CONTROLLER DESIGN FOR CONTROLLING WATER LEVEL CONTROL MECHANISM

ABSTRACT
This project deals with the PID controller design for controlling water level control mechanism
in the tank. The system had to be capable of read a certain value, the value that we speak is the
high of the water. Therefore, the system should fill the corresponding tank with water, of course,
until the high that was chosen. The controller so designed was used to maintain a present level of
water in a process tank. A model of the process was created in MATLAB program and
SIMULINK in order to determine PID controller parameters for the desired system performance
specifications. A PID control uses three essentials values to be able to control with precision,
they are usually called: P, I and D. These values can be found by applying manual tuning and
PID software tuning procedures. So at the end, we get value for each constant (PID). The
collected data was then analyzed and comparisons were made between the actual and the desired
performance of the system.

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 CONTROLLER DESIGN FOR CONTROLLING WATER LEVEL CONTROL MECHANISM

ACRONYMS
PID-Proportional Integral Derivative.

PV-Pressure Volume.

LC-Level Controller.

LT-Level Transmitter.

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1:PID Loop Control ............................................................................................................. 5
Figure 2: Model of water level in a tank ......................................................................................... 7
Figure 3:Block diagram of water level ........................................................................................... 9
Figure 4: valve .............................................................................................................................. 10
Figure 5:Open loop of given transfer function ............................................................................. 11
Figure 6:MATLAB Simulink proportional control mode with feedback ..................................... 12
Figure 7: MATLAB simulink PID control mode with feedback controller ................................. 12

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................................... I

ACRONYMS .................................................................................................................................. II

LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... III

CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................. 1

1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Overview ................................................................................................................................... 1

1.2 System Overview ..................................................................................................................... 1

1.3 Problem Statements ................................................................................................................. 1

1.4 Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 2

CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................................ 3

2. THEORY .................................................................................................................................... 3

2.1 Feedback Control ...................................................................................................................... 3

2.2 Types of Controllers ................................................................................................................. 3

2.2.1 P Controller ........................................................................................................................ 3

2.2.3 PID Controller .................................................................................................................... 4

2.4 PID Tuning Methods................................................................................................................ 5

2.4.1 Manual tuning method ....................................................................................................... 5

2.4.2 PID tuning software method .............................................................................................. 6

CHAPTER THREE ........................................................................................................................ 7

3. MODEL DIAGRAM .................................................................................................................. 7

3.1 Model of water level control in a tank. ..................................................................................... 7

3.1.1 Derivation Of Water Level Formula .................................................................................. 7

3.2 Block Diagram Of Water Level ................................................................................................ 9

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3.2.1 Level Transmitter ............................................................................................................... 9

3.2.2 Level Controller ................................................................................................................. 9

3.2.3 Valve ................................................................................................................................ 10

3.2.4 Comparator ....................................................................................................................... 10

3.2.5 Plant.................................................................................................................................. 10

3.2.6 Feedback........................................................................................................................... 10

3.2.7 SetPoint ............................................................................................................................ 10

3.2.8 Error Signal ...................................................................................................................... 10

CHAPTER FOUR ......................................................................................................................... 11

4. PROCESS AND RESULT ....................................................................................................... 11

4.1 Process .................................................................................................................................... 11

5.CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ......................................................................... 15

5.1 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................... 15

5.2 RECOMMENDATION .......................................................................................................... 16

Reference ...................................................................................................................................... 17

Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 18

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CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview
This project is based on a PID control of the level of the water in a tank.A plant of controlling
water level will implement PID controller in it’s system. The PID controller will be able to
control the inlet and the smooth transition of water into the tank to satisfy the set parameters by
the handler (human). The program is from the PID controller itself. PID controller is
programmed and the tunings of other manual settings on the whole system uses human interface.
Each steps of designs and verifications process is documented here. The user has the power to
choose a certain level of water and the system has to be capable of adjusting itself in order to
maintain that certain level(height).A process is an operation that uses resources to transform
inputsintooutputs.

