VisSim Tutorial

The VAV controller that matches this application, single-duct, pressure-dependent, cooling-only VAV, is
constructed from four main components:
A PID controller
A pulse width modulator
An electric two-state damper actuator
Sensors and feedbac components
The PID Controller
The Proportional, Integral and Deri!ati!e "PID# controller is designed to monitor the room temperature
and control the VAV damper position$ The PID control algorithm used to de!elop the VAV system is a
standard PID controller with anti-windup and lag filter deri!ati!e calculation, as shown in %igure &'$
Figure 10. Implementation of the PID controller
This PID controller can be de!eloped using the already e(isting PID controller found in VisSim)s *ontrol
Toolbo($
The Pulse Width Modulator
The general definition of a pulse width modulator "P+,# is that it is a control component that transforms
analog signals into digital pulses$ In today)s -VA* component maret, it costs less to command the
damper position through a pair of pulse width modulated output points than through a single analog
output point$ This is because digital point data ac.uisition costs less than analog point data ac.uisition$
Therefore, it is more economical to output digital /pen0*lose signals to a two-state VAV actuator than to
output analog '1 to &''1 commands to an analog VAV actuator$ In addition, because most VAV building
installations contain hundreds of VAV bo(es, building owners can sa!e considerably on their VAV
installations by choosing pulse width modulated output points instead of analog output points$
To transform the PID analog commands into digital pulses, a P+, is needed$ The modulator estimates
the position of the damper and sends a stream of /pen0*lose pulses until the commanded position is
reached$ If the estimated position is lower than the commanded position, the P+, sends a stream of
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/pen pulses$ Similarly, if the estimated position is greater than the commanded position the P+, sends a
stream of *lose pulses$
%or e(ample, if the VAV actuator stroe time is & minute "that is, the actuator goes from to '1 to &''1 in
& minute# and the PID commands a 7'1 position, gi!en an initial damper position of '1, the P+, does
the following:
Sends 8' consecuti!e & second /pen command pulses, where each pulse causes the VAV damper
actuator to open by &$9931
:stimates the damper position and when the estimated position is at 7'1 "within a deadband#, it
stops dri!ing the actuator
The final position of the damper ; Initial position < 8' &$993 ; '1 < 7'1 ; 7'1
If the initial position of the VAV damper is 371, the P+, does the following:
Sends &7 consecuti!e & second *lose command pulses, where each pulse causes the VAV damper
actuator to close by &$9931
:stimates the damper position and when the estimated position is at 7'1 "within a deadband#, it
stops dri!ing the actuator
The final position of the damper ; Initial position - &7 &$993 ; 371 - =71 ; 7'1
It is ob!ious that when using the two-state digital actuator, the accuracy of the damper position is
sacrificed$ The precision inconsistency is illustrated when the initial estimated position is not e.ual to the
>real? position of the damper$ To accomplish better damper position tracing accuracy, the following
alternati!es are a!ailable:
@se an accurate analog actuator which commands the damper position directly from the PID output$
Install a position feedbac de!ice such as a resisti!e feedbac potentiometer$ 4ote that installing e(tra
de!ices on the VAV bo( can affect its manufacturing and installation costs$
@se a P+, and apply o!erdri!e when the estimated damper position reaches '1 or &''1$
To ensure that the position of the damper is synchroniAed with the pulse width modulated commands, an
o!erdri!e algorithm is added to the P+,)s logic$ The o!erdri!e algorithm, although !ery simple, is a !ery
effecti!e approach to sol!ing the synchroniAation problem$ The o!erdri!e is applied e!ery time the
estimated damper position is either at '1 or &''1$
+hen the estimated damper position reaches '1, the actual damper position might be at '1 or at a
percentage that is near '1, maybe 71 or &'1$ This percentage uncertainty might cause unwanted damper
leaage$ In addition to damper leaage, as the position uncertainties accumulate during the day long VAV
operation, the control system might lose trac of the damper position and be way off the actual !alue$ This
causes bad control especially when these tracing errors reach magnitudes greater than 7'1$
The o!erdri!e algorithm is describe below$
Begin Algorithm A-2
If " The :stimated Damper position B The @pper o!erdri!e threshold# Then
%or "time ; ' to time C; Stroe time#
*ommand damper /P:4 for Stroe Time
If " The :stimated Damper position C The Dower o!erdri!e threshold# Then
%or "time ; ' to time C; Stroe time#
*ommand damper *D/S:D for Stroe Time
End Algorithm A-2
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Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Controls: Variable Air Volume (VAV) Systems
%igure && shows the VisSim implementation of the o!erdri!e algorithm described by algorithm A-=$

