International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2013)
An Intelligent Model Based Level Control of Boiler Drum
K. Ghousiya Begum1, D.Mercy2, H. Kiren Vedi3, M. Ramathilagam4
1,4
Assistant professor M.A.M College of Engineering, Siruganur, Trichy
2,3
Associate Professor M.A.M College of Engineering, Siruganur, Trichy
Abstract—An Intelligent model is developed to control the
water level in Boiler Drum. There are three different types of
boiler such as Single element boiler drum level control, two
element boiler drum level control and three element boiler
drum level control. The parameters of boiler drum level
control system are determined using PID control tuning
methods such as Ziegler-Nichols method, Tyreus-Luyben
method and Internal Model Control (IMC), in which IMC
surpasses the performance of the conventional controller.
Keywords—Boiler Drum Level control, PID tuning, IMC,
Feed forward, MATLAB.
I. INTRODUCTION
Drum Level Control Systems are used extensively
throughout the process industries and the Utilities to
control the level of boiling water contained in boiler drums
on process plant and help provide a constant supply of
steam The purpose of the drum level controller is to bring
the drum up to level at boiler start-up and maintain the
level at constant steam load. A dramatic decrease in this
level may uncover boiler tubes, allowing them to become
overheated and damaged. An increase in this level may
interfere with the process of separating moisture from
steam within the drum, thus reducing boiler efficiency and
carrying moisture into the process or turbine. Boiler drum
water level control is critical to secure operation of the
boiler and the steam turbine. The functions of this control
module can be broken down into the following
 Operator adjustment of the set point for drum
level.
 Compensation for the shrink & swell effects.
 Automatic control of drum level.
 Manual control of the feed water valve.
 Bumpless transfer between auto and manual
modes.
 Indication of drum level and steam flow.
 Indication of feed water valve position and feed
water flow.
 Absolute/deviation alarms for drum level.
The most basic and pervasive control algorithm used in
the feedback control is the Proportional Integral and
Derivative (PID) control algorithm.
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PID control is a widely used control strategy to control
most of the industrial automation processes. The 3 element
PID control system is introduced to regulate the drum level
with the fixed PID parameters. The control is not ideal
because the gains and time constants of the system
response change significantly with the change in steam
load and disturbances. Therefore, some other controller is
required to improve the performance of drum level control
system [1].
Internal model control is model based controller
structure that provides a suitable framework for satisfying
our objectives. The IMC structure which makes use of a
process model to infer the effect of immeasurable
disturbance on the process output and then counteracts that
effect. The controller consists of an inverse of the process
mode. Using the IMC design procedure, controller
complexity depends exclusively on two factors: the
complexity of the model and the performance
requirements. Furthermore, the proposed procedure
provides valuable insight regarding controller tuning
effects on both performance and robustness.
In process control industry, model-based control strategy
is used to track set point and reject load disturbances. The
proposed work illustrates how to design an IMC controller
for the boiler level control system using MATLAB.
The followings of the paper includes, Section II
describing the types and design of boiler. In Section III
development of virtual laboratory is explained. In Section
IV result and comparison between the boiler performances
is discussed. The paper concludes in Section V.
II. BOILER DRUM LEVEL CONTROL
In the process industries, boiling water to make steam is
a very important procedure. The control of water level is a
major function in this process and it is achieved through a
water steam interface established in a cylindrical vessel
called the drum which is usually lying on its side and
located near the top of the boiler. Maintaining the correct
water level in the drum is critical for many reasons. A
water level that is too high causes flooding of the steam
purification equipment; resulting in the carry over of water
and impurities into the steam system. A water level that is
too low results in a reduction in efficiency of the treatment
and recirculation function.
 International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2013)
It can even result in tube failure due to overheating from
lack of cooling water on the boiling surfaces. Normally
drum level is expected to be held within 2 to 5cm of the
set-point with some tolerance for temporary load changes.
There are several components affecting its operation.
Under boiling conditions, steam supporting field products
such as bubbles exist below the water/steam level interface.
These bubbles have volume and therefore displace water to
create a misrepresentation of the true water level in the
drum. Another effect upon drum level is pressure in the
drum. Because steam bubbles compress under pressure (if
the drum pressure changes due to load demands), the steam
bubbles expand or contract respective to these pressure
changes. A higher steam demand will cause the drum
pressure to drop, and the steam bubbles to expand to give
the appearance of a water level higher than it truly is. This
fictitious higher water level causes the feedwater input to
be shut down at a time when more water is really required.
A surge in water level as a result of the drum pressure
decreasing is called 'swell'. A water level decrease due to
