Eceg 4333: Process control fundamentals

Chapter‐2
Controllers used in process control
2.1 Types of controllers

What is controller?

A controller inputs the result of a measurement of the controlled variable and determines an
output to the final control element. The term final control element refers to the device that is
used to adjust the manipulated variable. It is usually a control valve but could be some other type
of device, such as a variable speed pump or an electrical heater. Essentially, the controller is
some form of computer, analogue or digital, pneumatic or electronic that using input
measurements solves certain process equations to calculate the proper output. The controller is
considered as the heart of a feedback control system and is considered deeply in this chapter.

Basic control modes

Proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control and on-off control are the predominant types of
feedback controllers used in the process industries.
The operation of the controller may be
 Discontinuous (e.g. ON/OFF) Modes
 Continuous Modes (Smooth variation)
 Proportional Control Mode
 Integral Control Mode
 Derivative Control Mode
 Composite Control Modes
 Proportional-Integral Mode (PI)
 Proportional-Derivative Mode (PD)
 Proportional- Integral-Derivative Mode (PID)

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On off controller

ON/OFF controller mode is the simplest and cheapest control mode. They are simple,
inexpensive feedback controllers that are commonly used as thermostats in home heating
systems and domestic refrigerators.
They are also used in noncritical industrial applications such as some level control loops and
heating systems.
However, on-off controllers are less widely used than PID controllers, because they are not as
versatile or as effective. Though an equation between the error and the controller output cannot
be written, it can be said that the output is either 0% or 100% for errors less than zero or more
than zero.
When the measured value is less than the set point, the error is more than zero and full controller
output results. When measured value is more than the set point, the error is less than zero and the
controller output is zero.
As an example – consider a room temperature control: When the temperature of a room falls
below the set point, the heater is turned ON and when the temperature rises above the set point,
the heater is switched OFF.

In any controller of this type, a Neutral zone exists when the error increases or decreases through
zero. In this span, no change in controller output occurs.

Some overshoot and undershoot of the controlled variable will occur due to the finite time
required for the control element to impress its full effect on the process.

Note that on-off control can be considered a special case of proportional control with a very high
controller gain.
The disadvantages of on-off control are that it results in continual cycling of the controlled
variable and produces excessive wear on the control valve (or other final control element). The
latter disadvantage is significant if a control valve is used, but less of a factor for solenoid valves
or solenoid switches that are normally employed with on-off controllers.

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Continuous modes

The output of the controller changes smoothly in response to the error or rate of change of error.

 Proportional Control Mode

 Integral control Mode
 Derivative control mode
 A combination of one or more of the above modes.

Proportional control mode

In feedback control, the objective is to reduce the error signal to zero where
e(t )  Ysp (t )  Ym (t )

Where

e(t ) is the error signal

Ysp (t ) is the set point and

Ym (t ) is measured value of the controlled variable (or equivalent signal from the
sensor/ transmitter)
For proportional control, the controller output is proportional to the error signal. This mode can
be expressed by the equation
P  P0  K p * (e(t ))
Where
p = Controller output
Kp = Proportional gain between error & controller output (% per %)
e(t) = process error
po = controller output with no error(%)
If the error is zero, the output is a constant equal to “po”. If there is error, for every 1% of error,
a correction of “Kp” percent is added to or subtracted from “po” depending on the sign of the
error. There is a band of error about zero of magnitude “PB” within which the output is not
saturated at 0% or 100%.

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The key concepts behind proportional control are that

