CHAPTER 1

PRINCIPLES OF AUTOMATIC PROCESS CONTROL

The automatic control is defined as a
technique of measuring a process parameter
compare it with a desired (or set) value and
then producing a counter measure to limit the
deviation from the desired value. The
automatic control is also known as closed
loop control, because it requires a closed loop
of action and reaction performing the task
without any human intervention.
A closed loop control must have the following
1. 1
elements (devices) to accomplish the control
of a process variable.

1. Detecting element.
2. Measuring element.
3. Controlling element.
4. Final control element.

The detecting element and the measuring
element are usually available in the same
housing. Therefore, detecting element and the
measuring element together is sometimes
called as feedback element. The basic
structure of a closed loop control is shown in
fig 1.01.

The controlling element is a device which
operates to limit the deviation of process
variable from a desired value. It is popularly
known as the controller.

The final control element is a device in the
control system which directly regulates the
flow of energy or mass to the process which
in turn affects the process variable to be
controlled. The simplest example of final
control element in process control is control
valve.

As shown in fig 1.01, the detecting,
measuring and transmitting element as
combined is known as feedback element.
Therefore, a closed loop control means a
feedback control.

Historical background of Automatic
control: The fly ball governor on Watts
Steam is considered to be the beginning of
automatic control. It was invented by J.Watt
in early 1780s. The fly ball governor is a
feedback control system based on
proportional control principle. Before 1780,
there is no known reference to the use of
automatic control.

The governor techniques were further applied
to other engines and steam turbines. The use
of automatic control in process started in early
1900s. Nyquist founded the first general
theory of automatic control. By 1940s the
usefulness of automatic control techniques
proved their value.

1. 2
1. 3
Advantages of Automatic control: The one
and only advantage of automatic control is
that the production is achieved more
economically. We can list out many
advantages of automatic control, but all the
advantages are directly contributing to
achieve the production economically.
Therefore, the use of automatic control will
lead to an increase in productivity. Following
are some of the advantages of automatic
control directly contributing to increase the
productivity.


1. Labor cost is reduced drastically.
2. The use of automatic control
reduces or sometimes eliminates
the human error.
3. Product quality is improved.
4. It increases the production level.
5. Equipment size is reduced.
6. Optimizes the energy
consumption.
7. Provides greater safety for
equipment and operating staff.
8. Saving in raw material.

The study and proper application of automatic
control is a complex subject. Each application
requires detailed knowledge of process,
physical and chemical characteristics of
process fluids. Apart from this the mechanical
aspects of the process equipments like pumps,
compressors , heat exchangers , reactors ,
piping and the control loop is also required .
A control application engineer must
understand these entire physical, chemical,
mechanical and control aspects of process
before applying control system for the process
control.

Theory of Automatic control: Most of the
theory related to the automatic control was
developed in early 1950s. Even now the
same theory is applied in todays most
sophisticated controllers. The basic control
responses that are still used to meet most of
the requirements even today are

1. ON-OFF control response (Action)
or two position control.
2. Proportional response (Action).
3. Reset (Integral) response (Action).
4. Rate(Derivative) response(Action)
5. Combination of Proportional,
Reset and Rate responses.

As these responses are still prevalent today
and hence it is necessary to understand these
responses as basic inputs to understand the
concepts of automatic control theory.

ON-OFF (Two Position) Control: This type
of control action is used when the process
variable to be controlled is not necessarily
maintained at a precise value. This is a two
step control and the output becomes either of
the two positions. One of the two outputs is
selected according to polarity of the deviation.
In this type of control action, hystersis is
added intentionally to increase the life of final
control element. In most of the cases the final
control element is a relay. If hystersis is not
added to the On-Off control, the final control
element will operate very frequently and
hence its life reduces. The Hystersis is also
known as Differential gap.

The major drawback of On-Off control is that
it causes cycling while controlling a process.
Fig 1.02 shows On-Off control action
graphically.

