SKF 3143

Process Control and Dynamics:

Process Control and Dynamics: 
Introduction to Process Control

Mohd. Kamaruddin Abd. Hamid, PhD

kamaruddin@cheme.utm.my
www.cheme.utm.my/staff/kamaruddin
Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives

When I complete this chapter,

chapter I want to be able
to do the following:

1. explain the function and importance of

process control in chemical plants
2. identify and describe simple control systems
used in everyy dayy life and in a chemical plant
p
3. demonstrate understanding of a process and
instrumentation diagram

2
Outline of this lecture
Outline of this lecture

1 Illustrative Examples

2 Incentives for Process Control

Hardware Configuration, P&ID

3 and Block Diagrams

Classification of Control
4 Strategies

5 Typical Control Loops

3
Why have a process control course?
A career in process control.
Process Control Terminology.
Everyday example of process control.
Everyday example of process control.
Chemical engineering example of process control.

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES

4
Why have a process control course?
Why have a process control course?
• When I run a kinetics 
experiment, how do I maintain 
the temperature and level at 
desired values?

• How do I manufacture products 

Concentrration
Limit

Impurrity
with consistently high quality
with consistently high quality 
when raw material properties 
change? Time

• How much time do I have to 
p g
respond to a dangerous 
situation?
5
A career in process control.
A career in process control.

• Requires that engineers use all of their chemical 
equ es a e g ee s use a o e c e ca
engineering training (i.e., provides an excellent technical 
profession that can last an entire career)
• Can become a technical “Top Gun”
• Allows engineers to work on projects that can result in 
significant savings for their companies (i.e., provides 
i ifi t i f th i i (i id
good visibility within a company)
• Provides professional mobility. There is a shortage of 
Provides professional mobility There is a shortage of
experienced process control engineers.
• Is a well paid technical profession for chemical engineers.
p p g

6
Let’s look at a few examples first. Then, we 
will develop a general concept.
ill d l l

• Describe your method for

driving a car.
• Could you drive a car
without looking out the
windshield?
• What must be provided by
the car designer?
• Can
C a ““good dd design”
i ”
eliminate the need to
steer?

7
Let’s look at a few examples first. Then, we 
will develop a general concept.
ill d l l

• Describe how home

heating works.
• Describe the dynamic
behaviour of T.
• What must be provided by
the house designer?
• Can a “good
g design”
g
eliminate the need to
change the heating?

8
Process Control Terminology
Process Control Terminology

• Controlled variables - these are the variables which

quantify the performance or quality of the final product,
which are also called output variables.
• Manipulated variables - these input variables are
adjusted dynamically to keep the controlled variables at
their set-points
set points.
• Disturbance variables - these are also called "load"
variables and represent
p input
p variables that can cause
the controlled variables to deviate from their respective
set points.

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Process Control Terminology
Process Control Terminology

10
What is control?
What is control?

MEASURE

DECIDE

CORRECT

Control is to maintain desired conditions in a system by adjusting

selected input variables of the system

11
The control systems appear to have three 
b i l
basic elements.

12
Everyday example of process control.
Everyday example of process control.
Controlling Water
Temperature of a Shower
• Process: shower
• Sensor: person’s skin
• Controlled var
var.:: water temp
• Setpoint: desired water temp
• Manipulated
p var.: flow of cold
& hot water
• Final Control Element: valve
on the cold-water
cold water line and
person’s hand
• Controller: Person

13
Everyday example of process control.
Everyday example of process control.
Driving a Car
• p
Setpoint: maintain car in
lane
• Control variable: location
on the road
• M i l t d var.:
Manipulated
orientation of the front
wheel
• Actuators: driver
driver’s
s arm,
arm
steering wheel
• Sensors: dr
• iver’s eye
y
• Controller:
• Driver
• Disturbances: curve on
the r
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Chemical engineering example of process 
control –
l Vapour‐Liquid Separator
i id

15
Chemical engineering example of process 
control –
l Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor
i i d k

TC

16
Chemical engineering example of process 
control –
l Heat Exchanger
h

TC

17
Objectives of a process plant.
Safety in plant operation must be ensured.
Process control objectives.
Process control objectives.
Example of Flash separation.