 The controller gain can be adjusted to make the controller output changes as sensitive as
desired to deviations between set point and controlled variable, and that
 The sign of Kp can be chosen to make the controller output increase (or decrease) as the
error signal increases
For proportional controllers, bias can be adjusted, a procedure referred to as manual reset.
Because the controller output equals p0 when the error is zero, p0 is adjusted so that the
controller output, and consequently the manipulated variable, is at its nominal steady-state value
when the error is zero. For example, if the final control element is a control valve, p0 is adjusted
so that the flow rate through the control valve is equal to the nominal, steady-state value when
error is equal to zero. The controller gain Kp is adjustable and is usually tuned (i.e., adjusted)
after the controller has been installed.
Some controllers have a proportional band setting instead of a controller gain. The proportional
band PB (in %) is defined as
100%
PB 
KP
This definition applies only if Kp is dimensionless. Note that a small (narrow) proportional band
corresponds to a large controller gain, whereas a large (wide) PB value implies a small value of
K p.
An inherent disadvantage of proportional-only control is that a steady-state error (or offset)
occurs after a set-point change or a sustained disturbance. Fortunately, the addition of the
integral control mode facilitates offset elimination, as discussed in the next section. For control
applications where offsets can be tolerated, proportional-only control is attractive because of its
simplicity. For example, in some level control problems, maintaining the liquid level close to the
set point is not as important as merely ensuring that the storage tank does not overflow or run
dry.
As the gain of the proportional gain is increased the system responds faster to changes in set-
point but becomes progressively under damped and eventually unstable.

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Integral control mode

The offset error of the proportional mode occurs because the controller cannot adapt to process
load changes. In other words, the zero-error output is a fixed value. The integral mode
eliminates this problem by allowing the controller to adapt to changing external conditions by
changing the zero-error output. Integral control action is widely used because it provides an
important practical advantage, the elimination of offset.

P  P0  K I  (e(t ))dt , K  Kp
I
I
Where  I an adjustable parameter referred to as the integral time or reset time has units of time.
Integral action is provided by summing the error over time, multiplying that sum by a gain, and
adding the result to the present controller output. For integral control action, the controller output
depends on the integral of the error signal over time.
If the error makes random oscillations above and below zero, the net sum will be zero. The
integral action will not contribute. If the error becomes positive or negative for an extended
period of time, the integral action will begin to accumulate and make changes to the controller
output,

Integral mode has the following characteristics

• The rate of change of controller output depends upon the value of error and the size of the
gain.

• If the error is zero, the output stays fixed at a value equal to what it was when the error
went to zero.

• If the error is not zero, the output will begin to increase or decrease at a rate of KI
%/second for every 1% of error.

Although elimination of offset is usually an important control objective, the integral controller is
seldom used by itself, because little control action takes place until the error signal has persisted
for some time. In contrast, proportional control action takes immediate corrective action as soon
as an error is detected. Consequently, integral control action is normally used in conjunction with
proportional control as the proportional-integral (PI) controller:

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One disadvantage of using integral action is that it tends to produce oscillatory responses of the
controlled variable and it reduces the stability of the feedback control system. A limited amount
of oscillation can usually be tolerated, because it often is associated with a faster response. The
undesirable effects of too much integral action can be avoided by proper tuning of the controller
or by including derivative control action which tends to counteract the destabilizing effects.

Derivative control mode

The function of derivative control action is to anticipate the future behavior of the error signal by
considering its rate of change. In the past, derivative action was also referred to as rate action,
pre-act, or anticipatory control.
o
For example, suppose that a reactor temperature increases by 10 C in a short period of time, say
o
3 min. This clearly is a more rapid increase in temperature than a 10 C rise in 30 min, and it
could indicate a potential runaway situation for an exothermic reaction. If the reactor were under
manual control, an experienced plant operator would anticipate the consequences and quickly
take appropriate corrective action to reduce the temperature. Such a response would not be
obtainable from the proportional and integral control modes discussed so far. Note that a
proportional controller reacts to a deviation in temperature only, making no distinction as to the
time period over which the deviation develops. Integral control action is also ineffective for a
sudden deviation in temperature, because the corrective action depends on the duration of the
deviation.
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. Thus, for ideal derivative action,

de(t )
P  P0  K D K D  K p * D
dt
Where  D the derivative time, has units of time.
Derivative controller action responds to the rate at which the error is changing. Derivative action
is not used alone because it provides no output when the error is constant. Must be used with
great care and usually with a small gain, because a rapid change of error can cause very large,
sudden changes of controller output leading to instability.

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Derivative mode has the following characteristics

• If the error is zero, the mode provides no output.

• If the error is constant in time, the mode provides no output.

• If the error is changing in time, the mode contributes an output of “Kd” percent for every
1%-per-second rate of change of error.

• For direct action, a positive rate of change produces a positive derivative mode output.

