TCE 6204: Instrumentation & Process

Control Dynamics
Engineer Stanford Mudono
Office: SD2 , 2nd Floor Chemical Engineering Building
Email: [email protected]
Cell: +263 775137257/715444990
Module Content
1. Instrumentation & Process Control Dynamics
basic Concepts
2. Modeling Tools for Industrial Processes
3. Bode Diagrams and Plots Concepts for Control
of Industrial Processes
4. Routh Array and Nyquist Stability Criterion
Applications
5. SISO and MIMO Process Control Concepts
Learning Objectives:

The student after going through the lesson would be able

to:
• Name different types of measuring instruments and their
process measurements in Industrial processes
• Select the proper instrument for a particular range of
measurement in control process systems of industrial
processes
• Evaluate and design appropriate measuring devices for
control of chemical industrial processes
• Obtain theoretical and empirical mathematical models
of different industrial processes
• To analyze the dynamic behavior of industrial processes
and develop good understanding of their behavior in
different situations
• To select, evaluate and design different types of
controllers for Industrial processes
Text books:
1. D. A. Mellichamp and D.E Edgar: Process Dynamics and
Control, John Wiley and Son, NY; 1989
2. G. Stephanopoulos: Chemical Process Control and Chemical
Modelling, 3rd Edition; 2008
3. R.K. Sinnot: Coulson and Richardson: Chemical Engineering
Series; Vol. 6: 4th Edition; 2005
4. S.G. Rabinovich, Evaluating Measurement Accuracy: A
Practical Approach, Springer Science + Business Media New
York 2013
Topic1.0: Instrumentation & Process Control
Dynamics basic Concepts
1.1Introduction to Instrumentation
1.1.1 What is an instrument?
1.1.2 Factors to be considered in selecting an instrument
1.1.3 Dynamic characteristics of measurement instruments
1.1.4 Instrumentation
1.1.4.1Temperature measurement
1.1.4.2 Pressure measurement
1.1.4.3 Flow rate measurement
1.1.4.4 Level measurement
1.1.4.5 Composition measurement
1.2 Introduction to Process Control Dynamics
1.2.1 Purpose of a control system
1.2.2 Foundation of a Process Control
1.2.3 Advantages of Automated Processes
1.2.4 Step-by-step method for describing controls and
their purpose
1.2.5 illustration of a Process Control Application
1.2.6 Components of a Control Loop
1.1 Introduction to Instrumentation

• The instrument on a chemical plant are the devices used

to monitor the important variables that allow the
condition of the process to be determined.
• Main learning points:
Factors involved in selecting instrumentation
Techniques for temperature, pressure, concentration,
flow and level measurements
 may be incorporated in automatic control loops, or used for the
manual monitoring of the process operation
 may also be part of an automatic computer data logging system
• Measurement instruments have three traditional
classes of use:
Fundamental data for experimental engineering analysis ,
research, design and development
Control and monitoring of processes and operations
Data for safe and economic performance of systems
1.1.1 What is an Instrument?
•An instrument is a complete measurement package that senses the
quantity to be measured and presents that measurement in a form
suitable for use.
•The purpose of the measurement system is to link the observer to the
process, as shown in Fig 1.1

Fig 1.1 Purpose of a measurement system

Components of an Instrument (Fig1.2)
• Sensing element is in contact with the process and gives an
output which depends in some way on the variable to be
measured.
• Examples are:
Thermocouple where millivolt e.m.f. depends on temperature
Strain gauge where resistance depends on mechanical strain
Orifice plate where pressure drop depends on flow rate.
• If there is more than one sensing element in a system, the
element in contact with the process is termed the primary
sensing element, the others are secondary sensing elements.
• Transducer is a measuring instrument that converts the measurement
signals into a form suitable for transmission, processing, or storage.
• Common Types of Measuring transducers are: Thermocouples,
resistance thermometers, measuring shunts, and the measuring
electrodes of pH meters, etc.
• Signal conditioning is the signal processing that is applied to the output
of the transducer
• A transmitter is a device that converts the output from signal
conditioning into a signal that is compatible with the communication
system being used in the plant
Fig 1.2 (a) Sensor and transducer packed together

Fig 1.2 (b) Transducer as part of the controller

• The general configuration/structure of instrument-measurement
system (Fig 1.3).