INCENTIVES FOR PROCESS 
INCENTIVES FOR PROCESS
CONTROL

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Objectives of a process plant.
Objectives of a process plant.

• Purpose:
– Process plants transform raw materials into useful products
• Objectives: 
– Plants must satisfy production Specification
• Good quality products
Good quality products
• Minimal pollution‐noise, air, water, safety standards
– Plant must make profit
• How to achieve these objectives?
How to achieve these objectives?
– Good plant design
– Good plant operation 19
Safety in plant operation must be ensured.
Safety in plant operation must be ensured.

• Safety for the equipment, and hence everybody
– Never violate important constraints
p
• Safety for the workers, and hence everybody
– Noise level, leakage
• Safety to the surrounding, and hence everybody
– Environmental regulation : Effluent (air, water)

• How do we achieve all these?… 
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Process control objectives.
Process control objectives.

1. Safety 5. Product Quality
Product Quality

2. Environmental Protection 6. Profit

3. Equipment Protection 7. Monitoring and Diagnosis

4 Smooth Operation
4. Smooth Operation
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Control objectives: Example of Flash separation
Control objectives: Example of Flash separation
Let us discuss this process 
in details

22
 Control objectives: Example of Flash 
separation
i
1. Safety
1. Safety
High pressure
Give example
2. Environmental in drum is
Protect PC
dangerous
3. Equipment
Protect

4. Smooth
Operation

5. Product
Quality

6. Profit

7 Monitoring
7.
and Diagnosis

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 Control objectives: Example of Flash 
separation
i
Never release To flare
1. Safety hydrocarbons
Give
t example
t atmosphere
to h
2. Environmental
Protect
Protect

3. Equipment
Protect

4. Smooth
Operation

5. Product
Quality

6. Profit

7 Monitoring
7.
and Diagnosis

24
 Control objectives: Example of Flash 
separation
i
No flow could
1. Safety damage the
Givepump
example
2. Environmental
Protect

3. Equipment
3. Equipment
Protect
Protect

4. Smooth
Operation
LC
5. Product
Quality

6. Profit

7 Monitoring
7.
and Diagnosis

25
 Control objectives: Example of Flash 
separation
i
Always keep
1. Safety the production
Give
t example
rate smooth
th
2. Environmental
Protect

3. Equipment
Protect

4. Smooth
4. Smooth
Operation
Operation
FC
5. Product
Quality

6. Profit

7 Monitoring
7.
and Diagnosis

26
 Control objectives: Example of Flash 
separation
i
Achieve L.Key
1. Safety by adjusting
Give
the example
th heating
h ti
2. Environmental
Protect

3. Equipment
Protect

4. Smooth
Operation

5. Product
5. Product
Quality
Quality

6. Profit

AC
7 Monitoring
7.
and Diagnosis

27
 Control objectives: Example of Flash 
separation
i
Use the least
1. Safety
Costly heating
Give example
2. Environmental
Protect

3. Equipment
Protect

4. Smooth
Operation

5. Product
Quality

6. Profit
6. Profit
AC
7 Monitoring
7.
and Diagnosis

28
 Control objectives: Example of Flash 
separation
i UA
Calculate & plot
1. Safety key parameters,
Give example
e.g., UA ti
time
2. Environmental
Protect

3. Equipment
Protect

4. Smooth
Operation

5. Product
Quality

6. Profit

7.
7 Monitoring
and Diagnosis

29
 Control objectives: Example of Flash 
separation
i
1. Safety

2. Environmental
Protect

3. Equipment
Protect

4. Smooth
Operation All seven must be achieved.
achieved Failure to do so
will lead to operation that is
5. Product unprovitable or worse, unsafe
Quality

6. Profit

7 Monitoring
7.
and Diagnosis

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Control hardware elements.
Process and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID).
Process and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID).
Block diagrams.