A very simple example of On-Off control is a
room air conditioner, which is set at a desired
temperature. When the room gets hot, the
thermostat turns the compressor on. When
enough cold air is circulated to cool the room,
the thermostat turns the compressor off.
Temperature variations due to cyclic effect
usually go unnoticed.

Fig 1.03 shows a plot of temperature v/s time
and compressor On-Off conditions. When the
room temperature is below the desired value,
the compressor remains OFF. It remains off
till the error becomes zero at which the
compressor turns on.

The two position control has wide application
in domestic service. The equation for onoff
control is

m = M1 when e > 0
m = M0 when e < 0

Where m = manipulated variable.
e = deviation
M1=max value of manipulated
variable
M0 = min value of manipulated
variable
Proportional control:
The ON-OFF control has one draw back that
it always produces deviations from the
desired value in both the directions in a
continuous cycle. Such type of cyclic
deviations is not at all tolerable by many
processes. To overcome the draw back of
ON-OFF control, proportional control action
is applied. In proportional control action the
manipulated variable continuously varies
between max. and min. limits.

In proportional control, the output of the
1. 4
controller is proportional to the difference
between the measured variable and the set
point. This difference is called as the error e.
The equation for the proportional control is

m = Kc*e + M - - - - - - - - - - 1.01

Where m = manipulated variable

Kc = Proportional gain or
Proportional sensitivity.

e = error or deviation.
M = constant known as bias
Or manual reset.
Equation 1.01 can also be rewritten as

m = (100/PB) e + M - - - - - - - - - 1.02

Where PB = proportional band in %

Therefore,

100/PB = Kc - - - - - - - - - 1.03

The proportional band PB is defined as the
change in the controlled variable necessary to
vary the manipulated variable from 0- 100%.
The proportional band or proportional gain is
an adjustable parameter of the controller. It is
adjusted in field to tune the controller to give
optimum response to the process changes

Fig 1.04 shows the block diagram of
proportional control action. The constant M
i.e. the manual reset, determines the normal
value at zero deviation for manipulated
variable. The constant M is called manual
reset because it is used to eliminate an offset.
An offset always remains with a proportional
control. It is clear from the equation 1.01 that
the change in manipulated variable is directly
proportional to the deviation or we can say
that it corresponds exactly to the change in
deviation with a degree of amplification. The
degree of amplification depends upon the
proportional sensitivity or gain. We can
hereby conclude that a proportional controller
is simply an amplifier with a gain.

STEP& RAMP RESPONSES OF
PROPORTIONAL ACTION: Fig 1.05 and
fig 1.06 show the step and ramp response of a
proportional control respectively considering
that the manual reset M is zero.

When a process is controlled by a
proportional action an offset always remains.
1. 5
The offset is the value when, in step response, 1. 6
The offset is the value when, in step response,
the control deviation has stabilized at a
definite value by sufficient laps of time.

Fig 1.07 shows the relationship between the
measured span of a controlled variable and a
controller output when the proportional band
is 100 % or the gain is 1.

Fig 1.08 also shows the relationship between
the measured span and the controller output
for the proportional band settings of 20, 50,
200& 500% i.e. the gains of 5, 2, 0.5 and 0.2.

The drawback of a proportional control is that
the offset always remain with the proportional
control.

Let us consider a case of a heat exchanger to
see the effect of proportional control on
offset. Table 1.01 shows the various
conditions of temperature, deviation and
valve position for the heat exchanger.

Let us consider that the temperature control
starts with controller output 0%. At condition
I, the set point is 60 degc and the controlled
variable is 20 degc, the deviation or the error
will be 20-60 = -40 degc and the controller
output will be -40*Kc. As a result, the valve
opens and the steam flows. Due to steam
flow, if temperature increases to 40degc, then
the deviation will be -20degc. And the
controller output will be -20*Kc. The valve
will close a little bit. If water temp increases
to 60 degc, then the deviation will be 0 degc
and valve will completely shut. Fig 1.09
shows the graphical representation of change
in controlled variable i.e. the water temp with
time and the valve opening.