drum pressure increase is called 'shrink'. Providing tight
water level control in a drum is accomplished by utilizing
one of three types of drum level control: single-element,
two-element, or three-element [1].
A. Single element drum level control
Single-level element control uses only the level
measurement and the feed water valve. The controller
responds to a proportional signal from the drum level
transmitters by generating a proportional output to the
boiler feed water valve when needed. This approach is
often used when starting up a boiler and there is no steam
flow or when a flow meter has failed. The drawback of this
strategy is that the level is subject to uncontrolled
disturbances from the steam header and the feed water. For
example, if the feed water header pressure rises, the feed
water flow to the boiler also increases. Without a feed
water control loop, this situation would be uncorrected until
the level changes. In addition, the installed characteristics
of the feed water valve may compromise level control
performance over a large operating range.
B. Double element drum level control
The two-element level control adds the steam flow as a
feed forward element to the level controller output. A
steam mass flow rate signal is used to control the feed
water flow so that feed water demand can be adjusted
immediately in response to load changes. The level
controller is used to correct any imbalance between the
steam mass flow out of and the feed water mass flow into
the drum. This approach delivers more effective drum level
control than a single element.
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It is well suited for use on a single boiler with a single
feed water pump using a constant feed water pressure. A
potential weakness is that the installed characteristics of the
feed water valve may compromise level control
performance over a large operating range. In addition,
steam feed forward may need to be characterized when
using this approach. .
C. Three element drum level control
Three-element level control as shown in Fig.1 is the
most common boiler drum level control strategy. A feed
water flow loop slave is added to the two-element strategy.
Three-element level control linearizes the feed water flow
with respect to the steam flow and the level controller
output. The control loop now requests volumetric flow
change, not just a change in the valve position. This
strategy attempts to compensate for changes or
disturbances in steam flow and feed water flow based on
the principle that flow in equals flow out. The installed
characteristics of the feed water valve are no longer an
issue because the flow controller can compensate. Using
this approach, the steam feed forward element can be a
simple gain without requiring characterization [1].
Fig. 1 Three element boiler drum level control.
III. CONTROL STRATEGIES AND SIMULATION
Control strategies are necessary for any system to
perform accurately. Some of these are given below.
D. PID Controller
A Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller is a
general feedback control loop mechanism widely used in
industrial process control systems. A PID controller
corrects the error between a measured process variable and
the desired set point by calculating the value of error. The
corrective action can adjust the process rapidly to keep the
error minimal.
 International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2013)
The PID controller separately calculate the three TABLE.1
parameters i.e. the proportional, the integral, the derivative Z-N PARAMETERS
values. The proportional value determines the reaction to Ziegler-Nichol Kp Ki Kd
the current error. The integral value determines the reaction Control Type
based on the sum of recent errors as past error. The
derivative value determines the reaction based on the rate at P 0.50 Ku -
which the error has been changing as a future error. By
tuning these three constants in the PID controller algorithm, PI 0.45 Ku 1.2 Kp/ Pu
the controller can provide control action designed for
specific process control requirements. PID 0.60 Ku 2 Kp/ Pu Kp Pu/8
Some applications may require only one or two
parameters of the PID controller to provide the appropriate
control on system. A PID controller will be called a PI, PD, Ziegler-Nichol Kp Ki Kd
P or I controller in the absence of the respective control Control Type
actions. This is achieved by setting the gain of undesired
control outputs to zero. PI controllers are very common, PID 2.1 0.43 2.57
since derivative action is very sensitive to measurement
noise and the absence of an integral value may prevent the
These gains apply to the ideal, parallel form of the PID
system from reaching its target value due to control action
controller. When applied to the standard PID form, the
[2].
integral and derivative time parameters Ti and Td are only
The simulation results are shown here for different
dependent on the oscillation period Pu. The step response is
control strategies. The relationship between the feed water
shown in Fig.2 and Fig.3.
flow rate and drum level for the boiler process are
expressed by the following equations [3]. The process
function, valve function and disturbance function is shown
below.
Gp(s)= [0.25(-s+1)] / [s(2s+1)] (1)
Gv(s) = 1/[0.15s+1] (2)
Gd(s)=[ -0.25(-s+1)]/ [s(s+1)(2s+1)] (3)
Following are the process used to determine the PID
gain parameter:
Fig. 2 Step input response
1) Ziegler–Nichols Method
This method is introduced by John G. Ziegler and
Nathaniel B. Nichols [8]. In this method, the Ki and Kd
gains are first set to zero. The Kp gain is increased until it
reaches the ultimate gain Ku, at which the output of the
loop starts to oscillate [4]. Ku is found to be 3.51, Pu is 9.8.
Ku and the oscillation period Pu are used to set the gains
as shown in Table 1.