• By providing anticipatory control action, the derivative mode tends to stabilize the
controlled process. Thus, it is often used to counteract the destabilizing tendency of the
integral mode
• Derivative control action also tends to improve the dynamic response of the controlled
variable by the settling time, reducing the time it takes to reach steady state.
•
If the process measurement is noisy, that is, if it contains high-frequency, random fluctuations,
then the derivative of the measured variable will change wildly, and derivative action will
amplify the noise unless the measurement is filtered. Consequently, derivative action is seldom
used for flow control, because flow control loops respond quickly and flow measurements tend
to be noisy.

Composite control modes

In industrial processes it is expedient to combine several basic modes of control to gain the
advantages of the modes and eliminate the limitations of the modes. The various composite
modes are:
• Proportional-Integral Mode (PI)
• Proportional-Derivative Mode (PD)
• Three-Mode controller (PID).

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PI controller

A PI Controller (proportional-integral controller) is a special case of the PID controller in which

the derivative (D) of the error is not used.
t
1
P  K p [e(t ) 
I  e(t )dt ]
0

The lack of derivative action may make the system steadier in the steady state in the case of
noisy data.

This is because derivative action is more sensitive to higher-frequency terms in the inputs.
Without derivative action, a PI-controlled system is less responsive to real (non-noise) and
relatively fast alterations in state and so the system will be slower to reach set-point and slower
to respond to perturbations than a well-tuned PID system may be.

• The main advantage of this composite control mode is that one-to-one correspondence of
the proportional mode is available and

• The integral mode eliminates the inherent offset.

• The proportional gain, also changes the integral gain.

• If the error is not zero, the proportional term contributes a correction, and the integral
term begins to increase or decrease the accumulated value, depending on the sign of the
error and the direct or reverse action.

• This mode can be used in systems with frequent or large load changes.

• Because of the integration time, the process must have relatively slow load changes to
prevent oscillations induced by the integral overshoot.

• During the start of a batch process, the integral action causes considerable overshoot of
the error and output before settling to the operation point.

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PD controller

The stability and overshoot problems that arise when a proportional controller is used at high gain
can be mitigated by adding a term proportional to the time-derivative of the error signal,

de(t )
P  K p [e(t )   D ]
dt
This technique is known as PD control. The value of the damping constant,  D , can be adjusted
to achieve a critically damped response to changes in the set-point temperature. Too little
damping results in overshoot, too much causes an unnecessarily slow response.

Characteristics of PD controller

• This mode involves the serial use of the proportional and derivative modes

• The system cannot eliminate the offset of proportional controllers.

• It can, however, handle fast process load changes as long as the offset error is acceptable.

PID controller

Although PD control deals neatly with the overshoot and ringing problems associated with
proportional control it does not cure the problem with the steady-state error. Fortunately it is
possible to eliminate this while using relatively low gain by adding an integral term to the control
function which becomes
t
1 de(t )
P  K p [e(t ) 
I  e(t )dt  
0
D
dt
]

This form of function is known as proportional-integral-differential, or PID, control. The method

works quite well but complicates the mathematical analysis slightly because the system is now
third-order.

A proportional–integral–derivative controller (PID controller) is a generic control loop

feedback mechanism (controller) widely used in industrial control systems – a PID is the most
commonly used feedback controller. A PID controller calculates an "error" value as the

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difference between a measured process variable and a desired set-point. The controller attempts
to minimize the error by adjusting the process control inputs.

The PID controller calculation (algorithm) involves three separate constant parameters, and is
accordingly sometimes called three-term control: the proportional, the integral and derivative
values, denoted P, I, and D. Heuristically, these values can be interpreted in terms of time: P
depends on the present error, I on the accumulation of past errors, and D is a prediction of future
errors, based on current rate of change.[1] The weighted sum of these three actions is used to
adjust the process via a control element such as the position of a control valve, or the power
supplied to a heating element.

