Loop checking

Process control
 What is process?
• Process refers to the methods of changing or refining raw
materials to create end products.
• The raw materials, which either pass through or remain
in a liquid, gaseous, or slurry (a mix of solids and
liquids) state during the process, are transferred,
measured, mixed, heated or cooled, filtered, stored, or
handled in some other way to produce the end product.
• Process industries include the chemical industry, the oil
and gas industry, the food and beverage industry, the
pharmaceutical industry, the water treatment industry,
and the power industry.
 Process control
• Process control refers to the methods that are used to
control process variables when manufacturing a product.
• For example, factors such as the proportion of one
ingredient to another, the temperature of the materials,
how well the ingredients are mixed, and the pressure
under which the materials are held can significantly
impact the quality of an end product.
• Manufacturers control the production process for
three reasons:
❑ Reduce variability
❑ Increase efficiency
❑ Ensure safety
 The Importance of Process Control

• Refining, combining, handling, and otherwise

manipulating fluids to profitably produce end products
can be a precise, demanding, and potentially hazardous
process.
• Small changes in a process can have a large impact on
the end result. Variations in proportions, temperature,
flow, turbulence, and many other factors must be
carefully and consistently controlled to produce the
desired end product with a minimum of raw materials
and energy.
• Process control technology is the tool that enables
manufacturers to keep their operations running within
specified limits and to set more precise limits to
maximize profitability, ensure quality and safety.
 Control system
What is controlling?
• To control means to tell a system how to behave. Control
in process industries refers to the regulation of all aspects
of the process.
What are we controlling?
• It could be some physical quantity (constant) like
pressure, temperature, ph, level etc. or dynamic behavior
of a system (a function of time) such as speed,
acceleration, motion direction etc.
• Precise control of level, temperature, pressure and flow is
important in many process applications.
 Cont…
• system is defined as “an organization of parts that are connected
together to form a functioning machine or operational procedure.”
or it is an interconnection of elements and devices for a desired
purpose.
• there is a wide variety of different systems used in industry today.
An electrical power system, for example, is needed to produce
electrical energy and distribute it to a particular location. Hydraulic
and pneumatic systems are used in industry to accomplish one or
more operations,
and to control other system functions. Temperature systems are
used to control heat, and to cool certain areas during manufacturing
operations.
•
A control system: consists of subsystems and processes
(or plants) assembled for purpose of obtaining desired
output with desired performance, given a specified input.

Simplified description of a control system

 Process Control Terms

• PROCESS VARIABLE: A process variable is a condition of the

process fluid (a liquid or gas) that can change the manufacturing
process in some way. Common process variables include: Pressure,
Flow, Level, Temperature, Density, Ph (acidity or alkalinity), Liquid
interface (the relative amounts of different liquids that are combined
in a vessel), Mass…
• SETPOINT: The set point is a value for a process variable that is
desired to be maintained.
• MEASURED VARIABLE: is the condition of the process fluid that
must be kept at the designated set point.(~pv)
• MANIPULATED VARIABLE: the factor that is changed to keep the
measured variable at set point is called the manipulated variable.
• ERROR: it is the difference between the measured variable and
the
set point and can be either positive or negative. The objective of
any control scheme is to minimize or eliminate error. Any error
can be seen as having three major components.
i. Magnitude: the magnitude of the error is simply the deviation
between the values of the set point and the process variable
ii. Duration: refers to the length of time that an error condition
has existed.
iii. Rate Of Change
Components of error

• 100 rate of change of error

• 80
• 60 magnitude of error
• 40 sp
• 20 duration
•0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
• LOAD DISTURBANCE: A load disturbance is an undesired
change in one of the factors that can affect the process variable. In
the temperature control loop example, adding cold process fluid to
the vessel would be a load disturbance because it would lower the
temperature of the process fluid.
• Control: means measuring the value of the controlled variable of the
system and applying the manipulated variable to the system to correct
or limit deviation of the measured value from a desired value.

• CONTROL ALGORITHM: a control algorithm is a mathematical

expression of a control function. Control algorithms can be used to
calculate the requirements of much more complex control loops.
• In more complex control loops, questions such as “How far should
the valve be opened or closed in response to a given change in set
point?” and “How long should the valve be held in the new position
after the
process variable moves back toward set point?” need to be answered.
 MANUAL AND AUTOMATIC CONTROL
• Before process automation, people, rather than machines,
performed many of the process control tasks. For
example, a human operator might have watched a level
gauge and closed a valve when the level reached the
setpoint.
• Control operations that involve human action to make an
adjustment are called manual control systems.
• Conversely, control operations in which no human
intervention is required, such as an automatic valve
actuator that responds to a level controller, are called
automatic control systems.
• There are a number of basic factors that have direct
influence on the control of an operating process system.
• In a manual control system, these factors are normally
performed by a human operator.
• Automatic system achieve the same basic functions but
through the manipulation of self-regulating controls.
• As a rule, automatic control operations are much more
complex and difficult to achieve than those of a manual
control system.
 CLOSED AND OPEN CONTROL LOOPS
• A closed control loop exists where a process variable is
measured, compared to a setpoint, and action is taken to
correct any deviation from setpoint.
• An open control loop exists where the process variable
is not compared, and action is taken not in response to
feedback on the condition of the process variable, but is
instead taken without regard to process variable conditions.
For example, a water valve may be opened to add cooling
water to a process to prevent the process fluid from getting
too hot, based on a pre-set time interval,
regardless of the actual temperature of the process fluid.
 Control loop equipment
• Control loops in the process control industry work in the
same way, requiring three tasks to occur:
i. Measurement
ii. Comparison
iii. Adjustment
 PRIMARY ELEMENTS/SENSORS

