Comp Applic in Engineering - 2011 - Matijević - The Development and Implementation of a Thermal Process Trainer for Control
Comp Applic in Engineering - 2011 - Matijević - The Development and Implementation of a Thermal Process Trainer for Control
Implementation of a Thermal
Process Trainer for Control
and Measurement via the
Internet
MILAN MATIJEVIĆ,1 MILADIN STEFANOVIĆ,2 VLADIMIR CVJETKOVIĆ,3 VLADIMIR JOKOVIĆ,1
NENAD BABAJIĆ,1 MIROSLAV RAVLIĆ,1 SNEZANA NESTIC2
1
Department for Automatic Control and Applied Mechanics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Kragujevac,
Sestre Janjic 6, 34 000 Kragujevac, Serbia
2
Department for Production and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Kragujevac, Sestre Janjic 6,
34 000 Kragujevac, Serbia
3
Faculty of Science, Institute for Physics and Informatics, Kragujevac, Radoja Domanovic´a 12, 34 000 Kragujevac, Serbia
ABSTRACT: In engineering education, it is very important to provide solid knowledge and practice to stu-
dents in order to deal with architectures, mechanisms, and algorithms for the control of processes. In this
article we will present the concept, detailed technical requirements, description, implementation, and verifica-
tion of a process (thermal) trainer. In addition three possible educational tasks will be presented with a devel-
oped software infrastructure for the remote control of a laboratory set-up via the Internet. ß 2011 Wiley
Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 22:167–177, 2014; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/
journal/cae; DOI 10.1002/cae.20543
167
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168 MATIJEVIĆ ET AL.
is an air temperature in the tunnel, and the change of the touching of the heater and blower. Besides, consid-
speed of the airflow has the role of disturbance. The ering of the possibility of side touching of the blower,
selection of the actuator should enable a range of protective grid has been placed on the front side. Protec-
temperature in the tunnel of between 30 and 908C, with tion from the overheating of the cover is performed by
a transient process time of no longer than 24 s, and the placement of a safety thermostat which in the case
induced signal in the range of 0–5 V because of the of overheating disconnects the system from the electric
compatibility with the output of standard DA interfaces. power network.
The blower has also been excited with a standard elec- (5) Software support for PT 400. For laboratory model PT
tric signal of 0–5 V, and a nominal input of 4 V should 400 and accompanied hardware it is necessary to
ensure a flow of 0.91 m3/min. develop software that will enable control of the model
(3) Measurement of the air temperature using sensors with via the Internet in order to develop a supervision and
different characteristics placed at different distances control system based on Internet infrastructure.
from the heater inside the tube of laboratory model PT
400. Sensors have the task to provide information about
the air temperature which flows through the tunnel. In
the tunnel of laboratory model PT 400, eight thermosen- Description of Model PT 400
sors are placed in pairs, at different distances from the
heater. This is a way to demonstrate the static and Based on the functional scheme depicted in Figure 2, it is
dynamic characteristics of different types of sensors (or defined that M1 is the current-to-voltage converter with func-
the same, with or without socket, with different heat tion to convert the data gathered from specific sensors into volt-
capacity, etc.) and their impact on the system. Reason age suitable for processing with an A/D converter. The level of
for placing sensors at different distances from the heat- these signals is 0–5 V, supplied through a rectifier unit with a
ers is to demonstrate pure time delay on the system. Tr1 transformator (5 V) (Fig. 3).
Sensors are selected for the measurement of temperature M2 is the power amplifier for the actuators—the blowers
within a range of 0–1008C, with a transient process time and heaters. In order to enable digital control, change of voltage
of 4 s with a maximal flow of air in the tube and sensi- using a D/A device, pulse width modulation (PWM) is used
tivity of 0.05 V/8C. (Fig. 4).
(4) Precondition of safety usage. It is important to provide Considering that change of the actuators’ polarities is not
general safety requirements of the functioning of labora- mandatory (direction of blower rotation), the output amplifier
tory model. Firstly, prevention of electric shock. Sec- stage is done as a single stage instead of the full N-bridge.
ondly, concerning the nature of the process, a thermal Basic parameters in defining the experimental device were
process, it is necessary to provide protection from burns defined. It is set that the dimensions of the working space (tun-
and the model itself from overheating and possible fires. nel) are 120 mm 120 mm 1,500 mm. Based on that vol-
In order to provide protection from voltage, the device ume, it is calculated that:
is grounded, and galvanically separated for network and
high voltage, from other elements of the model. The V ¼ 120 103 120 103 1; 500 103
(1)
cover of the tunnel also has a protective role to prevent V ¼ 0:0216 m3
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170 MATIJEVIĆ ET AL.
