Chapter 8

Feedback Controllers

Chapter 8

On-off Controllers

Simple
Cheap
Used In residential heating and domestic refrigerators
Limited use in process control due to continuous
cycling of controlled variable excessive wear
on control valve.

Examples

Batchprocesscontrol(PLC=programmablelogiccontroller)
Solenoidinhomeheatingunit
Sprinklersystems
Cruisecontrol?

On-Off Controllers

Chapter 8

Synonyms:
two-position or bang-bang controllers.

e = error =
set point measured variable

Controller output has two possible values.

Chapter 8

Practical case (dead band)

= tolerance

system never reaches steady-state

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Three Mode (PID) Controller

Proportional
Integral
Derivative
Proportional Control
Define an error signal, e, by e = Ysp Ym
where
Ysp = set point
Ym = measured value of the controlled variable
(or equivalent signal from transmitter)

Since signals are time varying,

e(t) = Ysp(t) - Ym (t)

Chapter 8

n.b. Watch units!!

p = p - p
For proportional control: p(t) = p + K ce(t)
where,
p(t) = controller output
p = bias value (adjustable)
Kc = controller gain (dimensionless, adjustable)

Chapter 8

Figures 8.4, 8.5

in Text
Standards (ISO/ISA)
3 15 psi
4 - 20 ma
0 10 VDC

 Proportional Band, PB
100%
PB
Kc

Chapter 8

Reverse or Direct Acting Controller

Kc can be made positive or negative
Recall for proportional FB control:
p(t) = p + K c e(t)

or

p( t ) p K c Ysp ( t ) Ym ( t )

Direct-Acting (Kc < 0)

output increases as input increases"
p(t)
Ym(t)
Reverse-Acting (Kc > 0)
output increases as input decreases"

Chapter 8

Example 2: Flow Control Loop

Assume FT is direct-acting. Select sign of Kc so

that KcKv > 0
1.) Air-to-open (fail close) valve ==> ?
2.) Air-to-close (fail open) valve ==> ?
Consequences of wrong controller action??

Chapter 8

Transfer Function for Proportional Control:

Let p(t) p(t) - p
Then controller input/output relation can written as
p(t) K c e(t)
Take Laplace transform of each side,
P(s) K c E(s)
or
P(s)
Kc
E(s)
INTEGRAL CONTROL ACTION
Synonyms: "reset", "floating control"
t

1
p( t ) p e( t )dt
I 0

P(s) 1

E(s) Is

I reset time (or integral time) - adjustable

Proportional-Integral (PI) Control

1
p( t ) p K c e( t ) e( t )dt
I 0

Chapter 8

integral provides memory of e

most popular controller

Response to unit step change in e:

 Integral action eliminates steady-state error

(i.e., offset) Why??? e 0 p is changing with
time until e = 0, where p reaches steady state.

P(s)
1
Transfer function for PI control

K c 1

Chapter 8

E(s)

Is

 Some controllers are calibrated in 1/I

("repeats per minute") instead of I .

Chapter 8

For PI controllers, p is not adjustable.

Derivative Control Action
Ideal derivative action
de
p( t ) p D
dt
Used to improve dynamic response of the
controlled variable
Derivative kick (use -dym/dt )
Use alone?

Chapter 8

Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) Control

Now we consider the combination of the proportional, integral,
and derivative control modes as a PID controller.

Chapter 8

Many variations of PID control are used in practice.

Next, we consider the three most common forms.
Parallel Form of PID Control
The parallel form of the PID control algorithm (without a
derivative filter) is given by

1
p t p Kc e t
I

0 e t * dt *

de t

dt

(8-13)

The corresponding transfer function is:

P s

D s

(8-14)

Chapter 8

1
K c 1

E s
I s

P s

I s 1
D s 1
Kc

E s

I
D 1

(8-15)

Expanded Form of PID Control

In addition to the well-known series and parallel forms, the
expanded form of PID control in Eq. 8-16 is sometimes used:
t

de t

dt

Chapter 8

p t p K c e t K I e t * dt * K D

(8-16)

Features of PID Controllers

Elimination of Derivative and Proportional Kick
One disadvantage of the previous PID controllers is that a
sudden change in set point (and hence the error, e) will cause the
derivative term momentarily to become very large and thus
provide a derivative kick to the final control element.

Chapter 8

Automatic and Manual Control Modes

Chapter 8

Automatic Mode
Controller output, p(t), depends on e(t), controller
constants, and type of controller used.
( PI vs. PID etc.)
Manual Mode
Controller output, p(t), is adjusted manually.
Manual Mode is very useful when unusual
conditions exist:
plant start-up
plant shut-down
emergencies
Percentage of controllers "on manual ??
(30% in 2001, Honeywell survey)

Chapter 8

Digital PID Controller

D
t n 1
pn p K c en ek en en 1

14I 2k 143 1 44 2D 4 43
I

finite difference approximation

where,
t = the sampling period (the time between
successive samples of the controlled variable)
p n = controller output at the nth sampling
instant, n=1,2,
e n = error at the nth sampling unit
velocity form - see Equation (8-19)
(pn)- incremental change

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Typical Response of Feedback Control Systems

Consider response of a controlled system after a
sustained disturbance occurs (e.g., step change in
disturbance variable); y > 0 is off-spec.

No control
(Kc=0)

Increasing KC

Chapter 8

Time

Figure 8.13 Proportional control: effect of Controller gain

y
Increasing D

Time

Figure 8.15 PID control: effect of derivative time

Increasing I
y

Increasing KC

Chapter 8

Time
(b)

Time
(a)

Figure 8.14 Proportional-integral control: (a) effect of integral time, (b) effect of controller gain

integral action ~

Kc / I

Chapter 8

Summary of the Characteristics of the Most

Commonly Used Controller Modes
1. Two Position:
Inexpensive.
Extremely simple.
2. Proportional:
Simple.
Inherently stable when properly tuned.
Easy to tune.
Experiences offset at steady state. (OK for level
control)
3. Proportional plus integral:
No offset.
Better dynamic response than reset alone.
Possibilities exist for instability due to lag
introduced.

Chapter 8

4. Proportional plus derivative:

Stable.
Less offset than proportional alone (use of
higher gain possible).
Reduces lags, i.e., more rapid response.
5. Proportional plus integral plus derivative:
Most complex
Rapid response
No offset.
Best control if properly tuned.

Chapter 8

Example 3: Liquid Level Control

Control valves are air-to-open
Level transmitters are direct acting

Chapter 8

Question:
1. Type of controller action? Select Kc so that

Kc Kv K p 0
(a) air-to-open valve: sign of Kv?
(b) sign of process gain?

Chapter 8
Previous chapter

Next chapter