Chapter Two

Feedback and Feedforward controllers

2.1 Feedback controllers
 The basic building block of industrial process control is “process loop”
which contain all the element to measure and control process value
as a desired set point.
 For standard feedback control /control low system
• sensor/transducer is used to measure the output signal
• Controller used manipulate/control the process . PID and on-
off controllers are predominant type.
Cont…
Illustrative example
• For a stirred tank blending process: the control objective is to keep
the tank exit composition x at a desired value by adjusting w2
2.2 Basic control mode( for PID)
2.1.1 proportional controller
• In feedback control system our aim is to reduce error signal to zero
…………………..………….2.1
• For proportional controller , the controller output is proportional to
the error signal

• …….2.2
• Kay concept
 Kc can be adjusted/tuned
 Sign of kc can be chosen
Cont…
Cont…
• Some controllers have a proportional band setting in study of gain.

• ………………………………….……..2.3
• The ideal proportional controller en equation 2.2 does not include
physical limit on the controller . A more realistic representation is

….2.4
Cont…
• accounts for present values of the error
• Disadvantage
 Because a non-zero error is required to drive it, a
proportional controller generally operates with a so-
called steady-state error. Steady-state error () is
proportional to the process gain and inversely
proportional to proportional gain.
SSE(offset) occurred after set point change or a
sustained disturbance
2.2.2 Integral controller
• The integral term is given by:
𝜏
𝐼𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝐾𝑖 ‫׬‬0 𝑒 𝜏 𝑑𝜏---------------------------2.6
• proportional to both the magnitude of the error and
the duration of the error.
• It is the sum of the instantaneous error over time and
gives the accumulated offset that should have been
corrected previously. The accumulated error is then
multiplied by the integral gain and added to the
controller output.
• accelerates the movement of the process towards set
point and eliminates the residual steady-state error
that occurs with a pure proportional controller.
However, since the integral term responds to
accumulated errors from the past, it can cause the
present value to overshoot the set point value
2.2.3 derivative controller
• The derivative term is given by:
de(t)
𝐷𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝐾𝑑 -----------------------2.6
𝑑𝑡
• It accounts for possible future values of the error,
based on its current rate of change. The derivative of
the process error is calculated by determining the slope
of the error over time and multiplying this rate of
change by the derivative gain
• Derivative action predicts system behavior and thus
improves settling time and stability of the system. An
ideal derivative is not causal, so that implementations
of PID controllers include an additional low pass
filtering for the derivative term, to limit the high gain
and noise [15].
2.2.3 PID controller
Cont…
𝜏 de(t)
• 𝑈 𝑡 = 𝐾𝑝 𝑒 𝑡 + 𝐾𝑖 ‫׬‬0 𝑒 𝜏 𝑑𝜏 + 𝐾𝑑 --------2.8
𝑑𝑡
• Where 𝐾𝑝 , 𝐾𝑖 and 𝐾𝑑 all non-negative, denote the
coefficients for the proportional, integral and
derivative terms, respectively (sometimes denoted
P, I, and D).
• Limitation of PID controller
do not in general provide optimal control
with constant parameters, and no direct knowledge of
the process, and thus overall performance is reactive
and a compromise
They also have difficulties in the presence of non-
linearity’s do not react to changing process behavior
have lag in responding to large disturbances
Cont…
• The most significant improvement is to incorporate
feed-forward control with knowledge about the
system, and using the PID only to control error.
• Alternatively, PIDs can be modified in more minor
ways, such as by changing the parameters (either
gain scheduling in different use cases or adaptively
modifying them based on performance), improving
measurement (higher sampling rate, precision, and
accuracy, and low-pass filtering if necessary), or
cascading multiple PID controllers
2.2.4 Loop tuning mechanism

• Tuning a control loop is the adjustment of its

control parameters (proportional band/gain,
integral gain/reset, derivative gain/rate) to the
optimum values for the desired control response
I. Manual tuning
Parameter Rise Time Overshoot Settling Time Steady-State Stability
Error

Increasing 𝐾𝑝 Decrease Increase Small Increase Decrease Decrease

Increasing 𝐾𝑖 Small Increase Increase Large Decrease Decrease

Decrease

Increasing 𝐾𝑑 Small Decrease Decrease Minor Change Improve

Decrease
II. CONVENTIONAL PID TUNINGS TECHNIQUE
• Ziegler-Nichols Method
Controller 𝐾𝑐 𝜏𝑖 𝜏𝑑

P (1Τ𝐾)(𝑇Τ𝐷)

