Automation Control

Process Control Topic-2

Fundamentals
Lecture-3

Industrial Engineering Department, UET Peshawar

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 This Lecture

❖ Importance
❖ Process Control Technology
❖ Manufacturer Perspective

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 Importance

❖ Refining, combining, handling, and otherwise

manipulating fluids
❖ can be precise, demanding, and potentially hazardous
process
❖ Small Changes can have huge impact
❖ Variation to be consistently controlled with minimum
raw materials and energy

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 Process Control Technology

❖ A tool that enables manufacturer to keep their operation

running within specified limits
❖ Set more precise limits
❖ To maximize profitability
❖ Ensure quality and safety.

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 Process

❖ Methods of changing or refining raw materials to create

end product
❖ Raw material could be
❖ Liquid
❖ Gaseous
❖ Slurry (A mix of solid and liquids)

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 Process Steps
❖ Steps in a process could be
❖ Transferring
❖ Measuring
❖ Mixing
❖ Heating
❖ Cooling
❖ Filtering
❖ Storing
❖ Handling
 Process Industries

❖ Chemical Industries
❖ Oil and Gas Industries
❖ Food and Beverage Industries
❖ Pharmaceutical Industries
❖ Water Treatment Industries
❖ Power Industries

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 Process Control
❖ Methods used to control process variable when
manufacturing a product
❖ Variables Could be
❖ Proportion of one ingredient to another
❖ Temperature of the materials
❖ Pressure under which material are held
❖ Huge Impact on end product quality

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 Manufacturer Perspective

❖ Manufacturer control production process for

❖ Reduce Variability
❖ Increase Efficiency
❖ Ensure Safety

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 Reduce Variability
❖ Ensures a consistent high quality product
❖ Save Money
❖ For Example
❖ Gasoline blending have as many as 12 or more
different components
❖ What if high octane component is blended more?
❖ What if low octane component is blended more?

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❖ Reduce product padding which results in cost saving
❖ Padding is a process of making high quality products
above required specifications
❖ When process control is poor, then manufacturers are
forced to do pad the product.

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 Increase Efficiency

❖ Some processes need to be maintained at a specific point

to maximize efficiency
❖ For Example
❖ Temperature at which chemical reaction take places
❖ Accurate control of temperature ensures efficiency

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 Ensure Safety
❖ Imagine an out of control nuclear reactor?
❖ Precise process control ensures safety
❖ For Example
❖ Boiler Pressure is maintained
❖ By controlling air used in combustions and outflow
of exhaust gases
❖ If not maintained safety of workers is threaten by
boiler implosions

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Imagine you are sitting in front of small fire on
cold winter evening

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If you feel uncomfortably cold what ll you do?

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 Control Loop

❖ Requires three tasks

❖ Measurement
❖ Comparison
❖ Adjustment

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Process Control Terms

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 Process Control Terms
1. Process Variable
2. Setpoint
3. Measured,process and manipulated variable
4. Error
5. Offset
6. Load Disturbance
7. Control Algorithm
8. Manual and Automatic Control
9. Closed and Open control loops

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 1. Process Variable
❖ Condition of the process fluid that can change the manufacturing process in some way
❖ Sitting near fire
❖ Temperature is a process variable
❖ Other Variable could be
❖ Pressure
❖ Flow
❖ Level
❖ Density
❖ Ph (Acidity or Alkalinity)
❖ Mass
❖ Conductivity

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 2. Setpoint
❖ Desire value of process variable to be maintained
❖ For Example
❖ Temperature to be kept within 5 to 100 centigrade
❖ Temperature sensor is used to maintain it
❖ If it senses/measures temperature more than 100
centigrade
❖ A signal is passed to fuel value to close slightly

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3. Measured, Process and Manipulated Variable

❖ Consider temperature control loop example

❖ Measured Variable = Temperature
❖ Process Variable = Temperature
❖ Manipulated Variable = Temperature
❖ Consider measuring inflow and outflow of storage tank
❖ Measured Variable = Flow
❖ Process Variable = Fluid Level
❖ Manipulate Variable = Flow

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❖ Measured and Process Variable may be different
❖ Manipulated variable is the factor that is changed to
keep measured variable at a set point

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 4. Error
❖ Difference between measured variable and the setpoint
❖ Error = Measured Variable - Setpoint
❖ +10 = 110 - 100
❖ Could be positive or negative
❖ Objective of any control scheme is to eliminate or minimize error.
❖ An error has three major components
❖ Magnitude
❖ Duration
❖ Rate of Change

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❖ Magnitude
❖ The deviation between the values
❖ Change in error is monitored by comparing magnitude
of previous error
❖ Also one of the important value
❖ Duration
❖ The length of time that an error condition has existed
❖ Rate of Change
❖ Change/Duration

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 5. Offset

❖ Sustained deviation
❖ For Example
❖ 100 is the setpoint
❖ Control system held process fluid at 100.5
❖ Then offset of 0.5 exists

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 6. Load Disturbance
❖ Undesired change in one of the factors that can affect
the process variable
❖ For Example
❖ Considering Temperature control loop
❖ Adding cold process fluid would be a load
disturbance
❖ It will lower the temperature of the process fluid

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 7. Control Algorithm
❖ Mathematical expression of a control function
❖ For Example
❖ Temperature control loop example
❖ V = f (+-e)
❖ V = Fuel Value Position
❖ f = Function
❖ e = Error
❖ V is the function of sign (positive or negative) of the error

