Proportional, Integral and Derivative Controllers

PID is acronym for Proportional Plus Integral Plus Derivative Controller. It is a control
loop feedback mechanism (controller) widely used in industrial control systems due to their
robust performance in a wide range of operating conditions & simplicity.

For PID control, the actuating signal u(t), consists of proportional error signal added with
derivative and integral of error signal e(t)

The Plant P is controlled by input u(t) which is represented as

Where Kp is the Proportional Gain, Kd is the Derivative Gain & Ki is the Integral Gain of the
controller.

Frequency Domain Representation of PID Controller

In Frequency Domain (after taking Laplace Transform of both sides),the control input can be
represented as

Thus, PID controller adds pole at the origin and two zeroes to the Open loop transfer function

The Closed loop Transfer Function of the system can be written as

Physical Realisation of PID Controller

Why do You Need a PID Controller

1. A proportional controller (Kp) will have the effect of reducing the rise time and will
reduce, but never eliminate, the steady-state error.
2. An integral control (Ki) will have the effect of eliminating the steady-state error, but
it may make the transient response worse.
3. A derivative control (Kd) will have the effect of increasing the stability of the
system, reducing the overshoot, and improving the transient response but little effect
on rise time
4. A PD Controller could add damping to a system, but the steady-state response is not
affected.(steady state error is not eliminated)
5. A PI Controller could improve relative stability and eliminate steady state error at the
same time, but the settling time is increased(System response sluggish)

But a PID controller removes steady-state error and decreases system settling times while
maintaining a reasonable transient response

#Proportional Control
In Proportional control, the actuating signal for the control action in a control system is
proportional to the error signal. The error signal being the difference between the reference
input signal and the feedback signal obtained from the output
The Transfer function of the controller is:

U(s) = Kp E(s) or, C(s) =Kp

The proportional controller (Kp) reduces the rise time, increases the overshoot, reduces the
steady state error but never eliminates it completely.

Large values of K lead to small steady-state error; however, they also lead to a faster, less
damped responses.

If we want a small overshoot and a small steady-state error, a proportional gain alone is not
enough.

#PD Controller
For Derivative control action the actuating signal consists of proportional error signal added
with derivative of the error signal

A proportional plus derivative (PD) controller has the transfer function:

Proportional-derivative (PD) control considers both the magnitude of the system error and the
derivative of this error. Derivative control has the effect of adding damping to a system, and,
thus, has a stabilizing influence on the system response.

The derivative controller reduced both the overshoot and the Settling time, and had a small
effect on the rise time and the steady-state error.
The PD controller has decreased the system settling time considerably; however, to control
the steady-state error, the derivative gain Kd must be high. This decreases the response times
of the system and can make it susceptible to noise.

Effects of PD Controller :-

• Improves damping and maximum overshoot.

• Reduces rise time & settling time.
• Increases Bandwidth
• Improves Gain Margin and Phase Margin
• May attenuate high frequency noise

#PI Controller
For Integral control action, the actuating signal consists of proportional-error signal added
with integral of the error signal.

Proportional-integral (PI) control considers both the magnitude of the system error signal and
the integral of this error

Using integral control makes the system type-one, so the steady-state error due to a step
input is zero.
The response shows that the Integral control has removed the steady-state error and improved
the transient response, but it has also increased the system settling time.

Increasing Ki increases overshoot & settling time making system response sluggish

To reduce both settling time and overshoot, a PI controller by itself is not enough

Effects of PI Controller :-

• Improves damping and reduces maximum overshoot.

• Increases Rise Time.
• Decreases Bandwidth
• Improves Gain Margin, Phase margin & Peak Resonance (Mr).
• Filter out high frequency noise.

PID Controller
For PID control, the actuating signal u(t),consists of proportional error signal added with
derivative and integral of error signal e(t)

Proportional-integral-derivative control (PID) combines the stabilizing influence of the

derivative term and the reduction in steady-state error from the integral term.

