1.

ABSTRACT

This experiment is focused on air flow control system which is very important in chemical industry
as it is used to measure and control the flow rate of a gas. In this experiment, orifice meter is used to measure
the flow rate as the volumetric flow rate is related to the differential pressure across the orifice meter. There
are 3 main section in this experiment. Part A is to identify the major components of the air flow control
system in order for us to familiar and have better understanding for the process flow. Next, Part B is focused
on gas flow measurement by using DCS mode. Flow rate of a gas is measured and mass flow rate is
calculated using pressure and temperature correction. The variables (I/O) data was obtained by adjust the
air flow rate by setting MV to 20%-100% and the value of FT91, T1T and FC91 were recorded. From the
results, the flow rate calculated is same as the measured flow rate. It also can be observed that when MV
increased, the ATC valve closed and flow rate decreased. When MV is 100%, ATC valve fully closed and
flow rate of air was zero. Part C is to study PID control of air flow system. PID controller was first tuned
by using trial and error method with PB at 200 %, 150 % and 100% at TI=6s. Setpoint was set at 20kg/hr
and pulse disturbance was introduced. The most optimum PB value was determined by make minor
adjustment to PB and TI until there is almost QAD with minimum offset. Our tuned PB is 167% at TI=7s.
In second section of Part C, PID was tuned by using Ziegler-Nichols close loop method at setpoint of 25
kg/hr. PID value was first set at PB 30% and TI=9999s. PB was adjusted until constant amplitude of
oscillation was obtained, which is the ultimate PB. PB and TI was then calculated and fine-tune again to
obtain QAD. In our finding, the fine-tuned PB is 167% and TI=8s.

2. OBJECTIVES

i. To identify the major components of the air flow control system.

ii. To measure the flow rate of a gas and to obtain the mass flow rate using pressure and
temperature correction.
iii. To control a gas flow process with PID controller.
iv. To tune the controller by Ziegler Nichols close loop method.

3. INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

The control of air flow rate is among basis problem of process control system mainly in industry
which it has multiple integrating control loops. It is important to employ better controller of the system as
well as fine tuning the characteristics of the setting system. There are few applications of air flow system
that can be found in widely in industry.

Air flow system is installed in wastewater treatment mainly in aeration process. Air is introduced
into the wastewater via blowers and diffusers beneath the wastewater.[1]This process leads to the aeration
flow in which the introduction of air is prior to the subsurface system. Air is supply to the aeration basin
which then divided into individual zone of aeration basin for a better performance. On top of that, dissolved
oxygen meter is implemented to regulate the amount of air flowing into the zone.[1] Meanwhile thermal
mass flow meters are used to measure the aeration air flow in outdated wastewater treatment in order to
emphasize the requirement of controlling air flow.

1
 In brewing process, malted barley grains are added with water to the mash cooker. Mashing process
allows enzymes in the malt to break down starch in grain into sugars, which will create a malty sugary
solution. ALMAGWP electromagnetic flow meters are used to measure the resulting solution and further
transferred to a filter press that separates out the grain.[2] The solution, called as wort from filter press then
goes into one of two steam-heated kettles for boiling. As the temperature of the wort reaches the boiling
point, steam in the bottom preheat coil shuts off and the automatic steam heating system takes over.
Saturated steam from steam header flow through a control valve and ALVTN-Mass flow meters are used
to accurately measure the quantity of steam before reaching the kettle. Change of pressure and temperature
affect the volume of steam and an integrated mass flow measurement with both pressure and temperature
correction is far superior to other steam flow measurements that have separate temperature, pressure and
flow computer for the same output.

