CTR1- Pressure Control Laboratory Report

Experiment: Pressure Control

Group Number: 30

Group Members:

1. Tan Tiong Kean

2. Ong Tze Chieh
3. Teh Tiong Xin
4. Chew Lee Xiuan

Name of Lecturer:

1. Dr. Ong Sze Pheng

2. Dr Senthil Kumar Arumugasamy

Date of experiment: 24th of March 2015

Date of handling-in: 28th of April 2015

Summary
In this pressure control experiment (CTR1), we aimed to study the behavior of
open-loop process, the controller settings by using Ziegler-Nicholas open-loop
process, the performance of P, PI and PID controllers in close-loop system and the
effect of disturbances in the systems. The pressure vessel is charged with
compressed air by a diaphragm gas pump and pressure gauges are installed to
measure the air pressure. Open-loop system is a simple process whereby it uses
input to affect an output without feedback or a controller (Mutambara, A., 1999)
whereby close loop uses the concept of an open loop system as its forward path but
has one or more feedback loops (Electronics Tutorials, 2015). Ziegler Nicholas open
loop method is operated base on the process step change. The performances of P,
PI and PID controllers are studied and the best controller is chosen for the pressure
control experiment. Process gain, delay time and time constant is determined from
Ziegler-Nicholas method and the value of loop gain, proportional gain, integral
action time and derivative time is calculated from the given appendix A. Besides
that, the relationships between the pump power, the output pressure and the effect
of disturbances on the system are determined.

Task 1: To determine the behavior of Open-Loop Process

Figure 1: CTR1-1 Graph

Figure 2: CTR1-2 Graph

 Figure 3: CTR1-3 Graph

CTR1-1

Based on graph CTRL1-1, when the pump power increases, the air pressure change
gradually with a roughly constant slope. From the graph, the system takes more
time to become steady and this process is relatively slow compare to flow control. X
(pressure) change from 0.9 bar to 0.97 bar while Y (actuation signal) change from
90% to 97%. From the literature, it is a second order (2 nd) process with a type
ramp type input.

CTR1-2

In CTRL1-2, a step change is performed in a manual regulation ratio which

increases from Y=70% up to 100% with an interval of 10%. In every stage, the air
pressure increase gradually and finally it reach a steady state. As compare to flow
control, this process is much slower. In every stage, in order to determine more
accurate results, the system must wait until a steady state process which means
that less fluctuation is occurred in the system only we introduce the next step.

From the graph, the maximum pressure value (x) is 1.13 bar with no disturbances
added in the system. In this process, the limitation is the air pump power as it
already works at a maximum capacity of 100%. In order to increase the air
pressure of the system, a higher power of air pump must be installed.

Limitation of open-loop process:

Open loop process is a manual process and the system does not have a feedback
mechanism, which means that the accuracy of the system will not be as accurate as
the theoretical results and the system is not reliable. Due to the absence of a
feedback mechanism, they are unable to remove the disturbances occurring from
external sources (Amit Biswal, 2012).

CTR1-3

At the beginning of the process, the system is running at a steady state condition.
When the disturbance (Z) is connected to the system, the air pressure decay
gradually and finally reaches a steady state condition while the manual
regulation(Y) remains at 70%. From the graph, the air pressure drop from 0.92 bar
to 0.69 bar when the disturbance is introduced. Besides that, the manual regulation
ratio also helps to recover the system when the disturbance is introduced.

Examples of possible disturbances could occur in a pressure vessel are opening of

solenoid and leakage of gas from the air pump. When the opening of solenoid valve
and leakage of gas from the pump increases, the disturbances will increase and
hence the pressure of the system will decrease. Other possible disturbances such as
malfunction of the pump and surrounding temperature might also the factors of
disturbances in the system.

