Temperature Control

1. Objective:
The main objective in this experiment is to:
 understand the constituent units in the temperature control loop system and the
characteristics of feedback control system.
 learn the usage of controller and apply the reaction curve method in this process
control system.
 find an optimal controller setting in this system, and compare the advantages and
disadvantages among P only, PI and PID controllers.
2. Caution Items:
1. Before you plug in the pump power, please check the liquid level has reached the overflow
hole in storage tank and the software has been started. When this experiment has been done,
please set the controller in “Manual” mode, and the heater OP is set equal to 0%. Then, turn
off the pump, and close the software at last.
2. Before you save your experimental data, you have to click 資料存檔) first, and then the data
will be recorded. If you want to stop recording, click 資料存檔 again. The document was
saved in the desktop's temperature control folder (tempcontrol.TXT).
3. If you want to change the heater OP value and the controller parameters, you have to adjust
them by using control panel because the heater OP value and the controller parameters
cannot be adjusted by the software.
4. Prepare chilling water 500 cc and ice can take from ice maker on the 4th floor.
3. The Principle of Experimental Design:
(Ⅰ) Process dynamics
The experimental device (Figure 1) is shown in below. The water stream flow which
temperature is Ti feed into the stirred-tank to heat up and the stream outlet temperature is T. The
heating source is an electric heater, symbol q means the amount of heat and w is the mass of inlet
stream. Where Ti, w, T, and q are function of time (t). The temperature of stirred-tank is maintained
at TR by the controller.

The temperature(Tm) of tank which is measured and transmitted is compared with TR in the
controller. If Tm and TR are not the same, then the error (ε = TR – Tm) can be observed. And the
controller will eliminate the error by controlling the amount of heat until the error is equal zero (Tm
= TR).

Note: Tm ≠ TR is at the P only control setting

There are four assumptions in this process:

1. The temperature in whole tank is kept uniform by stirring. It means that the temperature at any
position in this stirred-tank is equal to the t outlet stream, and the volume (V) is unchanged.
2. The specific heat of water (Cp), density (ρ), and volume (V) are constant which are independent
of temperature.
3. The heat capacity of the apparatus (electric heater, and tank) is very small than water. Therefore,
it is neglected in this experiment.
4. Heat loss from the tank is negligible.

一
 W, Ti

W, T

T
q

Figure 1 the schematic diagram of experimental device

The control system of figure 1 can be divided into three parts:
1. Process (Heating tank)
Input – Output = Accumulation (No Reaction)
Applying the energy balance with transient state:
dT
q  wc pTi  wc pT  c pV (1)
dt
By taking 1st-order Taylor series expansion [2], the Eq. (1) can be derived as Eq. (2).
   
q  ws c pTis  c pTis w  ws   ws c p Ti  Tis   ws c pTs  c pTs w  ws   ws c p T  Ts   c pV
dT
(2) dt
Setting deviation variables as follows, and the subscript (s) is represented as steady-state condition:
Q = (q – qs), T’ = (T – Ts), Ti’= (Ti – Tis), W = (w – ws)
Therefore, the Eq. (2) can be expressed as:
d T '  Ts 
 
Q  q s  ws c p Tis  Ts   c p Tis  Ts W  ws c p Ti '  ws c p T '  c pV
dt (3)
At steady-state, Eq. (1) can be rearranged as:
dT
q s  ws c p Ti s  ws c pTs  c pV s (4)
dt
Subtracting Eq. (4) from Eq. (3) could obtain the following equation:
dT '
Q  c p Tis  Ts W  ws c p Ti '  ws c p T '  c pV (5)
dt
By taking the Laplace transform of Eq. (5), 1st-order transfer functions Eqs. (6) and (7) can obtained:
Q(s)  c p Tis  Ts W (s)  ws c pTi ' (s)  ws c pT ' (s)  c pVsT ' (s) (6)
or
 V  Q( s)  Tis  Ts 
T ' ( s) s  1    W ( s)  Ti ' ( s) (7)
 ws  ws c p  ws 
The above-equation can be rearranged as:
1 / ws c p T  Ts  ws 1
T ' ( s)  Q( s)  is W ( s)  Ti ' ( s) (8)
s  1 s  1 s  1

二
 V
where   . Figure 2(a) is represented as Eq. (8), and this block diagram can specifically
ws
describe the relation between T’(s), Q(s), Ti’(s) and W(s).
1
T s 
' '
T (s) W C
τs  1
s s S P

