Assignment 1

PROCON
LEVEL, FLOW & TEMPERATURE Familiarisation


2-1-10 38-901-M
2.1.6 Practical 1: The Centrifugal Pump
The pump of the Basic Process Rig is a submersible, ignition protected pump, fitted at
the bottom of the lower tank.

The task of the pump is to move the water from the lower tank to the upper tank through
the piping network.

An electric dc motor drives the pump on or off and no intermediate value can be set. The
motor is powered by the Process Interface (PI) from the ac (switched or continuous) power
supply outputs on the rear panel of the PI. The rating of the pump is 12 V, 4 A.

The pump used is of the centrifugal type as opposed to the positive displacement type that
includes the reciprocating and rotary pumps.


The centrifugal pump accomplishes its pressure boost by imparting kinetic energy to the
fluid. A fluid at low pressure enters the pump assembly at the base of the rotor. The fluid
flows around the cavity and is drawn up through the pump by the rotor action and the
cavity profile.

A centrifugal pump is used in cases where high flows and low pressure heads are needed.
If flow needs to be cut to zero, the centrifugal pump can be simply valved out by closing
the manual valve MV2.


Assignment 1
PROCON
LEVEL, FLOW & TEMPERATURE Familiarisation


38-901-M 2-1-11
Special features of this pump include:

A non-airlocking mechanism, which is the number one problem of all centrifugal
pumps.
A water cooled motor, which reduces operating temperatures and so minimises
overheating, one of the major causes of pump failure.

In this practical you will put the pump into operation and calculate the rate of flow (in litres
per minute) through the interconnected pipes. A typical performance figure of the pump
supplied is 300 litres/hour full flow rate.

Note however, that the rate of flow will be much lower than the full flow performance of the
pump, because of the small dimensions of the pipes, the resistance to flow incurred by the
inner surface of the pipes, and the pressure head of the water in the upper tank.

To ensure full flow the servo valve should be fully open, therefore turn the Current Source
control fully clockwise.

2.1.6.1 Patching Diagram



Assignment 1
PROCON
LEVEL, FLOW & TEMPERATURE Familiarisation


2-1-12 38-901-M
2.1.6.2 Practical Procedure
The equipment should be connected as shown in the patching diagram.

Isolate the two upper tanks with the orange rubber bung provided. If there is water in the
upper right tank, release it all to the lower tank by opening MV3, the manual valve
connected to this upper tank, turning the knob vertically.

Close MV3, and open manual valve MV2.

Switch on the PI. Open the Servo Valve fully by turning the current source to 20 mA.

Turn on the switched ac supply o/p and, using the on-screen stop watch, record the
length of time taken from switching on the pump to overflow of the tank (there is an
overflow pipe which will carry the water directly to the lower tank).



Calculate the volume of water in the upper tank at overflow and hence calculate the rate of
flow through the piping network, from lower to upper tank.

2.1.6.3 Questions

1. What are the special features and principle of operation of the centrifugal pump?
Explain how the pump is used in this practical. What is the purpose of the overflow
pipe?

2. If initially the upper tank is empty, how long does it take from the time you switch on
the pump, until overflow occurs? What is the volume of the water at overflow?
Hence, calculate the rate of flow.

3. Why is the flow through the piping network less than the full flow capability of the
pump?


Assignment 1
PROCON
LEVEL, FLOW & TEMPERATURE Familiarisation


38-901-M 2-1-13
2.1.7 Practical 2: Manual Valves and Flow Meter
In this practical you will control manually the flow rate of the water supplied by the pump
and the level of the water in the upper tank. You will do this by adjusting the various
manual valves.


A manual valve is fully open when its adjusting knob is parallel to the pipe holding it, and
fully closed when the knob is perpendicular to the pipe. The size of the valve orifice is
variable between these two extremes, making it possible to control the amount (or volume)
of water passing through the valve in a given time, i.e the flow rate.

This type of control is clearly low in accuracy, since it relies on human observation and
reaction, but is used to demonstrate a manual control system.

In this system, you are the controller, controlling some parameters (e.g level, flow) of the
plant (rig), using the control elements (i.e the manual valves) and information about the
current values of these parameters (plant status), obtained from the measurement
elements, and displayed on the flow-gauge and the level indicator.

The flow gauge used is a variable-area flowmeter. It provides an indication of the flow,
ranging from 0.4 to 4.4 litres/minute, and is only suitable for water. This type of instrument
gives a visual indication of flow rate, and so it is of no use in automatic control systems.
However, it is reliable, cheap and used extensively throughout industry.



Assignment 1
PROCON
LEVEL, FLOW & TEMPERATURE Familiarisation


2-1-14 38-901-M
The instrument consists of a tapered glass tube containing a float which takes up a stable
position when its submerged weight is balanced by the upthrust of the water. The position
of the float is a measure of the flow passage and hence of the flow rate. The accuracy of
such instruments varies from +/-3 to +/-0.2 per cent.

To ensure full flow, the servo valve should be fully open, therefore turn the Current Source
control fully clockwise.

2.1.7.1 Patching diagram
The patching diagram corresponding to this practical is the same as the first practical. It
should be completed before starting this practical.