On the diagram of the moist air: is in the range of 0–5 V. The threshold of sensitivity that the
blower must overcome to run is about 2 V and then it can
Dh ¼ h50=0:1 h20=0:2 ¼ 70:138:7 ¼ kJ
31:4 kg
(2) manage the speed of rotation (and thus can be changed, includ-
rV ¼ 1:1 mkg3 ing the airflow) by reducing or increasing the voltage.
The heater is made of wire with the power of 400 W. The
Which leads to mass:
wire diameter is 1.1 mm. The heater is made of wire tied to the
mV ¼ rV V ¼ 0:02376 kg (3) vertical columns of the heaters made of pertinax. The connec-
tion is made by connecting terminals which are connected to a
Energy required to change temperature from 20 to 508C is voltage of 24 V. At the top of the heater, the side from which
h2 ¼ mV Dh ¼ 0:02376 31:4 ¼ 746 J (4) the blower blows air, there is a safety thermostat which serves
as an overheating protection device. The range of effects can be
Based on the calculated value, the time for reaching the from 50 to 858C.
required temperature at t maximum heater power is obtained as: On the upper side, in the tunnel, eight stands for sensors
are set. Ports are made from a standard 9-pin to DB9 connector,
h2 746 J
t¼ ¼ ¼ 1:865 s (5) in order to enable the easy and quick change of sensors.
P 400 Js
The two types of sensors can be compared. One type of
sensor is the LM335. The basic characteristics of LM335
So, with this calculation the heaters’ difference in a
sensors are:
temperature of 308C is achieved in approximately 2 s which is
quite enough and meets the required demands. Directly calibrated in Kelvin degrees.
In addition, the blower needs to meet the following air- Initial accuracy of 18C.
flow: Operating range of 400 mA to 5 mA.
V 0:0216 m3 m3 m3 Dynamic impedance of less than 1 V.
Q¼ ¼ ¼ 0:011582 ¼ 0:69492
t 1:865 s s min Easy calibration.
Low price.
m3
¼ 41:7 (6) Working in a wide temperature range from 55 to 1508C.
h
The blower is connected to a power supply of 12 V. It is However, a drawback is relatively large inertia because of
situated at the entrance to the tunnel. The blower power is the slightly bigger housing, so it is suitable for the analysis of a
3.7 W. The dimensions are 120 mm 120 mm 38 mm slow process.
(built as a finished product (SUNON KD1212PTB1-6A) and Thermistor PT 100 is used as a temperature sensor for fast
features the blower pre-determined as the starting value). The processes. PT 100 belongs to the group of so-called resistance
flow that the blower can provide is 2.55 m3/min at maximum temperature detection (RDT).
voltage, which completely meets the requirements set forth by Producers give dependence of resistance of temperature
Equation (6). The blower is excited by the input voltage, which and it is necessary to have dependence of voltage of
temperature. In this type of sensor resistance is defined with the against touching voltages, the device is grounded and a galvanic
Callendar–Van Dusen equation for a temperature in the range isolation has been made between the networks, high voltage,
of 0–8008C: and the other elements of the model.
The cover of the tunnel is also a measure of protection
Rt ðTÞ ¼ Rð0Þ 1 þ A T þ B T 2 (7)
against accidental contact of the heater and blower. In addition,
a safety net from the entrance side has been set preventing the
Rt is the resistance of the sensor on the temperature T, possibility of side touching of the blower.
R(0) is the resistance on 8C, Protection against overheating of the housing is performed
Coefficients A and B are typical for platinum RDT, which by placing a safety thermostat that disconnects, in case of over-
has the temperature resistance a ¼ 0.00385 V/8C, and heating, the entire device from the electric power network.
o A ¼ 3.9803 103, 08C1 The overall technical characteristics of a process trainer
o B ¼ 5.775 107, 08C1 are presented in Table 1.
Figure 5 Responses of laboratory model in Figure 1 with a PID controller tuned Dahlin’s algorithm and Ziegler–
Nichols tuning.
