Chemical Engineering Department

College of Engineering and Technology

Adigrat University

Process measurement and instrumentation

Chapter one

Medhanie G.
1. Introduction to Control Systems
Instrumentation is the art of measuring the value of some plant
parameter, pressure, flow, level or temperature to name a few and
supplying a signal that is proportional to the measured parameter.
The output signals are standard signal and can then be processed by
other equipment to provide indication, alarms or automatic control.
There are a number of standard signals; however, those most common
chemical plant are the 4-20 mA electronic signal and the 20-100 kPa
pneumatic signal.
There are three general classes of needs that a control system is called to
satisfy:
- Suppress the influence of external disturbances,
- ensure the 'stability of a chemical process, and
- optimize the performance of a chemical process.
Requirement of Good Control System
Accuracy
Sensitivity:
Noise
Stability:
Bandwidth
 Control operations that involve human action to make an adjustment
are called manual control systems.
For example, a human operator might have watched a level gauge and
closed a valve when the level reached the set point.
control operations in which no human intervention is required, such as
an automatic valve actuator that responds to a level controller, are
called automatic control systems.
1.1 Types of control system

There are various types of control system but all of them are created to
control outputs.
The system used for controlling the position, velocity, acceleration,
temperature, pressure, voltage and current etc. are examples of control
systems.
There are two main types of control system
Open loop control system and Closed loop control system
1.2 Open-loop and closed-loop control
systems
1.2.1 Open Loop Control System
A control system in which the control action is totally independent of
output of the system.
Manual control system is also an open loop control system.
Cont.
An open control loop exists where the process variable is not compared, and
action is taken not in response to feedback on the condition of the process
variable, but is instead taken without regard to process variable conditions.
Practical examples
1. A water valve may be opened to add cooling water to a process to prevent
the process fluid from getting too hot, based on a pre-set time interval,
regardless of the actual temperature of the process fluid.
2. Electric Hand Drier Hot air (output) comes out as long as you keep your
hand under the machine, irrespective of how much your hand is dried.
3. Automatic Washing Machine This machine runs according to the pre-set
time irrespective of washing is completed or not.
Cont.
4. Bread Toaster - This machine runs as per adjusted time irrespective of
toasting is completed or not.
5. Automatic Tea/Coffee Maker These machines also function for pre
adjusted time only.
6. Timer Based Clothes Drier This machine dries wet clothes for pre
adjusted time, it does not matter how much the clothes are dried.
7. Light Switch lamps glow whenever light switch is on irrespective of
light is required or not.
8. Volume on Stereo System Volume is adjusted manually irrespective
of output volume level.
Advantages of Open Loop Control System
1. Simple in construction and design.
2. Economical.
3. Easy to maintain.
4. Generally stable.
5. Convenient to use as output is difficult to measure.
Disadvantages of Open Loop Control System
1. They are inaccurate.
2. They are unreliable.
3. Any change in output cannot be corrected automatically.
1.2.2 Closed Loop Control System
Control system in which the output has an effect on the input quantity in
such a manner that the input quantity will adjust itself based on the output
generated is called closed loop control system.
A closed control loop exists where a process variable is measured,
compared to a set point, and action is taken to correct any deviation from set
point.