1.2 System Overview

The Water Level Control Using PID Controller is a design of an intelligent level measurement of
the system. The system will allow users to measure and set the desired level of water with the
PID controller controlling the process of water flowing into the tank. The system will be
connected with a control valve and level sensor (transmitter) for the control section. The system
is able to show the trend of water flowing into the tank and the responses of the measurements.
The PID controller has the ability to control the trend and specific responses for a smooth
transition of the water reaching the desired level point with the tunings parameters entered by the
handler (human).

1.3 Problem Statements

Measurements have been on the world since the beginning of humans. Every creation since the
beginning starts with measurements. The world today has developed complex and un-imaginable
technologies to fulfill the ever demanding of necessities and needs thus creating at almost
possible control of a system. Measurements have become crucial and higher accuracy is most
wanted by now. Inaccurate measurements in mixtures processes can lead to product defects and

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higher costs. Accurate liquid level is vital in the process industries where inventories, batching
and process efficiency are critical measurements.

In the physical world, control engineers are frequently required to monitor or control the level of
water in tank. So, recent years has shown the difficulties of controlling the process of contents
reaching the desired / specified level point. Smooth transition and graph responses are now a
goal of every high cost modern plants. Human senses and body control are in large scale to be
able to control for example the opening of the valve into the tank. In this project, the PID
controller is proposed and built into actual plant with model of water level to be monitored. It
introduces a better solution in accurate level measurements in bringing water to the specific
given level point (set-point). Not only that, the other crucial figure of smooth transition of level
control can be controlled by the PID controller.

1.4 Objectives
The project is called water level control using PID controller. The PID controller is used and
applied into the system to measure and control the water level in a tank manually.

The objectives of the project are:

i. To maintain height or level of the water in tank by using the PID controller.

ii. To implement the existing PID controller into a control process.

iii. To gain knowledge of the principles of operation of the various sensors to be used in the
control system.

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CHAPTER TWO

2. THEORY

2.1 Feedback Control

The success of feedback control system makes everything faster, more precise and less sensitive
to disturbances. The open loop control, regarding its simplicity, it’s only advised in system when
the outputs and inputs are known and in which there is no disturbance associated.

In system with feedback control there is a big disadvantage which is the probability of the system
get unstable, for that the correct controller must be chosen, and it must be perfect for the system
that is being monitored.

2.2 Types of Controllers

Controller configuration and type must be chosen so that it will satisfy all the design
specifications with proper selection of its elements.One of the best-known controllers used our
practice is the PID controller, where the letters stand for proportional,integral, and derivative.

2.2.1 P Controller
This is the most simple and easy to implement controller and is mostly used in first order
processes with single energy storage to stabilize an unstable process. The main usage of this
controller is to decrease the steady state error and time response of the system. As the
proportional gain factor Kp increases, the steady state error and time response of the system
decreases.

The control action for a P controller is proportional to the error and this can be expressed as:

( )= ( )------(1), By taking laplace transform, it gives:

U(s)=KpE(s).

Where:K is the proportional gain constant.

E is the error signal.

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2.2.2 PI Controller

PI controllers are mainly used to eliminate the steady state error resulting from P controller.
However, in terms of the speed of the response and overall stability of the system, it has a
negative impact. This controller is mostly used in areas where speed of the system is not an
issue. Since PI controller has no ability to predict the future errors of the system it can decrease
the rise time. If applied, any amount of PI to increase point of maximum overshoot.

t
u(t ) = Kp  Ki  e( )d
e (t )
0

Where : ki is integral gain constant.

By taking laplace transform, It gives:

Ki
U (s) = KpE(s)  E ( s)
S

2.2.3 PID Controller

PID controller has the optimum control dynamics including zero steady state error, fast response
(short rise time), no oscillations and higher stability. The necessity of using a derivative gain
component in addition to the PI controller is to eliminate the overshoot and the oscillations
occurring in the output response of the system. One of the main advantages of the PID controller
is that it can be used with higher order processes including more than single energy storage.A
PID controller attempts to correct the error between a measured process variable and a desired
set-point by calculating and then outputting a corrective action that can adjust the process
accordingly. The PID controller calculation involves three separate parameters; the proportional,
the integral and derivative values.

