Chapter 6

RATIO CONTROL SYSTEM

 Ratio control is a special type of feed forward control where two disturbances are measured and held in a
constant ratio to each other.
 Many industries require feed in specific ratio, examples being air –fuel ratio in burner’s reactants ratio to
blending unit and reactors.
 It is mostly used to control the ratio of flow rates of two streams. Both flow rates are measured but only
one can be controlled.
 The stream whose flow rate is not under control is usually referred to as ‘wild stream’.
 Figure 6.1 shows two different ratio control configurations for two streams. Stream A is the wild stream.
 In configuration 1 we measure both flow rates and take their ratio.
 The ratio is compared to the desired ratio (setpoint) and the deviation (error) between the measured and
desired ratios constitutes the actuating signal for the ratio controller.

Fig 6 .1 Configuration 1 Fig 6 .2 Configuration 2

 In configuration 2 we measure the flow rate of the wild stream and multiply it by the desired
ratio the result is the flow rate the stream B should have and constitutes the set point value
which is compared to the measured flow rate of stream B.
 The deviation constitutes the actuating signal for the controller which adjusts appropriately the
flow of stream.
 As the magnitude of the wild stream flow changes the set point of the controller is automatically
moved to new value by the ratio settler so that an exact ratio is maintained between flow rates of
stream A and stream B.

RATIO OF TWO REACTANTS

 A most common ratio control is to control the ratio of two reactants entering a reactor at a
desired value.
 In this case, one of the flow rates is measured but
allowed to flow, that is not regulated, and the other
is both measured and controlled to provide the
specified constant ratio.
 The flow rate of reactant A is measured and
added with appropriate scaling, to the
measurement of flow rate B.

 The controller reacts to the resulting input Figure 6.3, Example of ratio control

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 signal by adjustment of the control valve in the reactant B input line. This configuration is similar to the
configuration2

CASCADE CONTROL SYSTEM

 In a cascade control configuration we have one manipulated variable and more than one measurement.
 In the scheme there will be two controller’s namely primary controller and secondary controller.
 The output of the primary controller is used to adjust the set point of a secondary controller, which in turn
sends a signal to the final control element (may be control valve).
 The process output is fed back to the primary controller, and a signal from an intermediate stage of a process
is fed back to the secondary controller. The block diagram of such a cascade control system is shown in
figure.6.4
 Two measurements are taken from the system and each used in its own control loop. The outer loop (primary
controller) controller output is the set point of the inner loop (secondary controller).
 Thus, if the outer loop variable changes, the error signal that is input to the controller effects change in set
point in inner loop.
 Even though the measured value of the inner loop is not changed, the inner loop experiences an error signal
and thus new output virtue of the set point change.
 Cascade control generally provides better control of the outer loop variable than is accomplished through the
single variable system.

Fig 6 .4 Cascade Process Control System Fig 6 .5 Cascade Control

 The systematic representation of a cascade control is shown in figure 6.5 which clearly
demonstrates that the disturbances arising within in the secondary loop are corrected by the
secondary controller before they can affect the value of the primary controller output.
 This important benefit has led to the extensive of cascade control in industrial (especially in
chemical) processes. In chemical processes, flow rate control loops are almost always cascaded
with other control loops.

CASCADE CONTROL OF HEAT EXCHANGER

1. A heat exchanger exchanges heat between two streams, heating one and cooling the other.
2. Heat can be transferred between the same phases (liquid to liquid, gas togas etc) or phase change can
occur on either the process side (condenser, evaporator, reboiler etc) or the utility side (steam heater) of the
heat exchanger.

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 3. The process outlet temperature of a heat
exchanger is sensed. The temperature controller
then adjusts the set point of the steam-flow
controller to maintain the outlet temperature at set
point.
4. The temperature controller acts as a primary
controller and flow controller acts as a secondary
controller
5. If temperature of fluid rises above the set point
the temperature controller generates signal which
acts as the set point to the flow controller.
6. Flow controller closes the control valve that
decreases the flow of heating liquid so as to get
desired heating effect.
7. Similarly if the heating fluid temperature falls below the desired value, the control valve opens with increases the flow of heating
fluid so as to get the desired heating effect.

DEAD-TIME COMPENSATION (SMITH PREDICTOR)

 Processes that contain a large transport lag [exp ( )] can be difficult to control because a disturbance
in set point or load does not reach the output of the process until units of time have elapsed.
 The control strategy to be described here, which is also known as dead-time compensation, attempts to
reduce the deleterious effect of transport lag.
 Dead-time compensation is also referred to as a Smith predictor, was first described by 0. J. M. Smith
(1957).
 Consider the single-loop control system of Fig. 6.1 in which the process transfer function Gp(s) is to be
modeled by

Gp(s) = G(s) exp ( )

The System complete transfer function is the product of a transport lag [exp ( )] and a transfer function
G(s), as l/(Ʈs + 1).

Figure 6.1. Closed loop control

For processes with large time delays,

 A disturbance entering the process will not be detected until after some time period has passed,
 The control action may take some time to make its effect felt by the process.

