector
Switch” (LSS) as required.
• HSS is used when it is desired that a variable should not exceed an upper limit. Similarly
the LSS.
• Let us consider a simple example of override control. Consider a boiler system shown in
Fig.6. Under normal circumstances, the steam pressure of the boiler is controlled by
controlling the flow through the discharge line.

• The pressure is maintained through the pressure transmitter and the pressure controller.
• But the water level of the boiler should also not fall below a specified lower limit, which is
necessary to keep the heating coil immersed in water and thus preventing the burning out.

• This can be achieved by using override control through the lower limit switch (LSS).

• Under normal circumstances, the selector switch selects the pressure control loop for

control; but as soon as the level of water falls below a set value, the selector switch

switches to level control mode and the second loop takes over the control action.
• For example in a boiler control system, if fuel outpaces air flow, then un-

combusted fuel can build up in the boiler and cause an explosion.

• Selective control is used to allow for an air-rich mixture, but never a fuel-rich

mixture.

• Selective control is most often used when equipment must be protected (or)

safely maintained, even at the cost of not maintaining an optimal process

variable set point.

Chapter 16

 multiple measurements
 one controller
 one final control element
Chapter 16

Override using PI controllers - “old way” (vs. digital logic)

2 measurements, 2 controllers, 1 F.C.E.
 5.6. Split -Range Control

• In a split range control loop, output of the controller is split and sent to two or more control
valves. The splitter defines how each valve is sequenced as the controller output changes
from 0 to 100%.
• In most split range applications, the controller adjusts the opening of one of the valves when
its output is in the range of 0 to 50% and the other valve when its output is in the range of
50% to 100%.
• A very common control scheme is split range control in which the output of a
controller is split to two or more control valves. For example: Controller output 0%,
Valve A is fully opens and Valve B fully closed.
• This type of control is used, where there are several manipulated variables, but a single
output variable.
• The coordination among different manipulated variables is carried out by using Split Range
Control.
• The steam discharges from several boilers are combining at a steam header.
• Overall steam pressure at the header is to be maintained constant through a pressure
control loop.
• The command from the pressure controller is used for controlling simultaneously the
steam flow rates from the boilers in parallel.
• Clearly, there is a single output variable (steam header pressure) while there are a
number of manipulating variables (discharge from different boilers).
Chapter 16

2 Manipulated Vars.:V1 and V2 1 Controlled Var.: Reactor pressure

While V1 opens, V2 should close

• A split-range strategy is often used in situations where one or more valves may
be used, depending on the operating scenario.

• An example application is a batch reactor. Batch reactors must often be heated

from ambient temperature to a desired operating temperature.

• Particularly if the reaction is exothermic, then cooling will be needed to

maintain the desired reactor temperature
 PIPING AND INSTRUMENTATION DIAGRAM (P&ID)
Split Range Control

FC

FT
Valve A

Valve B
Chapter 16
 Criteria for good control

Criterion that is often used to evaluate a response of a control

system is 
ISE  e
2
dt
 1.Integral of the square of the error (ISE) 0

‘e’ is the usual error (i.e., set point – control variable).

Objective of the designer is to obtain the minimum value of ISE by proper
choice of control parameters.

Two other criteria often used in process control are defined as follows:
 2.Integral of the absolute value of error (IAE) 
IAE   / e / dt
 0

3.Integral of time-weighted absolute error (ITAE) 

ITAE   / e / tdt
0
45
 TUNING RULES

 Case1.Ziegler-Nichols (Z-N) Rules - their experience with the transients from

many types of processes, they developed a closed-loop tuning method .

46
 TUNING RULES

 Case2.Cohen and Coon (C-C) Rules- open-loop method

Block diagram of a control loop for measurement of a process reaction curve

 The control action is removed from the controller by placing it in manual mode
and an open-loop transient is induced by a step change in the signal to the valve.
47
 TUNING RULES

This method was proposed by Cohen and Coon (1953) and is often
used as an alternative to the Z-N method.
 Typical control loop in which the control action is removed and the
loop opened for the purpose of introducing a step change (M/s) to the
valve.
The step response is recorded at the output of the measuring
.
element.
 The response of the system including the valve, process and
measuring element is called the Process Reaction Curve.
 Typical process reaction curve exhibits an “S” shape. .48
TUNING RULES

49