The offset can be reduced by
1. Increasing the proportional
sensitivity Kc or reducing the
proportional band PB.
2. By adding the bias or manual reset.
3. By changing the set point.

A faster stabilization is done by increasing the
proportional sensitivity or gain. The
stabilization time is reduced by increasing the
proportional gain. Thus increasing the
proportional gain reduces offset as well the
stabilization time. In practical application,
there is an upper limit for proportional gain.
Extremely high proportional gain would result
in oscillation. The oscillation would also be
there due to any measuring lag and
controlling lag.

Integral (reset) control action:
Proportional control has one major draw back
that offset always remain when load is
changed. Therefore, proportional controllers
always deviate from set point when subjected
to load changes. The offset is objectionable in
most of the industrial control systems. To
overcome this draw back, integral control
action is added with the proportional control.
The integral action combined with
proportional action eliminates offset.
1. 7
Condition Set point
(degc)
Controlled variable
(degc)
Deviation or error
(degc)
Controller
output
Valve opening
status

I 60 20 -40 -40*Kc Valve opens &
steam flows
II 60 40 -20 -20*Kc Valve closes
little bit
III 60 60 0 0 Valve closes
completely

Table- 1.01 : proportional control of a heat exchanger
1. 8
t

In integral control action, the manipulated
variable is changed at a rate proportional to
the deviation or error. If the error is doubled
over a previous value, the final control
element moves twice as fast as the previous
one. When the deviation is zero, the final
control element remains stationary.
The integral control action can be
mathematically expressed as
m = 1 * e - - - - - - - - - - - - 1.04
Ti
Or the integrated form is
m = 1/Ti edt + M - - - - - - -- - - - 1.05


where m = manipulated variable.
Ti = integral time.
e = deviation.
M = constant of integration.


Thus the effect of integral action is that at
steady state, there can be no offset i.e. the
steady state error is zero. Fig 1.10 shows the
integral control action.

The output from a reset control is changed
continuously as long as there is an error. The
rate of change of the output depends upon the
magnitude and the duration of error.

Response of integral control action:
Response of an integral action to a step input
of error
e = 0 when t<0
e = a when t0
is expressed as
m=1/Ti
0
a dt) + M -------------- (1.06)
m = a*t + M - - - - - - 1.07
Ti
When the input becomes zero at t = t1, the
output remains stationary. The graphical
representation of integral control action is as
shown in fig 1.11.
The integral time Ti, is defined as the time
required in minutes to repeat the proportional
correction. Alternatively it can be defined as
the time (in PI action), for a step error until
the output by only proportional action
becomes equal to the output by integral action
only.
Proportional Plus Integral Control action:
The Integral control action when added with
proportional control action to obtain the
advantages of both the control actions, then
the combined action is known as proportional
+ integral action. This is also called as PI
control action in short. In this control action
the output is proportional to the linear
combination of the error and the time integral
of the error. The PI control action can
mathematically be expressed as
1. 9
m= Kc(e+1/Ti e dt) + M ---------------(1.08)

Where
m = manipulated variable
Kc = Proportional Sensitivity or
proportional gain
e = error or deviation
Ti = Integral time

The Integral time of PI control action, for a
unit step error, is the time that will elapse
while the output signal caused by integral
control action repeats the output due to
proportional control action. The PI control
action has two parameters namely Kc and Ti
for adjustment. It can be noted from the
equation 1.08, that Kc affects both
proportional and integral parts of the action.

The inverse of the integral time is defined as
the reset rate. It is defined as the number of
times per minute that the proportional part of
the response is duplicated. It is therefore,
called as repeats per minute.

Response of PI control action: The response
of a PI control action is shown in Fig.1.12.

