Notes

Unit II
OPEN LOOP SYSTEMS
I. First order systems and their transient response for standard input functions,
II. first order systems in series,
III. linearization and its application in process control,
IV. second order systems and their dynamics;
V. Transportation lag
VI. FOPDT Model
VII. Skogestad’s Rule for FOPDT and SOPDT
VII. Lead-Lag Systems

2.1. Standard Form for First-Order Transfer Functions

The general form for a first-order system is

where y is the output variable and x ( t ) is the input forcing function. The initial conditions
are

Introducing deviation variables gives

and rearranging, we obtain the standard first-order transfer function

2.2. Dynamic Response of a First Order Process to a step change in the

input

For a step input of magnitude A, the Laplace Transform of u(t) would be,

Hence, for a first order process affected by a step input, the output is

Taking inverse Laplace Transform of the above equation,

The above equation is the dynamic response of the first order process to a step change in
the input of magnitude A .
Let us take the following dimensionless forms of the output response and the time,

Then the dynamic response of the first order process to the step change in the input can
be re-written as

Fig. shows the plot Y(T) vs. T.

 Fig. 2.1. Dynamic response of a first order process upon step change in input

Following characteristic features of a first order process are observed from the above
analysis:

1. Slope of response at T=0 (or t=0 ) is . This implies that should the
initial rate of change of the process output were to be maintained, the output would reach
its final value in a period equivalent to one time constant. Hence, smaller is the time
constant of the process, faster is the response of the system.

2. Putting T=1 in the dimensionless equation of the process response, we

obtain , i.e . the process response reaches 63.2% of its final

value after a time period which is equal to one time constant.

3. Putting T=5 in the dimensionless equation of the process response, we

obtain , i.e . the process response reaches 99.33% of its final

value after a time period which is equal to five time constant. In other words, the system
almost reaches its steady state after a time period which is equal to five time constants.

4. The ultimate value of the process response is , in other

words . Hence, ratio of change in output and change in input may be given

as . By definition this is the gain of the process. If Kp is large, the

system becomes very sensitive because, even a small change in input yields a large change
in output. On the other hand, if Kp is small, the system is relatively insensitive because,
even a large change in input does not yield any appreciable change in output. This
characteristic explains the name steady state gain or static gain given to the parameter Kp

Effect of parameters on the response of First Order Process

Suppose two first order processes have same static gain but different time constants.

It indicates that Process 1 is faster than process 2 as the time constant of Process 1 is
smaller than that of Process 2. The responses of the processes for same unit step change
in input are given in the figure below:

Fig. 2.2. Dynamic profile of two first order processes with same gain but different time constants

Since the gain of the processes are same, the ultimate response reaches the same value.
On the other hand, suppose two first order processes have different static gains but same
time constants.
It indicates that Process 2 has higher static gain than Process 1. The responses of the
processes are given in the figure below:

Fig. 2.3.: Dynamic profile of two first order processes with different gain but same time constants. We
observe that the processes have same initial slope of response. Process 2 settles at a higher steady
state value due to its higher static gain.
2.3. Example of a first order process
MERCURY THERMOMETER.

We develop the transfer function for a first-order system by considering the unsteady-
state behavior of an ordinary mercury-in-glass thermometer.
A cross-sectional view of the bulb is shown in Fig.
Consider the thermometer to be located in a flowing stream of fluid for which the
temperature x varies with time. Our problem is to calculate the response or the time
variation of the thermometer reading y for a particular change in x.

The following assumptions will be used in this analysis:

1. All the resistance to heat transfer resides in the film surrounding the bulb (i.e., the
resistance offered by the glass and mercury is neglected).

2. All the thermal capacity is in the mercury.

3. Furthermore, at any instant the mercury assumes a uniform temperature throughout.
4. It is assumed that the thermometer is initially at steady state. This means that,
before time 0, there is no change in temperature with time. At time 0, the thermometer
will be subjected to some change in the surrounding temperature x ( t ).

By applying the unsteady-state energy balance

we get the result

Equation states that the rate of flow of heat through the film resistance surrounding the
bulb causes the internal energy of the mercury to increase at the same rate. The increase
in internal energy is manifested by a change in temperature and a corresponding
expansion of mercury, which causes the mercury column, or “reading” of the
thermometer, to rise. The coefficient h will depend on the flow rate and properties of the
surrounding fluid and the dimensions of the bulb. We will assume that h is constant for a
particular installation of the thermometer.

For the steady-state condition

The subscript s is used to indicate that the variable is the steady-state value.

If we define the deviation variables to be the differences between the variables

and their steady-state values

Then
Taking the Laplace transform

Rearranging

To summarize the procedure for determining the transfer function for a process:
Step 1. Write the appropriate balance equations (usually mass or energy balances
for a chemical process).
Step 2. Linearize terms if necessary.
Step 3. Place balance equations in deviation variable form.
Step 4. Laplace-transform the linear balance equations.
Step 5. Solve the resulting transformed equations for the transfer function, the
output divided by the input.
This procedure is a very useful summary for developing the transfer function for a
process.

Example: A thermometer having a time constant of 0.2 min is placed in a temperature

bath and after the thermometer comes to equilibrium with the bath, the temperature of
the bath is increased linearly with time at the rate of I deg C / min what is the difference
between the indicated temperature and bath temperature
(a) 0.1 min
(b) 10. Min after the change in temperature begins.
(c) what is the maximum deviation between the indicated temperature and bath
temperature and when does it occurs.

Solution:
Consider thermometer to be in equilibrium with temperature bath at temperature Xs
Example 2: A thermometer having first order dynamics with a time constant of 1 min is
placed in a temperature bath at 100 deg F. After the thermometer reaches steady state, it
is suddenly placed in bath at 110 deg F at t = 0 and left there for 1 min after which it is
immediately returned to the bath at 100 deg F.

(a) draw a sketch showing the variation of the thermometer reading with time.
(b) calculate the thermometer reading at t = 0.5 min and at t = 2.0 min
2.4. Non-interacting System
Just like for single tank,

By substituting Q1(S)in the above expression, we get the relationship between height of
second tank and inlet flowrate to tank 1.
2.5. Interacting System
2.6. Linearization