Signal Block Diagram for Open-Loop System

An open-loop control system utilizes a controller and actuator to obtain the desired
response without using any measurement of the actual system response to
influence the system. Thus, the objective of an open-loop control system is to
achieve the desired output by utilizing an actuating device to control the process
directly without the use of feedback (Mutambara, A., 1999). Below is the block
diagram of open-loop control system for CTR 1:
 Disturbances, Z

Set point,W Control Output, Y

Processor Output
Control Actuator (M) pressure,
valve X

Task 2: To Determine Controller Settings by Using Ziegler-Nicholas Open-

Loop Method

In this graph, we are going to determine the value of process gain (K n), delay time

(a) and time constant ( ) . In order to determine Kn, disconnect the disturbance
(Z) and set the manual regulation(Y) to 70% and perform a step change from
Y=70% to 80%. Then, the cursor function is used and cursor 1 must place before
the step and cursor 2 must place in a stable final value of the step response exactly
on the X (t) curve.

In graph CTR1-4, cursor 1 place at time 12:06:32 and cursor 2 place at 12:07:20
(h:min:s). Finally, call up the evaluation function and the value of Kn, a and

are determined from the computer. From the software, K n =6.018 X 10-3,
a=0.6939 and =3.7919.
 Figure 4: CTR1-4 Graph

Table 1: Ziegler- Nicholas Open-Loop Optimum Controller Tuning Formulae

Type of Optimum Setting

controller Loop Gain, Proportional Integral Derivative
K Gain Action Time Time
P 5.4480 908.0200 - -
P+I 4.9032 817.2000 2.6690 -
P+I+D 6.5576 1089.6000 1.5960 0.3988

Task 3: To Evaluate Performance of P, PI and PID Controllers

The following experiment is to evaluate the performance of P, PI and PID controllers

and the influence of pure proportional gain (Kp), integral action time (Tn) and
derivative time (Tv) on the control of the reference variable (set-point, W) and
disturbance (Z). A total of 6 tests are carried out to observe and evaluate the
performance of P, PI and PID controllers. Three sets of test are done by increasing
the set-point, W at s step change of 0.1 bar from 0.7 bar to 0.9bar. Steady-state is
reached before moving on to another set-point. The results are shown in graph
CTRL1-5, CTRL-7 and CTRL1-9. The rest of the tests are carried out by connecting
the disturbance, Z when the set-point is set at 0.7 bar. The results are shown in
graph CTRL1-6, CTRL-8 and CTRL1-10. By comparing P, PI and PID controller
graphs, it is observed that P controller cannot remove the offset between the set-
point, W (yellow line) and pressure, X (red line) while PI and PID controllers can
eliminate the offset. More detailed discussions are made and explained below.

P Controller

Figure 5: CTR1-5 Graph

 Figure 6: CTR1-6 Graph

CTR1-5

Y limit, Ymin is set at 48% in order to avoid compressor failure due to back pressure.
As the set-point is increased with from W=0.7 bar to W=0.8 bar, the response of
the pressure never reaches the set-point because the pure proportional gain (K p) is
too low. The main usage of the P controller is to decrease the error signal of the
system and the controller output is proportional to the error signal. As the pure
proportional gain (Kp) increases, the error signal of the system decreases. However,
despite the reduction, P controller can never manage to eliminate the steady state
error of the system. (P, PD, PI, PID CONTROLLERS, n.d.) Besides that, it is also
observed that the actuation signal, Y (green line) tends to overshoot whenever
there is a step change. This is because the rapid change in set-point causes the gas
pump to increase the pump energy to 100% in order to reach the set-point.
Unfortunately, P controller fails to do so.

CTR1-6

When the disturbance, Z is connected to the system, the sudden drop in pressure,
X is observed. Offset between the pressure, X and set-point, W is still observed in
this case. Type of disturbance that we can consider is leakage of the air from the
pipe. When the disturbance occurs, the air leaks from the pipe and causes pressure
drop. In addition, the pump energy provided for the P controller is less than 100%
because some pump energy is used to increase the pressure in the pipe in order to
reach the set-point after the pressure drop happened.
PI Controller

Figure 7: CTR1-7 Graph

 Figure 8: CTR1-8 Graph

CTR1-7

PI controller is mainly used to eliminate the steady state error resulting from P
controller. The main observation of PI controller graph is the elimination of offset.
The process response is speeded up comparing to P controller. As the set-point, W
is increased the pressure, X increases as well.