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❖ It is used to calculate the requirements of much more
complex control loops
❖ Complex questions like
❖ How far should the valve be opened or closed
❖ How long should the valve be held in the new
position

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 8. Manual and Automatic Control
❖ Manual Control
❖ Having human intervention
❖ Before Automation people used to do process control
tasks
❖ For Example
❖ Human Operator might have watched a level
gauge

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❖ Automatic Control
❖ No human intervention
❖ Automatic valve actuator that responds to a level
controller

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9. Closed and Open Control Loops
❖ Closed Control Loop
❖ Process variable is measured
❖ Compared to a setpoint
❖ Action is taken to correct any deviation
❖ Open Control Loop
❖ Process variable not compared
❖ Action is taken irrespective of process variable
❖ May have pre-set time intervals

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Closed loop Equipment and
Technology

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Control loop Equipment and Technology

❖ Instruments and Strategies to accomplish

❖ Measurement
❖ Comparison
❖ Adjustment

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1. Primary Elements/Sensors

2. Transducers and Convertors

3. Transmitters

4. Signals
5. Indicators

6. Recorders

7. Controllers
8. Correcting Elements/Final Control Elements

9. Actuators

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 1. Primary Elements/Sensors

❖ Measuring Changes in the process

❖ Reporting a process variable measurement
❖ Some change occurs in the property which can be
measured
❖ Conduction
❖ Magnetic field

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❖ Some Primary Elements are
❖ Strain Gauges
❖ Capacitance Cells
❖ Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTD)
❖ Thermocouples

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 2. Transducers and Converters
❖ Transducer
❖ Translates mechanical signal into an electrical signal
❖ Capacitance pressure device
❖ convert changes in pressure in proportional change in capacitance
❖ Converter
❖ Convert one type of signal into another
❖ Current is converted into voltage
❖ Analog signal into digital signal
❖ Current to Pressure convertor
❖ 4-20 mA current signal into 3-15 psig pneumatic signal
❖ Commonly used by valve actuators

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 3. Transmitters
❖ Converts a reading from sensor or transducer into standard signal
❖ Transmit the signal to monitor or controller
❖ Examples
❖ Pressure Transmitters
❖ Flow Transmitters
❖ Temperature Transmitters
❖ Level Transmitters
❖ Analytic (Oxygen, Carbon Monoxide, and pH) Transmitters

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 4. Signals

❖ Three kind of signals in process industry

❖ It transmit the process variable measurement from the
instruments to a centralized control system
❖ Pneumatic Signal
❖ Analog Signal
❖ Digital Signal

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 Pneumatic Signals

❖ Produced by changing the air pressure in a signal pipe

❖ Change is proportional to the measured change in a
process variable
❖ Standard pneumatic signal range is 3-15 psig
❖ Still common but now a days less attractive due to
electric signals

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 Analog Signals
❖ Electrical signal
❖ Sends small current through a set of wires
❖ Standard signal range is 4-20 mA current signal
❖ How it works
❖ Set 4 and 10 mA to 100 and 105 Centigrade
❖ When temperature reaches to 100 it will send 4 mA signal
❖ Voltages could also be used (1-5 Volts)

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 Digital Signal
❖ Most recent addition
❖ Discrete levels or values combined in a specific ways
❖ Methodology used to combine digital signals is referred to as protocol
❖ Two ways
❖ Open Digital protocol
❖ Control device developer can use the protocol
❖ HART (Highway addressable remote transducer)
❖ Proprietary Digital protocol
❖ Specific companies
❖ Could be used only with their permission

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 5. Indicators
❖ Human readable device that displays information about
the process
❖ Check a measurement on the factory floor at the
measurement point
❖ May just simply display measured variable
❖ Or may enable operator to change setting in the field
❖ Simply pressure or temperature gauges

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 6. Recorders
❖ Records the output of a measurement devices
❖ Process manufactures are required by law to provide process
history to regulatory authorities
❖ Recorded data could be used for trend analysis
❖ Simple Recorder
❖ list set of readings and the time of readings
❖ Chart Recorder
❖ create graph or chart of the readings

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 7. Controllers
❖ Three steps
❖ Receives data from a measurement instrument
❖ Compares the data to a programmed setpoint
❖ If necessary take corrective action
❖ May perform complex mathematical functions to compare a set of data
❖ Local Controllers
❖ Could be pneumatic, electronic or programmable
❖ Resides in a digital control system
❖ Different types of Controllers
❖ Microcontrollers
❖ Programable Logic Controllers (PLCs)
❖ Distributive Control Systems (DCSs)

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❖ PLCs
❖ Computers connected to set of input/output (I/O) devices
❖ Programmed to respond to inputs by sending outputs
❖ Maintain all processes at setpoint
❖ DCSs
❖ Perform control functions
❖ Provide readings of the status of the process
❖ Maintain databases
❖ Advanced man-machine interface

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8. Correcting Elements/Final Control Elements

❖ Acts to physically change the manipulated variable

❖ usually a “Valve” is used to restrict or cut-off fluid flow
❖ Pump motors, solenoid and others can also be used
❖ Typically used to increase or decrease fluid flow
❖ It is related to control system response time

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 9. Actuators
❖ Causes physical change in the final control device when signalled to do so
❖ Example
❖ Valve Actuator
❖ Open or closes the valve
❖ Could be powered
❖ Pneumatically
❖ Hydraulically
❖ Electrically
❖ Springs, gears , pistons or electric motors are often part of an actuator system

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 Thank you

–Any Questions?

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