(ST-8855 IR TC thermometer). Heater power is 400 W. The this response (settling time, the dominant time constant,
range of effects can range from 50 to 858C. Possible tasks/ and so on).
questions are: o The response to sinusoidal signal changes in the air
temperature in the tube (e.g., entrance to the blower is
Record the static characteristics of the heater (the exci- 3 V; the heater power is changed by changing the volt-
tation voltage input and the output temperature of the age from 0 to 5 V, that is, u(t) ¼ 2.5–2.5 cos(vt)).
heater, with respect of airflow). Display static kku 3D dia- Also, the input signal u(t) ¼ 2.5–2.5 cos(vt) changes
gram (input: excitation voltage of the heater and airflow frequency v in order to identify the frequency band-
in the pipe (excitation voltage blower), output: heater width of the subsystem for measuring the temperature
temperature). with different temperature sensors. In addition, the fre-
Is there hysteresis? quency/filter characteristics of the sensor are demon-
Evaluate the settling time (parameter of dynamic charac- strated and explained.
teristics) at different points in the static characteristics
(present in a table form: point static characteristics, the
Modeling and Identification of the Process
measured/estimated settling time).
The main task is to present a mathematical model of the
Eight sensors are located in the tunnel/connected with a thermodynamic process of heating the air in the tunnel. In this
9-pin connector for the enclosure, where the eight signals presentation there are the following assumptions:
(0–5) V are available for measurement (and thus enables the
recording of temperature signals from all eight sensors). Four The nominal airflow in the pipe is defined by the entrance
sensors L335 are set in a series and linked by 9-pin connectors blower of 3 V (deviation from these values can be treated
for the housing, which according to the manufacturer have a as a disorder).
coefficient of calibration 100 K/W. Besides them, the same dis- The input in the process is an input signal of (0–5) V
tance from the heater, sensors of other characteristics are for the PT 400 housing that affects the power of the
usually set. Also available is a MS6503 digital thermometer heater.
and an ST-8855 IR TC thermometer. Tasks are: The exit of the process is a temperature signal of (0–5) V
on the arbitrarily selected sensor in the pipe.
Perform calibration of all sensors (or all types of sensors) It is a slow process of a typical first-order delay.
in the tunnel; record the static characteristics of sensors in
terms of the diagram: the temperature at a given point— Perform parametric identification of a mathematical model
an appropriate voltage signal to the PT 400 housing. of the process:
Compare the dynamic characteristics of sensors. For avail-
able sensors compare: Perform appropriate experiments.
o The response to STEP signal (e.g., entrance on the If necessary, propose a new structure model or stick with
blower is 3 V. The power of the heater change by the proposed.
change in voltage from 3 to 4 V) and the parameters of Perform parametric identification.
the dynamic features that can be read on the basis of Verify the validity of the obtained model.
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THERMAL PROCESS TRAINER 173
Define the desired system’s performance. Structure of Web Lab—one of the implemented concepts
Give the procedure of synthesis of an arbitrary control of the use of laboratory resources via the Internet—is presented
algorithm (fuzzy algorithms, algorithms based on neural in Figure 6.
networks and any other). As a container for the realization of the experiment via the
Provide verification of the efficiency of the proposed con- Internet DotNetNuke version 5.3.2001 was selected. DotNet-
trol algorithm by simulation and verification on the exper- Nuke is an open source platform based on Microsoft. NET
imental model. technology and has built in additional modules for authorization
and authentication. It is also possible to easily develop modules
These three tasks are examples of potential usage of the in programming languages C#, .NET, and VB.NET.
training equipment for students’ training and education in DotNetNuke is a portal with collaborative CMS (Content
different fields (process engineering, thermodynamics, control Management System) functionality. As such, it is a good choice
engineering, etc.). for the portal solution, because it combines, on the one hand,
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174 MATIJEVIĆ ET AL.
