Fundamentals of
Process Control
bilal kazmi
Feedforward control systems
Feedforward control of various processing unit
A Blending Process
A simple blending process is used to introduce some
important issues in control system design. Blending
operations are commonly used in many industries to ensure
that final products meet customer specifications.
A continuous, stirred-tank blending system is shown in Fig.
The control objective is to blend the two inlet streams to
produce an outlet stream that has the desired composition.
Stream 1 is a mixture of two chemical species, A and B. We
assume that its mass flow rate w1 is constant, but the mass
fraction of A, X1, varies with time. Stream 2 consists of pure A
and thus X2 = 1. The mass flow rate of Stream 2, w2, can be
manipulated using a control valve.
The mass fraction of A in the exit stream is denoted by x and
the desired value (set point) by Xsp. Thus for this control
problem, the controlled variable is x, the manipulated
variable is w2, and the disturbance variable is X1.
Control Question. Suppose that inlet concentration
X1 varies with time. How can we ensure that the outlet
composition x remains at or near its desired value,
Xsp?
Design Question. If the nominal value of x1 is :,
what nominal flow rate is required to produce the
desired outlet concentration, Xsp?
Stirred Tank Blending System
Control systems with multiple loops
Cascade Control
Example: Cascade Control for a jacketed CSTR
Schematic representation of Cascade Control
Cascade Control for various processes
Selective Control systems
Override Control
Examples of override control
Examples of Auctioneering control systems
Split-Range Control
Split Range Control of a Chemical Reactor
Ratio control
Adaptive Control system
➢ Process control problems inevitably require on-line tuning
of the controller settings to achieve a satisfactory degree
of control.
➢ If the process operating conditions or the environment
changes significantly, the controller may then have to be
retuned.
➢ If these changes occur frequently, then adaptive control
techniques should be considered.
➢ An adaptive control system is one in which the controller
parameters are adjusted automatically to compensate for
changing process conditions.
➢ Many adaptive control techniques have been proposed for
situations where the process changes are largely unknown
or unpredictable
Examples of changing process conditions that may require
controller retuning or adaptive control are
1. Changes in equipment characteristics (e.g., heat
exchanger fouling, catalyst deactivation).
2. Unusual operational status, such as failures, startup,
and shutdown, or batch operations
3. Large, frequent disturbances (feed composition,
fuel quality, etc.)
4. Ambient variations (rain storms, daily cycles, etc.)
5. Changes in product specifications (grade changes)
or product flow rates
6. Inherent nonlinear behavior (e.g., the dependence
of chemical reaction rates on temperature
Adaptive control
In situations where the process changes can be anticipated
or measured directly and the process is reasonably
well understood, then the gain-scheduling approach or
programmed adaptation can be employed
Programmed adaptive control of a combustion system
Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC)
Self Tuning Control
➢ In self-tuning control, the parameters in the process model
are updated as new data are acquired (using on-line
estimation methods), and the control calculations are
based on the updated model.
➢ For example, the controller settings could be expressed as
a function of the model parameters and the estimates of
these parameters updated on-line as process input/output
data are received.
Three sets of computations are employed:
➢ estimation of the model parameters, calculation of the
controller settings, and implementation of the controller
output in a feedback loop.
➢ Most realtime parameter estimation techniques require
that an external forcing signal occasionally be introduced
to allow accurate estimation of model parameters.
➢ During each disturbance or set-point change, the process
response is compared to the predicted model response,
and then the model can be updated based on the
prediction error.
➢ On-line parameter estimation can be problematic when
there is a high level of signal noise or unmeasured
disturbances (that are not included in the model).
➢ The plant-model mismatch also present difficulties.
➢ Limits can be placed on control parameter changes to
make the controller more robust.
➢ One approach that deals with models changing with
varying operating conditions is multiple model adaptive
control where a set of models and corresponding
controllers is employed.
➢ If disturbances are measured explicitly, it is possible to
update a disturbance model and implement adaptive
feedforward control.
End of
fundamentals of process control
