1.

Introduction

1.1 Objectives.
The main objective of this practice is to accomplish that the controlled variable, that is the level
of the only deposit, remains between an acceptable limits, fixed by the set point and other
parameters, against the perturbations and some variations of the process.

To achieve that objective, the team uses the Ziegler-Nichols method.

1.2 Theory.
The mission of the control is to put the working variables in a comfortable limit and then to
maintain them in that limit versus the process variables and the perturbations.

The control is important to maintain the security, to ensure stability, to reduce the error, to avoid
the influence of perturbations, to gain sensibility with commands, to reduce costs and, in
general, to optimize the process.

Nomenclature.

There are some important components or parts in a control that can be defined as:

Controller: it’s a electronic dispositive that allows to maintain the desired value in a process.
There are different types:

Open loop. It’s unreliable. It depends on the controller calibration and on the no
existence of perturbations.

Image 1. Open Loop

Closed Loop. It’s more reliable because it turns the value of the controlled
variable to the controller so it can readjust the manipulated variable to reduce the error.
 Image 2. Closed Loop

Feedforward. It’s also better than the closed loop due to it announces future
perturbations and predicts them to readjust the process.

Image 3. Feedforward

Actuator: it’s the element that modifies the process behavior. It receives the regulatory signal
from the control.

Process: it’s the operation that is being carried. There are two kinds of variables: The inlet
variables that make influence on the process. These can be controlled variables or
perturbations. There are also outlet variables, some of them we want to control (controlled
variables)

Measurer: this element takes measures about the controlled variable.

There are many parameters or constants we must add or calculate that characterizes
the different types of controls and the operation. This parameters can be the proportional band
or the gain (BP = 100/K, K=100/BP), the derivative time (Td) and the integrative time Ti).

The proportional band and the gain are inversely proportional. The gain (K) dictates how
fast the controller chance or regulate the actuator to modify the error.

The derivative time (Ti) and the integrative time (Td), have time units.

Using this parameters the controls can be classified depending on what kind of control
should be done:

Proportional control (P): That control only has a proportional band, so, Ti and Td
are zero. The high gain the system has, faster is the response of the system. This
controller gives a regulatory signal that is proportional to the error between the measure
and the set point.
 Proportional Integral Control (PI): It has a proportional band and also a Ti, but
Td is zero. This control eliminates errors of stationary state, but it increments maxims
deviations, it produces low responses with notable oscillations. If K increases to have a
faster system, it became more oscillating and it can be instable. The integrative part is
considered as a memory of the past errors. The outlet variable not only depends on the
error committed at the moment, but depends on all the errors committed till now. It must
be used when the death time is predominant.

Proportional Derivative Control (PD): It has a proportional band and also a Td,
but Ti is zero in this case. It looks to the future, it predicts what is going to happens
studying the error committed. It’s a conservative method, it’s low and it’s opposed to the
error variation. It must be used when the time constant is predominant.

Proportional Integral Derivative Control (PID): it is the summation of the

proportional control, the integral control and the derivative control.

A form to represent the transference function of the controllers is:

1
F ( S ) = K (1 + + TD · S )
Ti ·S

Equation 1. Function that describes the different controls.

Choosing one of these controls and some parameters, a different response of the outlet
signal is more or less fast, and the controlled variable can oscillated more or less.

In this practice, the method to study the process is the Ziegler-Nichols. Ziegler-Nichols
has a good behavior when the process has a low death time. It is a method classified inside of
the methods based on the open loop. To know the process, it’s necessary to work first as a
open loop control. Then, an inlet stair must be added, enough to register a response and try to
adjust the model. The time between the perturbation and the first response indication is called
the death time (L in the graphic). This method it’s empirical, there is no need to know about the
transference function. Once there is a response in open loop to a inlet stair, a line with maxim
inclination must be drawn.
 Image 4. Grafic Inlet sign and Outlet sign. Ziegle-Nichols method.