1 ws c p
X
1 w s c
Q(s)
τs  1
T
'
( s) Q(s) X τs  1
p
T
'
( s)

(Tis Ts) w
W (s)
C T  T s
s

τs1 W (s) P is

(a) (b)
Figure 2 block diagram of heating tank

If only Q(t) changes, then Ti’(t) = 0, W(t) = 0, and the transfer function of T’ with Q is
T ' ( s) 1 / ws c p
 (9)
Q( s )  s  1
If only Ti’(t) changes, then Q(t) = 0, W(t) = 0, and the transfer function of T’ with Ti’ is
T ' ( s) 1
 (10)
Ti ( s)  s  1
'

If only W(t) changes, then Q(t) = 0, Ti’(t) = 0, and the transfer function of T’ with W is
T ' ( s) Tis  Ts  / ws
 (11)
W (s)  s 1
According to the additive property of transfer function, Eq. (8) is the summation of Eq. (9), Eq. (10)
and Eq. (11).
Eq. (8) can also be rearranged as:

 
T ' ( s)  Q( s)  c p Tis  Ts W ( s)  ws c pTi ' ( s)
1/ ws c p
 s 1
(12)

Figure 2(b) can be represented as Eq. (12). Figure 2(a) and Figure 2(b) are equivalent block
diagrams. The only difference with Figure 2(a) is to sum up Q(s), WsCpTi’(s) and Cp(Tis-Ti) W(s)
1 / ws c p
first, and then multiplies transfer function .
 s 1

三
 輸入
input
X(s)  Z(s)=X(s)+Y(s)

 
input
輸入 output
輸出 Y(s)

(a) Y(s)
(b)

X(s)
 W(s)=X(s)+Y(s)-Z(s)

-
Z(s)

(c)
Figure 3 the schematic diagram of corresponding symbols to input variables and output variables

In the figure 2, Symbol “+” is used to represent the summation of input signals, and this
symbol is called “summing junction”. For example, it demonstrates the summation of two input
signals shown in Figure 3(a) and 3(b). When these two inputs are subtracted by each other, this
symbol can also be represented by the symbol “-”. These two symbols are usually put with a proper
position near the end of arrow as shown in Figure 3(c). The expression can contain multi-input but
only one output. Moreover, these symbols are usually seen as a standard in most of process control
literature.
2. Measuring element
The liquid temperature (T) in the tank is measured by thermocouple sensor and the temperature
(Tm) will be transmitted to the controller. The transfer function can be expressed as a 1st-order lag
system:
Tm' ( s) 1
 (13)
T (s)  m s  1
'

3. Controller and Final Control Element

The relation between the amount of heat (q) and the error (ε) can be expressed as:
Q(s)  Gc (s) (s) (14)
where Gc(s) is the controller transfer function. The temperature control system in Figure 1 is
according to Eq. (12), Eq. (13) and Eq. (14), and overall feedback control system can be described
by Figure 4.

四
 '
T i
(s) W (s)

W C S P C T  T 
P is s

ε Q 1 ws c
X X
'
T R
(s)
G (s)
c
p
T
'
( s)
τs  1

1
 m
s 1
Figure 4 block diagram of temperature control system
(Ⅱ) Controller Dynamics
There is a set point adjustment in controller. It makes the controlled signal have a comparable
standard value. And the controller output will change a proportional amount of input heat based on
the error signal.
So far, most of chemical plants use PID-controller as the main controller. However, the process
dynamics will be different even at the same change of input because of different control methods as
stated below [5]:
1. Proportional Control (P-Control or P only Control):
The error between controller input and controller output is proportion, and the relation of
output and error (dynamic function) is:
Q  K C   QS (15)
After taking Laplace transform of Eq. (15), the transfer function of P-control can be expressed as:
Q( s )
 KC (16)
 ( s)
KC is the controller gain. It is found an offset between setpoint and output response when the
input is changed. Some commercial controllers use proportional band (PB) instead of controller
gain (KC), and the expression is shown in below:
100%
 PB (%) (17)
KC
Using PB as the control parameter in P only controller, its parameter is inversely proportional to KC.
2. Proportional Integral control (PI control):
The relation of output and error (dynamic function) is:
K t
Q  K C   C   dt  QS (18)
I 0
After taking Laplace transform of Eq. (18), the transfer function of PI-control can be expressed as:
Q( s )  1 
 K C 1   (19)
 ( s)   I 
s
There is no offset when the input is changed in PI-controller. However, the overshoot may be
large and the response will be oscillatory in the beginning. And applying PI-control may need more
time to meet the steady-state condition.