Fig1.3 General structure of a measurement system

1.1.2 Factors to be considered in selecting an
instrument
Range
• Is the measured quantity over which the instrument will give a reliable output
Span
• Is an adjustable parameter, or the distance the measured quantity has to move to
drive the instrument output from its minimum value to its maximum value
Accuracy and Precision (Fig 1.4)
• Accuracy of a measurement describes how close the measurement approaches
the true value of the process variable and is often expressed as a % error over a
range or an absolute error over a range.
• Precision is the reproducibility with which repeated measurements can be made
under identical conditions and may also be referred to as stability or drift and is
always required for good control, even when accuracy is not required.
Fig 1.4 Accuracy vs. precision
1.1.3 Dynamic characteristics of measurement
instruments
• The dynamic characteristics of measuring instruments reflect
the relation between the change in the output signal and an
action that produces this change.
• The complete dynamic characteristics determine uniquely the
change in time of the output signal caused by a change in the
input signal or by other action.
Examples of such characteristics include a differential equation,
transfer function, amplitude-and phase-frequency response, and the
transient response.
• If x(t) is the signal at the input of a measuring instrument and
y(t) is the corresponding signal at the output, then the relation
between them can be expressed with the help of first-order
(eqn.1) or second-order (eqn.2) differential equations,
respectively, which reflect the dynamic properties of the
measuring instrument:
• T is the time constant of a first-order device, K is the
transduction coefficient in the static state, ωo is the
angular frequency of free oscillations, and β is the
damping ratio.
• An example of a real instrument whose properties are
specified by the second-order differential equation is a
moving-coil galvanometer.
• In this instrument type, ωo = 2π/To, where To is the
period of free oscillations (the reverse of the natural
frequency) and β is the damping ratio, which determines
how rapidly the oscillations of the moving part of the
galvanometer will subside.
• Eqns (1) and (2) reflect the properties of real devices, and
for this reason, they have zero initial conditions for:
t ≤ 0, x(t) = 0 and y(t) =0, y΄(t) = 0 and y΄΄(t) = 0.
• To obtain transfer functions from differential equations, it
is first necessary to move from signals in the time domain
to their Laplace transforms, and then to obtain the ratio of
• Thus:

• Where, s is the Laplace operator.

• For the first-order system, in accordance to eqn.1 we obtain:
• For the second-order system from eqn.2, we obtain:

• Let us consider the second-order equation in more detail.

• If in the transfer function the operator s is replaced by the complex
frequency jω (s = jω), then we obtain the complex frequency response.
• Studying the relation between the characteristics for a second-order
system, eqns.2 & 3, we obtain:

• where, ω = 2πf is the running angular frequency.

• The complex frequency response is often represented with its real and
imaginary parts:

• In this case:
• The complex frequency response can also be represented in the form:

• where, A(ω) is the amplitude-frequency response and φ(ω) is the

frequency response of phase.
• In the case at hand:
• Eqns. 5 & 6, have a well-known graphical interpretation using the
notion of transient response.
1.1.4 Instrumentation Measurements
1.1.4.1 Instruments for Temperature Measurements
• Temperature measurement is one of the most common
measurements in a chemical plant.
• Temperature is measured via different diverse array of
sensors and all of them infer temperature by sensing
some change in the physical characteristic.
• There are four basic types of temperature measuring
devices:
Mechanical (liquid-in- Glass tube thermometers,
bimetallic strips, bulb and capillary, pressure type,
etc.)
Thermo-junctive (Thermocouples)
Thermo-resistive (RTD and Thermistors)
Radiative (infrared and optical pyrometers)
Resistance Thermometer Detectors (RTDs):
• The variation of resistance of metals with temperature is normally
modeled in the form:

• where; R1and Ro are the resistance values at t°C and t0°C,

respectively;α, β, etc. are constants that depends on the metal.
• For a small range of temperature, the expression can be approximated
as:

• For copper, α = 0.00427/°C

Thermistor
• They are semiconductor type resistance thermometers, have very high
sensitivity but highly nonlinear characteristics (NTC and PTC
thermistors).
• Their characteristics can be expressed as:

• where,
RT is the resistance at temperature, T (K)
Ro is the resistance at temperature, To (K)
To is the reference temperature, normally 25°C
β is a constant, its value is decided by the characteristics of the
material, and the nominal value is taken as 4000.
• From equation 3, the resistance temperature coefficient
can be obtained as:
Thermocouple
• Is a senor made from two wires with dissimilar thermo-electric
properties (i.e. heat liberates electrons to different extents).
• The wires are joined at each end and a small voltage is generated
which is proportional to the differences between the temperatures at
the two ends of the device.
• The emf generated can be approximately expressed by the
relationship:

• where,
T1 and T2 are hot and cold junction temperatures in K
C1 and C2 are constants depending upon the materials
for Copper/Constantan couple; C1 = 61.1 and C2 = 0.045
1.1.4.2 Pressure measurement
• Pressure measurement is very important in chemical plants both
as a fundamental measurement and also as an implied
measurement of flowrate and level.
• Pressure measurements can be classified into 4 main categories:
1. Gauge pressure
2. Absolute pressure
3. Vacuum pressure
4. Differential pressure (DPC)

• Static Pressure measurement:

• Fluid Pressure calculation:

1.1.4.3 Flow measurement

• Differential pressure devices:

Orifice plates
Nozzles
Venturi meters
Pitot meters
Different differential pressure devices
• 

• where,
Cd is the discharge coefficient
A1 cross-sectional area of the pipe (m2),
A2 cross-sectional area of the orifice (m2),
H is change in depth of liquid (m)
Fig 1.5 Venturi meter
1.1.4.4 Level Measurement
• The measurement and control of liquid level with a
chemical plant is one of the most important functions of
the instrumentations.
• Liquid level controllers maintain the overall process
mass balance and also maintain liquid seals
Differential pressure measurements
Capacitance measurements
Ultrasonic and radar measurements
Dipsticks
Sight glasses
1.1.4.5 Composition measurement

• The measurement of composition is one of the most desired

but also most difficult and expensive measurements that have
to be made in chemical and process plants.
pH meters
Chemical analyzers
1.2 Introduction to Process Control Dynamics
• The primary objective of a process control is to maintain
a process at the desired operating conditions; safely,
economically and efficiently, while satisfying
environmental and product quality requirements.
• In large-scale, integrated processing plants, e.g. oil
refineries or ethylene plants, thousands of process
variables, e.g. composition, T, P are measured and
controlled.
Main learning points:

• Why process control is necessary

Process control is concerned with making sure that
processes do what they are supposed to in a safe and
economical way
This isn’t an easy task as most processes are subject to
many inputs called disturbances that constantly cause the
controlled variables to deviate away from their desired
values (or set points)
To prevent this, other process inputs called manipulations
have to be summoned in to restore the process to the
desired state
1.2.1 Purpose of a Process Control?

• A process control is required to maintain safe

operations, quality products, and business viability.
1. Safety
• The primary purpose of a Process Control system is safety:
 Personnel safety,
 Environmental safety
Equipment safety
Process safety
• The safety of plant personnel and the community is the
highest priority in any operation.
 An example of safety: installation of a pressure relief
valve in the steam supply in a heat exchanger.
 Other examples of safety: a pressure switch that does
not allow a pump to over pressurize a pipe
 Another example of safety: a temperature switch that
does not allow the fluid flowing through a heat
exchanger to overheat.
2. Quality

• process control systems are central to maintaining

product quality.
in blending and batching operations, control systems
maintain the proper ratio of ingredients to deliver a
consistent product.
in cooking systems, they tightly regulate temperatures
to deliver consistent quality product.
3. Profit

• When safety and quality concerns are met, process control objectives
can be focused on profit.
• All processes experience variations and product quality demands that
we operate within constraints.
A batch system may require ± 0.5% tolerance on each ingredient
addition to maintain quality.
A cook system may require ± 0.5 degrees on the exit temperature to
maintain quality.
• Profits will be maximized the closer the process is operated to these
constraints.
The real challenge in process control is to do so safely without
compromising product quality.
Why Process Control is needed?
• Specific Objectives of Control
•Increased product throughput
•Increased yield of higher valued products
•Decreased energy consumption
•Decreased pollution
•Decreased off-spec product
•Increased Safety
•Extended life of equipment
•Improved Operability
•Decreased production labor
1.2.2 The foundation of process control