Oil and gas industry growth keep increasing as long as there are demands toward fossil fuels and
petroleum. The sources of it were obtained from the pure materials that were embedded in the ground for
several decade. Even the renewable sources of oils start to take place in oil and gas industry, there are still
demands toward petroleum and fossil fuel [3]. Air flow system is one of the process used in the technology.
This system able to make the process easier and increasing the efficiency. Mostly, it applied in air
compressor. The application of the air flow system in the compressor is used for several processes in this
industry like petroleum refining, petrochemical synthesis, pipeline transportation and gas injection. The air
flow system needs an instrumentation to monitor and control the operating condition of the facility which
contribute to meet safety, environmental regulations, quality and productivity, profitable operation and
stable plant operation objectives. Measuring parameters like pressure, temperature, flow and level is
included in the input devices instrumentation. Meanwhile, output devices called final control element.
Those instrumentations consist of three major components which are a sensor, transducer and transmitter.
A sensor measuring physical properties, transducer converts signal from sensor to a suitable signal in the
control system and transmitter transmit the signal and send other useful data [4].

In pharmaceutical industries, the air flow control is used for the nitrogen tank monitoring. The
nitrogen is injected into the vapor space of a pharmaceutical storage tank of toxic liquids. [5] It is to avoid
emission of toxic fumes and to avoid explosion from happening. The mass flow meters used for the nitrogen
blanket applications have the advantages of having no pressure drop and no moving parts that allow the
mass flow meter to act ideally due to its features.

4. RESULTS & DISCUSSION

4.1. Part A: Identification of major components in the plant

Components Figure Components Figure

Tank T91 Differential Pressure
Transmitter FT 91

2
 Tank T92 Controller Valve
FCV 91

Orifice meter Paperless recorder

FE91 FPTR 91

4.2. Part B: Gas Flow Measurement

Graph of Q calculated vs Q measured Graph of M calculated vs M measured

14 2.5
Q calculated (ft3/min)

12
M calculated (kg/hr)

y = 0.9988x + 0.0016 2 y = 0.0346x + 0.0148

10 R² = 1 R² = 0.9991
8 1.5
6 1
4
0.5
2
0 0
0 5 10 15 0 20 40 60
Q measured (ft3/min) M measured (kg/hr)
Figure 1. Graph of Q calculated vs Q measured Figure 2. Graph of M calculated vs M measured

Flow Rate against MV (%)

15
Flow Rate, Q (ft3/min)

10

5
Qmeasured
Qcalculated
0
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
MV (%)

Figure 3. Graph of comparison between Q measured and Q calculated

In this part of experiment, flow rate of gas and mass flow rate are determined by using temperature
and pressure correction. The opening and closing of control valve is the manipulated variable (MV). The

3
valve used to control air flow is air-to-close valve which indicated that the higher the MV percentage, less
air will flow through the valve. Theoretically, as the MV (%) increase, it makes the control valve closed
and which lead to smaller gas flow rate. The tabulated results and step of calculation was shown in appendix
section.

From Figure 1 and 2, it can be concluded that the values of flow rate of gas and mass flow rate
calculated are directly proportional to the gas and mass flow rate measured. There is small deviation of
values between calculated and measured at particular MV value, thus it means that the system is in a good
condition. Based on Figure 3, the values for Q calculated and M calculated decreases as the value of MV
(%) increases. This is because, when MV approaches 100%, the control valve will be fully closed and no
air will flow through the valve. Hence, we can conclude that the larger the MV value causes lesser of the
flow rate entering the system which is in accordance with the operating principle of ATC valve. The Q and
M values decrease slightly as the MV value increases from 20% to 70%. Whereas, from 70% to 90% MV
value, the Q and M values dropped drastically due to the ATC valve is not a linear control valve, thus it
does not respond to MV linearly.

For error analysis, theoretically, as the MV percentage increases, the air flow through the valve will
decrease and it will closed completely at MV (100%). However, from the result, At MV (90%), the value
of Q measured and M measured are zero where it supposedly still has some air flow. From here, we deduced
that there is some minor error in the system.