Figure 11. Overdrive algorithm implementation in VisSim
The VisSim implementation of the P+, with o!erdri!e is shown in %igure &=$
Figure 12. VisSim implementation of the PW !ith overdrive
The Electric Two-State Damper Actuator
The damper actuator used in this VAV system is a two-state digital input "/pen0*lose# electric actuator$
The actuator recei!es streams of /pen or *lose pulse width modulated signals, then rotates the damper
a(le based on the width and direction of the signals$
The two-state electric damper actuator model is implemented with an anti-windup integrator described by
the following e.uation:
Present Position " Old Position #
&
Stro$e%ime

&Present 'ommand %ime duration(

Direction "2#
where
Direction ; <& if the command is /pen
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Direction ; -& if the command is *lose
The anti-windup integrator algorithm, based on the pre!ious e.uation is described by the following
algorithm:
Begin Algorithm A-3
If "Present Position B; &''1# A4D "/P:4 */,,A4D#
Present Position ; &''1
If "Present Position C; '1# A4D "*D/S: */,,A4D#
Present Position ; '1
Present Position ; /ld Position < "&0stroeTime#

"Present*ommandTimeDuration#

Direction$
End Algorithm A-3
Since VisSim already offers a built in anti-windup integrator bloc, called limitedIntegrator, the VisSim
implementation of the actuator is !ery simple and is shown in %igure &8$
Figure 1). *lectric t!o+digital input actuator
Sensors and Feedback Components
/nly the room sensor is discussed in this section because it is the only sensing component in the VAV
application$
The Room Sensor
The room sensor is typically a nicel- or platinum-resisti!e element and is highly sensiti!e to temperature
changes$ As the temperature of the room changes, the resistance of the metal fluctuates due to the
temperature dependent dilatation properties of the metal$
The room temperature sensor senses the temperature of the room, using its resisti!e element, then
generates a !oltage which is lineariAed and fed bac to the VAV controller$ The !oltage signal generated
by the sensor is obtained by mounting a current source across the resisti!e element$ The !oltage
magnitude, based on /hm)s Daw, is e.ual to the product of the magnitudes of the current source and the
sensing element)s resistance$
The lineariAed resistance response to temperature !ersus time is appro(imated by a linear first order
system with a Daplace transform of the following structure:
,oom %emperature Sensed&S( " -ctual ,oom %emperature&S( .
/
S
p
$ +&
"2#
where
/p is the gain of the lineariAed sensor, for most lineariAed sensors /p ; &$
"Tau# is the time constant of the sensor$ +hen adding the dynamics of the plastic enclosure of
the sensor, typical !alue of are about & to 7 minutes$
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Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Controls: Variable Air Volume (VAV) Systems
The VisSim representation of the first order appro(imation of the sensor is shown in %igure &E$
Figure 10. First order room temperature sensor
System Simulation and Oser!ations
In this section, all the VAV models de!eloped earlier are put together and simulated$ Then, the results are
obser!ed and discussed$
To test the control algorithm and understand the dynamics of the VAV system, the room model is disturbed
using disturbance loads that simulate daily en!ironmental room conditions$ As mentioned earlier in
e.uation 9, the room model has three load components:
Interior loads generated by constant and changing load disturbances
:(terior loads generated by the outdoor climate
4egati!e loads generated by the control system to maintain the temperature setpoint
As shown in %igure &7, an aggressi!e set of simulated loads is applied to the room model$ The load profile
applied in this simulation is constructed from the following load components:
A constant internal load component of magnitude 8''' 5tu0hr, is used to simulate constant loads
inside the room, such as lights, computers, and coffee machines$
A changing internal load component simulated by a full wa!e rectified sinusoidal signal with a
magnitude of =7'' 5tu0hr and a period of &$37 hours$ This load component simulates loads
generated by groups of humans entering a conference room, generating heat, then lea!ing$
A changing e(ternal load component simulated by a sinusoidal wa!e of magnitude =''' 5tu0hr and a
period of E$9 hours$ This load component simulates the outside temperature drop during early
morning and later afternoon, and outside temperature increase around &' am to = pm$
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Figure 11. 2oad profile
As loads change in the room, the VAV control system generates >anti-loads? or >negati!e? loads to cancel
the heat generated by the internal and e(ternal temperature disturbances $ The VAV system controls the
position of the damper and regulates the amount of cold supply air needed to eliminate all the loads in the
room$ To properly control the temperature of the room, the VAV system has to first reach the temperature
setpoint, then match the disturbance loads$ If the disturbance loads are matched and the temperature of the
room is at setpoint, the temperature setpoint is maintained$ %igure &9 shows how the VAV system is able
to eliminate the internal and e(ternal disturbance loads by generating a negati!e load, from supply air,
that matches the magnitude of the room loads$
Figure 13. 2oad control
/nce the temperature setpoint is reached and the loads are matched, the VAV controller easily maintains
the setpoint because all loads are canceled and no temperature change is generated$
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Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Controls: Variable Air Volume (VAV) Systems
Figure 14. V-V s5stem temperature control
%igure &3 shows the performance of the PID controller, which maintained a <0- '$& F% error during a &'
hour simulation, which corresponds to the building occupancy time$ The PID tuning parameters were
obtained using off-the-shelf tuning utilities$
%igure &G shows the VAV damper position commanded by the PID controller during the simulation$ 4ote
that there is an ob!ious correlation between the damper position and the magnitude of the load
disturbances, as shown by %igures &9 and &G$ This direct correlation between the damper position and the
system loads is easily deducted and e(plained$ As the loads increase in the room, more cold air is re.uired
and the damper position is increased$ Similarly, when the loads decrease, the VAV control throttles bac
the damper position to maintain the temperature setpoint of the room$
Figure 16. V-V damper control
To show the effect of the air handling pressure control on the VAV se.uence, the ma(imum amount of air
flow deli!ered by the VAV damper is reduced from 9'' *fm to 8'' *fm$ This reduction in the amount of
air deli!ered by the air handling system is encountered when the main supply air fan is not properly tuned
or installed$ The VAV damper response, shown in %igure &G, obser!ed during the 8$7 to 9$7 hours inter!al
of the simulation, describes the operation of a star!ed VAV damper$ The VAV controller senses a load in
the room and commands the damper to open and supply more cold supply air$ -owe!er, since there is not
enough cold air pressure to eliminate the disturbance loads, the VAV damper stays at &''1 until the room
loads decrease$ The VAV damper is said to be >star!ed? because it is commanded at ma(imum without it
being able to satisfy the room loads$ VAV bo( star!ation is common for o!er-siAed and under-pressuriAed
VAV installations, it is also more common in hot climates$
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Figure 17. Starved V-V damper response
%igure =' shows the load matching response of the star!ed VAV system$ 4ote that when the loads are
greater than the system)s capacity, the VAV damper is at ma(imum, as shown in %igure &2, and the
temperature is abo!e the temperature setpoint, as shown in %igure =&$