Features of PID controllers

Reset Windup
An inherent disadvantage of integral control action is a phenomenon known as reset windup.
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. Controller saturation occurs whenever the
disturbance or set-point change is so large that it is beyond the range of the manipulated variable.
In this situation, a physical limitation (control valve fully open or completely shut) prevents the
controller from reducing the error signal to zero. Clearly, it is undesirable to have the integral
term continue to build up after the controller output saturates, because the controller is already
doing all it can to reduce the error.
Derivative Kick
One disadvantage of the previous derivative controller is that a sudden change in set point (and
hence the error) will cause the derivative term momentarily to become very large and thus
provide a derivative kick to the final control element. This sudden "spike" is undesirable and can
be avoided by basing the derivative action on the measurement, rather than on the error signal so
that it will not react during set-point change.
t
1 dym
P  P0  K p [e(t ) 
I  e(t )dt  
0
D
dt
]

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A more flexible PID control algorithm can be obtained by weighting the set point in both the
proportional and the derivative terms. This modification eliminates the proportional kick that
also occurs after a step change in set point. For this modified PID algorithm, a different error
term is defined for each control mode: t
1 de (t )
P  P0  K p [e p (t )   e(t )dt   D D ]
I 0 dt
with
e p (t )   Ysp (t )  Ym (t )
eD (t )  Ysp (t )  Ym (t )
e(t )  Ysp (t )  Ym (t )

The beta and gamma coefficients are set to value of zero to eliminate the effect off proportional
and derivative kick respectively

Reverse or Direct Action

The error that results from the measurement of the controlled variable may be positive or
negative, because the value may be greater or less than the set point. A controller operates with
direct action when an increasing value of the controlled variable causes an increasing value of
the controller output. A controller operates with reverse action when an increase in controlled
variable causes a decrease in controller output.
P  P0  K p * (Ysp (t )  Ym (t ))
The controller gain can be either negative or positive. For proportional control, when Kp > 0, the
controller output p(t) increases as its input signal Ym(t) decreases, Thus if Kp > 0, the controller
is called a reverse-acting controller. When Kp < 0, the controller is said to be direct acting:
because P increases as Ym(t) increases. Note that these definitions are based on the measurement
rather than the error to illustrate why both direct-acting and reverse-acting controllers are needed,
again consider the flow control.
EX: consider the surge tank example when F2 is considered as disturbance
a. Suppose that the flow transmitter is designed to be direct-acting so that its output signal
increases as the flow rate increases. Also assume that the control valve is designed so that
the flow rate through the valve increases as the signal to the valve, p(t), increases. In this
case the valve is designated as air-to-open (or fail close). The question is: should the flow
controller have direct or reverse action?

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b. What if the valve is air to close

c. Having the wrong controller action would force the control valve to stay fully open or
fully closed (why?).
Importance of manual controller mode
Controllers are designed to operate in automatic mode, however, in certain situations, the plant
operator may decide to override the automatic mode and adjust the controller output manually.
This manual mode of controller operation is very useful during a plant start-up, shutdown, or
emergency situation. A manual/automatic switch, or the software equivalent, is used to transfer
the controller from the automatic mode to the manual mode, and vice versa. During these
transfers, it is important that the controller output not change abruptly.
A controller may be left in manual for long periods of time (or indefinitely) if the operator is not
satisfied with its performance in the automatic mode. Consequently, if a significant percentage of
the controllers in a plant are in manual, it is an indication that the control systems are not
performing well or that the plant operators do not have much confidence in them.

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2.2 PID controller design, tuning and troubleshooting

2.2.1 PID controller design

Performance criteria for Closed-loop systems

The function of a feedback control system is to ensure that the closed-loop system has desirable
dynamic and Steady-state response characteristics. Ideally, we would like the closed-loop system
to satisfy the following performance criteria:
1. The closed-loop system must be stable
2. The effects of disturbances are minimized, providing good disturbance rejection
3. Rapid, smooth responses to set-point changes are obtained, that is, good set-point
tracking
4. Steady-state error (offset) is eliminated
5. Excessive control action is avoided
The control system is robust, that is, insensitive to changes in process conditions and to
inaccuracies in the process model

In typical control applications, it is not possible to achieve all of these goals simultaneously,
because they involve inherent conflicts and tradeoffs.

A control system exhibits a high degree of performance if it provides rapid and smooth responses
to disturbances and set-point changes with little, if any, oscillation. A control system is robust if
it provides satisfactory performance for a wide range of process conditions and for a reasonable
degree of model inaccuracy. Robustness can be achieved by choosing conservative controller
settings (typically, small values of Kc and large values of T1), but this choice tends to result in
poor performance. Thus, conservative controller settings sacrifice performance in order to
achieve robustness.

