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HCHE 322 Lecture 1 - Introduction

The document introduces process control and key concepts. It discusses the objectives of process control being to maintain operating conditions, ensure safety and efficiency. It also defines concepts like controlled variables, manipulated variables and disturbances. It provides examples of feedback and feedforward control on a stirred tank blending system to control composition.

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Brian Masauli
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39 views

HCHE 322 Lecture 1 - Introduction

The document introduces process control and key concepts. It discusses the objectives of process control being to maintain operating conditions, ensure safety and efficiency. It also defines concepts like controlled variables, manipulated variables and disturbances. It provides examples of feedback and feedforward control on a stirred tank blending system to control composition.

Uploaded by

Brian Masauli
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Process Control HCHE 322

Chikava F.K.

Department of Chemical and Processing Engineering


Lecture 1

INTRODUCTION

• The primary objective of a process control is to:


o Maintain a process at the desired operating conditions
o Ensure process safety. Process units must be operated safely away
from conditions potentially dangerous either to the health of the
operators or to the environment or to the life of the equipment.
o Ensure processes are running efficiently, while satisfying
environmental and product quality requirements.
• A control system is a system of integrated elements whose function is to
maintain a process variable at a desired value or within a desired range of
values. The control system monitors a process variable or variables, and then
causes some action to occur to maintain the desired system parameter.

SEMANTICS

The following concepts and related vocabulary in process control need to be


clarified beforehand:

1. System – all or part of a process which can be viewed in isolation (provides


output values in response to input values).
2. Dynamic – the mathematical description involves a derivative with respect
to time. It is the time-varying behaviour of a process.
𝑑
𝑑𝑡
3. Static or algebraic – input values immediately determine output values.

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4. Lumped - no spatial derivatives are involved in the mathematical
description
5. Distributed – variations also occur in space (e.g., position within a reactor
bed), requiring spatial derivatives in the mathematical description.
6. Order – number of time derivatives of different variables involved in the
mathematical description (each higher order derivative also contributes 1
to the count).
7. Open loop – information generated in the output does not influence the
input.
8. Closed loop – information generated in the output is used to influence the
input.
9. Stable – a system is stable if its output are bounded (non-infinite) for all
bounded inputs.
10. Unstable – at least one bounded input excitation can cause an unbounded
output – usually manifested as exponentially increasing oscillation or
magnitude.
11. Step response – output variation resulting from a step in one of the inputs.
12. Frequency response – output characteristics when the input is a steady
oscillation (varies with frequency).
13. Tuning – choice of free parameters for controllers, estimators or
optimisers, to obtain desired performance.
14. Controlled variable (CV) – one of the outputs for which tracking of a
setpoint is required. Controlled variables are usually variables/properties
which quantify the performance or quality of the final product.
15. Set-point – this is a desired value or range of values at which a process
variable (CV) should be maintained at.
16. Manipulated variable (MV) – one of the inputs which is available to be
varied by the controller. MVs are adjusted dynamically to keep CVs at their
set-points.

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17. Disturbance variable (DV) – one of the inputs variables which is not
available for manipulation. A DV can cause the CVs to deviate from their
respective set-points. They are set by up or downstream parts of the plants.

GENERALISED CONTROL STRUCTURE

Figure 1: Generalised Control Structure

• A Control Engineer must know the following:


(i) The instruments used to measure process quantities, the valves and
other final control elements that allow control systems to adjust the
process.
(ii) Communications that transmit information around.
(iii) The control algorithms that decide how to respond to the information
coming from the process.
(iv) how the process itself behaves: not just its steady state behaviour but
more importantly its dynamic response (more on this when we do
Mathematical Modelling).

• Controlling a process requires knowledge of four basic elements, the


process itself, the sensor that measures the process value, the final control
element that changes the manipulated variable, and the controller.

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FEEDBACK CONTROL

Figure 2: Feedback Control

• Implements compensatory actions. The CVs are directly measured are


used to adjust the MVs. Corrective action taken regardless of the source of
the disturbance.
• No corrective action occurs until after the disturbance has upset the
process, i.e., until after 𝑥 differs from 𝑥sp .
• Very oscillatory responses, or even instability
• Requirements:
(i) Measuring device – The quantity whose value is to be maintained or
regulated is measured or inferred.
(ii) Controller – Comparison of the measured and required values
provides an error, e.g. `too high or `too low'. On the basis of the
error, a control algorithm decides what to do.
(iii) Control valve – The adjustment chosen by the control algorithm is
applied to some adjustable variable.
(iv) Signal conversion device – Convert from electrical to pneumatic or
vice versa.

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Feedfoward Control

• Implements anticipatory actions. The disturbances are directly measured


(if possible) to adjust MVs. Correct for disturbance before it upsets the
process.

Figure 3: Feedforward Control

Example – Feedback and Feedfoward control – Stirred Tank Blending System

𝒘 = mass flowrate
𝒙 = composition

Assumptions:

o 𝑤1 is constant; 𝑥2 = constant = 1 (stream 2 is pure A);


o Perfect mixing in the tank

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o Controlled variable (or “output variable”) : 𝑥 (composition at the output)
o Manipulated variable (or “input variable”) : 𝑤2
o Disturbance variable (or “load variable”) : 𝑥1

Problem Statement – If the inlet concentration 𝑥1 changes with time. How can
we ensure that 𝑥 remains at the set point 𝑥𝑆𝑃 ?

Method 1 – Feedback control


• Measure x and adjust w2.
• Intuitively, if x is too high, we should reduce w2.
• If x1 increases - x increases- error (xsp – x) decreases
• Controller sends signal to control valve actuator
• The flow w2 is decreased
• Concentration in the tank (x) decreases

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Method 2 – Feedforward control
• Measure x1 and adjust w2.

• Thus, if x1 is greater than ̅̅̅


𝑥1 , we would decrease w2 so that 𝑤2 < ̅̅̅̅
𝑤2

STABILITY

• Definition: An unconstrained linear system is said to be stable if the output


response is bounded for all bounded inputs. Otherwise, it is said to be
unstable.

• Consider the behavior of the variable 𝑥 shown in (a) below. At time 𝑡 =


𝑡0 disturbed by some external factors but as the time progresses the value
of 𝑥 returns to its initial value to stay. If 𝑥 is a process variable like T, P,
concentration, flowrate, etc., we say that the process is stable or self-
regulating and needs no external intervention for its stabilization. It is clear
that no control mechanism is needed to force x to return to its initial value.

• In contrast to the above behavior, the variable 𝑦 shown in (b) does not
return to, its initial value after it is disturbed by external influences.
Processes whose variables follow the pattern indicated by 𝑦 (curves a,b,c)
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are called unstable processes and require external control for the
stabilization of their behavior.

(a) Response of a stable system (b) Alternative response of unstable system

• Most industrial processes are stable without feedback control. Thus, they
are said to be open-loop stable or self-regulating. An open-loop stable
process will return to the original steady state after a transient disturbance
(one that is not sustained) occurs. By contrast there are a few processes,
such as exothermic chemical reactors, that can be open-loop unstable.

• All real processes can be made closed-loop unstable (unstable when a


feedback controller is in the system) if the controller gain is made large
enough.

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