For a step change of deviation
e = 0 t<0
e = a t0 where a is a constant
Substituting these values in eqn 1.08 and then
integrating results

t
m= Kc (a+a/Ti
0
dt) + M --------------(1.09)
1. 10

m-M=Kc a (t/Ti +1) --------------------(1.10)

Equation 1.10 is a straight line. The term t/Ti
is the integral response and the latter is
proportional response.

The proportional plus integral control action
does the same function as proportional plus
manual reset. Let us compare PI control
action and P plus manual reset control action
mathematically.

m
pi
= Kc*e + Kc/Ti e dt ---------------(1.11)

m
p
= Kc * e + m
0
-------------------------(1.12)

Here in equation in 1.12, mo is a variable.
The function of integral part i.e. K/Ti edt in
equation 1.11 is equivalent to function of mo
in eqn 1.12. There is a difference in mo of eqn
1.12 of proportional control action and
integral part of eqn 1.11 of proportional plus
integral control action. The manual reset mo
has to be adjusted manually for different load
conditions to eliminate the offset whereas
integral part of PI control action will adjust
the output continuously till the error becomes
zero i.e. there remains no offset. Therefore the
advantage of adding the integral mode with
the proportional mode is that the integral
action of PI control eliminates offset.

Derivative control action or rate control
action: In this type of control action the
output or manipulated variable is proportional
to the rate of change of error or deviation. The
derivative action is shown in fig 1.13.
The derivative control action can be
expressed mathematically as
m = Td (de/dt) + M - - - - - - - - - - - -(1.13)
Where Td = derivative time.

The derivative time is the time interval by
which the derivative action advances the
position of proportional action of the output.
By adding derivative action to the controller
the lead is added in the controller to
compensate for lag around the loop. The
temperature loops have large lag and
therefore the advantage of lead in derivative
control is appealing for temperature control
loops. Because of inherent lead, derivative
control restricts the use to limited cases where
there is a large inertia or extensive amount of
lag in the process.
1. 11

Response of a derivative control action:
Fig 1.14 shows graphically the response of a
derivative control action for a ramp response.
Let error
E = at + c.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - (1.14)
Then output of a derivative control will be
m = Td * d(at+c)/dt - - - - - - - (1.15)
or m = Td * a
Fig 1.15 shows some more responses of
derivative control action for the better
understanding of it.

The change in output from a derivative
control is proportional to the rate of change of
error; therefore a derivative control gives a
large amount of correction to a rapidly
changing error signal. The change in output
will be more when the error is small but
changing rapidly. Derivative control is also
called as anticipatory control because of the
fact that it anticipates the changes in error.

Fig 1.16 shows one more response of
derivative control only. As the measured
variable increases above the set point, the
error signal changes. Derivative action is
produced only by a changing error signal. A
fixed error signal does not change the
derivative action output.




Proportional plus derivative control action:
The addition of derivative action speed up the
response of control loop. Derivative action is
very much useful particularly on slow
responding systems. It gives both speed and
stability of control responses. Its action is
opposite to integral action because it leads the
proportional action rather than lagging. PD
control action is not desirable to the systems
where noise error is present. It will amplify
the noise errors and lead to instability. Due to
this, PD action is not desirable for flow
control loops.
1. 12
A proportional plus derivative control action
can be expressed mathematically as
m = Kc*e + Kc*Td*e + M- - - - - - - - - (1.16)
Where m = manipulated variable.
e = error.
Kc = proportional sensitivity.
Td = derivative time.
M = constant.
Eqn 1.16 can also be rewritten as
m = Kc(e +Td*de/dt) + M- - - - - - - - - (1.17)
Response of PD control action: The
response of derivative control action for a step
change in deviation cannot be described in a
better way because the derivative of a step
change is infinite at the time of change.
For this reason, let us consider a linear change
of deviation.
Let error e = E t - - - - - - - - (1.18)
Where E = constant.