Figure 6 Structure of Web Lab—one of the implemented concepts of the use of laboratory resources via the
Internet.
easy maintenance and modification of copyrighted content, and Two instruments with vertical slider bars are used to man-
on the other hand offers the possibility of creating special-pur- ually adjust the blower speed and temperature of the heater.
pose modules, in this case modules that use functionality Simu- The value in the ‘‘Select (ms)’’ specifies the time interval
link models through the MSA. between two consecutive measurements of the temperature with
MSP (Matlab Server Pages) is a complex system that sup- the PT 400 in milliseconds, while the value of the field
ports three-tier architecture (web-business environment-data- ‘‘Duration (S)’’ determines the duration of measurement in sec-
base). It belongs to a group of so-called open-source solutions onds. After completion of the measurement results are saved in
and has proved itself as an acceptable replacement for commer- a file which is selected using the control marked ‘‘data file.’’
cially available Matlab add-ins for a web server (Fig. 6). The appearance of the corresponding block diagram of a virtual
An alternative way for online operation—remotely, over instrument for PT 400 is presented in Figure 8.
the web, with the PT 400 system is using LabVIEW software Once developed, desktop applications, with a few simple
(product of the company National Instruments) that allows adjustments of the LabVIEW environment could be activated as
rapid development of applications for measurement and control a LabVIEW embedded web server. So access to the developed
using an intuitive graphical language G. virtual instrument via the web and using a web browser could
LabVIEW directly supports a large amount of acqui- be allowed. Previously, the additional software LabVIEW Run
sition—measurement hardware via the library NiDAQ Mx, Time Engine (that can be downloaded from the site of National
which could also still be used with various types of software Instruments at: http://joule.ni.com/nidu/cds/view/p/id/861/lang/
such as Matlab, MS Visual Basic, and C#, C, Cþþ. en) must be installed on the client computer from which users
LabVIEW software is based on the so-called Virtual access the laboratory trainer. The general structure of the Web
Instruments (VI) that have a form with elements of a graphical Lab, shown in Figure 6, remains similar in using the LabVIEW
user interface (GUI) by which it controls the experiment. software, with the difference, being that the web server in this
The form with elements has been associated with a Func- case is installed on the same computer on which the measure-
tional Block Diagram (FBD) representing the program in the ment system operates with the experiment. Using the additional
language G (consists of features that could be used to imple- web server installed on a different or the same computer, it is
ment the required functionality of the virtual instrument). Func- possible to implement scalable system experiments with web
tion block diagrams are linked with connections which are access where some experiments could simply be added to the
called wires and represent the flow of data and they must com- existing structure of web experiments by connecting a new PC
ply with the type of inputs and outputs of functional blocks that with a web server. The general structure of the scalable struc-
connect. The development of desktop applications using Lab- ture of a Web Lab is presented in Figure 9.
VIEW software can be relatively quick, depending on the com- The role of the main web server in Figure 9 is to provide
plexity and demands of the application that is developed. There user access to the system of various experiments. Each server
is no faster and more elegant way to develop measurement/con- in the network of servers in Figure 9 is linked to an experiment,
trol applications than is possible using LabVIEW. directly or through an appropriate data acquisition server. The
When the virtual instrument starts, the form of virtual data acquisition server is a computer using an appropriate inter-
instrument has the look as in Figure 7. face (usually card system); it enables the acquisition, manage-
Each of the eight diagrams in Figure 7 shows the change ment of an experiment over a computer network and it is
of temperature at one of the eight temperature transducers of connected to a local web server or the main web server. In the
the PT 400. The PT 400 has temperature transducers with a case when LabVIEW software is used, the web and data acqui-
positive and a negative temperature coefficient, where the sition server could be on the same computer. If some other
downward and upward curves of temperature change in the technology is used, then the data acquisition server could be
panels. connected directly to the main server Web Lab system. Also,
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THERMAL PROCESS TRAINER 175
some experiments may have their own dedicated local web implementation of a laboratory setup for engineering training.
server in the network that is developed to specific requirements. The model has successfully met its primary function, which is
to provide faster and more flexible ways of analyzing a thermo-
process with a time delay.
CONCLUSION In this article we presented the design and implementation
of a laboratory trainer. The detailed requirements were defined
In education for different engineering fields it is very important starting from technical characteristics, followed by a precondi-
to provide quality knowledge and skills in the field of process tion of safety usage and software support. Part of the specifica-
control. In this article we have presented the development and tion was developed according to the performances of similar
devices; in addition this model has a few specific features: the environments with controlled temperatures (different
possibility of fast and simple change of the control unit (which industrial driers, etc.).
enables the usage of PLC, PC, microcontrollers), and the simul- (3) It could be used for the demonstration of different con-
taneous implementation of temperature sensors with different trol approaches. The trainer could demonstrate closed
characteristics (which allows the comparison of different sen- and open loop continuous control as well as disturbance.