It can be expressed by:

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Figure 1 PID Loop Control

2.4 PID Tuning Methods

Tuning is adjustment of control parameters to optimum values for the desired control response.
Stability is a basic requirement .however, different systems have different behavior, different
applications have different requirements, and requirements may conflict with one another.

PID tuning is a difficult problem ,even though there are only three paramaters and in principle is
simple to describe ,because it must satisfy complex criteria within the limitations of PID
control.there are accordingly various methods for loop tuning, some of them:

2.4.1Manual tuning method

In this method ,parameters are adjusted by watching system responses.Kp,Ki,Kd are changed
until desired or required system response is obtained.Although this method is simple,it should be
used by experienced personal.

Example: MATLAB program.

MATLAB is a high-performance language for technical computing. It integrates computation,

visualization, and programming in an easy-to-use environment where problems and solutions are
expressed in familiar mathematicalnotation. The name MATLAB stands for matrix laboratory.

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2.4.2 PID tuning software method

There is some prepared software that they can easily calculate the gain parameter. Any kind of
theoretical methods can be selected in some these methods.

Example: MATLAB Simulink PID Controller Tuning,

Simulink is software for modeling, simulating, and analyzing dynamic systems. Simulink
enables you to pose a question about a system, model it, and see what happens. With Simulink,
you can easily build models from scratch, or modify existing models to meet your needs.
supports linear and nonlinear systems, modeled in continuous time, sampled time, or a hybrid of
the two. Systems can also be multirate having different parts that are sampled or updated at
different rates.

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CHAPTER THREE

3. MODEL DIAGRAM

3.1 Model of water level control in a tank.

Figure 2Model of water level in a tank

3.1.1 Derivation of Water Level Formula

Where:-

Qout=the liquid outflow rate.

h=liquid height in the tank.

r=reference level of liquid in the tank.

Qin=the liquid inflow rate.

C=cross-sectional area of the tank/capacitance of the tank.

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8l Q
P = out
4
 R'Q -----------(1)
out


where µ=viscosity of the fluid flowing through the pump.

l=lengt of the pump.

σ=inner radius of the pump.

Q out
=Rate of fluid flowing out of pump.

∆p=pressure head that causes the flow.

Hence, the fluid resistance is given by:

8l
R’= 4
----------- (2)


∆P=hρg --------------(3) where:g=acceleration due to gravity.

h=height of liquid in tank.

Equate with equation (1) with equation(2),gives:

R'
h=R Q -------(4) Where R=
out g

The rate flow of storage liquid in the tank is the difference between the inflow and out flow rate
of the liquid. Hence,C is cros-sectional area of the tank,then

Cdh h R Qin  h
 Q Q  Q   Rearrange and gives:
dt in out in R R

CRdh
 h  R Q --------- (5)
dt in

Taking Laplace transform, CRSH ( s)  H ( s)  R Q ( s)

in

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(CRS  1) H ( s)  KE(s) ---------(6)

Where: KE(s) = R Q Gain of the controller.

in

Let CR=τ Where:τ is time consant.

(S  1) H (s)  KE( s) --------------(7)

H ( s) 1
 G (s) 
E (s) S  1

3.2 Block Diagram Of Water Level

Figure 3Block diagram of water level

3.2.1 Level Transmitter

Level transmitter (LT) sends the measured height of liquid in the tank (hm) to the level
controller (LC).

3.2.2 Level Controller

The level controller compares the measured level with the desired level (hsp, the height setpoint)
and sends a pressure signal (Pv) to the valve.