HARDWARE CONFIGURATION, P&ID 
HARDWARE CONFIGURATION, P&ID
AND BLOCK DIAGRAMS

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Control hardware elements.
Control hardware elements.

32
Process and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID)

33
Block diagrams.
Block diagrams.

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Types of feedback controllers.
Manual control.
Feedback control.
Feedforward control.
Feedforward/feedback control.
Feedforward/feedback control.
FB/FF + Cascade control.

CLASSIFICATION OF CONTROL 
CLASSIFICATION OF CONTROL
STRATEGIES

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Types of feedback controllers.
Types of feedback controllers.

• On‐Off
On Off Control 
Control ‐ e.g., room thermostat
e.g., room thermostat
• Manual Control ‐ Used by operators and based on 
more or less open loop responses
p p p
• PID control ‐ Most commonly used controller.  
Control action based on error from setpoint
p
• Advanced PID ‐ Enhancements of PID: ratio, cascade, 
feedforward
• Model‐based Control ‐ Uses model of the process 
directly for control

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Manual control.
Manual control.

• Operator adjustments of the two valves based on his

observations and prior experience
– Overadjustment:
j Intolerant and impatient
p
– Inconsistency
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Feedback control.
Feedback control.

• Perfect end-result (no offset) but adjustment takes place

only
l after
ft the
th temperature
t t is
i affected
ff t d significantly.
i ifi tl
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Feedforward control.

• Faster response to disturbances in the feed.

• Adjustment is not perfect and offset results
results.
39
Feedforward/feedback control.
Feedforward/feedback control.

• Combines the advantage of both FB (no offset) and FF

control (fast response to disturbances in the feed).
• Still
S ill slow
l to respond
d to di
disturbances
b iin the
h ffuell pressure.
40
FB/FF + Cascade control.
FB/FF  Cascade control.

• Best configuration.
• Responds fast to disturbances in the fuel pressure as
well as feed.
• No offset.
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Commonly found control loops.
Discussion: Liquid level control.
Discussion: Liquid level control ‐ Strategy 1.
Discussion: Liquid level control ‐ Strategy 2.
Discussion: Liquid level control  Strategy 2.
Discussion: Liquid level control ‐ Strategy 3.

TYPICAL CONTROL LOOPS

TYPICAL CONTROL LOOPS

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Commonly found control loops.
Commonly found control loops.

• Flow Loops
p
– Orifice meter, Proportional Control
• Level Loops
– Differential Pressure Sensor, Proportional Control
• Pressure Loops
– Pressure Sensor, P or PI Control
P S P PI C l
• Temperature Loops
– Thermocouple or RTD, PID Control
Thermocouple or RTD PID Control
• Composition Loops
– Gas Chromatograph, Statistical Process Control
g p ,

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Discussion: Liquid level control.
Discussion: Liquid level control.

Control the level (h) to a desired value

44
Discussion: Liquid level control ‐ Strategy 1.
Discussion: Liquid level control  Strategy 1.

LC

What type of control is this?

45
Discussion: Liquid level control ‐ Strategy 2.
Discussion: Liquid level control  Strategy 2.

LC

What type of control is this?

46
Discussion: Liquid level control ‐ Strategy 3.
Discussion: Liquid level control  Strategy 3.

LC

What type of control is this?

47
References:
• Seborg, D. E., Edgar, T. F., Mellinchamp, D. A. (2003). Process 
Dynamics and Control, 2nd. Edition. John Wiley, ISBN: 978‐04‐
71000‐77‐8.
• Marlin
Marlin, T. E. (2000). Process Control:  Designing Processes and 
T E (2000) Process Control: Designing Processes and
Control System for Dynamic Performance, 2nd. Edition.  
McGraw Hill, ISBN: 978‐00‐70393‐62‐2.
• Stephanopoulos, G. (1984). Chemical Process Control. An 
Introduction to Theory and Practice. Prentice Hall, ISBN: 978‐
0 3 86 9 0
01‐31286‐29‐0

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