Process

Control
ChE3162
Dr. Poovarasi Balan
Semester 2
2020
Introduction to control

• What is “Process Control” (Marlin)

• To maintain desired conditions in a system by
adjusting selected variables in the system
• Eliminating disturbances process
• Process never works “perfectly”
• Reduce variation in the product
• What is “Process Dynamics”
• How things change
• In order to control a process, need to know the
process DYNAMICS
Control Objectives
(marlin)

1. Safety
2. Environmental protection
All these cost money,
3. Equipment protection
what are you most 4. Smooth operation
likely to not have?
5. Production quality
6. Profit
7. Monitoring and Diagnostics

So you can figure out what is going on

By the way (general info)

• Control is a mix of electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineering, all dealing with data
• Electrical engineers make up about 80% of control engineers
- but –
historically, the “really good” control engineers have had a chemical engineering background
• Reason – we USE the control system as a SYSTEM, others are more interested in the
components of the system

• Chemical engineers tend to do the preliminary design of the control system

• Electrical and (to a lesser extent) Mechanical engineers complete the design and buy and
install the control system
• Chemical engineers tend to use the control system more than other disciplines.
Control System –

• A control system is merely a data management system

• It collects data
• It converts the form of the data
• It moves data around
• It stores data
• It manipulates data
• It analyses data

• It is data

• And data engineers are a subset of electrical engineers (hence the large portion of them)
Terminology - basic

• Control: maintain desired conditions by adjusting variables in the system

• Input: Variable that causes a change
• (not always same as a physical input)
• Setpoint (SP): desired value or range for a controlled variable (eg Troom= 22 – 26 °C)
• Controlled variable (CV): the actual value of the variable (eg Troom=23.4 °C)
• Manipulated Variable (MV): the variable that is adjusted to maintain control of the CV
• Analog (Analogue): Continuous
• Digital: On/Off (applicable to on/off control, such as starting a pump or closing a valve – very
applicable to safety systems) or discrete (integers only)
Terminology

• Sensor: physical measurement device

• Thermometer, pressure transducer, etc.
• Converts the data to a more portable signal (usually a digital signal, but can be an optical
signal)
• Controller:
• Calculates difference between CV/PV value reported by the sensor, and the desired SP and
decides how much to adjust the output variable (the “brain”)
• Final element: the physical equipment used to adjust the manipulated variable.
• Usually a control valve, can be on/off
• The Final Element is often called the “End Device”
Terminology

• Feedback control: measure the changes in the output variable, and adjust an
input variable to counteract the change …

• Feedforward control: measure the disturbance and compensate BEFORE the

controlled variables are affected …
Terminology

• Control System: a collection of sensors, transmitters, controllers, end devices, and the “things”
that change the form of the data and move the data around
• Basic Process Control System (BPCS): The system that controls the basic process
• Safety Instrumented System (SIS): The system that manages safety (usually digital)
• Process Logic Controller (PLC): A separate (usually) digital controller used to control small
parts of the process (like a system provided by one vendor)
Terminology

Systematic
error is
sometimes
called bias

Reproducibility
error is
sometimes
called random
Terminology

• Accuracy refers to the deviation of a measurement from a standard or true value of the
quantity being measured. We can talk about the accuracy of a single measurement.
• Precision tells us how close a group of measurements are to one another. The closer the data
replicates, the more likely the results will be similar in the future. For this reason, good
precision has predictive value; it gives us confidence in future results.
• Because precision is concerned with the closeness of two or more measurements to each
other rather than to a standard value, it’s possible for a group of values to be precise without
being accurate, or to be accurate without being precise.
The “control loop”
Feedback Control of TankLevel
Control Objective: Adjust A flowrate
Maintain tank level To maintain tank
level set point
Approach: Manipulate A
input flow to maintain
the tank level

LC
101

LT
101

Product http://instrumentationandcontrollers.blogspot.com/2011/05/feedbac
k-control-system-or-closed-loop.html
Feedback control of
tank level and composition

A B Adjust B flowrate
Adjust A flowrate To maintain set point
To maintain tank composition in tank
level set point

LC
101

LC
LT AC
101 101

Analyser Controller measures

Product
composition of tank
Control of a heat exchanger

1. This incoming 3. So we need to

temperature tends to adjust the steam flow to
vary…. make sure that the exit
temperature is constant