4.3. Part C: PID Control of Air Flow System

4.3.1. Part C (1): To control a gas flow process with PID controller

Basically in a PID controller, when the Kc value is higher it will make the process variable (PV)
become more sensitive after a disturbance is applied to the system. As the result, process variable response
will oscillate more compare to the system that have lower value of Kc. In addition, this condition only valid
for a PID controller which have the same value of TI and TD since this process is a self-control regulatory
system. From this experiment, we varied the PB value according to 200%, 150% and 100% with the same
value of TI (6s) and TD (0). During the experiment, disturbance has been introduced to the system in order
to study the effect of the PID controller in disturbance rejection and regulatory control. Figure 4, 5 and 6
shows the response curve of the system after disturbance has been introduced for PB value of 200%, 150%
and 100% respectively. Based on the figures, it shows that when lower PB value was applied to the system
such as 100%, the response shows more oscillations and it takes a longer time to bring the system back to
the set point after disturbance has been applied. This is because when lower PB value has been used to the
system it will give a higher value of Kc that make it more sensitive to disturbance change and took a longer
time to reach the desired set point value. For PB value of 200% and 150%, we can see that the system is
able to reach back the set point after disturbance change in a shorter time as compared to PB value 100%.
However, PB value of 150% gave a better performance compared to PB value 200% since it has a minimum
offset value in order to reach the desired set point. Next, response curve of PB value 150% shows a uniform
quarter amplitude damping (QAD) for the entire oscillations until it reached the desired set point compare
to the PB value 200%. Kc value can be calculated by using following equation:

100
𝐾𝐶 =
𝑃𝐵

4
 Table 2. Kc values for each PB (%)
PB (%) 200 150 100
𝑲𝑪 0.500 0.667 1.000

Response Curve towards Disturbance

Response Curve towards Disturbance
Change for PB 200% Change for PB 150%
50 50

40 40

FIC 91 (PV) (kg/h)

PV PV
FIC 91 (PV) (kg/h)

SV SV
30 30

20 20

10 10

0 0
0 20 40 60 0 20 40 60 80
Time (s) Time (s)

Figure 4: Response curve towards disturbance Figure 5: Response curve towards disturbance
change for PB 200%. The small dropping in FIC at change for PB 150%
t =20s is due to some valve problem during the
experiment.

Response Curve towards Disturbance Change for

50 PB 100%
PV
40
FIC 91 (PV) (kg/h)

SV
30

20

10

0
0 50 100Time (s) 150 200

Figure 6: Response curve towards disturbance change for PB 100%

PB 150% was chosen to continue with the tuning step. Several adjustments of trial and error were
done on the value of PB and TI to choose the most suitable controller that achieve almost quarter amplitude
damping with minimum offset. The range of adjustment for PB is between 165 until 167 and the range for
TI is between 5 until 8. From the value changed, disturbance was introduced by opening and shutting off
the bypass valve and the behaviour of the graph towards disturbance was observed. Then, the step proceeded
by choosing the value that have the best graph based on requirements. The value chosen were PB=167 and
TI=7. The respond curve was shown in appendix Figure .From the graph, we can see that the response
was fast as the effect of disturbance only minimal by the decrease of flowrate and it instantly overshoot

5
towards maximum value. This graph also has the minimum number of offset and tend to stabilize in a faster
rate. This because the QAD tend to eliminate error between the setpoint and process variable very fast. [6]

When derivative (td) is introduced to the system, the control loop become unstable. The figure 7
below depicts the occurrence of disturbance at td = 24s. Disturbance takes place due to the derivative action
which function as to anticipate the behaviour of the error signal. It is wildly altering the error term of the
control loop system causing such oscillatory response as shown in the figure. Nevertheless, the response is
approaching the setpoint value after PB is increased to 400%. Damped oscillation should be obtained as PB
is increased however the response shown is deviating from the theory. This can be implied that the
derivative of measured variable change aggressively due to the presence of noise in the system. If the
process measurement is noisy, random fluctuation occurs.[7] Prior to this case, derivative action is not used
for the flow control system as flow control loops respond quickly leading to noisy measurements.