sors, and the testing of effects of the different sensorial groups Students could perform system identification on the heat
at the same moment). All functional schemes as well as the flow experiment and design a controller in the frequency
technical characteristics of the laboratory model PT 400 are domain to control the air temperature at selected points
provided. The verification of the laboratory model was tested in a duct using a heating element and a blower. In
by the measurement of responses of the laboratory model in addition students could design a simple PI control sys-
Figure 1 with a PID controller tuned to Dahlin’s algorithm and tem to control the air temperature at selected points for
Ziegler–Nichols tuning. In order to demonstrate usability of the lower courses or to develop more complex controllers
model in practical engineering training three possible edu- for advanced course.
cational tasks we have suggested three possible educational (4) In addition this model could be very useful for training
tasks: for different software solutions. In this case we used
LabVIEW and its libraries, which could also be used
(1) Testing of static and dynamic characteristics of sensors with various types of software such as Matlab, MS Vis-
and actuators. ual Basic, and C#, C, Cþþ.
(2) Modeling and identification of process.
(3) Control algorithm synthesis, verification of the effective- A solution for the remote control of a laboratory setup,
ness of simulation and experiment. based on LabVIEW, has been presented. The WebLab concept
has significantly expanded capabilities of the training in many
This laboratory trainer could be used for training and different fields. Different remote users can perform experiments
learning in different engineering fields and for different on a single setup, results can be easily downloaded, and the
purposes: procedure can be repeated irrespective of the time of usage or
the location of users.
(1) The process of the construction, design, selection of the Finally, the results obtained in this research can be practi-
components and assembly process could provide an cally applied in a micro-environment, such as in cars or buses,
illustrative example for students in many different in complex housing units, as well as in factory plants where it
courses (construction, sensors and actuators, and is necessary for strictly controlled conditions of heating such as
electronics as well). Furthermore, the blueprint for the in the use of a dryer.
design of this laboratory setup will be given to student
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BIOGRAPHIES
M. Matijevic received his PhD from Depart- V. Joković received his BSc (5 years, former
ment of Automatic Control, Faculty of Mechan- Diploma) degree from School of Electrical
ical Engineering University of Kragujevac, Engineering in Belgrade in 2006. He is a PhD
Serbia. He is currently an associate professor in student in Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
Department of Automatic Control and Applied University of Kragujevac. Currently he works at
Mechanics. His current research interest Inovatec Systems Corporation as a project man-
includes digital control, computer added ager. He is interested in robotics, human inter-
measurement and control. face devices and algorithms, and supporting
information systems.
M. Stefanovic received his PhD from Depart- N. Babajić received his BSc (5 years, former
ment of Production and Industrial Engineering, Diploma) degree from Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering University from the Faculty of Military and Technical Sci-
of Kragujevac, Serbia. He is currently an assist- ences in Zagreb. He is a PhD student in Faculty
ant professor in Department of Industrial of Mechanical Engineering, University of Kragu-
Engineering. His current research interest jevac. His research interests are in the area of
includes web services, information systems, and robotics and informatics support for data acqui-
CIM systems. He is a member of International sition, measurement and control, web
Federation for Information Processing—Coun- laboratories.
cil TC3—Education.
M. Ravlić received his BSc degree from Mili-
tary Technical Faculty in Zagreb in 1989, and
V. Cvijetkovic received his PhD in Faculty of MSc degree from Electrotechnical Faculty from
Science University of Kragujevac, Serbia. He is Belgrade in 1993. He is a PhD student in Faculty
employed at Faculty of Science, Department of of Mechanical Engineering, University of Kragu-
Physics as assistant professor. He teaches sub- jevac. Currently he works at Prizma Kragujevac
jects in informatics for the students of physics: as a designer of electronics. He is interested
object oriented programming, information sys- in embedded systems and automated test
tems, web programming, data acquisition, expert equipment.
systems. His scientific interest and field of
research includes informatics support for S. Nestic is a PhD student in Faculty of Mechan-
physics, expert systems for spectra analysis, data ical Engineering, University of Kragujevac. She
acquisition, measurement and control, web laboratories. is currently an associate a Center for Integrated
Manufacturing. Her scientific interest and field
of research includes computer integrated
manufacturing.