2. The outlet
temperature also
varies….

Smith & Corropio

Feedback Control for a heat exchanger
4. Adjust the steam flow 4. Calculate how far from the SP
valve to correct the exit
temperature back to SP

1. This incoming
temperature tends to
vary….

3. So we measure it

2. The outlet
temperature also
varies….

Smith & Corropio

Feedback Temperature control of a shell
and tube heat exchanger
Cold Temperature, flow changes
Steam or fluid are DISTURBANCES Controller
condensate
Set point
exhaust

Hot fluid
Sensor & Steam
Transmitter Valve
Where do Disturbances come from?

• Variation in composition of incoming raw materials

• eg mineral rock, oil/gas, waste water
• Weather
• Hot vs cold, dry vs humid, summer vs winter, pollution levels
• Gradual buildup of scale etc inside the process
• (eg heat exchanger fouling)
• Unexpected surges due to
• Malfunctions,
• Wear & tear,
• Water hammers
• Animals, earthquakes,
• Process never works “perfectly”!!
Batch polymerisation example (mix
of digital and analogue)

Cooper & Moore, CEP, Aug 2013

 Y=main output
Y=unit op output
C=controlled variable
N = NOISE

Cooper & Moore, CEP, Aug 2013

And we add
more
• Complexity is
caused by the
quantity, not by
the fact that it is
hard
• Actually quite
simple, just lots
of them.
• Toggling back
and forth with
the next slide, Cooper & Moore, CEP, Aug 2013

what is what?
Control Terminology

Instrumentation labelling system developed by the Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Society
(ISA), and documented in standard ISA-5 (which we will use) (https://www.isa.org/isa5-1/)
First Letter (ALWAYS the Second Letter Third Letter (optional) Fourth and subsequent
parameter) Letter (really optional)
F Flow I Indicator I Indicator C Controller
L Level C Controller C Controller T Transmitter
P Pressure T Transmitter T Transmitter L Low
T Temperature E Element V Valve H High
A Analyser D Differential L Low
W Weight Q Quantity H High
V Valve
S Switch
A Alarm
Modern Control Room:
Saudi Aramco Control Centre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nct5mOypfY
Control rooms in popular culture
Control rooms in movies
• “The China Syndrome”
• Three Mile Island incident
• Real life scenario 12 days after release! (1979)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFMsnicAtiY
• http://www.history.com/topics/three-mile-island

• “Deepwater Horizon”
• Macondo oil well blowout (2010)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S
-UPJyEHmM0
• http://theconversation.com/deepwate
r-horizon-honors-oil-rig-workers-but-
oversimplifies-the-blowout-66391
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F
CVCOWejlag
Control
System
Screens
Sometimes I don’t need an entire
room (control panel to photocopy
machine)

http://atwiki.assistivetech.net/images/thumb/8/8e/Controls.jpg/375px-Controls.jpg
CHE3162
Overall approach to control
• Process disturbances and what to do about them
• Understand the concepts of feedforward, feedback, cascade, inferential control
• Understand PID loops – purpose, function, and how to tune control loops
• Need to (re)cover background in Laplace transforms, modelling of simple
systems
CHE3162 approach to control
CHE3162 approach to control

• Initially work on a single control loop

• Then move to multiple loops, including interacting loops
• Move to advanced control – model based, dynamic matrices control
• Then size control valves
• Then examine sensors and how to measure the parameters
• Emphasis on practical applications
Bob Weiss & Process Control
• EVERY chemical engineer must understand how good process control improves PROFIT

Maximise process to constraint

Optimise to reduce
process giveaway

Shift in Average
=
Stabilise control to
reduce variance Profitability
Courtesy Andrew Taylor, Apex
Improvement
Optimisation

Bob Weiss
Connections to other subjects
Mass & Energy CHE3166
balances CHE3162 Process
Mathematics Process Control Design
(P&ID)
Process
knowledge

CHE4170
Design Project “capstone” subject
Of entire course
GRADUATION

Process Engineer Control engineer Control engineer Research

On any site On any site For a vendor PhDs,.etc
 End of Lecture 1
Post your questions to forum if
you have any – Happy to Answer
– Dr. Poovarasi Balan