The response of PD control action is shown in
fig 1.17.
The derivative time in PD control action for a
unit ramp error can be defined as the advance
in time of the output caused by derivative
control action, as compared to the output due
to proportional only.
It is now clear from the fig 1.17 that the
controller response leads the time change of
deviation. Therefore we can conclude that
derivative control action always add lead to
the control response.
1. 13

Incomplete derivative action:
To minimize the effects of noise, the
incomplete derivative action is used. For
incomplete derivative action the first order lag
is added to a pure derivative unit. The main
problems with pure derivative action are
1. Change in output is sudden.
2. Response to noise which is not
desirable.
To overcome these problems, first order lag
with a time constant t
d
is added to pure
derivative. The ratio of Td to t
d
is called
derivative amplitude.

The block diagram of a first order lag plus
derivative is shown in fig 1.18


Response of first order lag plus pure
derivative action: Fig 1.19 and Fig 1.20
shows the response of first order lag plus
derivative action for step and ramp errors.

Practical PD controller: Practical PD
controllers are proportional plus derivative
with the first order lag added to derivative.
Let t
d
= first order lag time constant.
= Td/td = Derivative amplitude.

Response of practical PD control action:
Fig 1.21 and fig 1.22 shows the response of
practical PD control action for ramp and step
errors respectively.
1. 14

PID CONTROL ACTION: The PID
(proportional plus integral plus derivative)
control action is an action in which the output
is proportional to a linear combination of the
error, the time integral of the error and the
time rate of change of error. PID control
action can be mathematically expressed as


m = Kc ( 1/Ti * edt + e + Td * de/dt )- - (1.19)

Where m = manipulated variable
Kc=Proportional gain
1. 15
However, the addition of derivative helps to
he block diagram of PID control action is
----------------- (1.20)
Ti =Integral time
e = error
Td=Derivative time

Because of the addition of integral with
proportional, overshoot often occurs.
reduce the overshoot. The other advantage of
derivative is that it introduces the lead
characteristics which counter the lag
characteristics introduced by the integral
action.

T
shown in Fig-1.23.
Let us assume that
Error e =E*t ---------
Where E= a constant
t= time


1. 16
nd substituting e in eqn ( 1.19)
= KcE ( 1/Ti * t dt + Td * d(t)/dt + t ) - - (1.21)
= Kc E ( t / 2Ti + t + Td ) ----------(1.22)
he PID control action for error e = E t i.e
ased upon the discussions of P, I ,D and
ffect of proportional action
A

m

2
m

T
for ramp error is shown in Fig- 1.24

B
combinations of P , I & D control actions , we
can summarize the effects of control actions
in PID control.

E By increasing
reases.
es shorter.

ffect of Integral action
the gain or decreasing the proportional band
1. Offset decreases.
2. First overshoot dec
3. Control output oscillates.
4. Period of oscillation becom
E By decreasing the
creased
the set point

integral time in PID control
1. offset is decreased
2. first overshoot is de
3. control output oscillates
4. time required to return to
becomes less.
Effect of Derivative action: By
increasing the derivative time in PID
control action
1. offset remains unchanged
2. first overshoot decreases
3. output oscillation is damped
4. oscillation period grows shorter


Modified PID algorithm
For a standard PID control, the input to the
computation is error. If a set point changes in
steps, the deviation will also change in steps.
The output of a standard PID controller will
also be like a pulse. This pulse like
manipulated variable by derivative action
disturbs the stability of the process. The step
change of manipulated variable by
proportional action is also not desirable. To
overcome this problem, either the derivative
ahead or the proportional ahead algorithm is
applied.

Fig-1.25 shows the response of a standard
PID controller for a step change in set value.




Derivative ahead algorithm
1. 17
:

In a derivative ahead algorithm, the input to
the derivative action is process variable i.e.
controlled variable instead of the
deviation/error. Because of this manipulated
variable avoids a pulse like change by
derivative action evenwhen, set point changes
in steps. This algorithm is also called PI-D
type. The algorithm for a derivative ahead
d as
= Kc [ ( 1 + 1/Ti dt ) e + Td * dPv / dt ]
---- (1.23)

here ulated variable
n
Pv = controlled variable
W m = manip
Kc = Proportional gai
Ti = Integral time
e = error
Td = Derivative time

The block diagram of derivative ahead
controller is shown in Fig 1.26.