五
3. Proportional Integral Derivative control (PID control):
The relation of output and error (dynamic function) is:
K t d
Q  K C   C   dt  K C D  QS (20)
I 0 dt
After taking Laplace transform of Eq. (20), the transfer function of PID-control can be expressed as:
Q( s )  1 
 K C 1    D s  (21)
 ( s)  Is 
The ideal PID-controller combines the advantages of PI-controller and PD-controller, it can
eliminate the offset and make the system reach steady-state quickly. Because of the effect of
differentiation (dε/dt), the output of controller has a significantly changes that is caused by the
process noise. To meet the physical realizability, a practical PID-controller form with a filter
parameter α should be applied by following expression:
 
P( s)   
1 I s  Ds 1 
 KC     (22)
 ( s) 
 I   s 1 
s D
 
Another important thing to notice about selecting controller is to avoid using PID-controller in a
high noise process.

4. Experimental Device and Procedure:

(Ⅰ) Experimental Device
Because of the variation of temperature in the heating tank (HT), the current of
thermocouple meter will change. And the change of current will flow through analog-to-digital
transducer. The sensor signal will be converted to a digital type and transmitted to compare with the
setpoint. In order to maintain the temperature of heating tank at the setpoint [6], the controller will
calculate a digital value which is based on the error. And this value will go through digital-to-
analog transducer and be converted to an electric signal which can adjust the power of electric
heater. The schematic diagram of experimental device is shown in Figure 5:

Figure 5 the schematic diagram of experimental device

六
(Ⅱ) Experimental Procedure
The work before starting the experiment
Please see Figure 5, and turn on the water source (temperature, liquid level), and fully open
valve V1 to charge water into the reservoir tank (RT) to reach the overflow hole. (Please pay
attention the water flow rate and liquid level) Later, fully open valve V2 and adjust V3 to control
the flowrate of rotameter equal to 1.0 (L/min). Notice that, the water source, valve V1, and valve
V2 are shown in Figure 6 and 7.

Figure 6 the diagram of water source Figure 7 the diagram of valve position of V1 and V2
Procedure:
1. Open the power of temperature control system and computer→ enter the Window operating
system→ turn on the switch of heater (HS) → setting the rotational speed equal to 60 rpm.
2. Select the ADAMview (see Figure 8) software which is on the desktop, and click File →D:\溫
度控制.gni (see Figure 9). After that, enter the software interface (Figure 10) and run this
temperature control experiment. Where SP is the temperature setpoint (oC). PV is the
temperature of heating tank (oC). OP is the valve opening percentage (%). The number below
A/M is OP and it can be used to control the power of heater. PB, r, and τd are the controller
parameters.
3. Click “Run” to confirm the connection of computer and signal transducer. (If they are
unconnected, PV will display 0). If they are unconnected, click the “reset” button which is on
signal transducer (ST). And then they will restore the connection.
4. After pressing “Run” → “Start”, and the temperature will be controlled by computer. And
start up the pump after plugging its power (Figure 11).
5. Before doing this experiment, please delete the data that was done by last group, and check
whether the data can be saved to the desktop folder (溫度控制資料夾/tempcontrol.txt).
6. After this experiment has been done, click “Run” → “Stop” to turn off the software.

七
 C:\溫度控制.gni

Figure 8 Figure 9
ADAMview software click File →D:\溫度控制.gni

PB PB

Figure 10 Figure 11
Operating interface of temperature control exp.
Reaction Curve Method（the first week）
1. Obtain the step change of liquid level by manual control.
Switch A/M to “Manual” control (MAN lights on). Set the heater OP=10% initially. Please
wait the temperature response to reach steady-state and change the OP to 20%. Based on the
response, try to find the optimal control parameters by using reaction curve method.

