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INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION
This blog is all about Industrial automation.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013 Total Pageviews

Process Variables

16,269
SETPOINT
The setpoint is a value for a process variable that is desired to be
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maintained. For example, if a process temperature needs to kept

Batching system
(1)
within 5 °C of 100 °C, then the setpoint is 100 °C. A temperature

sensor can be used to help maintain the temperature at setpoint.

Control Loops
(2)
The sensor is inserted into the process, and a contoller compares the

temperature reading from the sensor to the setpoint. If the temperature

Controllers
(4)
reading is 110 °C, then the controller determines that the process is
Electrical
(3)
above setpoint and signals the fuel valve of the burner to close slightly

until the process cools to 100 °C. Set points can also be maximum or
Industrial automation
(20)
minimum values. For example, level in tank cannot exceed 20 feet.

Introduction
(1)

PID
(1)
MEASURED VARIABLES, PROCESS VARIABLES, AND

Process Control
(12)
MANIPULATED VARIABLES

In the temperature control loop example, the measured variable is

Relay
(1)
temperature, which must be held close to 100 °C. In this example and

VFD
(2)
in most instances, the measured variable is also the process variable.

The measured variable is the condition of the process fluid that must
Weigh feeders
(5)
be kept at the designated setpoint.

Sometimes the measured variable is not the same as the process

variable. For example, a manufacturer may measure flow into and out
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of a storage tank to determine tank level. In this scenario, flow is the

measured variable, and the process fluid level is the process variable.
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The factor that is changed to keep the measured variable at setpoint is

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called the manipulated variable. In the example described, the

manipulated variable would also be flow.

ERROR
Error is the difference between the measured variable and the

Blog Archive
setpoint and can be either positive or negative. In the temperature

control loop example, the error is the difference between the 110 °C
▼ 
2013
(20)
measured variable and the 100 °C setpoint—that is, the error is +10
▼ 
July
(20)
°C.

MULTI VARIABLE
The objective of any control scheme is to minimize or eliminate error.

LOOPS/Advanced Type
Therefore, it is imperative that error be well understood. Any error

can be seen as having three major components. These three

Single Control Loops
components are shown in the figure on the folowing page
Controller Tuning
Magnitude
Controllers
The magnitude of the error is simply the deviation between the values

ISA Standards Symbology

of the setpoint and the process variable. The magnitude of error at any

point in time compared to the previous error provides the basis for
Components of Control Loops
determining the change in error. The change in error is also an

Process Signals
important value.

Process Variables

Duration
PROCESS VARIABLE
Duration refers to the length of time that an error condition has
The Control Loop
existed.

The Importance of Process

Rate Of Change
Control
The rate of change is shown by the slope of the error plot.

Introduction To Process Control

VFD- VFD OPERATION
Variable Frequency Drives (VFD)
What is a Relay

Rotary Encoder
Load cell
 Weigh Feeder Operation principle

Weigh Feeders
INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION
OFFSET

Offset is a sustained deviation of the

process variable from the

setpoint. In the temperature control loop

example, if the control

system held the process fluid at 100.5

°C consistently, even though

the setpoint is 100 °C, then an offset of

0.5 °C exists.

LOAD DISTURBANCE

A load disturbance is an undesired change in one of the factors that

can affect the process variable. In the temperature control loop

example, adding cold process fluid to the vessel would be a load

disturbance because it would lower the temperature of the process

fluid.

CONTROL ALGORITHM

A control algorithm is a mathematical expression of a control

function. Using the temperature control loop example, V in the

equation below is the fuel valve position, and e is the error. The

relationship in a control algorithm can be expressed as:

The fuel valve position (V) is a function (f) of the sign (positive or

negative) of the error (Figure 7.3).

Algorithm Example

Control algorithms can be used to calculate the requirements of much

more complex control loops than the one described here. In more

complex control loops, questions such as “How far should the valve

be opened or closed in response to a given change in setpoint?” and

“How long should the valve be held in the new position after the

process variable moves back toward setpoint?” need to be answered.

MANUAL AND AUTOMATIC CONTROL

Before process automation, people, rather than machines, performed

many of the process control tasks. For example, a human operator

might have watched a level gauge and closed a valve when the level

reached the setpoint. Control operations that involve human

action to make an adjustment are called manual control systems.

Conversely, control operations in which no human intervention is

required, such as an automatic valve actuator that responds to a level

controller, are called automatic control systems.

V = f(± e)

Control algorithms can be used to calculate the requirements of much

more complex control loops than the one described here. In more

complex control loops, questions such as “How far should the valve

be opened or closed in response to a given change in setpoint?” and

“How long should the valve be held in the new position after the

process variable moves back toward setpoint?” need to be answered.

Posted by
ACHAYAN
at
3:02 AM

Labels:
Industrial automation,
Process Control

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