EE617A

Industrial Automation and Control

(Units: 3-0-0-0-[9]) (2018-19, First Semester)

• Lecture-21: Implementation of PID Controllers

In this lecture, we shall discuss about how to implement a PID controller in an actual system.

Looking back to the history of the PID controller, the PID controllers in the initial days were
all pneumatic. In fact, all the experimentation by Ziegler and Nichols were carried out with
pneumatic controllers. But pneumatic controllers were slow in nature.

After the development of electronic devices and operational amplifiers, the electronic PID
controllers started replacing the conventional pneumatic controllers.

But with the advent of the microprocessors and microcontrollers, the focus of development
is now towards the implementation with digital PID controllers.

The major advantage of using digital PID controllers is that the controllers parameter can be
programmed easily; as a result, they can be changed without changing any hardware.

Moreover, the same digital computer can be used for a number of other applications besides
generating the control action.
We shall first discuss about the PID controller implementation with pneumatic and
electronic components and then discuss about the different algorithms those can be used
for digital implementation of PID controllers.
 Pneumatic Controller

It has been already mentioned that the early days PID controllers were all pneumatic
type.

The advantage of pneumatic controllers is its ruggedness, while its major limitation is
its slow response. Besides it requires clean and constant pressure air supply.

The major components of a pneumatic controller are

• Bellows,
• Flapper nozzle amplifier,
• Air relay and
• Restrictors (valves).

The integral and derivative actions are generated by controlling the passage of air
flow through restrictors to the bellows.

However, the details of the scheme for generation of PID action in a pneumatic
controller will be elaborated in coming slides.

The implementation of a pneumatic PI controller is shown in Fig. on next slide.

 A Pneumatic PI controller

Here four bellows are connected to a force beam as shown above.

The measured process variable is converted to air pressure and connected to the
bellows P1.

Similarly the air pressure corresponding to the set point signal is applied to the
bellow P2.
The error corresponding to the measured value and the set point generates a
force on the left hand side of the force beam.

There is an adjustable pivot arrangement that sets the proportional gain of the
amplifier.

The right hand side of the force beam is connected to two bellows, P3 and P4and
a flapper nozzle amplifier.

The output air pressure is dependent on the gap between the flapper and nozzle.

An air relay enhances the air handling capacity. The output pressure is directly fed
back to the feedback bellows P4, and also to P3 through a restrictor (valve).

The opening of this restrictor decides the integral action to be applied. With a
slight modification of this scheme, a pneumatic PID controller can also be
implemented.
 Electronic PID Controller

Electronic PID controllers can be obtained using operational amplifiers and passive
components like resistors and capacitors.

A typical scheme is shown as below. With little calculations, it can be shown that the
circuit is capable of delivering the PID actions as:
It is evident from Figure, that the proportional gain Kp is decided by the ratio R2 by
R1 of the first amplifier;

The integral action is decided by R3 and C1 and the derivative action by R5 and C2.

The final output however comes out with a negative sign, however the positive sign
can also be obtained by using a non inverting amplifier at the input stage, instead of
the inverting amplifier.

The op. amps. shown in the circuits are assumed to be ideal.

 Digital P-I-D Control

In the digital control mode, the error signal is first sampled and the controller output
is computed numerically through a digital processor.

Controller output for a continuous-type P-I-D controller:

The above equation can be discretized at small sampling interval T0 as shown in

Figure below
The above algorithm is known as Position algorithm.

But the major problem here is that the error values at all the time instants are to be
stored (or at least the second term of the r.h.s of u(k) at each instant have to be
stored).
 Velocity Algorithm for PID

An alternative approach known as velocity algorithm can be obtained as follows:

Since we already have

And we can write the error signal at the (k-1) th instant as:
The above algorithm is known as Velocity algorithm.

The major advantage of this algorithm is that it is of recursive type.

It calculates the incremental output at each sample instant. As a result, it requires

only to store three previous values: e(k), e(k-1) and e(k-2). Besides it has got
several other advantages also those are elaborated in coming slides.
Bumpless Transfer:
In an automated process-control system, bumpless transfer is a feature that prevents
a sudden response by the controller when switching from manual mode to
automatic mode.

In the simplest implementation, bumpless transfer changes the controller's set-point

(SP) for a parameter to the present value (PV) when automatic mode is engaged.

This ensures that the controller does not react to a sudden large error value (E),
which might cause it to overshoot the setpoint or become unstable.

Similarly, for automatic to manual transfer, initially the manual output is set equal to the
controller output and the difference is gradually reduced by incrementing or
decrementing the manual output to the final value of the manual signal and thus
effecting a change over.
Another way to transfer from Auto to Manual mode in a bumpless manner, the set
point may be made equal to the present value of the process variable and then
slowly changing the set point to its desired value.

The above features can be easily be implemented if a digital computer is used as

a controller. This provision eliminates the chance of the process receiving sudden
jolt during transfer.
 Integral Windup

Integral windup, also known as integrator windup or reset windup.

This refers to the situation in a PID feedback controller where a large change in
set-point occurs (say a positive change) and the integral terms accumulates a
significant error during the rise (windup), thus overshooting and continuing to
increase as this accumulated error is unwound (offset by errors in the other
direction). The specific problem is the excess overshooting.