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  Up to time Ʈd , no control action occurs, with the result that the overall closed loop response will be
sluggish and generally unsatisfactory.
 To overcome this difficulty, Smith suggested that Gp(s) is used and that additional feedback paths be
inserted into Fig. 6.1 as shown in Fig. 6.2(a)
 If Gp(s) is modeled, a close study of Fig. 6.2a shows that the signals entering comparator A will be
identical; as a result, the signals cancel and cause the output of comparator A to be zero.
 The net effect is to completely eliminate the outer feedback path; this simplification is shown in Fig.
6.2 (b).

Figure 6.2 (a) Dead-time compensation (Smith predictor) block diagram; (b) Equivalent diagram for part (a)
when

The recommended procedure for applying dead-time compensation is as follows:

1. By means of an open-loop test of the process, model Gp(s) by the transfer function

In this step, we have chosen G(s) of Fig. 6.3a to be first-order. Many processes in chemical engineering can be
modeled by a first-order lag with dead-time.
2. By means of appropriate hardware, implement the controller portion of Fig.

FIGURE 6.3 Hardware implementation of dead-time compensation.

 With Delay Compensator we can send current and not delayed information back to the controller
 If the model is exact, Delay Compensator moves the dead time out of the feedback loop
 The loop stability is greatly improved.
 Much tighter control can be achieved (e.g., gains can be increased manifold).

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Inferential Control

Design criteria for inferential control

1. Measurement of the true controlled variable is not available in a timely manner because
• An on-stream sensor is not possible.
• An on-stream sensor is too costly.
• Sensor has unfavorable dynamics (e.g., long dead time or analysis time) or is located far downstream.
2. A measured inferential variable is available.
 In some control applications, the process variable that is to be controlled cannot be conveniently measured
on-line.
 For example, product composition measurement may require that a sample be sent to the plant analytical
laboratory from time to time.
 In this situation, measurements of the controlled variable may not be available frequently enough or
quickly enough to be used for feedback control.
 One solution to this problem is to employ inferential control,
 Where process measurements that can be obtained more rapidly are used with a mathematical model,
sometimes called a soft sensor, to infer the value of the controlled variable.
 For example, if samples are sent to the plant's analytical laboratory once per hour, the correlation
parameters can be adjusted so that the predicted values agree with the measured values.
 Figure 6.1 shows the general structure of an inferential controller.
 X is the secondary measurement, which is available on a nearly continuous basis (fast sampling), while Y is
the primary measurement, which is obtained intermittently and less frequently (e.g., offline laboratory
sample analysis).
 Note that X and/or Y can be used for control.
 One type of nonlinear model that could be used as a soft sensor is a neural network.

Figure 6.1 Block diagram of a soft sensor used in inferential control.

Override Control
 Override control (or a selective control, as it is sometimes called), is a special type of multivariable control,
 In several processes, there may be a single manipulating variable and several output variables. So the control
loop should monitor more than just one control variable.
 Where the manipulating variable is controlled by one output variable at a time. Normally only one of the output
variables is controlled; but it has also to be ensured that the other output variables do not cross the safe limits.
 If it is so, a second controller takes over the controller through a selector switch. This can be achieved by using
“High Selector Switch” (HSS) or a “Low Selector Switch” (LSS) as required.
 Let us consider a simple example of override control. Consider a boiler system shown in Fig. 6.
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 Under normal circumstances, the steam pressure of the boiler is controlled by controlling the flow through the
discharge line. The pressure is maintained through the pressure transmitter and the pressure controller.
 But the water level of the boiler should also not fall below a specified lower limit, which is necessary to keep
the heating coil immersed in water and thus preventing the burning out.
 This can be achieved by using override control through the lower limit switch (LSS). Under normal
circumstances, the selector switch selects the pressure control loop for control; but as soon as the level of water
falls below a set value, the selector switch switches to level control mode and the second loop takes over the
control action.

Split Range Control

This type of control is used, where there are several manipulated variables, but a single output variable. The
coordination among different manipulated variables is carried out by using Split Range Control.

 Fig. 7 shows an example of a typical split range control scheme. The steam discharges from
several boilers are combine at a steam header.
 Overall steam pressure at the header is to be maintained constant through a pressure control
loop. The command from the pressure controller is used for controlling simultaneously the steam
flow rates from the boilers in parallel.
 Clearly, there is a single output variable (steam header pressure) while there are a number of
manipulating variables (discharge from different boilers).

Non Linear Control Systems

 Most physical processes exhibit nonlinear behavior to some degree.
 However, linear control techniques such as conventional PID control are still very effective if
(1) the nonlinearities are rather mild or
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 (2) a highly non-linear process operates over a narrow range of conditions.
 For some highly nonlinear processes, the second condition is not satisfied and as a result, linear control
strategies may not be adequate.
 For these situations, nonlinear control strategies can provide significant improvements over PID control.
 Three types of nonlinear control strategies are essentially enhancements of single loop feedback control:
1. Nonlinear modifications of standard PID control algorithms
2. Nonlinear transformations of input or output variables
3. Controller parameter scheduling such as gain scheduling

 Inferential control, selectors, and adaptive control, can also be classified as nonlinear control strategies.

