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Process Control Instrumentation -
InstrumentationTools
Process Control Instrumentation
monitors the state of a process parameter,
detecting when it varies from desired state,
and taking action to restore it.
Process Control
Control can be discrete or analog, manual or
automatic, and periodic or continuous. Some
terms that are commonly used in describing
control systems are defined below.
Process Variable
The process variable is the parameter that is
to be controlled.
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Examples of process variables in control
systems are the temperature measurement in
a location, the pressure produced by a cooling
water pumping system, or the voltage
maintained by a standby generator.
To be controlled, the process variable must be
capable of being measured and that
measurement converted into a signal that can
be acted on by the controller.
Sensors or Transducers
Devices that measure process variables are
transducers or sensors.
Examples are a pressure switch that closes a
set of contacts when air pressure in a supply
line drops below a set value, or a watt
transducer that converts a measurement of
the electrical power produced by a generator
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into a low current signal proportional to
power.
In many cases, the process variable sensor
consists of a direct measurement device,
called an element and a separate signal
processor called a transmitter.
An example of this would be temperature
measurement using a resistive temperature
detector, or RTD, as the element and a
temperature transmitter, which converts the
varying resistance value of the RTD into a
current or voltage proportional to the
temperature.
Setpoint
The setpoint is the desired value of the process
variable, normally preset into the control
system by an operator, or derived as an output
of another control calculation. The error
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signal is the difference between the process
variable and the setpoint, and is the basis for
control action.
The controller is the device that processes the
error signal, determines the required control
action, and provides a control output to the
process.
Control Output or Manipulated Variable
The control output usually must act on the
system through another device to effect the
desired control action, such as varying the
position of a valve, the speed of a motor, or
the current through a heating element.
The device that converts the control output
into control action is the actuator (in case of
valves).
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Discrete control
Discrete control deals with systems in which
each element can only exist in certain defined
states.
An example of discrete control would be
starting an exhaust fan when the temperature
in a space exceeds a preset value and stopping
the fan when the temperature falls below a
lower preset value.
The temperature (process variable) is either
within the acceptable range, or outside of it.
The fan control relay (actuator) is either on or
off. This type of control is implemented with
logic diagrams and circuits. In discrete
control, even though some of the parameters
actually have a continuous range of values, the
only information used by the control system is
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whether their value is greater than, less than,
or equal to some desired value.
A block diagram of a simple discrete control
system is shown in below figure. The devices
used to sense system conditions in discrete
control are typically electrical switches, with
contacts that are open when the variable is in
one state and closed when it is in the other.
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Figure : Discrete control system block diagram
Similarly, the control action is typically
produced by control relays, which open or
close contacts in the control circuits of motors,
valve actuators, or other devices.
Analog control
Analog control deals with systems in which
variables can have a continuous range of
values, rather than simply discrete states.
Basic analog control consists of the process of
measuring the actual output of a system,
comparing it to the desired value of that
output, and taking control action based on the
difference to cause the output to return to the
desired value.
This process can be as simple as the driver of
an automobile comparing the speedometer
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reading (process variable) to the speed limit
(setpoint) and adjusting the position of the
accelerator pedal (control action) to speed up
or slow down the vehicle accordingly.
In most systems we are concerned with, this
type of control action is performed
automatically by electronic processors, which
receive signals from sensors, process them,
and provide signals to pumps, valves, motors,
or other devices to effect control action. The
below figure shows a block diagram of a basic
analog control system.
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Figure : Analog control system block diagram
Types of Analog Controllers
Analog controllers can be classified by the
relationship between the error signal input to
them and the control action they produce:
Proportional (P) controllers
Proportional (P) controllers produce an
output that is directly proportional to the
error signal.
A defining characteristic of P control is that
the error signal must always be non-zero to
produce a control action; therefore,
proportional control alone cannot return the
process to setpoint following an external
disturbance. This non-zero error signal that is
characteristic of P controllers is the steady-
state offset.
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The adjustable value of the proportionality
constant of a P controller is the gain. The
higher the gain, the greater the control action
for a given error signal and the faster the
response.
An example of a P controller is a governor on
an engine-generator operating in droop mode,
in which the governor opens the fuel valve
proportionately to the difference between the
desired revolutions per minute (RPM)
setpoint and actual RPM; as load on the
generator increases, RPM decreases and the
governor increases the fuel flow to allow the
engine to carry the additional load.
Similarly, as load decreases, RPM increases
and the governor responds by reducing fuel
flow to match the new load condition. For any
condition other than noload, the actual RPM
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will be slightly different from the setpoint
RPM (steady-state offset).
Proportional plus Integral (PI) controllers
Proportional plus Integral (PI) controllers
produce a control action that is proportional
to the error signal plus the integral of the error
signal. The addition of the integrator allows
the controller to eliminate the steady state
offset, and return the process variable to the
setpoint value.
The adjustable value of the integration
constant of the PI controller is called the reset,
because it has the effect of resetting the error
signal to zero. An engine governor operating
in isochronous mode, in which constant RPM
is maintained over the full load range, uses PI
control to accomplish this.
Proportional plus Integral plus Derivative (PID)
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Proportional plus Integral plus Derivative
(PID) controllers add a component of control
action that is proportional to the derivative of
the error signal, or the rate at which the error
signal is changing.
This mode of control allows the controller to
anticipate changes in the process variable by
increasing control action for rapid changes,
making it useful for systems that require very
fast response times, or are inherently unstable
without the controller. The adjustable value of
the derivative constant in a PID controller is
the rate.
Control Loops
The complete control scheme required to
control a single process variable or a group of
related process variables is called a control
loop. The control loop includes the relevant
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part of the process, the process variable sensor
and associated transmitter(s), the input
signals, the controller, the control output
signal, and the actuator.
Once defined, the control loop serves as the
basis for both labeling of devices and
documentation of wiring and control strategy.
The process of adjusting the gain, reset, and
rate parameters to obtain effective and stable
response of the system to changes in the
setpoint or external disturbances is called loop
tuning, and is an essential aspect of control
system startup and commissioning.
Types of Controllers
Control can be implemented using either
individual standalone controllers, known as
single-loop controllers, or by combining
multiple control loops into a larger controller.
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Single-loop controllers have provisions for a
process variable input signal, a control output
signal, setpoint adjustment, tuning of the PID
control parameters, and typically include
some type of display of the value of the
process variable and the setpoint. They are
compact, panel mounted devices that may be
used effectively when only a small number of
control loops is involved.
The basic controller used in control systems
should be programmable logic controllers
(PLCs), which are microprocessor-based
systems having provisions for multiple inputs
and outputs, both discrete and analog control
capability, advanced human-machine
interfaces (HMIs), and network
communications capability.
Reference : This material adapted from the
“Department of the Army, TM 5-601,
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Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
(SCADA) Systems for Command, Control,
Communications, Computer, Intelligence,
Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR)
Facilities, 21 January 2006.”
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