To calculate the parameters of the different kinds of controllers, there must be applied
the functions of the
controller Kc Ti Td
following table:
P M/NL - -

PI 0.9M/NL L/0.3 -

PID 1.2M/NL 2L L/2

Table 1. Ziegler-Nichols parameters.

Once the parameters have been calculated, the operation turns into closed loop control.
It works as a first order controller.

If there is no pressure drop, two deposits that are contiguous will have the same liquid level.

2. Experimental part.

1.1 Engineering diagram.

2.2 Equip description.
The equip consists in three deposits, each one with two level indicators and a level
alarm, except the third one, that has just a lever indicator, a level alarm and a level indicator
controller. The first deposit is connected by two pipes, each one with a valve (valves 4 & 5). The
second deposit is connected to the third with other two pipes with valves (valves 7 & 8). The
three deposits are connected with a bigger deposit below them across valves 6, 9 & 10. The
collector deposit has a water inlet regulated by valve 11 and a water exit through valve 12. The
pump that fills the deposits is connected to the collector deposit through valve 13 and in pump’s
exit pipe has a pressure indicator before the valve 14. This valve is the most important in the
equipment because his aperture is the manipulated variable in all the process. It’s regulated
with pressure, giving it a pressured air inlet regulated by an Intensity/Pressure converter. Down
water, the main pipeline has a flow indicator before it bifurcates in three branches that feed the
three original deposits through valves 1, 2 & 3. Before shut on the pump, it has to make sure of
that the valves 13 and 14 are opened and also valves 1, 2 or 3 (at least one of these last 3).

The controller is called “SIB600” and it relates the high of the water column in the third
deposit with the aperture of the valve 14. It reads the level indicator controller signal and
depending on the set point that has been introduced, regulates the aperture of the valve 14 with
an electric signal that depending in the intensity, trough the Intensity/Pressure converter, opens
or close the valve. Also reads the flow indicator signal before send it to the computer, throw the
channel 2. By the channel 1 the SIB sends to the computer the signal of the aperture of the
valve and in channel 0, travels the level’s signal.

2.3 Experience description.

Before the beginning of the experience, the deposits have to be characterized. All the
deposits have emptying curve, that in the middle ranges are lineal. The curve varies with each
deposit depending in the materials in what they are constructed, the diameter of the outlet, the
shape... To get the curve, once the deposit is fully loaded and the inlet of the deposit is zero (by
shutting the valve 3), start to register the level of the deposit and open de valve 10, so the outlet
is maximized. The curve is just the plot drawn with the registered dates of level versus time.

The experimentation consists in inserting the inputs in the SIB600 with an initial level in
the deposit different from the set point but inside the linear zone, let de controller to arrive to the
set point by its own and register how it gets to it.

3. Results and discussion:

Control previous steps:

First of all, the relation between the voltages registered by the pc and the original signals
dimensions must be found. To find that relationship, a valve aperture is fixed, and when the
stationary state is reached, the data from the displays is obtained. Using this data and the
voltage registered by the pc at different valve apertures, the calibration line can be obtained for
each signal. This way, the data obtained in the pc can be transformed to its dimension.

Corba de buidat:
Emptying curve:
The tank is filled until the level is almost reaching the sound alarm, some time is waited until the
level is stable, and then the tank valve is opened, so the tank is emptied. The level is registered,
so the emptying curve can be plotted. It is easily seen in the curve that the level decreases
linearly as the time rises, so the volume (which is proportional to the level) changes also linearly
with the time. This means that the emptying flow is constant.

Ziegler – Nichols Control Application.