2.1.7.2 Practical Procedure
Switch on the pump with the ac supply switch on the front panel of the PI. Fully open the
manual valve MV2. Set the current source to 20 mA, fully opening the Servo Valve.

Adjust the manual valve MV3 below the upper tank to maintain the water level in the tank
constant at an intermediate value. What do you deduce about the input and output flow
rates?

Now, adjust the manual valve MV2 to reduce the rate of flow to an intermediate value. This
should be accomplished with reference to the visual flow meter. What happens to the
water level in the upper tank now?



Assignment 1
PROCON
LEVEL, FLOW & TEMPERATURE Familiarisation


38-901-M 2-1-15
Now, try to maintain both the level and flow constant at an intermediate value.

2.1.7.3 Questions
1. What is process control and how does it differ from servo control? How do you think
the Basic Process Rig fits into process control? What instruments are used in a
process control system? What are the characteristics of those instruments, that are
of interest to a control engineer?

2. What are the principles of operation of the manual valve and the visual flowmeter?
How would you classify these instruments from a control engineering point of view?

3. Visualise the process control system of Practical 2 and sketch a block diagram of it,
identifying each element. Is this control system manual or automatic? Is it an open
loop or a closed loop system?

4. What process variables are being controlled? Are these variables interrelated? Can
you control both variables simultaneously?

2.1.8 Practical 3: The Servo Valve
A servo system is a control system, designed such that its output follows a desired input
value with the minimum of error. The principle of operation of the servo valve is the same.

The servo valve is based on a very simple idea. It uses a gate to block the path of the
liquid through the valve and since the gate is in effect lowered down on demand it can take
any position between 100% open and 100% closed.

The vertical movement of the gate and stem of the valve changes the area of the port that
is open. The flow rate of the fluid passing through the port is therefore proportioned or
throttled by positioning the valve stem. The stem is in turn positioned by an actuator. This
can all be seen in the following diagram.

This type of servo valve is also known as a Gate Valve.



Assignment 1
PROCON
LEVEL, FLOW & TEMPERATURE Familiarisation


2-1-16 38-901-M


The position of the gate is controlled by a 4-20 mA signal, supplied in this Practical by the
PI current source. At 4 mA, the gate is fully lowered, thereby closing off the flow, while a
20 mA signal fully opens the valve.

The servo valve is almost linear, in that the applied current is approximately proportional to
the flow rate. Thus, the servo valve can be used in place of the manual valve. It can also
be used in an automatic control system, unlike the manual valve.
Like any other servo system, a servo valve is characterised by a time constant i.e it
exhibits a transient response: a sudden change in the loop current will take a finite time to
establish a new flow rate.

An important point to bear in mind when switching off the servo valve is that the gate will
be in the same position when it is next turned on.

Therefore, in order to avoid any contribution of the servo valve in future practicals, always
fully open it by setting the current to 20 mA, just before disconnecting it or switching off the
PI.

2.1.8.1 Practical Procedure
The patching diagram shows the arrangement of your equipment for this practical, please
complete this diagram before attempting the practical. Also monitor the output of the
current source on the Process Interface (PI) with an analogue milliammeter.

Isolate the two upper tanks with the orange bung provided.


Assignment 1
PROCON
LEVEL, FLOW & TEMPERATURE Familiarisation


38-901-M 2-1-17

Fully open MV2 and set MV3 to 50% (45 to pipe). Set the current source output to 4 mA.
Switch on the PI. Switch on the pump. Is there any flow?



Now, gradually increase the current source output in steps and note from the visual flow
meter that the flow rate increases similarly.

Note how an abrupt change in current takes some time to establish a constant flow. Try to
control the level using the servo valve.

Set the current to 20 mA and then switch off the PI , so that the servo valve is left fully
open and will not affect future practicals.

2.1.8.2 Questions
1. What is the principle of operation and the physical structure of the servo valve? Why
is it called a servo valve? How is the servo valve controlled and what is its
response?

2. Compare the servo valve with the manual valve, listing similarities, differences,
advantages and disadvantages?

3. What should you not forget to do before switching off the servo valve, so that no
future practical is affected by the state of the servo valve?


Assignment 1
PROCON
LEVEL, FLOW & TEMPERATURE Familiarisation


2-1-18 38-901-M
2.1.9 Practical 4: The Solenoid Valves
A solenoid valve, unlike the manual or servo valve, can only be open or closed, i.e on or
off. It is suitable for automation as it can be controlled remotely. An electrical solenoid coil
is the main element of the valve. The normal state of a solenoid valve is closed and it is
opened by passing a current through the coil.

Since no intermediate setting is possible, no fine variable control can be accomplished, as
with the servo valve, and hence only on/off control can be applied.
There are three solenoid valves supplied with the rig.

They are labelled SV1, SV2, and SV3 and have hole diameters of 5 mm, 5 mm, and 3 mm
respectively.

The electrical connections to these valves are on the right hand side of the rig and the
power to turn them on is supplied by the Process Interface (PI) 24 V dc outputs, either
switched (one on the front panel of the PI), or unswitched (two on the rear panel of the PI).

To ensure full flow, the servo valve should be fully open, therefore turn the Current Source
control fully clockwise.