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3.2.3 Valve
A valve is a device that regulates the flow of materials (gases, fluidized solids, slurries, or
liquids) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways.This valve top pressure
moves the valve stem up and down, changing the flow ratethrough the valve . If the controller is
designed properly, the flow rate changes tobring the tank height close to the desired setpoint.

Figure 4 valve

3.2.4 Comparator
A comparator is a device that used to compare the reference input/setpoint with desired output.

3.2.5 Plant
The physical parts of the system that is supposed to be controlled.
3.2.6 Feedback
Feedback is the devices that measure the variable we want to control.

3.2.7 SetPoint
The desired value of the measured process output.
3.2.8 Error Signal
Error is the difference between measured variable and the setpoint and can be either positive or
negative.

Error = SetPoint – Measured

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CHAPTER FOUR

4. PROCESS AND RESULT

4.1 Process
We have used two methods of tuning PID controller .Those are :-Manual tuning method and
PID tuning software method.This two methods are expressed under the chapter two.

Steps of manual tuning method

1.SET Kp : Starting with Kp=0, KI=0 and KD=0, increase KP until the output start overshooting
and ringing significantly.

2. SET Kd : Increase Kd until the overshoot is reduced to an acceptable level.

3. SET Ki : Increase Ki until the final error is equal to zero.

PID tuning software method.There is some prepared software that they can easily calculate the
gain parameter .Any kind of theoretical methods can be selected in some these methods.
MATLAB simulink PID controller tuning.

The given transfer function :

1
G(s)=
s  1

Assume   100 ,since when time constant of this transfer function is high the plant more
sensitive to the error.

Figure 5Open loop of given transfer function

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Figure 6:MATLAB Simulink proportional control mode with feedback

Figure 7:MATLAB simulink PID control mode with feedback controller

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4.2 Result

For open loop control

For Kp=2000 and H=1

tr=0.111481sec,ess=0.0009.

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 For Kp=2000,Kd=0,Ki=40 and H=1

tr=0.111281sec,ess=0.0002.

 For Kp=2000,Kd=1,Ki=40 and H=1

tr=0.111281sec,ess=0.0002.

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CHAPTER FIVE

5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 CONCLUSION
As we were able to see depending on the tuning method the results may change a parameter , that
doesn’t mean that any of them are wrong, just different. And to different values we have
different results, and by that we have to analyze which response is the better for the system that
is in use. It’s easy to see that a PID control can be applied to many feedback systems, when the
need to constantly control a system variable appear the PID control it’s a good solution. Quite
easy to use and create. It only requires the need of tuning, but even that isn’t so hard to do. There
are quite good information about it, so should not be hard to do it.

Talking about the MATLAB program, it is also very simply to use. Besides the help that any
programmer can get by just asking a matlab Professional, the actual program has a help menu
that gives good and important information about every block of data, with that any programming
get’s quite easy to complete.

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5.2 RECOMMENDATION
This project is providing good performance of the system. So by using the PID controller we can
design, proposed and built into actual plant with model of water level to be monitored.

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Reference
[1] Åström, K. J. e Hägglund, T. ,PID Controllers: Theory, Design and Tuning, 2nd, 1995,pp 59.

[2] Gene F. Franklin, J. Davied Powell, Abbas Emami-Naeini, “Feedback Control of Dynamic
Systems”, 6th edition, 2010, pp 19 – 27.

[3] Adian O’Dwyer , “Handbook of a PI and PID Controller Tuning Rules”, 3rd edition, 2009.

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Appendix

Clear all;
Close all;
n=input('enter the value of n:');
d=input('enter the value of d:');
kp=input('enter the value of kp:');
ki=input('enter the value of ki:');
kd=input('enter the value of kd:');
H=input('enter the value of H:');
for i=1:n+1;
a(i)=input('');
end
disp('denominator');
for j=1:d+1;
b(j)=input('');
end
T=tf(a,b)
G=feedback(T,H)
Gc=tf([kd kp ki],[1 0])
C=feedback(Gc*T,H)
step(C)

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Appendix 2

Circuit diagram of water level control

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