To obtain the M, N and L parameters of the Ziegler-Nichols Control (Image 4), it is needed the
response of an open loop step input.
With these parameters, it can be
obtained the proportional band (PB), the
integral time (Ti) and the derivative time
(Td) that adjust better to the system
response. Starting with the system in
stationary state, and a 20% valve
aperture, the valve is opened at 25%,
and the response is registered until the
stationary state is reached again. The
parameters obtained are shown in table
XXXXX.
Controller Kc Ti Td PB
P 2.15 - - 46.5
PI 1.94 133 - 51.7
PID 2.58 80.0 20.0 38.7

Once the Ziegler – Nichols parameters

are known, they are used in closed loop
control experiments, applying the P, PI
and PID control algorithms. The three
experiments are done starting with the tank empty, and the set point at 20cm. The results are
shown in the next plot:

The results are quite similar in the three cases; there is an overshoot that reaches the same
level, and then an oscillating state around the set point is maintained in the three experiments,
all of them with the same amplitude.
As the results are quite indistinguishable, it is decided to change the PB, Ti and Td parameters,
an also the initial fluid level. A table with the list of experiments can be found at the annex. The
results are not shown in this part due to their similarity with the first three experiments.
Controller response to a set point change
The set point is changed in an experiment, to observe the response to a S.P. variation
(experiment 6: PI control algorithm, 14.5cm initial level, 20cm set point, 51 proportional band,
133 integral time). The set point is raised to 30cm:
The system response behaves like the others, with a 23.3 maximum overshoot, followed by
stable oscillation. When the SP is changed, the system acts the same way, with an overshoot
and posterior oscillation.

Controller response to a perturbation:

Starting with the system in proportional control and stationary state (Experiment 5, initial
level=0cm, set point=20cm, PB=70), 15L of water are added to the tank (an increment of 23cm),
and the system response is registered. The level change is shown in the next plot:

The level does not reach 40cm, as it should, but it only arrives at 27cm. This fact means that the
level measurer is so slow; the perturbation that it registers is about 7cm, while it should be
greater than 20cm. It also can be observed from the image XXXXX that the proportional control
algorithm acts quite well when faces a perturbation, it quickly reaches the original oscillation.
4. Conclusions

The first conclusion that can be extracted is that the control system does not work right
because the oscillation extracted doesn’t decrease with any of the three control algorisms.

Initially, the mistake was awarded to the deposit because the experience started with it
empty, out of the lineal zone of the valve. The next step was to start with a level of 14 cm in the
deposit due to it was inside of the lineal zone. However, making the new experiments, very
similar results were obtained, so the possibility of the influence of the level at the beginning of
the experiments is discarded.

A group of experiments with bad adjust parameters are attempted intentionally, but the
same kind of results are obtained. The reason of this bad behavior has been not overdraft.

Although the controller doesn’t actuate different in its different ways, P,PI or PID, it’s
observed that in all cases it enter into an oscillation, but in any case it became uncontrolled or
gets an instable behavior. It is also seen that it has a good response in the control when there is
a change of set point or a perturbation.

However, when a perturbation is added, it’s noted that the level measure has so many
inertia that it takes time to record information again, so it hardly register the perturbation.

This low response of the measurer can affect in some way the system, and this can be
the reason of the oscillation, because when the liquid level arrives to the set point, then
measure still takes lower lectures than the set point, so the valve (actuator) is still opened. This
can produce that the oscillation doesn’t soften itself.
5. Annexes:

5.1 Annexe 1.

Experiment number Initial Level Contol BP Ti Td

1 empty (0.8cm) P 46 -- --
2 empty (0.8cm) P 25 -- --
3 empty (0.8cm) PI 51 133 --
4 empty (0.8cm) PID 39 80 20
5 empty (0.8cm) P 70 -- --
6 14.5cm PI 51 133 --
7 14cm PI 20 133 --
8 14cm PI 51 30 --
9 14.5cm PID 39 80 10
10 14.5cm PID 20 80 20

5.2 Annexe 2.

Experiment number Initial Level Control BP Ti Td

1 empty (0.8cm) P 46 -- --

2 empty (0.8cm) P 25 -- --

3 empty (0.8cm) PI 51 133 --

4 empty (0.8cm) PID 39 80 20

5 empty (0.8cm) P 70 -- --

6 14.5cm PI 51 133 --

7 14cm PI 20 133 --

8 14cm PI 51 30 --

9 14.5cm PID 39 80 10

10 14.5cm PID 20 80 20
6. Bibliography

Ogata, K. Ingeniería de control moderna; Prentice Hall.

Barbarà theory classes.