Respond Curve with PID Controller

50
FIC 91 (PV) kg/hr

40
30 PB = 400%
20
10 Disturbance
0 at Td = 24s
-10 0 100 200 300 400 500 600

Time (s)

Figure 7. Response curve when TD is introduced.

4.3.2. Part C (2): To Tune the Controller by Ziegler Nichols Close-Loop Method

In this part, the Ziegler-Nichols tuning method is used in tuning parameters such as Kc, TI and TD.
Ziegler-Nichols closed loop tuning method is to response that have ¼ decay ratio to step change of
disturbance or setpoint. ZN method is good in disturbance rejection however it may not very good in
tracking performance. To get the suitable PB value for the system, the TD and TI values are fixed for 0
second and 9999 second respectively to eliminate derivative and integral action. After the disturbance is
introduced, the PB value will be adjusted until a continuous cycling with constant amplitude oscillation
response is obtained. Based on the figure, when the PB is 30% and 50%, the uniform oscillation is oscillated
away from the set point. The PB of 80% and TI of 9999s oscillation is oscillated quite symmetrical at the
set point line. Thus, the PB 80% is chosen to be further used.

From the ultimate PB, the PB value calculated was 160 % and Ti at 7s. From that value, the PID
was fine tuned to get as close to QAD as possible. From figure 12 in appendix, it can be observed that when
at PB equal to 167% and Ti at 8s, QAD will be obtained. When disturbance was introduced, it is observed
that the system was able to return to the setpoint with the PID controller.

6
 Ziegler Nichols Close-Loop Method With Different PB
49

39
FIC 91 (PV) kg/hr

29

19

9
PB : 30% PB : 50% PB : 80%
TI : 9999 s TI : 9999 s TI : 9999 s
-1
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
Time (s)

Figure 8. Graph of Ziegler Nichols Close-Loop Method with Different PB

5. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, as for ATC valve, the higher MV (%) will resulted in lower gas flow rate. The
calculated Q values was directly proportional to the measured values. In PID controller, the higher the Kc
(smaller PB) will lead to higher oscillation. Furthermore, the tuned values by using Ziegler-Nichols closed
loop method with PB at 167% and Ti at 8s showed a better respond to disturbance rejection and have better
regulatory control.

6. REFERENCE

[1] “Aeration Air Flow at Wastewater Treatment Plants.” [Online]. Available:

https://sagemetering.com/applications/wastewater-treatment-plants-aeration-air-flow/. [Accessed:
10-Nov-2019].

[2] “Food & Beverage.” [Online]. Available: https://www.smartmeasurement.com/applications/food-

beverage. [Accessed: 10-Nov-2019].

[3] qairblogger, “Application of industrial air compressor in oil and gas industry,” Q Air California,
2018. [Online]. Available: http://qair.net/blog/applications-industrial-air-compressor-systems-oil-
gas-industry/.

[4] Chikezie Nwaoha, “Process instrumentation in oil and gas,” Valve Magazine.com, 2017. [Online].
Available: http://valvemagazine.com/magazine/sections/beyond-valves/8891-process-
instrumentation-in-oil-and-gas.html.

[5] Smartmeasurement.com. (2019). Pharmaceutical. [online] Available at:

https://www.smartmeasurement.com/applications/pharmaceutical [Accessed 10 Nov. 2019].

[6] Jacques Smuts, “Quarter amplitude damping,” Control Notes, 2013. [Online]. Available:
https://blog.opticontrols.com/archives/1066.

7
[7] “Control Engineering | Noise and disturbances in process control.” [Online]. Available:
https://www.controleng.com/articles/noise-and-disturbances-in-process-control/. [Accessed: 11-
Nov-2019].

