References

1. Subhabrata Ray & Gargi Das (2020). Process Equipment and Plant
Design-Principles and Practices, Elsevier
2. Franklyn W. Kirk, Thomas A. Weedon, Philip Kirk, (2010).
Instrumentation, 5th Ed, American Technical Publishers, Inc.
3. Terry Bartelt, (2010). Industrial Automated Systems: Instrumentation
and Motion Control, Cengage Learning
4. D. Seborg, T. Edgar, D. Mellichamp, F. Doyle III (2017). Process
Dynamics and Control, 4th Ed, Wiley
5. W. Svrcek, D. Mahoney, B. Young. (2014). A Real-time Approach to
Process Control, 3rd Ed, Wiley
6. Sohrab Rohani, (2017), Coulson and Richardson’s Chemical
Engineering_ Volume 3B_ Process Control, Butterworth-Heinemann
7. Donald R. Coughanowr, Steven E. LeBlanc, (2009), Process Systems
Analysis and Control, 3rd Ed, Mc-Graw-Hill
8. Yunus A. Çengel & John M. Cimbala, (2013), Fluid Mechanics
Fundamentals and Applications 3rd Ed -McGraw-Hill
 Introduction

Feedback Control Loop Components

Instrument line
Alarms

Actuator
Controller

Process or
utility stream
Final control Sensing
element element

• The sensing instrument detects the measured variable and sends a signal to a
controller, which signals the actuator to close or open a control valve and
adjust the manipulated variable (usually a flow rate)
Introduction

3
Introduction
 Introduction

Sensors, local
indicators, and
valves in the process

Displays of variables,
calculations, and commands
to valves are in the
centralized control center.
Shows an older-style
control panel
 Introduction

Sensors, local
Central control room indicators, and
valves in the process

Displays of variables,
calculations, and commands
to valves are in the
centralized control center.
Shows a modern,
computer-based control panel
Modern control room

Photo courtesy of Worsley Alumina and Honeywell

9
10
11
 Components in a control loop
A control system is comprised of the following components:

1. Primary elements: also known as sensors, are the instruments

used to measure variables in a process such as temperature and

pressure (described in next chapters)

2. Transducer / Transmitter

3. Controllers

4. Final control elements (usually control valves)

 Transmitter /transducer
The sensor is seldom connected directly to the controller. Instead,
various interface instruments are usually added to the feedback loop
that connects them together. These instruments are the transmitter
and the transducer.
Transmitters
The different variables that are monitored in the process industry
and the many conditions under which they are measured require a
large variety of sensors to perform this function.
Sensors are primarily mechanical devices or electronic instruments,
and they produce many types of signals. For example, they
produce a mechanical movement, a varying current flow, a varying
voltage, a varying resistance, or a varying capacitance. These
outputs are sent to a transmitter, which has two functions.
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 Transmitter / transducer
The transmitter has two functions:
First, it converts a signal from the sensor into a standardized signal
used in process systems. Second, since the sensor is often
positioned at a remote location from the controller, it carries the
signal through the distance between them. Some sensors produce
very small voltages no greater than 1 mV. The transmitter contains
an amplifier that boosts the signal high enough to overcome the
resistance of long wires.

14
 Standard Transmission Signals

• Before 1960, instrumentation in the process industries utilized

pneumatic (air pressure) signals to transmit measurement and
control information almost exclusively.
• These devices make use of mechanical force-balance elements
to generate signals in the range of 3 to 15 psig, an industry
standard.
• Since about 1960, electronic instrumentation has come into
widespread use. 15
 Standard Transmission Signals
Electronic Signals
Analog electrical signals in a control system are direct current (DC)
and can be divided into two categories: voltage and current.
Voltage Signals
Voltage signaling is uncommon between transmitters and controllers
within process industries. The most common application is to provide
an input to display devices, recorders, and occasionally a controller.
Voltage signaling is limited to short-distance transmission.
Current Signals The most commonly used electronic signals are
current signals having current ranges from 4 to 20 mA and 0 to 20
mA. Current signaling is commonly used for short-distance
transmission but exclusively used for long-distance applications.
Pneumatic Signals
Pneumatic 3- to 15-psi (pounds per square inch) signals are often used
for environmental conditions where a spark may cause an explosion.
Flow Transmitter
and
Flow Primary
Elements
 Transducer
Most batch- and continuous-process-control machines have a large
variety of instruments that do not respond to the same types of
signals.
To enable these instruments to work together, some type of signal
conversion is necessary.
Transmitters perform this function and also provide long-distance
transmission by using an amplifier. When long-distance
transmission is not required, another instrument called a transducer
is sometimes used to perform the signal-conversion function