• In all cases, some kind of instrument is measuring

changes in the process and reporting a process variable
measurement.
• sensing devices are the first element in the control loop
to measure the process variable, they are also called
primary elements.
• Primary elements are devices that cause some change in
their property with changes in process fluid conditions
that can then be measured.
• Examples of primary elements include:
• Pressure sensing diaphragms, strain gauges, capacitance cells
• Resistance temperature detectors (RTDs)
• Thermocouples
• Orifice plates
• Pitot tubes
• Venturi tubes
TRANSDUCERS AND CONVERTERS
• A transducer is a device that translates a mechanical signal
into an electrical signal.
• A converter is a device that converts one type of signal into
another type of signal. For example, a converter may convert
current into voltage or an analog signal into a digital signal.
In process control, converter used to convert a 4–20 mA
current signal into a 3–15 psig pneumatic signal (commonly
used by valve actuators) is called a current-to-pressure
converter.
• TRANSMITTERS
• A transmitter is a device that converts a reading from a
sensor or transducer into a standard signal and transmits that
signal to a monitor or controller. Transmitter types include:
• Pressure transmitters
• Flow transmitters
• Temperature transmitters
• INDICATORS
• While most instruments are connected to a control
system, operators sometimes need to check a
measurement on the factory floor at the measurement
point. An indictor makes this reading possible.
• An indicator is a human-readable device that displays
information about the process. Indicators may be as
simple as a pressure or temperature gauge or more
complex, such as a digital read-out device.
• Some indicators simply display the measured variable,
while others have control buttons that enable operators to
change settings in the field.
• RECORDERS
• A recorder is a device that records the output of a
measurement devices.
• for the purpose of : - to provide process history to
regulatory agencies
- to gather data for trend
analyses(manufacturer)
• By recording the readings of critical measurement points
and comparing those readings over time with the results
of the process, the process can be improved.
• Different recorders display the data they collect
differently. Some recorders list a set of readings and the
times the readings were taken; others create a chart or
graph of the readings. Recorders that create charts or
graphs are called chart recorders.
• SIGNALS:
There are three kinds of signals that exist for the process
industry to transmit the process variable measurement
from the instrument to a centralized control system.
1. Pneumatic signal
2. Analog signal
3. Digital signal
Pneumatic signals are signals produced by changing the
air pressure in a signal pipe in proportion to the measured
change in a process variable. The common industry
standard pneumatic signal range is 3–15 psig. The 3
corresponds to the lower range value (LRV) and the 15
corresponds to the upper range value (URV).
 Cont…
• Analog Signals: The most common standard electrical signal is the
4–20 mA current signal. With this signal, a transmitter sends a
small current through a set of wires. The current signal is a kind of
gauge in which 4 mA represents the lowest possible measurement,
or zero, and 20mA represents the highest possible measurement.
For example, imagine a process that must be maintained at
100 °C. An RTD temperature sensor and transmitter are installed in
the process vessel, and the transmitter is set to produce a 4 mA
signal when the process temperature is at 95 °C and a 20 mA signal
when the process temperature is at 105 °C. The transmitter will
transmit a 12 mA signal when the temperature is at the 100 °C set
point.
• Digital signals are the most recent addition to process control
signal
technology. Digital signals are discrete levels or values that are
combined in specific ways to represent process variables and also
carry other information, such as diagnostic information .
 Contoller
• A controller is a device that receives data from a measurement
instrument, compares that data to a programmed setpoint, and,
if necessary, signals a control element to take corrective action.
• Controllers always have an ability to receive input, to perform a
mathematical function with the input, and to produce an output
signal. Common examples of controllers include:
• Programmable logic controllers (PLCs)—PLCs are
usually computers connected to a set of input/output (I/O)
devices. The computers are programmed to respond to inputs
by sending outputs to maintain all processes at setpoint.
• Distributed control systems (DCSs)—DCSs are
controllers that, in addition to performing control functions,
provide readings of the status of the process, maintain databases
and advanced man-machine-interface.
 Process control loops
• FEEDBACK CONTROL: A feedback loop measures a
process variable and sends the measurement to a
controller for comparison to setpoint.
• If the process variable is not at setpoint, control action is
taken to return the process variable to setpoint.
• Fig below illustrates a feedback loop in which a
transmitter measures the temperature of a fluid and, if
necessary, opens or closes a hot steam valve to adjust the
fluid’s temperature.
Examples of process
control loops
• PRESSURE CONTROL LOOPS
FLOW CONTROL LOOPS
LEVEL CONTROL LOOPS
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
LOOPS
 FEEDFORWARD CONTROL
• Feed forward control is a control system that anticipates
load disturbances and controls them before they can
impact the process variable.
• For feed forward control to work, the user must have a
mathematical understanding of how the manipulated
variables will impact the process variable.
• Figure shows a feed forward loop in which a flow
transmitter opens or closes a hot steam valve based on
how much cold fluid passes through the flow sensor.
• An advantage of feed forward control is that error is
prevented, rather than corrected. However, it is difficult to
account for all possible load disturbances in a system
through feed forward control. Factors such as outside
temperature, build up in pipes, consistency of raw
materials,
humidity, and moisture content can all become load
disturbances and cannot always be effectively accounted
for in a feed forward system
• In general, feed forward systems should be used in cases
where the controlled variable has the potential of being a
major load disturbance on the process variable ultimately
being controlled.
FEEDFORWARD PLUS FEEDBACK

• Because of the difficulty of accounting for every

possible load disturbance in a feedforward system,
feedforward systems are often combined with
feedback systems. Controllers with summing
functions are used in these combined systems to
total the input from both the feedforward loop and
the feedback loop, and send a unified signal to the
final control element. Figure shows a feedforward-
plus-feedback loop in which both a flow transmitter
and a temperature transmitter provide information
for controlling a hot steam valve.