Open loop control system can be converted in to closed loop control system
by providing a feedback.
 Cont.
Feedback loop is the tool which take the system output into consideration
and enables the system to adjust its performance to meet a desired result of
system.
In any control system, output is affected due to change in environmental
condition or any kind of disturbance.
So one signal is taken from output and is fed back to the input. This signal
is compared with reference input and then error signal is generated.
This error signal is applied to controller and output is corrected. Such a
system is called feedback system.
Cont.
Closed loop control system is called automatic control system.
B lock diagram of closed loop control system in which feedback is
taken from output and fed in to input.
Cont.
When feedback signal is positive then system called positive feedback
system.
For positive feedback system, the error signal is the addition of
reference input signal and feedback signal.
When feedback signal is negative then system is called negative
feedback system.
For negative feedback system, the error signal is given by difference
of reference input signal and feedback signal.
Practical Examples of Closed Loop Control
System
1. Servo Voltage Stabilizer Voltage controller operates depending
upon output voltage of the system.
2. Water Level Controller Input water is controlled by water level of
the reservoir.
3. An Air Conditioner An air conditioner functions depending upon
the temperature of the room.
4. Cooling System in Car It operates depending upon the temperature
which it controls.
Advantages of Closed Loop Control System
1. Closed loop control systems are more accurate even in the presence
of non-linearity.
2. Highly accurate as any error arising is corrected due to presence of
feedback signal.
3. Facilitates automation.
4. The sensitivity of system may be made small to make system more
stable.
5. This system is less affected by noise.
Disadvantages of Closed Loop Control System
1. They are costly.
2. They are complicated to design.
3. Required more maintenance.
4. Overall gain is reduced due to presence of feedback.
5. Stability is the major problem and more care is needed to design a
stable closed loop system.
Comparison of Closed Loop And Open Loop
Control System
Importance of process control
To reduce variability/maintain product quality
To help processes operate efficiently
To ensure the safe operation of processes
To meet environmental regulations
To meet operational constraint inherent to the operation of equipments
used in a chemical plant
Temperature measurement
Temperature is a measure of the thermal energy in a body, which is the
relative hotness or coldness of a medium.
Temperature control is important for separation and reaction
processes,
temperature must be maintained within limits to ensure safe and
reliable operation of process equipment.
For control purpose; Example Heat exchanger Reactor
 For monitoring or supervisory control
Example : suppose you are rolling hot round steal bar into flat bars.
Force required to change the shape depends on temperature.
For safety and energy efficiency
TEMPERATURE MEASURING DEVICES
Contact type
Expansion thermometer
bimetallic thermometer
liquid in glass thermometer
gas/vapor thermometer
Resistance type
Thermistors (semiconductor resistance detector)
RTD (metallic resistance temperature detector)
Thermocouple (based on thermo electric effect)
Non contact type
Radiation pyrometer
Pressure measurement
From appropriate pressure measurements velocity, aerodynamic forces
and moments can be determined.
Pressure is measured by the force acting on unit area.
Measuring devices usually indicate differential pressure i.e. in relation
with atmospheric pressure.
The measured pressure may be positive or negative with reference to
the atmospheric pressure .
A negative gauge pressure is referred to as vacuum.
 Gauge pressure is defined relative to atmospheric conditions.
Gauge pressure is indicated by adding a g to the units descriptor.
The pressure unit pounds per square inch gauge is abbreviated psig.
When pressure is to be measured in absolute units, the reference is full
vacuum the abbreviation for pounds per square inch absolute is psia.
Units
1Pascal(1 N/m2) = 10dyne/cm2
1 mmHg = 133.32pascals = 13.595mm Water
Standard atmosphere = 1.013 * 105N/m2
1 millibar = 1000 dyn/cm2
1 micron = 10-6mHg
1 torr = 1 mmHg = 1000micron
 The conventional instruments used for pressure measurement
1) Liquid column manometers
2) Pressure gauges with elastic sensing elements
3) Pressure transducers
4) Manometers for low absolute pressures
5) Manometers for very high absolute pressures
Flow measurement
Flow measurement is critical to determine the amount of material
purchased and sold.
To know how much a particular material are passes.
To control process variables i.e.
Temperature in heat exchanger
Composition in reactor
Level in storage tank
Pressure in hot gas accumulators
To control all the above variables we open or close inlet and out let
valves.
 The cost of many liquids and gases are based on the measured flow
through a pipeline making it necessary to accurately measure and
control the rate of flow for accounting purposes.
The speed of particles in a fluid flow varies across the flow, i.e., where
the fluid is in contact with the constraining walls the velocity of the
liquid particles is virtually zero; in the center of the flow the liquid
particles will have the maximum velocity
 Flow measurements can be divided into the following groups:
Volume flow rate
Mass flow rate
The choice of the flow measuring device will depend on the required
accuracy and fluid characteristics (gas, liquid, suspended particulates,
temperature, viscosity
Types of flow meter
Obstructive flow meter: It includes,
1. Differential pressure flow meters
Orifice meters
Venture meters
2. Variable area flow meter
Rota meter
3. Turbine flow meter
Non obstructive flow meters: It includes,
Electromagnetic flow meters
Ultrasonic flow meters
Cross correlation flow meter
Level measurement
The speed of changes in a level control loop largely depends on the
size and shape of the process vessel (e.g., larger vessels take longer to
fill than smaller ones) and the flow rate of the input and outflow pipes.
The final control element in a level control loop is usually a valve on
the input and/or outflow connections to the tank.
It is critical to avoid tank overflow, redundant level control systems
are sometimes employed.
level measurement sensors fall into two main types.
Point level measurement sensors
Used to mark a single discrete liquid heighta preset level condition.
Functions as a high alarm, signaling an overfill condition, or as a
marker for a low alarm condition.
Continuous level sensors
more sophisticated and can provide level monitoring of an entire
system.
They measure fluid level within a range, rather than at a one point,
producing an analog output that directly correlates to the level in the
vessel.