Fig 1.4 Closed loop process control system

 A control engineer has to know about the instruments used to
measure:
 process quantities,
 the valves and other
 final control elements (Fig 1.5) that allow control systems to adjust
the process,
 communications to transmit information around,
 the control algorithms that decide how to respond to the
information coming from the process and
 finally the control engineer needs to understand how the process
itself behaves:
 not just its steady state behavior but more importantly its dynamic
response.
Fig 1.5 Generalized Process Control Structure
 1.2.3 Advantages of a Process Control
• Automatic control of a process offers many advantages:
Enhanced process safety
Satisfying environmental constraints
Meeting ever-stricter product quality specifications
More efficient use of raw materials and energy
Increased profitability
• Considering all the benefits that can be realized through
process control, it is well worth the time and effort required to
become familiar with the concepts and practices used in the
field.
1.2.4 Step-by –step method for describing
controls and their purpose
1.2.5 Illustration of Process Control
• The control objective for the process illustrated in Fig.
1.6 is to keep the measured process variable (house
temperature) at the set point value (the desired
temperature set on the thermostat by the home owner) in
spite of unmeasured disturbances (heat loss from doors
and windows opening; heat being transmitted through
the walls of the house).
• To achieve this control objective, the measured process
variable is compared to the thermostat set point.
• The difference between the two is the controller error,
which is used in a computation by the controller to
compute a controller output adjustment (an electrical or
pneumatic signal).
Fig1.6 - Home heating control system
• The change in the controller output signal causes a
response in the final control element (fuel flow valve),
which subsequently causes a change in the manipulated
process variable (flow of fuel to the furnace).
• If the manipulated process variable is moved in the right
direction and by the right amount, the measured process
variable will be maintained at set point, thus satisfying
the control objective.
• This example, like all in process control, involves a
measurement, computation and action:
• Note that computing the necessary controller action is
based on controller error, or the difference between the
set point and the measured process variable.
1.2.6 Components of a control loop

Fig 1.7 - Home heating control loop block diagram

1.2.7 Suppressing Influence of External
Disturbances
• Most common objective of a controller in Processing
Plants is to suppress the influence of the external
disturbances.
 have effects on a reactors, separators, heat
exchangers, compressors, etc., and therefore need
to introduce a control mechanism.
Example: Controlling the Operation of a Stirred Tank
Heater (STH)

Fig 1.8 Stirred tank heater (STH)

• Consider the tank heater system shown in Fig 1.8.
 A liquid enters the tank with a flowrate Fi (m3/min), and a
temperature Ti (°C), where it is heated with steam (having a
flowrate Fs, kg/min).
Let F and T be the flowrate and temperature of the stream
leaving the tank.
• The tank is considered to be well stirred, which implies
that the temperature of the effluent is equal to the
temperature of the liquid in the tank.
a. Operational objectives of this heater are:
 to keep the effluent temperature T at a desired value Ts
 to keep the volume of the liquid in the tank at a desired
value Vs 
b. External factors/disturbances on the operation of the
heater are:
 changes in feed flow rate and temperature (Fi and Ti)
 changes in the steam flow rate and temperature (Fst and
Tst)
Fig 1.9 Feedback temperature control of a tank heater
• Need to maintain: T = Ts and V = Vs, some form of
control action is needed to alleviate the impact of the
changing disturbances and keep T and V at the desired
values (Fig 1.9.)
• Fig1.9 demonstrates a control action to keep T = Ts
when Ti or Fi changes.
• A thermocouple measures the temperature T of the
liquid in the tank.
T is compared with the desired value Ts yielding a
deviation or error: ε =Ts -T.
• The value of the deviation/error, ε is sent to a control
mechanism for rectification which decides what must
be done in order for the temperature T to return back to
the desired value Ts
• The desired value Ts is called the Set Point and is
supplied externally by the person in charge of
production.