The derivative ahead control mode is also
known as Follow up control mode. This
type of control algorithm is selected in
cascade control mode. As in cascade control
mode, the controller has to control the process
not only for disturbances but also for
controller can mathematically be expresse

m
--------
1. 18
st control response
r the set point change is required. Hence
is selected
changing set points from other controller or
instrument, therefore the fa
fo
derivative ahead control algorithm
for cascade control loops.

Proportional ahead algorithm:
In proportional ahead algorithm, the input to
the proportional and derivative action is
controlled variable & not the deviation.
Deviation is the input to integral action only.
Therefore, the integral action will only
I-PD type and
me times constant value control mode.
be
xpress d mathematic
ig 1.27 shows the block diagram of
rol mode, stable
ontrol responses are obtained without any
brupt change in the manipulated variable for
uick change in set point.
ID remain the same for
isturbances with the same value of PID
rent
te PID settings for various
respond to the step changes of set points. This
algorithm is also called as
so
The algorithm for I-PD control action can
e e ally as

m = Kc [ 1 / Ti edt + PV ( 1 + Ti * dPv/dt ) ]
------------ ( 1.24 )

F
proportional ahead control algorithm for a
step change in set point.

It is to be noted that both the control modes
described above respond to disturbances as
that of standard PID controllers. In
proportional ahead cont
c
a
q

















In derivative ahead control mode, the
response to the manipulated variable is quick
for a step change of set point. We can
conclude now that the responses of PI-D, I-
PD and standard P
d
parameters. The control response is diffe
only for set point change and depends on the
algorithm selected.

Approxima
rocess P : Table-1.2 lists the approximate
nges, applications of PID settings and
trol responses for various
ra
applicable con
processes.


Ratio control:
Ratio control is used in process to maintain a
fixed ratio between two process variables.
he common examples of ratio control in
blending process.

The ntrol schemes for ratio
control. The basic control schemes for ratio
ontrol are
1. Serial type
2. Parallel type
3. External ratio setting
Process


Liquid
pressure
Gas
pressure
Liquid
level
Temp &
vapor
omposition

T
process are air-fuel ratio in furnaces, feed and
catalyst ratio in reactors and mixtures of two
materials in
re are several co
c






c







& flow

pressure

parameter
PB ( % ) 100-


500 0-5 5-50 10- 00 1 100-1000
* 50-200


Integral Essential Unnecessary Seldom Yes Essential

Derivative No unnecessary no Essential If possible
Table-1.2: PID settings for various processes

(* for liquid pressure)



Serial type Ratio control scheme:
is called as free flow. The Fb is being
controlled and hence known as controlled
flow. FIC is the flow controller for controlling
flow B. The set point for FIC will be the value
of a ratio computation o
The serial type ratio control scheme is shown
in Fig 1.28.
n the flow A. The set
station will be 1.1*Fa . As the output of ratio
set station is the set point for FIC i.e.
the Fa. This type of ratio control is used in
boiler for controlling air to fuel ratio. For ratio
control systems, it is necessary that both flow
measurements are in the same engineering As the flow A Fa is not controlled, hence it
point for FIC is the output of ratio set station.
The ratio set station is a device in which the
free flow signal is multiplied by a factor K
set locally or remotely.
Let us assume that the ratio of flow Fa to Fb
is to be maintained at Fa/Fb = 1.1 . Fa is a
free flow and we have no control on Fa. Then
the ratio control will adjust the controlled
flow Fb such that it will always be 10 %
higher than Fa. The value of K in this
example will be 1.1 and the output of ratio set
controller for controlled flow Fb , hence it
will always maintain the flow Fb, 1.1 times
units.

