AUTOMATIC PROCESS-CONTROL

By means of automatic control, processes can be controlled continuously and precisely to give more
uniform and higher-quality products. It must, however, be remembered that a control system cannot think; it
only does what it is told to do.
The general control system. – The essential idea of any automatic control system is that the process
and controller form a closed loop of action and response. There is a feedback of information from the output of
a process to a controller which regulates the process in order to hold the output to any desired value. The
components of a control system, either automatic or manual, can best be seen in a block diagram of a simple
generalized system shown in the figure below (Fig. 2).

Disturbance
variable
Reference Actuating
input (error) Manipulated Controlled
(set point) signal Control variable Process variable
elements

Feedback
elements

Fig. 2 – Block diagram of a feedback control system subject to a disturbance

Typical process. – The significance of the various parts of the general control system can be best seen
by considering what they correspond to in a simple example, such as the heat exchanger shown in Fig. 3, in
which water is heated by steam condensing in coils. The controlled medium is the energy transferred in the
heater and the controlled variable is the temperature of the hot water. The reference input, or set point, is the
desired temperature of the water delivered by the heater.

Set
point
Cold water
Control inlet
elements Thermometer wells

Steam Hot water

input valve
Steam coils Hot water
output

Steam A
control valve

Measuring
and feedback
elements

Fig. 3 – Typical heat-exchange process.

I Answer the following questions:
1. By what means can processes be controlled continuously and precisely?
2. What must be remembered about a control system?
3. What is the essential idea for any automatic control system?
4. What is the purpose of the controller?
5. Which are the components of a control system?
6. Are the components of a control system automatic or manual?
7. What is used as an illustration of a typical process in the automatic process control?
8. By what means is water heated in the heat-exchanger?
9. What is the controlled medium in this case?
10. What is the controlled variable in the case studied?
11. What is the reference input in this typical process?