A second type of tradeoff occurs because PID controller settings that provide excellent
disturbance rejection can produce large overshoots for set-point changes. On the other hand, if
the controller settings are specified to provide excellent set-point tracking, the disturbance
responses can be very sluggish. Thus, a tradeoff between set-point tracking and disturbance
rejection occurs for standard PID controllers.

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Model Based controller design

If it is possible to design a satisfactory mathematical model of a process, then it is possible to
design a controller based on the model. This method is called model based controller design. A
wide variety of model based design strategies are available for designing PID controllers. In this
section, we consider the important model-based design method that is especially useful in
process control, the direct synthesis method.

Direct Synthesis Method

The controller design is based on a process model and a desired closed loop transfer function.
Consider the following block diagram.

The closed loop transfer function will be given by

Y K m Gc Gv G p

Ysp 1  Gc Gv G p Gm

For simplicity let

G  Gc Gv G p And assume also that Gm  Km

Y Gc G

Ysp 1  Gc G

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Rearranging and solving for Gc gives

 Y 
 Y 
1
Gc   
sp

G Y 
1 Y 
 sp 
Y 
If G is the approximated process model and   is the desired closed loop transfer function,
 Ysp 
 d
the expression for the controller will be given by:
  Y  
   

1   Ysp d 
Gc   
G   Y  
 1   Y  
  sp d 
Y 
The specification of 
 Ysp 
is the key design decision and will be considered during the design.
 d
Note that the controller transfer function in the above expression contains the inverse of the
1
process model due to the term. This feature is a distinguishing characteristic of model-based
G
control. The performance of the DS strongly depends on the specification of the desired closed-
Y 
loop transfer function,   · ideally, we would like the closed loop transfer function to have
 Ysp
 d
the value of unity so that the controlled variable tracks set-point changes instantaneously without
any error. However, this ideal situation, called perfect control, cannot be achieved by feedback
control because the controller does not respond until the error is detected For processes without
time delays, the reasonable first-order model is given by
Y  1
  
 Ysp d  c s  1

Where  c is the desired closed-loop time constant. Substituting this expression in the above
equation and solving for Gc, the controller design equation becomes:
1 1 
Gc   
G   c s 

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If the process transfer function contains a known time delay  , a reasonable choice for the
desired closed-loop transfer function is:

Y  e s
  
 Ysp d  c s  1
The time-delay term in the above equation is essential, because it is physically impossible for the
controlled variable to respond to a set-point change at t = 0. If the time delay is unknown it must
be replaced by an estimate. Then the expression for the controller transfer function will be given
by:

1 e  s 
Gc   
G   c s  1  e  s 
The above design can be used to derive PID controllers for simple process models. The
following derivation is based on approximating the time-delay term in the denominator with a
truncated Taylor series expansion:

e  s  1   s
Substituting into the denominator of the controller transfer function and rearranging gives the
expression below:

1  e  s 
Gc   
G  ( c   ) s 
Note that it is not necessary to approximate the time-delay term in the numerator, because it is
canceled by the identical term in G , when the time delay is known exactly.
Examples:
First-Order-Plus-Time-Delay (FOPTD) Model
Consider the first order plus time delay model given by the following expression
 s
Ke
G ( s ) 
 s 1

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By substituting this in to the expression for the controller transfer function, we end up with the
following controller gains settings.

1 
Kp  . I  
K  c
1
Gc  K p (1  )
I s
Second-Order-Plus-Time-Delay (FOPTD) Model
Consider the first order plus time delay model given by the following expression

Ke  s
G ( s) 
( 1 s  1)( 2 s  1)
By substituting this in to the expression for the controller transfer function, we end up with the
following controller gains settings.

1 1   2  1 2
Kp  . I   1   2 D 
K  c 1   2
1
Gc  K p (1    D s)
I s
Example: use the direct synthesis design method to calculate the PID controller settings for the
process given by:

2e s
G ( s) 
(10s  1)(5s  1)

Consider three values of the desired closed loop time constants

 c  1,3, and 10

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