The Transfer function of PID Controller

A PID controller has removed steady-state error and decreased system settling times while
maintaining a reasonable transient response

While designing a PID controller, the general rule is to add proportional control to get the
desired rise time, add derivative control to get the desired overshoot, and then add integral
control (if needed) to eliminate the steady-state error.
Effects of PID Controller:-
❖ Its purpose is to improve stability as well as to decrease Steady State Error.
❖ It adds a pole at origin which increases type of system which result into reduction of
steady state error.
❖ It adds 2 zeroes in LHP, one finite zero to avoid effect on stability & other zero to
improve stability of system

Effects of increasing a parameter independently

Steady-state
Parameter Rise time Overshoot Settling time Stability
error
Kp Decrease Increase Small change Decrease Degrade
Ki Decrease Increase Increase Eliminate Degrade
Kd Minor No effect in Improve
Decrease Decrease
change theory if Kd small

Applications of PID Controller

➢ Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control is the most common control algorithm
used in industry and has been universally accepted in industrial control. This is due to
the fact that all design specifications of the system can be met through optimal tuning
of constants Kp, Ki & Kd for maximum performance
➢ In the early history of automatic process control the PID controller was implemented
as a mechanical device in steering system of Ships
➢ PID temperature controllers are applied in industrial ovens, plastics injection
machinery, hot stamping machines and packing industry.
➢ Electronic analog PID control loops are often found within more complex electronic
systems, for example, the head positioning of a disk drive, the power conditioning of a
power supply, or even the movement-detection circuit of a modern seismometer.
➢ Most modern PID controllers in industry are implemented in programmable logic
controllers (PLCs) or as a panel-mounted digital controller.

Limitations of PID Controllers

❖ The performance of PID controllers in non-linear systems (such as HVAC systems) is
variable because PID controllers are linear
❖ The derivative term Kd is susceptible to Noise disturbance. A small amount of
measurement or process noise can cause large amounts of change in the output. It is
 often helpful to filter the measurements with a low-pass filter in order to remove
higher-frequency noise components
❖ The PID Parameters need to be tuned in order to obtain required optimal response
❖ Doesn’t handle non‐symmetric systems very well (e.g. A system which heats much
faster than it cools)

Application of Proportional, Integral and Derivative Controllers

Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controllers are used in most automatic process control
applications in industry today to regulate flow, temperature, pressure, level, and many other
industrial process variables.

They date back to 1939, when the Taylor and Foxboro instrument companies introduced the
first two PID controllers. All present-day controllers are based on those original proportional,
integral, and derivative modes.

PID controllers are the workhorse of modern process control systems, as they automate
regulation tasks that otherwise would have to be done manually. While the proportional
control mode is the main driving force in a controller, each mode fulfils a unique function.
Proportional and integral control modes are essential for most control loops, while the
derivative mode is excellent for motion control. Temperature control is a typical application
that uses all three control modes.

MANUAL CONTROL

Figure 1. Operator performing manual control

Without a PID controller, manual control of water temperature is a tedious process. For
example, to keep a constant temperature of water discharged from an industrial gas-fired
heater, an operator has to watch a temperature gauge and adjust a fuel gas valve accordingly
(Figure 1). If the water temperature becomes too high, the operator has to close the gas valve
just enough to bring the temperature back to the desired value. If the water gets too cold, he
has to open the gas valve.

The control task done by the operator is called feedback control, because the operator changes
the firing rate based on feedback from the process via the temperature gauge. The operator,
valve, process, and temperature gauge form a control loop. Any change the operator makes to
the gas valve affects the temperature, which is fed back to the operator, thereby closing the
loop.

AUTOMATIC CONTROL
To automate temperature control with a PID controller, the following are required:

• Install an electronic temperature measurement device

• Automate the valve by adding an actuator (and perhaps a positioner) so it can be
driven electronically
• Install a controller and connect it to the temperature measurement device and
automated control valve

Figure 2. PID controller performing automatic control

The operator sets the PID controller’s set point (SP) to the desired temperature, and the
controller’s output (CO) sets the position of the control valve. The temperature measurement,
called the process variable (PV), is then transmitted to the PID controller, which compares it
to the set point and calculates the difference, or error (E), between the two signals. Based on
the error and the controller’s tuning constants, the controller calculates the appropriate
controller output to set the control valve at the correct position to keep the temperature at the
set point (Figure 2). If the temperature rises above its set point, the controller will reduce the
valve position and vice versa.

Each of the controller’s three modes reacts differently to the error. The amount of response
produced by each control mode is adjustable by changing the controller’s tuning settings.

PROPORTIONAL CONTROL MODE

The proportional control mode changes the controller output in proportion to the error. If the
error increases, the control action increases proportionally.

The adjustable setting for proportional control is called the Controller Gain (Kc). A higher
controller gain increases the amount of proportional control action for a given error. If the
controller gain is set too high, the control loop will begin oscillating and become unstable. If
set too low, the control loop will not respond adequately to disturbances or set point changes.

