Industrial Automation

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PROPORTIONAL TUNING PWM

Proportional Control PWM

The two methods, ON/OFF regulation and Neutral Zone regulation, can not avoid a fluctuation of the process
temperature, PV, around the preselection, SP.
In systems that can support this error, either method is used, but there are applications that require greater
accuracy and therefore have to resort to another control loop type. This is where proportional control and its
different modalities intervene.
Proportional control supplies a heating energy gradually between 0% and 100%. This proportion of energy,
which is supplied at any moment, is proportional to the deviation of the actual process temperature from
that desired.
We will now call error to this deviation: Error = SP – PV
As seen in these previous considerations we deduce that temperature regulators that perform a proportio-
nal control, must have an analog output (0-10 V or 4-20 mA) so that, by attacking a proportional valve, they
can supply a gradual energy between 0% and 100%.
The proportional valve is fully closed if it receives 4 mA and will open fully when it receives 20 mA.
(receiving 12 mA will be half open, etc.).
This type of valves is used when the heating energy comes from, for example, a gas system or a steam
system.
But systems based on these energies are expensive and complicated. For this reason electric furnaces are
more common. They are cheaper and simpler to control.
To control an electric furnace (which is heated by means of heating resistors) regulators are used with relay
outputs, therefore the question is:
How can a gradual and proportional signal be supplied to the temperature error if the relay supplies an all-no-
thing signal?
To answer this question we are going to explain, first, two concepts:

System response time

It is the time it takes to appreciate an increase in the temperature to be counted from the moment the
heating command is given.
For example, a furnace having a response time of 60 sec. means that since the regulator gives the heating
command until the temperature on the controller display starts to increase, 1 minute passes.

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)

This technique consists of modulating the relay activation within a time period called Time cycle (Tc) that is
less than the system response time.
This means that the relay is activated for a certain time and is deactivated for the rest of the time until the
time cycle elapses. Thus, if the regulator should give 50% heating power, the relay will be active half the
time cycle and will remain off the other 50% of the time.

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For example, we have a furnace that has a response time of 120 sec. and we set the time cycle in Tc = 6 sec.
When the regulator has to supply 100% of the heating power, the relay is permanently connected:

Relay Signal Output power 100%

ON

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1
Time cycle Time cycle
(Tc = 6 Seg.) (Tc = 6 Seg.)

If the regulator decides to supply 75% of the heating power, the relay will be 4.5 seconds on and 1.5
seconds off:

Relay Signal Output power 75%

ON ON ON

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1
Time cycle Time cycle
(Tc = 6 Seg.) (Tc = 6 Seg.)

When the regulator is to give 50% of the heating power, the output relay will be 3 seconds on and 3 seconds off:

Relay Signal Output power 50%

ON ON ON

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1
Time cycle Time cycle
(Tc = 6 Seg.) (Tc = 6 Seg.)

Ind. Estate Els Dolors • 46-48 Sallent St. • Manresa (Barcelona) • +34 93 873 71 00
20 França St. • Igualada (Barcelona) • +34 93 806 62 62
 Industrial Automation
Pneumatic • Instrumentation • Automatisms • Smarthome
www.tecnical.cat

If the regulator must supply 25% of the heating power, the relay will be 1.5 sec. on and 4.5 Sec off:

Relay Signal Output power 25%

ON ON ON

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1
Time cycle Time cycle
(Tc = 6 Seg.) (Tc = 6 Seg.)

We can deduce that the longer the time cycle, it wears less the output relay and the contactor that
switches the electrical power to the heating resistor. But keep in mind that you should not exceed the
system response time.
Therefore, we already know how a temperature regulator, with relay output or transistor, can supply an
"analog" heating signal, gradual and proportional to the deviation of PV with respect to SP.

Ind. Estate Els Dolors • 46-48 Sallent St. • Manresa (Barcelona) • +34 93 873 71 00
20 França St. • Igualada (Barcelona) • +34 93 806 62 62