Fig. 3 Step response for Ku=Kp=3.51

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 International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2013)
2) Tyreus-Luyben Method
This method is introduced by Tyreus-Luyen. In this
method, the Ki and Kd gains are first set to zero. The P
gain is increased until it reaches the ultimate gain Ku, at
which the output of the loop starts to oscillate [4]. Ku and
the oscillation period Pu are used to set the gains as shown
in Table 2. The Z-L and T-L Matlab Simulink Model and
the response of the two conventional PID controllers is
shown in Fig.4 and Fig.5.
TABLE.2.
T-L PARAMETERS

Tyreus –Luyben Kp Ki Kd
Control Type Fig. 5 Response of 2 Conventional PID

PI 0.3125 Ku Kp/ 2.2Pu -

3) Internal Model Control (IMC)
The IMC based PID structure uses the process model as
in IMC design. In the IMC procedure, the controller Qc(s)
PID 0.4545 Ku Kp/ 2.2Pu KpPu/ 6.3 is directly based on the invertible part of the process
transfer function. The IMC results in only one tuning
parameter which is filter tuning factor but the IMC based
PID tuning parameters are the functions of this tuning
factor. The selection of the filter parameter is directly
Tyreus –Luyben Kp Ki Kd related to the robustness [5]. The process model is
Control Type considered

PID 1.59 0.073 2.47 Gp(s)= [0.25(-s+1)]/ [s(2s+1)(0.15s+1)] (4)

and correspondingly the controller output is calculated as
Gc(s) = [1.2s2+8.6s+4]/ [s2+3s+4] (5)
The IMC MATLAB Simulink Model and its output
response is shown in Fig.6 and Fig.7. Load disturbance
given and IMC with feed forward Simulink Model and its
output response is shown in Fig.8 and Fig.9.

Fig. 4 Z-L and T-L Matlab Simulink Model Fig. 6 IMC MATLAB Simulink Model

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 International Journal of Emerging Technology and Advanced Engineering
Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2013)

Fig. 7 Output response using IMC

Fig. 10 Simulink model of all the controllers

Fig. 8 Load disturbance and IMC with feed forward Simulink Model

Fig. 9 Output response with the load disturbance and of IMC with
Feedforward

Fig. 11 Comparison of their output responses

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Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2013)
IV. RESULTS REFERENCES
TABLE.3 [1 ] Roopal Agrawal, Umesh C. Pati, ―Design and Data Logging of
COMPARING OF VARIOUS TIME DOMAIN SPECIFICATIONS Three Element Boiler Level Control Using LabVIEW‖, National
Conference on Recent Advances in Chemical and Environmental
Controller Time Domain Specifications Engineering (RACEE), Rourkela, Jan 2012
[2 ] Xiang fei, ZOU Li hua, ‖Optimization design of PID controller and
Tr Ts %Mp its application”, 2011 Third International Conference on Measuring
Technology and Mechatronics Automation, vol.2, pp. 803-806, Jan
2011.
ZLPID 4 30 75%
[3 ] B. Wayne Bequette, Process Control Modeling Design &
Simulation, Pearson Education Inc 2003
TLPID 4.5 40 20% [4 ] Liu Jinkun, ―MATLAB Simulation of Advanced PID Control[M],‖
Electronic Industry Press, Beijing, 2006, pp. 102-129.
IMC 4.2 10 0% [5 ] I.L.Chien,. and P.S Fruehauf,, ― Consider IMC tuning to improve
controller performance‖, Chemical Engineering Progress, pp. 33 -
IMCFF 4.1 9 0% 41. 1990 .
[6 ] A.M.D. Poar, M. O’Malley, Controllers of Ziegler-Nichols type for
unstable processes, Int. J. Control 49 (1989) 1273–1284.
V. CONCLUSION [7 ] W. Tan, Y. Q. Yuan, Y. G. Niu, Tuning of PID controller for
unstable process, in: Proc. of the IEEE International Conf. on
This paper presents a novel design method by Control Applications (CCA), Vol. 1, Hawaii, USA, 1999, pp.121–
introducing an intelligent model to achieve the expected 124.
output. The comparison between the methods are shown.
Through the simulation all the controllers perform an
efficient search to obtain an optimal solution that achieve
better performance criterion with respect to rise time,
settling time, percentage of overshoot. The use of IMC with
Feed forward controller improves the performance to great
extent than both of these Zeigler-Nichol and Tyreus-
Luyben PID tuning techniques.

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