The Liquid Level System

System equations

At steady state Q = Q Let Q = H/R The system dynamics is described by the liquid flow rate balance equation is given by: Rate of liquid storage in the tank= rate of liquid inflow rate of liquid outflow. Rate of liquid storage in the tank = A dH/dt. Where A = Cross sectional area of the tank.
i 0 0

Dynamics of the level system

Transfer function of the level system

There are many situations where you need to control the level of liquid in a tank. Here is a situation in which you can control the rate of flow into the tank while liquid flows out of a pipe at the bottom of the tank. You can apply a voltage to a pump to control the rate of flow, and the outflow rate is proportional to the height. We have the following.

Rate of flow in: o Flow Rate In = K1Vp Rate of flow out: o Flow Rate Out = K2h Then, the rate of accumulation is: o Rate of Accumulation = dV/dt o = Adh/dt = Flow Rate In - Flow Rate Out dh/dt = -C1h + C2Vp, or, putting this into a standard form. dh/dt = -h/t + (Gdc/t)Vp

The differential equation is implemented in the simulator below, which simulated this closed loop system.

G(s) is the liquid level system described by the differential equation above. Here is the simulator for the closed loop system. In this simulator you can do the following.
You can change the parameters of the system, i.e. the time constant and the DC gain. You can change the desired height. 3. You can change the controller gain.
1. 2.

Note the following for this system In the steady state o There is a non-zero error. o The output equals the inflow, and the inflow is non-zero. Determine the following: o When the system's open loop time constant is 20 seconds, and the gains are as shown in the pre-loaded values, what is the predicted error? o What is the error at the end of the simulation? Compare that to the predicted error. o What is the error (predicted and simulated value) when the gain is doubled from the pre-loaded value - i.e. changed from 5 to 10?