Abu Dhabi University MEC 412 – Dynamic and Control Systems Lab

Experiment 4

Flow Rate Control

Figure 1: TeqEquipment CE117 Process Trainer

Objectives:

1- Control the flow rate of the cold water into the process vessel by adjustment of the
proportional valve opening.
2- Understand the operation and function of the Process Trainer apparatus and how to
implement the required wiring and connection of the system.
3- Implement and study the closed-loop control system performance in controlling the
desired water flow rate.
4- Obtain the step-response graph and understand the parameters of the control system
performance.
Abu Dhabi University MEC 412 – Dynamic and Control Systems Lab

Theory:

For a given control system, different controllers such as P controllers, P-I controllers, P-D
controllers, and P-I-D controllers can be used, depending on the needs and requirements of
the system to be set at a certain precision, whether it was open-loop or closed-loop. PID
controllers are the optimum amongst them since they eliminate steady-state error usually
found in P controllers, have a quick response, unlike P-I controllers, with negligible
oscillations and instability. However, P-controller is the one to be used since it the easiest to
obtain. The control system in question is the heating process control system, where the
temperature is set to be at the desired value. The P controller’s effect on the system is
beneficial in terms of stability, and the Proportional control on the system is to be investigated
by setting different proportional bands and measuring the steady-state error produced or the
offset by that band.

In electronic engineering and control theory, step response is the time behavior of the outputs
of a general system when its inputs change from zero to one in a very short time. The concept
can be extended to the abstract mathematical notion of a dynamical system using an evolution
parameter. The important parameters to study the performance of a control system are the rise
time, overshoot, settling time, and steady-state error.

Figure 2: Step Response Graph Parameters

Abu Dhabi University MEC 412 – Dynamic and Control Systems Lab

Rise Time — Time it takes for the response to rise from 10% to 90% of the steady-state
response.

Settling Time — Time it takes for the error between the response and the steady-state
response to fall below 2% or 5% of the desired value.

Overshoot — the overshoot is an output that exceeds its steady-state value, and it is found
firstly by obtaining the peak value and steady-state value from the oscilloscope graph.

Steady-state error — is the difference between the steady-state value and the desired value.

Apparatus:

TecQuipment’s Process Trainer is an educational package that mimics industrial process

engineering. The fully integrated, self-contained teaching apparatus gives a comprehensive
range of process control experiments, from basic to advanced. Using water as the working
fluid, the equipment allows safe, practical experiments on the control of flow, liquid level,
temperature, and pressure. Students can study each of these separately or in combinations.

The equipment consists of an experiment module, a control module, and TecQuipment’s

CE2000 software.

The experiment module includes all the essential parts to allow students to create process
control systems. The main part is the process vessel, with a stirrer, a temperature sensor, level
and pressure sensors, a heat exchanger, and a vent valve. It also includes two loops linked by
the heat exchanger in the process vessel. One loop is the heating loop with pump, heater tank,
and heater. The other loop is a process and cooling loop with a pump, cooler, fan, valves, and
reservoir.

The control module links to the experiment module to provide access to the connections of
each part on the experiment module. It includes a clear mimic diagram with switches and
controls to allow manual control of pump speed, cooler-fan speed, heater power,P and stirrer.
It also includes sockets and a built-in computer interface. This allows the user to link each part
of the experiment module to a suitable computer (not included) for remote control and data
acquisition.
Abu Dhabi University MEC 412 – Dynamic and Control Systems Lab

Supplied with the equipment is TecQuipment’s Control Software (CE2000, see separate
datasheet) for supervisory control of the CE117 and data acquisition. You need a suitable
computer to use the CE2000 software.

Procedure:

1) Start the CE2000 software and load the file ‘exp2-1.ict’.

Figure 3: Screenshot of the software

2) Close the loop bypass valve, fully open the process vessel drain and the air vent.
3) Connect the CE 117 Mimic Panel as shown below:

Figure 3: Wiring Connections

Abu Dhabi University MEC 412 – Dynamic and Control Systems Lab

Figure 4: Experiment Schematic

4) Switch Pump 2 switch to External. Analog signals will pass from the D/A section to Pump
2 and the proportional valve. Analog signals will pass from Flow transmitter FT2 to the
A/D section.
5) Run the software and record the response graph for 0.5 V, 1.0 V & 1.5 V setpoints.

Data Analysis:

 Calculate the rise time, overshoot, settling time, and the steady-state error for each of the
extracted graphs.

Discussion & Results

 Discuss PID controllers in general.

 Sketch the Block Diagram for the process control system.
 Discuss the changes in the system performance, if any.
 Write a concise account of the experiment and the results obtained.