Parallel type ratio control schemes :
Fig 1.29 shows the control scheme for
parallel type ratio control. It is used to
eliminate the delay of controlled flow rate
which follows the change in free flow. Ka
nd Kb are the manual set stations for flow A a
flow B.

External ratio setting control scheme :
Fig 1.30 shows the control scheme for
external ratio setting control scheme. The
output from the analyzer sets the ratio of the
t station so as to keep the % of oxygen in
the flue gas constant.

se
1. 19
Cascade control: In cascade control two
measuring and control systems are used to
manipulate a single final control element. The
cascade control is used to eliminate the effects
of the disturbances entering the secondary
process before they influence the primary
process. In cascade control the stability
increases. Two controllers are used in
cascade control . The higher level controller is
called the primary or master controller and the
lower level controller is called the secondary
controller or slave controller. The higher level
controller is called primary because the
variable of primary controller is of primary
importance. The variable of secondary
controller is important, only if it affects the
primary variable.
1. 20

Fig 1.31 shows the block diagram of
cascade control. For the primary controller the
secondary control loop is a part of the process
to be controlled.

Fig 1.32 & 1.33 shows a single loop control
and a cascade control of a process of heating.
The parameter to be controlled is temp. of the
final product. Fig 1.32 for single loop
control shows how the control is
accomplished directly with the temperature
controller TIC regulating the fuel flow to the
furnace. The system of course works with no
problem in controlling the temperature of
final product. But what will happen when the
disturbance occurs in the flow rate of fuel due
to pressure variations of fuel pressure. Due to
the measurement lag, the controller will not
detect the disturbance immediately. By the
time controller TIC detects the disturbance,
the control may have lead the process out of
normal operation. Cyclic action quite occurs
in such case.

Fig 1.33 shows how cascade control
operates. In cascade control, the disturbances
to the fuel flow rate are controlled before they
affect the product temperature. The fuel flow
is controlled by a flow controller FIC to
maintain the desired fuel flow despite
pressure variations in fuel supply. The
temperature controller TIC is cascaded with
flow controller FIC. The temperature
controllers output is a set point for flow
controller.




1. 21

1. 22 1. 22
It must be noted here that cascade control is
not applicable for all the unstable process
conditions encountered or for all
measurement lag problems. However, the
cascade control is very much useful to many
process control problems.
1. 23

Following are the advantages of cascade
control:
1. Disturbances to the secondary control
loop are corrected before they affect
the primary parameter.
2. Phase lag in the secondary process is
reduced by the secondary loop. This
improves response and stabilizing
time for the primary loop.
3. Non linearity in the secondary process
decreases.

Primary direct control for cascade control:
Let us assume if the sensor of secondary
controller fails, then it will not be possible to
control the process. It means that failure of
the sensor of secondary controller will not
only affect the secondary loop but it is not
possible to control the process as a whole.
Primary direct control function is provided in
most of the digital controllers.
In case the sensor of secondary controller fails,
the output from primary controller i.e. the set
point for secondary controller becomes the
output of secondary controller to control the
process directly as a single loop controller.

Cross Limit Control: The cross limit control
is very much useful in the combustion control
of Boilers. It is used to keep the air to fuel
ratio more than the theoretical air to fuel ratio
even on change of boiler load. In cross limit
control high and low selectors are used to
realize the function. The process variable
signals given to the selector switch are
crossed each other Fig-1.34 shows the scheme
of cross limit control for air to fuel ratio
control of a boiler.

Process variable of air flow is divided by the
air to fuel ratio. Thus both process variables
signals, accordingly both set value signals of
the controller are the same.
1. 24

Boiler load demand signal is given by either
a pressure controller or a temperature
controller / flow controller. When load
increases, the demand increases. The
increased demand signal will increase the set
points to the selectors. As high select is used
for the air flow control, first set point of air
flow controller will increase. The air flow
then increases. As a result, the set point of the
fuel flow controller will increase to increase
the fuel.

When the demand decreases, at first the set
point of the fuel controller will decrease. The
set point of air flow will decrease, only when
the air flow has decreased.