7. APPENDIX

7.1. Calculated results for experiment Part A

Table 2. Variable (I/O data) in the controller register for difference value of MV

MV(%) X1 X2 X3 Y1 Y3 Q M(PV)
20 699.3967 17.00 6.0889 83.6709 0.1266 12.6567 60.9333
30 700.8567 17.05 6.1222 84.2202 0.1268 12.6800 61.3333
40 693.0533 17.10 6.1444 83.8082 0.1260 12.6033 61.0333
50 666.8467 17.13 6.1556 82.7097 0.1238 12.3767 60.2333
60 643.8367 17.20 6.2222 81.7485 0.1216 12.1567 59.5333
70 564.1733 17.25 6.4167 77.5375 0.1139 11.3867 56.4667
80 178.9033 17.30 6.9944 45.5430 0.0640 6.3967 33.1667
90 0 17.30 8.1611 0 0 0 0
100 0 17.30 8.1667 0 0 0 0

Table 3. Calculated values for Q calculated and M calculated formulation

MV ΔP Temp Pressure Qmeasured Qcalculated M measured Mcalculated

(%) (mmH2 (℃) (psia) (ft3/min) (ft3/min) (kg/hr) (kg/hr)
Og)
20 6993.967 34.0 3.6533 12.6567 12.6532 60.9333 2.1116
30 7008.567 34.1 3.6733 12.6800 12.6664 61.3333 2.1247
40 6930.533 34.2 3.6867 12.6033 12.5957 61.0333 2.1198
50 6668.467 34.3 3.6933 12.3767 12.3553 60.2333 2.0827
60 6438.367 34.4 3.7333 12.1567 12.1402 59.5333 2.0677
70 5641.733 34.5 3.8500 11.3867 11.3644 56.4667 1.9954
80 1789.033 34.6 4.1967 6.39667 6.3995 33.1667 1.2244
90 0 34.6 4.8967 0 0 0 0
100 0 34.6 4.9000 0 0 0 0

8
7.2. Respond curve during tuning

Respond curve at PB 167% Ti 7s

50
40
Flowrate (kg/h)
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80
Time (s)

Figure 9. Response curve of PB 167 % and TI 7s.

Respond curve at PB 165% Ti 7s

50

40
Flowrate (kg/hr)

30

20

10

0
0 20 40 60 80
Time (s)

Figure 10. Response curve of PB 165 % and TI 7s.

Respond curve at PB 155% Ti 7s

45
40
35
Flowrate (kg/hr)

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 20 40 60 80
Time (s)

Figure 11. Response curve of PB 155 % and TI 7s.

9
 Fine Tuning of PID Value
50
45
PB: 160 % PB: 167 % PB: 167 %
40
FIC91 (PV), kg/hr

TI : 7s TI : 7s TI : 8s
35
30
25
20
15 PV
10 SV
5
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Time, s

Figure 12. Fine tuning of PID value

7.3. Sample of Calculations

𝑋1
1. ΔΡ = × 10000𝑚𝑚𝑊𝐺
100
699.3967
= × 1000𝑚𝑚𝑊𝐺
100
=6993.967mmWG

𝑋3
2. 𝑃1 = 100 × 60𝑝𝑠𝑖𝑎
6.0889
= × 60𝑝𝑠𝑖𝑎
100
= 3.6533𝑝𝑠𝑖𝑎

𝑋2
3. 𝑇1 = 100 × 200°𝐶
17
= × 200°𝐶
100
= 34°𝐶

4. Calculated Volumetric Flowrate, Qcalculated

ΔP
𝑄𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 = cv × √
ρ
= 0.1513 × √6993.967
= 12.6532 𝑓𝑡 3 /𝑚𝑖𝑛

10
5. Calculated Mass Flowrate, Mcalculated
𝑃1
𝑀𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 = 𝑐𝑣 × √Δ𝑃 ×
273 + 𝑇1
3.6533
= 2.1218 × √6993.967 ×
273 + 34
= 2.1116 𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑟

6. Proportional band,
𝑃𝐵 = 2 × 𝑃𝐵 𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒
= 80 % × 2
= 160 %

7. Tn,
3600
𝑇𝑛 = 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑚 ×
𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑
1
=
0.125

=8𝑠

8. TI
𝑇𝑛
𝑇𝐼 =
1.2
8
=
1.2
= 6.7 𝑠

11