Lecture 23

General Controllers
Dr. D. Saravanakumar,
Associate Professor,
Centre for Automation,
Vellore Institute of Technology - Chennai Campus.
Email: saravanakumar.d@vit.ac.in

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 1

 Basic Elements of a Feedback
Control System

Error signal
Control variable Manipulated
e=Ysp-Ym
variable
Comparator
Set Point/ + Final Control Process/
Desired Controller
- Element System
value Ysp Actual/
Measured value
Ym
Measurement
system

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 2

 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
• Batch process control (PLC = programmable logic
controller)
• Solenoid in home heating unit

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 3

 On-off Controllers
Synonyms:
“two-position” or “bang-bang” controllers.
𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑥 if 𝑒 > 0 Ideal Case
𝑢 𝑡 =ቊ
𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑛 if 𝑒 < 0
u

umax

umin
0 e

Controller output has two possible values.

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 4

 On-off Controllers
Practical case (dead band)
u

umax

umin
-δ 0 δ e

𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑥 if 𝑒 > 𝛿 δ = tolerance

𝑢 𝑡 =ቊ
𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑛 if 𝑒 < −𝛿
System never reaches steady-state

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 5

 Proportional (P) Controller
• The proportional controller provides the output proportional
to the error signal.
• The output equation for a proportional controller is given by
𝑢 𝑡 = 𝑢0 + 𝐾𝑐 𝑒(𝑡)
• where, u(t) = controller output, u0 = bias value (adjustable),
Kc = Proportional gain (dimensionless, adjustable).

u u
umax
u0
Slope = Kc
umin
0 e e
0
Ideal Practical

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 6

 Proportional (P) Controller
• Offset Error
Once a disturbance (deviation from existing state) occurs
in the Steady State Condition, any corrective control
action, based purely on Proportional Control, will always
leave out an error between the next steady state and the
desired set point. This error is called an Offset Error.
100%
• Proportional Band, PB PB 
Kc

• Reverse or Direct Acting Controller

• Kc can be made positive or negative
• Direct-Acting (Kc < 0) “output increases as input increases“
• Reverse-Acting (Kc > 0) “output increases as input decreases“

• Transfer Function of P Controller U ( s) = K

c
E ( s)

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 7

 Integral and Derivative actions
Integral Control Action
• Synonyms: "reset", "floating control“
• In Integral Controller, the controller output is proportional to
the integral of the error
t
1 U(s) 1
u (t ) = u0 +
I  e(t )dt
0
=
E(s)  I s
• τI is reset time (or integral time) – adjustable

Derivative Control Action

• In derivative controller, the controller output is
proportional to the derivative of the error signal.
u (t ) = u0 +  D
d
(e(t)) U(s)
=  Ds
dt E(s)
• τD is derivative time – adjustable Normally not used alone

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 8

 Proportional-Integral (PI) Control
• PI controller has combination of proportional and Integral actions.
• The controller output of a PI controller is defined by
 1
t

u (t ) = u0 + K c e(t ) +  e(t )dt 
 I 0 
• The first two terms to the right of the equal sign are identical to the
P-Only controller referenced at the top of this article.
• The integral mode of the controller is the last term of the equation.
Its function is to integrate or continually sum the controller error,
e(t), over time.
• Some things we should know about the reset time tuning
parameter, τI:
• It provides a separate weight to the integral term so the influence of integral action
can be independently adjusted.
• It is in the denominator so smaller values provide a larger weight to (i.e. increase
the influence of) the integral term.
• It has units of time so it is always positive.

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 9

 Function of the Proportional Term
• As with the P-Only controller, the proportional term of the PI
controller, Kc·e(t), adds or subtracts from u0 based on the
size of controller error e(t) at each time t.
• As e(t) grows or shrinks, the amount added to u0 grows or
shrinks immediately and proportionately. The past history
and current trajectory of the controller error have no
influence on the proportional term computation.

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 10

 Function of the Integral Term
• While the proportional term considers the current size of e(t)
only at the time of the controller calculation, the integral term
considers the history of the error, or how long and how far
the measured process variable has been from the set point
over time.
• Integration is a continual summing. Integration of error over
time means that we sum up the complete controller error
history up to the present time, starting from when the
controller was first switched to automatic.

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 11

 Proportional-Integral (PI) Control

• Integral action eliminates the overshoot of the system.

• The transfer function of PI Controller is given by
U ( s)  1 

= K c 1 + 
E ( s)  Is 
• There are challenges in employing the PI algorithm:
• The two tuning parameters interact with each other and their influence
must be balanced by the designer.
• The integral term tends to increase the oscillatory or rolling behaviour
of the process response.
• Under some operating conditions non-linearities in the
plant or controller can stop an Integral controller from
removing the steady state error. This is called Integral
Windup.