If you want to change the OP value, please press which is shown on the control panel
and then switch to OP and adjust the OP value by using △▽ buttons. Owing to the heater OP
does not change while changing the value of OP in the software interface. So you should change
both values (in control panel and software). This arrangement can make you record the time
instant while you change the OP value.
Note: The difference between the recorded data (in computer) and controller is about 0.3oC
(the real difference depends on the day temperature), please subtract 0.3oC from the
recorded data (in computer).
Note: The value of OP has to maintain 500 sec at steady-state condition. After that, you can
adjust the next value of OP. (You have to maintain 500 sec that before or after you
change the value of OP)
2. Calculate The Optimal Control Parameters:

八
 Calculate the optimal control parameters by reaction curve method (e.g. Ziegler-Nichol's
method) [7]
(1) You can plot the response as reaction curve like Figure 12 by using saved data, and the
vertical axis is temperature (oC), the horizontal axis is time (s).
(2) Find the tangent line with the maximum slope in the reaction curve, the slope is reaction rate
(R), where R= B/A (oC/s), and then the unit has to be converted in %/s.
(3) Unit reaction rate (R1) is the reaction rate (R) divided by the step-change (OP%) of actuating
variable. Where R1(s-1) = R/X =reaction rate (%/s) / the step-change (OP%) of actuating
variable.
(4) The time slot between OP switch point and the cross point of tangent line at initial steady-
state value is called time delay L (see Figure 12). The optimal parameters for each mode of
control can be calculated by Table 1.
(5) When you have finished the above data, please contact TA.
Temperature (oC)

(%/s)

(s -1)

Figure 12 Reaction Curve Method (Temperature (oC) versus time (s))

Table 1 Setting optimal parameters for each mode of control
Control
Parameters
Kc τI (s) τD (s) Transfer Function
Control mode

P control 1/(R1L) Kc
 1 
PI control 0.9/(R1L) 3.33L K C 1  
 Is
 1 
PID control 1.2/(R1L) 2.0L 0.5L K C 1    D s 
 Is 
3. impulse-change
(1) Use the reaction curve method to calculate the optimal control parameters, and set the
control parameters (Kc, τI, τd) in controller (First, use the PID-control) and the value of
SP is 50. After that, switch to automatic control in controller, and wait for the
temperature to reach steady-state.
(2) After having reached steady-state, prepare chilling water 500 cc and add to the heating
tank immediately (record the time that you add chilling water to the tank). Observe the
response and stop saving the data after the temperature has reached steady-state.

九
 Note: Prevent the sensor from contacting the chilling water directly. Otherwise, the
temperature will drop instantly and affect the experimental results.
(3) Repeat step (1) to (2) and change the controller (the sequence is PID, PI and P).
Note: The offset exists in P-control, so the temperature cannot reach 50 oC. You can use
PI or PID controller to achieve this purpose. For P-control experiment, please set
Kc parameter only. And after the system has reached steady, add chilling water
immediately
4. Turn off the equipment
(1) Switch A/M to “Manual” control (MAN lights on), Set the heater OP=0%.
(2) Unplug the pump plug and turn off the pump, close heater switch(HS) and total water
source.
(3) Turn off the software, then turn off the computer, and turn off the temperature control
main power and computer power after the power is completely turned off.
Control System Analysis（the second week）
1. step-change
(1) Set the optimal control parameters (Kc, τI, τd) in controller (First, use the PID-control)
and use the automatic control to set the value of SP to 30 oC, where these parameters
were calculated from the first week, and wait for the temperature to reach steady-state.
(2) After system reaches the steady-state, you can change the SP value to 50 oC. Observe
the response of the system temperature. Then, stop and save the experimental data after
the temperature has reached new steady-state.
(3) Repeat step (1) ~ (2) and change the controller mode (the sequence is PID, PI and P).
Note: The offset exists in P-control, so the temperature cannot reach 30 oC, but it can use
PI control or PID to achieve this purpose.
Note: Please plot the response of each controller mode on the same graph in your report,
and the time that changes the value of SP is initial time separately.
2. Turn off the equipment
(1) Switch A/M to “Manual” control (MAN lights on), Set the heater OP=0%.
(2) Unplug the pump plug and turn off the pump, close heater switch(HS) and total water
source.
(3) Turn off the software, then turn off the computer, and turn off the temperature control
main power and computer power after the power is completely turned off.