As one example of Method 1, standard PID control laws can be modified by making the controller gain a
function of the control error. For example, the controller gain can be higher for larger errors and smaller for
small errors by making the controller gain vary linearly with the absolute value of the error signal

Kc = Kco(1 + ale(t)l)

where Kco and a are constants. The resulting controller is sometimes referred to as an error-squared
controller, because the controller output is proportional to le(t)le(t). Error-squared controllers have been used
for level control in surge vessels where it is desirable to take stronger action as the level approaches high or
low limits. However, care should be exercised when the error signal is noisy.

The design objective for Method 2 is allows the process to be controlled over a wider range of operating
conditions and in a more predictable manner. One approach uses simple linear transformations of input or
output variables. Common applications include using the logarithm of a product composition as the controlled
variable for high-purity distillation columns or adjusting the ratio of feed flow rates in blending problems. The
major limitation of this approach is that it is difficult to generalize, because the appropriate variable
transformations are application -specific.

In Method 3, controller parameter scheduling, one or more controller settings are adjusted automatically based
on the measured value of a scheduling variable. Adjustment of the controller gain, gain scheduling, is the most
common method. The scheduling variable is usually the controlled variable or set point, but it could be the
manipulated variable or some other measured variable.

To develop a parameter-scheduled controller, it is necessary to decide how the controller settings should be
adjusted as the scheduling variable(s) change. General strategies are:

a. The controller parameters vary continuously with the scheduling variable.

b. One or more scheduling variables are divided into regions where the process characteristics are quite
different. Different controller settings can be assigned to each region.

Gain Scheduling Adaptive Control

The most widely-used type of controller parameter scheduling is gain scheduling. A simple version has a
piecewise constant controller gain that varies with a single scheduling variable, the error signal e:

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This gain-scheduling approach is shown in below Fig. and can easily be extended to more than three regions.
A special case, the error gap controller, includes a dead band around e = 0. In this case, Kc = 0 for e2 ::5 e <
e3, while Kc =/= 0 outside this region. Note that the nonlinear gain expression in above Eq. is another
example of gain scheduling.

A scheduled adaptive control scheme is one in which, as a result of a priori knowledge and easy quantification
of what is responsible for the changes in the process characteristics, the commensurate changes required in the
controller parameters are programmed (or scheduled) ahead of time. This type of adaptive control, sometimes
referred to as gain scheduling, is illustrated by the block diagram in Fig. 3.1.

Multivariable Control

 A conventional feedback control strategy, consisting of two PI controllers, is to be used. This control
system, referred to as a multi loop control system because it employs two single loop feedback controllers.
 A schematic representation of several SISO and MIMO control applications is shown in Fig. 18.2. For
convenience.
 It is assumed that the number of manipulated variables is equal to the number of controlled variables.

 This allows pairing of a single controlled variable and a single manipulated variable via a feedback
controller. On the other hand, more general multivariable control strategies do not make such restrictions.
 MIMO control problems are inherently more complex than SISO control problems because process
interactions occur between controlled and manipulated variables.
 In general, a change in a manipulated variable, say u1, will affect all of the controlled variables Y1,Y2,.. Yn.

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 Because of the process interactions, the selection of the best pairing of controlled and manipulated
variables for a multiloop control scheme can be a difficult task.

Block Diagram Analysis

Consider the 2 X 2 control problem shown in Fig. 18.2b. Because there are two controlled variables and two
manipulated variables, four process transfer functions are necessary to completely characterize the process
dynamics:

The transfer functions in Eq. 18-1 can be used to determine the effect of a change in either U1 or U2 on Y1 and
Y2, that simultaneous changes in U1 and U2 have an additive effect on each controlled variable:

 Figure 18.3 indicates that the process interactions can induce undesirable interactions between the control
loops.
1. The controller for loop 1 (Gcl) adjusts U1 so as to force Y1 back to the set point. However, U1 also affects
Y2 via transfer function Gp21·
2. Since Y2 has changed, the loop 2 controller (Gc2) adjusts U2 so as to bring Y2 back to its set point, Y2sp·
However, changing U2 also affects Y1 via transfer function Gpl2.
 These controller actions proceed simultaneously until a new steady state is reached. Note that the initial
change in U1 has two effects on Y1: (1) a direct effect and (2) an indirect effect via the control loop
interactions.
 The control loop interactions in a 2 X 2 control problem result from the presence of a third feedback loop
that contains the two controllers and two of the four process transfer functions.
 Thus, for the 1-1/2-2 configuration, this hidden feedback loop contains Gc1, Gc2, Gp12, and Gp21, as
shown in Fig. 18.3. A similar hidden feedback loop is also present in the 1-2/2-1 control scheme of Fig.
18.3b.

The feedback loop causes two potential problems:

1. It tends to destabilize the closed-loop system.
2. It makes controller tuning more difficult.
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Figure 18.3 Block diagrams for 2 X 2 multiloop control schemes.

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