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 12

 Proportional-Derivative (PD) Control
• PD controller has combination of proportional and Integral actions.
• The controller output of a PD controller is defined by
 
u (t ) = u0 + K c e(t ) +  D (e(t ) )
d
 dt 
• The first two terms to the right of the equal sign are identical to the
P-Only controller referenced at the top of this article.
• The derivative mode of the controller is the last term of the
equation. Its function is to acquire the change in the error values.
• Derivative term is normally used to predict the future error in the
system.
• A derivative describes how steep a curve is. More properly, a
derivative describes the slope or the rate of change of a signal trace
at a particular point in time. Accordingly, the derivative term in the
PD equation above considers how fast, or the rate at which, error
(or PV as we discuss next) is changing at the current moment.

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 13

 Function of Derivative term
• A rapidly changing PV has a steep slope and this yields a
large derivative. This is true regardless of whether a dynamic
event has just begun or if it has been underway for some
time.
• Early in the response, the slope is large and positive when the
PV trace is increasing rapidly. When PV is decreasing, the
derivative (slope) is negative. And when the PV goes through
a peak or a trough, there is a moment in time when the
derivative is zero.

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 14

 PID Controllers
• The PID controller is the most common form of feedback
control.
• It was an essential element of early governors and it became
the standard tool when process control emerged in the 1940s.
• In process control today, more than 95% of the control loops
are of PID type, most loops are actually PI control.
• PID controllers are today found in all areas where control is
used. The controllers come in many different forms. There
are stand-alone systems in boxes for one or a few loops,
which are manufactured by the hundred thousands yearly.
• PID control is an important ingredient of a distributed control
system.
• The controllers are also embedded in many special-purpose
control systems.

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 15

 PID Controllers
• PID control is often combined with logic, sequential
functions, selectors, and simple function blocks to build
the complicated automation systems used for energy
production, transportation, and manufacturing.
• Many sophisticated control strategies, such as model
predictive control, are also organized hierarchically.
• PID control is used at the lowest level; the multivariable
controller gives the setpoints to the controllers at the
lower level.
• PID controllers have survived many changes in
technology, from mechanics and pneumatics to
microprocessors via electronic tubes, transistors,
integrated circuits.
• The microprocessor has had a dramatic influence on the
PID controller. Practically all PID controllers made
today are based on microprocessors.

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 16

 Proportional-Integral-Derivative
(PID) Control
• Now we consider the combination of the proportional,
integral, and derivative control modes as a PID
controller.
• Many variations of PID control are used in practice.
Parallel Form of PID Control
• The parallel form of the PID control algorithm (without
a derivative filter) is given by
 
u (t ) = u0 + K c  e(t ) +  e(t ) dt +  D (e(t ) )
1 d
 I dt 
• The corresponding transfer function is:
U ( s) 
= K c 1 +
1 
+  D s  =
K (
c I D s 2
+ I s +1 )
E ( s)  Is  Is
04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 17
 Proportional-Integral-Derivative
(PID) Control
Series Form of PID Control
• Historically it was convenient to use early analog
controllers (both electronic and Pneumatic) so that a
PI element and PD element operated in series.
• The transfer function of the series form is given by
 1 
(1 +  D s )
U ( s)
= K c 1 +
E (s)  Is 

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 18

 Proportional-Integral-Derivative
(PID) Control
Expanded Form of PID Control
• In addition to the well-known series and parallel
forms, the expanded form of PID control is
sometimes used:

u (t ) = u0 + K P e(t ) + K I  e(t ) dt + K D (e(t ) )

d
dt

• where KP is the Proportional gain, KP=Kc,

• KI is the Integral gain, KI=KC(1/τI).
• KD is the derivative gain, KD=KCτD

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 19

 Digital/Discrete Format

• The PID controller in discrete format can be given

by,
u (k ) = u0 + K P e(k ) + K I  e(k ) + K D (e(k ) − e(k − 1) )

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 20

 Effect of Proportional term
• The controller with Ti = ∞ and Td = 0. The figure shows
that there is always a steady state error in proportional
control. The error will decrease with increasing gain, but
the tendency towards oscillation will also increase.

PV

e(t)

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 21

 Effect of Integral term

• The strength of integral action increases with

decreasing integral time Ti. The figure shows that
the steady state error disappears when integral action
is used. The tendency for oscillation also increases
with decreasing Ti.

PV

e(t)

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 22

 Effect of derivative term
• The parameters Kc and Ti are chosen so that the closed-loop system
is oscillatory. Damping increases with increasing derivative time,
but decreases again when derivative time becomes too large.
Recall that derivative action can be interpreted as providing
prediction by linear extrapolation over the time Td. Using this
interpretation it is easy to understand that derivative action does
not help if the prediction time Td is too large

PV

e(t)

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 23

 PID Parameters Summary

Settling
Increase in the Steady state
Rise time Overshoot time Stability
parameter error

Small
Kc Decrease Increase Decrease Degrade
change
τI Increase Decrease Decrease Eliminate Improve

Minor No effect in Improve

τD Decrease Decrease
change theory if small

04-Mar-25 BMHA312L Control System Winter 2024-25 Dr. D. Saravanakumar 24