Thus the cross limit control in combustion
control always maintains the air rich
condition in furnace irrespective of increase
or decrease in boiler load demand.

Feed forward control system: Feed forward
control is a control in which one or more
process parameters are identified that can
disturb the control variable. These parameters
are used to take corrective action to minimize
the deviation of controlled variable. These
parameters are not the part of feedback loop.
Therefore the application of feed forward
initiates a corrective action before a deviation
occurs in the controlled variable. The feed
forward control prevents the deviation to
occur whereas feedback control acts only
after the deviation has occurred. It prevents
deviation to occur because corrective action is
initiated by sensing the change in other
process parameter responsible to cause the
deviation or disturbance.

Split range control: Split range control is a
control which has two control valves
manipulated by a single controller. Fig - 1.35
1. The size of tubes for pneumatic signal
transmission should be large so that
the resistance to flow is minimum.
shows a schematic of a steam turbine
condenser hot well level control using split
range control. The control valve LV-1 is
normally used to maintain the hot well level.
However, there may be conditions the hot
well level may become abnormally low and
the valve LV-1 must be closed. In these
conditions, valve LV-2 should open to
recirculate the condensate to hot well so that
the desired hot well level can be maintained.
2. Pneumatic booster relays can be used
to decrease the signal response time.
3. Distance of controller from sensing
element and final control element
should be reduced. It will reduce the
distance to be traveled by signal.

Measurement lags
1. 25
: It is a delay in sensing
the process variable. Measurement lags
introduce errors at the time of process
changes. If the response of measuring device
is slow, inaccurate measurement will be
received at controller. The major
disadvantage of the measurement lag is that
even the large disturbances may go unnoticed
if the duration of disturbances is shorter then
the measurement lag. Moreover, since the
automatic control is continuous, dynamic
function the speed of response of the
measuring element becomes the essential part
of automatic control analysis.
It is normally required to provide a small dead
band between valves operation. The
percentage of dead band may vary according
to the applications. There may be some
applications where no dead band is required,
and on the other hand there are some
applications where an overlap between the
valve operations is required.

Control system problems: The study of the
control system responses in this chapter were
made under the following assumptions
1. The measurement lag is zero.
2. The controller lag is also zero.
To explain the measurement lags let us
consider the case of physical measurement of
temperature. If a thermal element is suddenly
temperature of the fluid in the vessel which is
at a constant temperature, the response of the

As all the measuring devices in the process
have the capacity to store some energy and
hence this stored energy opposes the changes
to take place. Due to this stored energy the
response of a process to a parameter change is
likely to be attenuated. This is called as lag. A
process control may have different lags like
immersed in vessel to measure the
thermal element will be as shown in Fig-1.36
1. transmission lag
2. process lag
3. measurement lag

Transmission lag: It is defined as the time
taken by a measured variable value to be
transmitted to its controller to compare with
set point and then the time required for
manipulated variable to reach the final control
element to manipulate it. For electronic
signals the transmission lags are negligible.
But in pneumatic signals transmission lags are
more and can create problem, particularly for
fast acting processes. To overcome the
problems of transmission lags in pneumatic
control system, following actions are taken
1. 26
lement gradually increases and approaches
ag

The temperature measured by the thermal
e
the vessel temperature. The curve seems to be
exponential. The curve shows that if it
requirest sec for the thermometer to indicate
90% of the change, it will take another t sec
to reach 99% and another t sec to reach
99.9% of final value. Because of this lag,
theoretically the final temp will never be
reached.

Process l : Any process can neither store
or release energy instantaneously and this


n
result in process lag. These lags are also
called as velocity-distance lags or dead time.
There is always time required for gas to flow
from one point to another to produce a
pressure change, or for liquid to flow from
one tank to other in a process to produce a
level change, or the time required for heat to
be transferred from one process to other to
produce a temperature change. In all these
examples, the time required to produce a
change in process variable is a function of
velocity of fluid, distance and capacity.