21
22
23
I/E Transducer
Signaling between the transmitter and a number of instruments
located in the control room often requires a current-to-voltage (I/E)
conversion. This function is performed by an I/E transducer, which
converts a 4- to 20-mA current signal to a 1- to 10-V DC signal.
DC voltages are often used as input signals to such instruments as a
controller, a recorder, or an indicator

24
25
 Controllers
The controller is the element in a closed-loop system that performs
the decision-making function. By comparing a setpoint value that
represents the desired condition in a process to a signal from a
sensor that represents the actual condition, the controller
determines if and how a correction needs to be made. The
operations that most controllers perform are simple On-Off control
and the more-sophisticated PID control. A defined control
algorithm (P only, PI or PID-type controller) programmed by the
system designer and the controller settings are made during a
tuning procedure will determine how much and how rapidly the
controller output will change in response to an error.
The controller’s output signal is sent to the final control element,
which directly affects the process.
Current platform for controllers is the Distributed Control System
(DCS)
26
 Distributed control system (DCS) vs.
Programmable logic controller (PLC)
Distributed control system (DCS)—a computer-based system
that controls and monitors process variables. The main role of the
DCS is to handle BPCS (basic process control system) actions, to
“adjust” the process to make it run smoothly. However, the action
of the BPCS is not only regulating or throttling a valve (control
valve); it could also be opening or closing a valve!
Programmable logic controller (PLC)—a simple, stand-alone,
programmable computer. The role of the PLC is to handle
SIS (Safety Instrumented System) actions. The SIS is
not an adjusting, regulatory action like BPCS but rather
a direct action, which may involve opening a valve, shutting down,
or starting up a pump. It is a drastic action,
intended to protect equipment from damage and to keep
operators safe. These may be called “safety
interlocks.”
Distributed Control System (DCS)
 Manipulation Devices (The Final Control Element)

In process-control systems, the final control element is the

device that directly influences the process variable. There are
several types of final control elements used in process
applications, such as electric heaters, electrical motors, and
control valves.
The most commonly used type of Final Control Element is
control valve
 Manipulation Devices (The Final Control Element)

FINAL CONTROL ELEMENT

Final Control Element is a device that directly adjusts the value of manipulated
variable of control loop.

Final control element may be control valves, Variable Speed Devices, heaters
with adjusted energy output, etc.

Variable Speed Devices Control Valve Heater

Manipulation Devices (The Final Control Element)
 Static characteristics of measuring devices
(some calculations)

• A transmitter usually converts the sensor output to a signal level

appropriate for input to a controller, such as 4 to 20 mA.
• Transmitters are generally designed to be direct acting.
• In addition, most commercial transmitters have an adjustable
input range (or span).
• For example, a temperature transmitter might be adjusted so that
the input range of a platinum resistance element (the sensor) is
50 to 150 °C.

32
33
34
• In this case, the following correspondence is obtained:

Input Output

50 °C 4 mA
150 °C 20 mA

• This instrument (transducer) has a lower limit or zero of 50 °C

and a range or span of 100 °C.
• For the temperature transmitter discussed above, the relation
between transducer output and input is

35
• In this case, the following correspondence is obtained:

Input Output

50 °C 4 mA
150 °C 20 mA

• This instrument (transducer) has a lower limit or zero of 50 °C

and a range or span of 100 °C.
• For the temperature transmitter discussed above, the relation
between transducer output and input is

36