For most controllers, adjusting the controller gain setting influences the amount of response
in the integral and derivative control modes.

THE PROPORTIONAL-ONLY CONTROLLER

A PID controller can be configured to produce only a proportional action by turning off the
integral and derivative modes. Proportional controllers are simple to understand and easy to
tune: the controller output is simply the control error times the controller gain, plus a bias.
The bias is needed so the controller can maintain a non-zero output while the error is zero
(process variable at set point). The drawback is offset, which is a sustained error that cannot
be eliminated by proportional control alone. Under proportional-only control, the offset will
remain present until the operator manually changes the bias on the controller’s output to
remove the offset. This is known as a manual reset of the controller.

INTEGRAL CONTROL MODE

Figure 3. (left) The non-interactive PID controller algorithm; (right) the parallel PID
controller algorithm

The need for manual reset led to the development of automatic reset, known as the integral
control mode. The function of the integral control mode is to increment or decrement the
controller’s output over time to reduce the error, as long as there is any error present (process
variable not at set point). Given enough time, the integral action will drive the controller
output until the error is zero.

If the error is large, the integral mode will increment/decrement the controller output at a fast
rate; if the error is small, the changes will be slow. For a given error, the speed of the integral
action is set by the controller’s integral time setting (Ti). If the integral time is set too long,
the controller will be sluggish; if it is set too short, the control loop will oscillate and become
unstable.

Most controllers use integral time in minutes as the unit of measure for integral control. Some
use integral time in seconds, and a few controllers use integral gain (Ki) in repeats per
minute.

PROPORTIONAL + INTEGRAL CONTROLLER

Commonly called the PI controller, the proportional + integral controller’s output is made up
of the sum of the proportional and integral control actions.

After a disturbance, the integral mode continues to increment the controller’s output until it
has eliminated all offset and brought the heater outlet temperature back to its set point.

DERIVATIVE CONTROL MODE

Derivative control is rarely used in controlling processes, though it is often used in motion
control. It is very sensitive to measurement noise, it makes trial-and-error tuning more
difficult, and it is not absolutely required for process control. However, using a controller’s
derivative mode can make certain types of control loops – temperature control, for example –
respond faster than with PI control alone.

The derivative control mode produces an output based on the rate of change of the error. It
produces more control action if the error changes at a faster rate; if there is no change in the
error, the derivative action is zero. This mode has an adjustable setting called Derivative
Time (Td). The larger the derivative time setting, the more derivative action is produced. If
the derivative time is set too long, however, oscillations will occur and the control loop will
be unstable. A Td setting of zero effectively turns off the derivative mode. Two units of
measure are used for the derivative setting of a controller: minutes and seconds.
PROPORTIONAL + INTEGRAL + DERIVATIVE CONTROLLER

Figure 4. P, PI, and PID controller response to a disturbance

The output of a PID controller is made up of the sum of the proportional, integral, and
derivative control actions. PID control algorithms come in different designs, including the
noninteractive algorithm and the parallel algorithm. Both are shown in Figure 3.

In a PID controller, the derivative mode provides more control action sooner than is possible
with either P or PI control. This reduces the effect of a disturbance and shortens the time it
takes for the level to return to its set point.

Figure 4 compares the process heater outlet temperature recovery time after a sudden change
in fuel gas pressure under P, PI, and PID control.

CONTROLLER TUNING
PID controllers require tuning, but when they first came to market, there were no clear
instructions on how to do this. Tuning was done through trial and error until 1942, when two
tuning methods were published by J. G. Ziegler and N. B. Nichols from the Taylor
Instruments Company.

These tuning rules work well on processes with very long time constants relative to their dead
times and on level control loops, which contain an integrating process. They do not work well
on control loops that contain self-regulating processes, such as flow, temperature, pressure,
speed, and composition.

A self-regulating process always stabilizes at some point of equilibrium, which depends on

the process design and controller output; if the controller output is set to a different value, the
process will respond and stabilize at a new point of equilibrium.

Most control loops contain self-regulating processes, and tuning methods have been
developed for them. The Cohen-Coon tuning rules, for example, work well on virtually all
control loops with self-regulating processes. These rules were originally designed to give a
very fast response, but this resulted in loops with a high oscillatory response. With slight
modification of the rules, control loops still respond quickly but are much less prone to
oscillations. Today there are more than 100 controller tuning methods, each designed to
achieve a certain objective.