Module # 1.1.

INTRODUCTION
Control: Why and How

Lectures on
CHEMICAL PROCESS CONTROL
Theory and Practice
 Why do we need to control a system
• To stabilize an inherently unstable system
- Examples:
o Bicycle
o Stick on palm
o LCA Tejas (India’s own fighter aircraft)
o Unstable nonisothermal CSTR
• To deliver minimum performance guarantees for a system
- Examples:
o Petrol is octane number 92 or more
o To produce X tph of commercial grade propylene
o Missile strike accuracy guaranteed within 2 m radius
o Driving a taxi in a manner that minimizes fuel consumption…

Process Control Notes 2

 Day-to-Day Control Examples
Tuning Guitar Strings Balancing a Stick Grocery Weighing

Pictures from google images

Process Control Notes 3
 Room Example

PROCESS VARIABLES
Temperature T
Odor Od
Relative Humidity RH
Heater Duty Qhtr
Solar heating rate Qsolar
Heat leak rate Qleaks
Wall heat loss rate Qwalls

Qhtr
Manipulated Variable Qsolar, Qwalls, Qleaks Qhtr, Qsolar, Qleaks, Qwalls Input PVs
Control dof Disturbances
T, RH, Od Output PVs
Control Input

Process Control Notes 4

 PV Classification
Process Variables

Input PVs affect output PVs through

Input PVs Output PVs cause-and-effect relationships
(y)

An MV with ‘strong’ effect on a PV

Control inputs Disturbances
(MVs, u) (d) can be adjusted to control the PV

u1
u2 ..
y1 M >> N
uN
. y2

d1
PROCESS .
. Output PVs: Several. May be designed
.
d2 ..
. yM MVs: Limited. Fixed by process design
dR

Process Control Notes 5

 SISO Feedback Control

Feedback Loop Open

Operator specifies MV (Qhtr)
CV (T) floats

Feedback Loop Closed

Operator specifies CV setpoint (TSP)
MV (Qhtr) floats

SISO

FEEDBACK
SINGLE-INPUT-SINGLE-OUTPUT (SISO)
Adjust MV based only on CV values (current and past)
Controller Input: Single PV measurement
to drive CV to CV setpoint (desired value)
Controller Output: Single MV signal

Process Control Notes 6

Control Inverts MV-CV Relation

Process Control Notes 7

 Control as Transformation of Variability

CV MV Alters dynamic characteristics of

Variability Variability the process to more desirable

Process Control Notes 8

PVs of Interest?

Process Control Notes 9

PVs of Interest?

Process Control Notes 10

 Process Control
• Alters dynamic characteristics of a process
- Transforms variability from CVs to MVs
- Altered characteristics are ‘desirable’
o Safety, stability, economics, performance guarantees

• PV feedback a powerful mechanism for control

- Inverts MV-CV relation

• Several available PV measurements

• What PV to control and how tightly to control it is a key decision
- Requires process understanding

Process Control Notes 11