CTR1-8

When the disturbance, Z is connected to the system, a slight drop of pressure is

observed but it returns to the set-point in a short time. This is because PI controller
responded in a very short time and increase the pump energy to bring the pressure
back to the set-point. Improvement of this system can be made by increasing the
Kp value to speed up the system.

PID Controller
 Figure 9: CTR1-9 Graph

Figure 10: CTR1-10 Graph

 CTR1-9

PID controller has the optimum control dynamics including zero steady state error,
fast response, no oscillations and higher stability. (P, PD, PI, PID CONTROLLERS,
n.d.) It is observed that the fluctuation of the actuation signal, Y is too much in
order to reach fast response and zero offset. The pressure, X is increased and
reached the set-point in a very short time as the set-point is changing. High
actuation signal, Y is found out when the set-point is changed.

CTR1-10

When the disturbance, Z is connected there is a very slight drop in pressure of the
system comparing to PI controller. The pressure is returned to its set-point in a very
short time as the actuation signal, Y or the pump energy is fluctuating a lot.

Closed-loop signal block diagram

Disturbance
Set-
Controlle
point
Error d
Pressu Analyser pressur
PID pressure Actuat Pressu
+ Pressure
re Calibrati Controll re
- or Speed of
on
diaphrag
m gas
pump

Transmitt Pressure
er Sensor
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the behavior of open-loop process, controller settings by Ziegler-
Nicholas open-loop process and performance of P, PI and PID controllers are
determined and evaluated. Two operating mode were investigated which are open
and close loop system, it is more suitable to use close loop method because it has
feedback controller which create fast response and reduce the frequency of
disturbances. As a result, P controller is not suitable because of its huge off-set. PI
and PID controller both able to eliminate off-set and showing a fast response during
step change. However, based on the graph CTRL1-8 and CTRL1-10, when the
disturbance is introduced, PI controller took roughly 6-7 seconds to maintain the
set point pressure whereas PID controller took 4 seconds to back to the set point.
Therefore, for pressure control system, PID controller is the most suitable controller
to be used due to its stable and fast performance.

Notations:

Symbols Meaning

Kn / K s Process gain / Proportional gain

by software

a / Tu Delay time / Dwell time

/ Ta Time constant / rise time

Kp / Kcrit Proportional gain

Tp Period of sustained oscillation

Tn Integral action time

Tv Derivative time

W Set-Point

X Output

Y Actuation signal

Z Disturbance signal
References:
1. Amit, B. (2012). Open & Closed Loop Control System - Advantages &
Disadvantages. [online] 123mylist.com. Available at:
http://www.123mylist.com/2012/01/open-closed-loop-system-
advantages.html [Accessed 9 Apr. 2015].

2. Mutambara, A. (1999),pg 6. Design and analysis of control systems. Boca

Raton, Fla: CRC Press

3. Electronics tutorials, (2015). [online] Available at: 3. http://www.electronics-

tutorials.ws/systems/closed-loop-system.html [Accessed 10 Apr. 2015].

4. P, PD, PI, PID CONTROLLERS. (n.d.). 1st ed. [pdf] MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL
UNIVERSITY. [Accessed 9 Apr. 2015].

Appendix:
CTR1 - TASK 2

Take Controller P+I+D as example calculation:

Process gain, Kn (or Ks) = 6.018 X 10-3

Delay time, a (or dwell time, Tu) = 0.6939

Time constant, (or rise time, Ta) = 3.7919

Loop Gain, K = 1.2 a = 1.2 ( 3.7919
0.6939 ) = 6.5576

K 6.5576
Proportional Gain = Kn = 6.018 X 103 = 1089.6000
Integral Action Time = 2.3a = 2.3(0.6939) = 1.5960

a 0.6939
Derivative Time = 1.74 = 1.74 = 0.3988