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Chapter 5

Industrial control involves automatically regulating unit operations and integrating them into a larger production system. A continuous variable can take any value within a range while a discrete variable can only take certain values. Adaptive control combines feedback and optimal control by measuring variables during operation and optimizing performance. Distributed control systems consist of connected microcomputers that share and distribute the control workload.

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63 views

Chapter 5

Industrial control involves automatically regulating unit operations and integrating them into a larger production system. A continuous variable can take any value within a range while a discrete variable can only take certain values. Adaptive control combines feedback and optimal control by measuring variables during operation and optimizing performance. Distributed control systems consist of connected microcomputers that share and distribute the control workload.

Uploaded by

Mohamed Gamal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 5

5.1 What is industrial control?


Answer: As defined in the text, industrial control is the automatic regulation of unit operations and their
associated equipment as well as the integration and coordination of the unit operations into a larger production
system.

5.2 What is the difference between a continuous variable and a discrete variable?
Answer: A continuous variable (or parameter) is one that is uninterrupted as time proceeds, and it is generally
considered to be analog, which means it can take on any value within a certain range. A discrete variable (or
parameter) is one that can take on only certain values within a given range, such as on or off.

5.3 Name and briefly define each of the three different types of discrete variables.
Answer: The three different types of discrete variables are (1) binary, (2) discrete other than binary, and (3) pulse
data. Binary means the variable can take on either of two possible values, ON or OFF, open or closed, and so on.
Discrete variables other than binary are variables that can take on more than two possible values but less than an
infinite number. Pulse data consist of a train of pulses and each pulse can be counted.

5.4 What is the difference between a continuous control system and a discrete control
system?
Answer: A continuous control system is one in which the variables and parameters are continuous and analog. A
discrete control system is one in which the variables and parameters are discrete, mostly binary discrete.

5.5 What is feedforward control?


Answer: Feedforward control is a means of control that anticipates the effect of disturbances that will upset the
process by sensing them and compensating for them before they can affect the process. The feedforward control
elements sense the presence of a disturbance and take corrective action by adjusting a process parameter that
compensates for any effect the disturbance will have on the process.

5.6 What is adaptive control?


Answer: Adaptive control combines feedback control and optimal control by measuring the relevant process
variables during operation (as in feedback control) and using a control algorithm that attempts to optimize some
index of performance (as in optimal control). Adaptive control is distinguished from feedback control and steady-
state optimal control by its unique capability to cope with a time-varying environment.
5.7 What are the three functions of adaptive control?
Answer: The three functions of adaptive control are the following:
(1) Identification function, in which the current value of the index of performance of the system is determined,
based on measurements collected from the process.

(2) Decision function, which consists of deciding what changes should be made to improve system performance.
Possible decisions include changing one or more input parameters to the process, altering some of the internal
parameters of the controller, or making other changes.

(3) Modification function, which means implementing the decision. Whereas decision is a logic function,
modification is concerned with physical changes in the system, such as changing the system parameters or process
inputs to drive the system toward a more optimal state.

5.8 What is the difference between an event-driven change and a time-driven change in
discrete control?
Answer: An event-driven change means that some event has occurred to cause the state of the system to be
altered. A time-driven change refers to a change that occurs at a specific point in time or after a certain time lapse
has occurred.

5.9 What are the two basic requirements that must be managed by the controller to
achieve real-time control?
Answer: The two basic requirements are:
(1) it must be abale to respond to process-initiated interrupts and

(2) it must be able to execute certain actions at specified points in time.

These two requirements correspond to the two types of changes encountered in discrete control systems: (1)
event-driven changes and (2) time driven changes.

5.10 What is polling in computer process control?


Answer: In computer process control, polling refers to the periodic sampling of data that indicates the status of
the process.

5.11 What is an interlock? What are the two types of interlocks in industrial control?
Answer: An interlock is a capability by which the controller is able to sequence the activities in a work cell,
ensuring that the actions of one piece of equipment are completed before the next piece of equipment begins its
activity. The two types of interlocks are (1) input interlocks, which are signals originating from external devices and
(2) output interlocks, which are signals sent by the controller to external devices.

5.12 What is an interrupt system in computer process control?


Answer: According to the text, an interrupt system is a computer control feature that permits the execution of the
current program to be suspended in order to execute another program or subroutine in response to an incoming
signal indicating a higher priority event. Upon receipt of an interrupt signal, the computer system transfers to a
predetermined subroutine designed to deal with the specific interrupt.

5.13 What is computer process monitoring?


Answer: Computer process monitoring involves the use of the computer to observe the process and associated
equipment and to collect and record data from the operation, but the computer is not used to directly control the
process.

5.14 What is direct digital control (DDC), and why is it no longer used in industrial
process control applications?
Answer: DDC is a computer process control system in which certain components in a conventional analog control
system are replaced by the digital computer, and the regulation of the process is accomplished by the digital
computer on a time-shared, sampled-data basis rather than by the many individual analog components working in
a dedicated continuous manner. The reason why DDC is no longer used in industrial process control applications is
that today’s control computers are capable of much more than simply imitating the proportionintegral-derivative
(PID) control mode of analog devices.

5.15 Are programmable logic controllers (PLCs) more closely associated with the
process industries or the discrete manufacturing industries?
Answer: The discrete manufacturing industries. They replaced the electromechanical relays previously used to
control on-off type control actions.

5.16 What is a distributed control system?


Answer: A distributed control system is one consisting of multiple microcomputers connected together to share
and distribute the process control workload.

5.17 What is the open architecture philosophy in control systems design?


Answer: The open architecture philosophy in control systems design means that vendors of control hardware and
software agree to comply with published standards that allow their products to be interoperable, thus permitting
components from different vendors to be interconnected in the same system

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