This problem can be addressed by:

•Initialising the controller integral to a desired value

•Increasing the set-point in a suitable ramp
•Disabling the integral function until the to-be-controlled process variable (PV) has
entered the controllable region
•Preventing the integral term from accumulating above or below pre-determined
bounds
•Back-calculating the integral term to constrain the process output within feasible
bounds.
There exits several methods through which integration windup can be prevented.
Before we go to the actual methods, let us consider the input-output
characteristics of an actuator as shown in Fig. below.

Its characteristics is similar to of an amplifier, where the output varies linearly

with the input till the input is within a certain range; beyond that the output
becomes constant either at the maximum or the minimum values of the output.

The upper and lower limits of the output may correspond to the flow rates of a
control valve when the valve is at fully open and fully closed position.
The first method uses a switch to break the integral action, whenever the
actuator goes to saturation.

This can be illustrated by Fig. below. Consider schematic arrangement of a

controller shown in the figure. When the switch is closed, transfer function of the
controller can be obtained as:
So when the switch is closed, the controller acts as a P-I controller as can be seen
on the previous slide.

On the other hand, if the switch is open, it is a simple P- controller. The switch is
activated by the position of the actuator.

Hence If the actuator is operating in the linear range, the switch is closed, and the
controller is in P-I mode. But whenever the actuator is in the saturation mode, the
switch is automatically opened; the controller becomes a P-controller. As a result,
any windup due to the presence of integral mode is avoided.
Another technique for anti windup action is illustrated in Figure below. Here we
assume that the slope of the actuator in the linear range is unity. As a result, when
the actuator is operating in the linear range the error eA is zero, and the controller
acts as a PI controller.

But when the actuator is in saturation mode, the error eA is negative for a positive e.

This will reduce the integral action in the overall control loop.
Other anti-windup precautions are:

(i) Closing the I-action only when the error is small (say 5% to 10% of the range),
(ii) Limiting the output of the I-action block.

However, application of these techniques require an intimate knowledge of the plant

behaviour.
 Bumpless Transfer

Prevention of Integration Windup

Protection against Computer Failure
 Important points

Actual implementation of PID controllers is not a trivial task.

In this lecture several methods for implementation of the control actions, as well as
prevention of certain undesirable effects while the controller is in use in the process
have been discussed.

The implementation of the PID action can be carried out using pneumatic or
electronic discrete components (hydraulic controllers are also in use, but to a
limited extent).

The basic schematics of pneumatic and electronic PID controllers have been
explained. Next, the implementation of the control action using a digital controller
has been discussed. Two algorithms for digital implementation have been
explained.

Their relative merits and demerits are also been elaborated. The necessity for
using schemes for bumpless transfer and anti-integration windup been explained
and few such schematic arrangements have been presented.
 Several controllers act together: Electricity Generator

DP

Active power Reactive power

frequency (Pf)
DQ voltage (QV)
D controller controller

f
Steam DV
Controllable
excitation
Main Valve
source
steam control
valve mechanism
Voltage
sensors
Turbine Generator

Frequency sensor

Mechanical power 3-phase Electrical Power DP + j DQ

 Generator Regulator structure

excitation
current U = k × Ie × ω
voltage PID exitation Ie

load

speed
ω
frequency PID turbine generator voltage

measure

measure
 Nested control of a continuous plant - example

Example: position control of a rotating shaft

PD torque regulation
Position PID (protection) encoder
sol Speed
cmd Torque PID
sol tacho
is cmd sol M
cmd
is
is
amplifier

Current

Velocity

Position

Nesting regulators allow to maintain the output variable at a determined value

while not exceeding the current or speed limitations
 Nested loops and time response

position control

speed control
torque control robot arm trajectory

A control system consists often of nested loops,

with the fastest loop at the inner level
 Feedforward

basic idea: bring the output on an approximate track from the start, let the regulator only correct
the small deviations. The feedforward controller knows the plant, it can also consider known disturbances

disturbances
feed-forward
controller
x
set point command
feed-back
controller plant
m

y
measurement
process value
 Advanced Control

controller disturbances
plant
model
x
economical
control
objectives, m plant
algorithms
Cost functions
command

y
measurement
process value

This is a high-level control in which the set-points are computed based on economical objectives
 Exercises

A Control System…
a) is dependent not only on current environment but on past environment as well
b) describes the direction PV moves and how far it travels in response to a change in
CO (steady state)
c) set of devices to manage, command, direct or regulate the behavior of other
device(s) or system(s)

What is the set point?

a) Variable you want to control
b) Desired value of control variable
c) Signal that is continuously updated

What has only one tuning parameter so it’s easy to find “best” tuning, but permits offset?
a) P only
b) PI
c) PD

What is proportional to both the magnitude of the error and the duration of the error?
a) P only
b) PI
c) PD
 Assessment

How does a two-point regulator works ?

How is the a wear-out of the contacts prevented ?

How does a PID regulator works ?

What is the influence of the different parameters of a PID ?

Is a PID controller required for a position control system (motor moves a vehicle)?

Explain the relation between nesting control loops and their real-time response

What is feed-forward control ?

 To probe further

"Computer Systems for Automation and Control", Gustaf Olsson, Gianguido Piani,
Lund Institute of Technology

“Modern Control Systems”, R. Dorf, Addison Wesley

“Feedback Systems”, Karl Johan Aström, Richard M. Murray

http://www.cds.caltech.edu/~murray/books/AM08/pdf/am08-complete_28Sep12.pdf