Note: the parameter settings for temperature controller

1. Change the value of SP: Click , the panel will switch to the “SP” value. You can adjust the
value by △ or▽ (see Figure 13).
2. Change the value of OP: Click , and the panel will display “o.”. You can adjust the value
by △ or ▽ (see Figure 14) afterwards.
3.Change the parameter in the controller: Press and hold down the button for 5 seconds →
click until the panel display PID → click △. At this moment, “1Gr” is shown in the panel
→ click twice → the panel will display “1.P” → enter the parameter Kc then click →
enter the value of τI after “1.1” is shown in panel → click →enter the value of τD after “1.d”
is shown in panel → click . In the end, press and hold down button then the panel will
turn back to the temperature display screen, → click A/M to switch the automatic mode (MAN
lights off ).

十
 Figure 13 Controller Panel (change SP) Figure 14 Controller Panel (change OP)

5. Experimental Data and Results

1. experimental data:

OP (%) R (%/s) R1 (s-1) L (s)

10%~20%

Control
parameters Kc τI (s) τD (s)
Control mode
P control
PI control
PID control

2. Control System Analysis

(1) For the step change, please plot the responses of P, PI and PID controller on the same axis
plane.
(2) For the impulse-change, please plot the responses of P, PI and PID controller on the same
axis plane.

6. Questions and Discussions：

1. Please draw the block diagrams and write the transfer functions of this experiment.
2. Please explain the difference between experimental and theoretical results.
3. Please list how many temperature sensors are usually used and their upper and lower bounds.
4. According to the experimental results, which control mode is the most suitable for this
temperature controller (P、PI、PID), and explain the reason?

7. Reference：
1. 經濟部專業人員研究中心, “工業儀器控制系統之設計與分析研究班講義”。
2. J.E. Grader, Basic Process Control, Taylor Technical Data Sheet.
3. 鄧禮堂, “程序控制”，高立圖書公司 (1994)。

十一
4. 鄧禮堂, “程序控制實驗”，高立圖書公司(1991)。
5. D. R.Coughanowr, Process Systems Analysis and Control, 2nd Ed, 1965.
6. 蔡鴻文, “溫度控制操作手冊”，新鼎系統股份有限公司(2005)。
7. J.G. Ziegler, N. B. Nichols, Optimum Settings for Autonatic Controllers, ASME Trans, 64, 759,
1942.
8. http://www.cc.ntut.edu.tw/~jcjeng/Chap6_PID%20Tuning.pdf
9. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/PID%E6%8E%A7%E5%88%B6%E5%99%A8

8. Symbolic Description：
Cp: heat capacity, (kcal/kg.oC)
q: amount of heat supplied by electric heater, (kcal/hr)
t: time, (s)
T: the temperature of water outlet from V, (oC)
Ti: the temperature of water flow in V, (oC)
V: volume of liquid, (m3)
W: mass flow rate, (kg/s)
ρ: density, (kg/m3)

9. Pre-study Questions：
1. (1) Please calculate R1 under the known conditions.
Conditions:
Temperature (oC)

(a) Tangent: Y= 0.0475X +13.15

(%/s)
(b) OP = 10%, Temperature=35.0 oC
(s -1)
(c) OP = 20%, Temperature=48.9 oC

(2) Based on the result of previous question, please assume time delay is 12 sec and calculate the
blank items of following Table.
Control
parameters Kc τI (s) τD (s)
Control mode
P control
PI control
PID control

2. Why do we use PI-control or PID-control system to make the system stable and reach the target
temperature before running? After we adjust the tuning parameter, why should we add chilling
water immediately for the P-control experiment?

十二
10. Appendix: reaction curve method (8)

Model identification (1) – Reaction Curve Method

 For a higher-order process, first-order plus time delay (FOPTD) can be used to
approximate the system.

Plot the tangent line which is crossing the inflection point of reaction curve,
and the intersection point are (t1,y1) and (t2,y2).

, (step response)

Example

 Steady-State gain

 Plot tangent line which is crossing inflection point

 Process model

十三
Model identification (2) –Modified Reaction Curve Method


 Plot the tangent line which is crossing the inflection point of reaction
curve, and the tangent line intersects with the point (t1, y1).

 Find the corresponding time (t2*) of the equation (y= y1+0.632KM).

Model identification (3) –Two-Point Method

 The response of real process and the response of model intersect in two
points (Smith).
 The step-response of FOPDT model:

十四
 Let ,

Controller Parameters –Ziegler-Nichols (Z-N) Tuning Method

(series PID form)

We hope that the response of system has 1/4 decay ratio.

十五