Figure 20. Starved V-V s5stem load matching
%rom %igure =&, it is obser!ed that the VAV system does not ha!e enough capacity to maintain the
temperature setpoint$ In other words the system)s capacity cannot eliminate the disturbance loads$ As a
result, the room temperature de!iates from the re.uired setpoint while the VAV damper is at its ma(imum
position$
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Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Controls: Variable Air Volume (VAV) Systems
Figure 21. Starved V-V s5stem temperature control
The same star!ed beha!ior is also obser!ed when increasing the temperature of the supply air$ In fact, if
the temperature of the duct system supply air is increased, the VAV system is not able to generate enough
>negati!e? loads to eliminate the disturbances in the room$
%igures ==, =8 and =E show the response of the VAV damper, load matching and temperature control when
the supply air temperature is increased from 77 % to 9' %$
Figure 22. V-V damper response !hen suppl5 air temperature is at 30 F
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Figure 2). V-V load matching !hen suppl5 air temperature is at 30 F
Figure 20. V-V temperature control !hen suppl5 air temperature is at 30 F
Re"erences
-aines, Hoger +$ and *$ Dewis +ilson$ &22E$ 8V-' S5stems Design 8and9oo$, =
nd
ed$ ,cIraw -ill,
4ew Jor$
Sauer, -arry 6$ and Honald -$ -owell$ &22E$ Principles of 8eating Ventilating and -ir 'onditioning$
AS-HA:, Atlanta$
Sun, Tseng-Jao$ &22E$ -ir 8andling S5stem Design$ ,cIraw -ill, 4ew Jor$
&22E AS-HA: -andboo$ &22E$ 8V-' Fundamentals, AS-HA:, Atlanta$
&227 AS-HA: -andboo$ &227$ 8V-' -pplications, AS-HA:, Atlanta$
:(cerpted with permission from:
>,odeling and Visual Simulation in Industry,? by A$ ,ulpur and P$ Darnell
Published by International Thomson *omputer Press, 5oston, ,A: &223$
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