Pid Overview: 1. Proportional Control Mode (P)
Pid Overview: 1. Proportional Control Mode (P)
PID OVERVIEW
PID control can be a confusing concept to understand. Here, a brief
summary of each term within PID (P. I, and D) is presented for your learning
benefit.
A legacy term used to express this same concept is proportional band: the
mathematical reciprocal of gain. “Proportional band” is defined as the amount
of input change necessary to evoke fullscale (100%) output change in a
proportional controller. Incidentally, it is always expressed as a percentage,
never as fraction or as a per unit value:
Using the same example of a proportional controller exhibiting an output
“step” of 10% in response to a PV “step” of 5%, the proportional band would
be 50%: the reciprocal of its gain ( 1/2 = 50%).
Another way of saying this is that a 50% input “step” would be required to
change the output of this controller by a full 100%, since its gain is set to a
value of 2.
If proportional (P) action acts on the present, integral (I) action acts on the
past. Thus, how far the output signal gets driven by integral action depends
on the history of the error over time: how much error existed, and for how
long. When you think of “integral action” (I), think impatience: this control
action drives the output further and further the longer PV fails to match SP.
2
An alternate way to express integral action is to use the reciprocal unit of
“minutes per repeat.” If we define integral action in these terms, the defining
equations must be reciprocated:
The direction of this ramping in relation to the direction (sign) of the error
depends on whether the controller is configured for direct or reverse action.
If proportional (P) action tells the output how far to move when an error
appears, derivative (D) action tells the output how far to move when the input
ramps. If proportional (P) action acts on the present and integral (I) action acts
on the past, derivative (D) action acts on the future:
3
For example, if the PV signal begins to ramp at a rate of 5% per minute on a
process controller with a derivative time constant of 4 minutes, the output will
immediately become offset by 20% (∆Output = Derivative value × de/dt ).
The direction (sign) of this offset in relation to the direction of the input
ramping depends on whether the controller is configured for direct or reverse
action.