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BlaLiptkdefines5levelsofprocesscontrol

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Bla Liptk defines 5 levels of process control

Manual,feedback,cascade,feedforwardandlead/lagallhavetheirplace.
ByBelaLiptak
May11,2015
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About the Author

BlaLiptk,PE,controlconsultant,isalsoeditoroftheInstrumentEngineers'
Handbookandisseekingnewcoauthorsfortheforcomingneweditionofthatmulti
volumework.Hecanbereachedatliptakbela@aol.com.
Inprocesscontrol,thereareatleastfivelevelsofsophisticationthattheautomation
engineercanapply.Theadvantageofthehigherlevelsisbettercontrol,butapplying
ahigherlevelalsorequiresbetterunderstandingoftheprocess.Intheanalogage,usinghigherlevels
ofsophisticationalsoinvolvedsubstantiallyhighercosts,butinthedigitalage,thisconsiderationhas
becomelesssignificant.Toillustratethefivelevels,Iwillusetheexampleofcontrollingtheoutlet
temperaturefromasteampoweredliquidheatexchanger.
ManualControl(Figure1):Manualfeedbackcontrolisperformedbytheoperatorbywatchingthehot
watertemperatureandmanuallythrottlingthesteamflowtokeepthisoutlettemperatureconstant.
Manualfeedforwardcontrolisperformedwhenthesteamflowisthrottledonthebasisofthe
temperatureandflowoftheincomingcoldwater.
FeedbackControl(greencomponentsinFigure2)issimilartomanualcontrol,exceptthatthe
operatorisreplacedbyanautomaticcontroller,whichismoreaccurateanddoesnotgettiredor
distracted,andits"personality"istunedtomatchthatofthecontrolledprocess.By"personality"Irefer
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tothedynamics(gain,timeconstant,deadtime)oftheprocess.
Seealso"Controllingdistributedprocesses"

Hands on
Manualfeedforwardandfeedbackcontroldependontheoperatortocontrol
theprocess.
Figure2illustratesthecasewhenthecontrolvalveisonthesteamsideoftheheater.Ifitisonthe
condensateside,asmallervalvecanbeused,butthedynamicsoftheprocesswillbeslowerandnon
symmetrical,becauseloweringthecondensatelevelismuchfasterthanbuildingitup.Ontheother
hand,thisconfigurationeliminatestheminimumcondensingpressureproblemsthatcaninterferewith
thesteamtrapoperationatlowloads.
Whilefeedbackcontrolisthemostcommonlyused,ithasseriouslimitations.Themainoneisthatit
cannotanticipateand,therefore,cannotpreventerrorsbecauseitcaninitiatecorrectiveactiononly
afteranerrorhasdeveloped.Therefore,inthecaseoftheliquidheaterprocess,ifeithertheproperties
ofthemanipulatedvariable(forexample,steampressure)ortheload(coldfluidflowortemperature)
change,feedbackcontrolwillwaituntilthesechangesupsettheoutlettemperaturebeforeinitiating
correctiveaction.
CascadeControl(redcomponentsinFigure2)cancorrectformanipulatedvariableupsets,suchas
steampressurechanges,beforetheycouldupsetthecontrolledvariable(temperature).Asshownin
Figure2,thecascadeloopconsistoftwocontrollersinseries,buthasonlyasinglesetpoint,thatofthe
primary(master)controller,theTIC.Themainvalueofhavingasecondary(slave)controller(theFIC
showninred)isthatitwillactasthefirstlineofdefenseagainststeamqualitydisturbances,preventing
theseupsetsfromenteringandupsettingtheprimarycontrolledvariable(temperature).

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Let the controller do it

Moreadvancedsystemsreplacethe
operatingpersonwithanautomatic
controllercapableofhandlingthe
personalityoftheprocess.
Forthecascadeslaveloop(FIC)tobeeffective,itshouldbemoreresponsive(faster)thanthemaster.
Somerulesofthumbsuggestthattheslavetimeconstantshouldbelessthan1/4to1/10thatofthe
masterloop,andtheslavesperiodofoscillationshouldbelessthan1/2to1/3ofthemasterloop.In
caseofthesteamheaterprocess,thisrequirementisusuallysatisfied.
Oneshouldalsobecarefultoprevent"resetwindup"intheprimarycontroller(TIC).Thiscanoccur
becausetheTICisusuallyprovidedwithanintegralmode,whichkeepsintegratingtheerroraslongas
itexistsand,therefore,iftheFICsetpointisblocked(suchaswhenitisswitchedtomanual)itkeeps
integratinguntilitsoutputsaturates(reachesmaximum),andwhentheFICisreturnedtoautomatic
control,alargeupsetoccurs.Toguarantee"bumplesstransfer,"provide"externalreset,"whichisan
internallogiccomponentintheTICalgorithmthatdeactivatestheintegralmodeiftheTICoutputdoes
notequaltheFICmeasurement,andreactivatesitonlywhenitdoes.
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