PI (0.9Τ𝐾)(𝑇Τ𝐷 3.3D

PID (1.2Τ𝐾)(𝑇Τ𝐷 2D 0.5D

Digital version of PID
• Also the PID controller is transformed into its
discrete form. The discrete PID controllers are
formulated directly from their corresponding
Laplace transforms. For
𝐾𝑖
Gc(s) = 𝐾𝑝 + + 𝐾𝑑 𝑠
𝑠
• Now, applying bilinear transformation to get an
equivalent discrete PID controller, the expression is
obtained as:
𝑇𝑠 𝑧 𝑇𝑠 𝑧−1
Gc z = 𝐾𝑝 + 𝐾𝑖 ∗ + 𝐾𝑑 ∗
𝑧−1 𝑧
2.3 On-off controllers
• Simple and inexpensive FB controllers
• Commonly used as thermosets in home heating
systems and domestic refrigerators.
2.4 Typical response of FB control system
Cont…
• Advantage of FB
1. Corrective action occurs as soon as the controlled
variable deviates from the set point, regardless of
the source and type of disturbance.
2. It requires minimal knowledge about the process
to be controlled; in particular, a mathematical
model of the process is not required, although it
can be very useful for control sys tern design.
3. The ubiquitous PID controller is both versatile and
robust. If process conditions change, re-tuning the
controller usually produces satisfactory control.
Cont…
• Disadvantage of FB
1. No corrective action is taken until after a deviation in
the controlled variable occurs.
2. It does not provide predictive control action to
compensate for the effects of known or measurable
disturbances.
3. It may not be satisfactory for processes with large
time constants and/or long time delays. If large
and frequent disturbances occur, the process may
operate continuously in a transient state and
never attain the desired steady state.
4. In some situations, the controlled variable cannot be
measured on-line, and, consequently, feed
back control is not feasible.
2.2 Feedforward controllers
2.2.1 Introduction
 It measure important disturbance variables and
take corrective action before they upset the process
 Feedforward control has disadvantages:
The disturbance variables must be measured on-line. In
many applications, this is not feasible.
at least an approximate process model should be
available.
Ideal feedforward controllers that are theoretically
capable of achieving perfect control may not be
physically realizable.
2.2.2 Ratio control
• It is a special type of feedforward control that has had widespread
application in the process industries.
• Its objective is to maintain the ratio of two process variables at a specified
value.
• The two variables are usually flow rates, a manipulated variable u and a
disturbance variable d. Thus, the ratio

u and d are physical variables, not deviation variables.

Typical applications of ratio control include:

1. specifying the relative amounts of components in

blending operations,
2. maintaining a stoichiometric ratio of reactants to a reactor,
3. keeping a specified reflux ratio for a distillation column, and
4. holding the fuel-air ratio to a furnace at the optimum
value.
Implementation of ratio controller
• Method 1
Method 2
Cont…
• Disadvantage of both Methods I and II is that the
desired ratio may not be achieved during transient
conditions as a result of dynamics associated with
control loop for u
• Thus, after a step change in disturbance d, the
manipulated variable will require some time to
reach its new set point.
• Fortunately, flow control loops tend to have short
settling times and this transient mismatch between
u and d is usually acceptable.
Cont…
• For situations where it is not, a modified version of
Method II proposed by Hägglund (2001) can be applied.
• Regardless of how ratio control is implemented, the
process variables must be scaled appropriately.
For example, in Method II the gain setting for the ratio
station Kd must take into account the spans of the two
flow transmitters. Thus, the correct gain for the ratio
station is

• If orifice plates are used with differential-pressure

transmitters, then the transmitter output is
proportional to the flow rate squared. Consequently,
KR should then be
proportional to Rd*Rd, rather than Rd, unless square
root extractors are used to convert each transmitter
output to a signal that is proportional to flow rate
2.2.3 Design of Feedforward control
1) BASED ON STEADY-STATE:
• To illustrate the design procedure, consider the
distillation column
Con..
• Symbols
– F, D, B are flow rates
– z, y, x are mole fractions of the light component
• Control objective:
– Control y despite disturbances in F and z
– by manipulating D.
• Mole balances:
F=D+B;
Fz=Dy+Bx
Cont..
• Combine to obtain

Fz  x 
D
yx

• Replace y and x by their set point values, ysp and xsp:

F z  xsp 
D
ysp  xsp
To further illustrate the design method, consider the
blending system and feedforward controller
Cont…
• From steady-state mass and component balances .

• Substituting the above equation and solving for w2

gives:

• In order to derive a feedforward control law, we replace

X by Xsp, and w2 and x1, by w2(t) and x1(t),
respectively:

• Note that this feedforward control law is based on

physical variables rather than deviation variables.
Cont…
• The feedforwarcl control law in above Eq. is not in
the final form required for actual implementation
• because
I. the actual value of X1 is not available, but its
measured value X1m is.
II. the controller output signal is p rather than inlet
flow rate, W2. Thus, the feedforward control law
should be expressed in terms of X1m and p
Consequently, a more realistic feedforward control
law should incorporate the appropriate steady-state
instrument relations for the W2 flow transmitter and
the control valve,
Component Measurement for X1
• If the calibration relation is linear

Control Valve and Current-to-Pressure Transducer

 Suppose that the combination of the current-to-
pressure transducer and the control valve operates
as a linear system with negligible dynamics. Then its
input-output relationship can be written as
Cont…
2)Based on dynamic model
Analysis of Block Diagrams

• Process
Chapter 15

• Process with FF Control

Analysis (drop the “s” for convenience)

Y  Z1  Z 2 (1)
Y  Gd D  GPU (2)
Y  Gd D  GPGV G f Gt D (3)
Chapter 15

For “perfect control” we want Y = 0 even though D  0.

Then rearranging Eq. (3), with Y = 0 , gives a design
equation.
Gd
Gf   (15  21)
Gt GV GP
For simplicity, consider the design expression in the Eqn. (15-21),
then:
Gd
Gf  
Gt GV GP
1) Suppose:
Kd KP
Gd   , GP   , Gt GV  1
 d s 1  Ps 1
Then from Equation (15-21)
 Kd    P s  1 
Gf      (lead/lag)
 P  d
K  s  1 
2) Let Kd K P e s
Gd  , GP 
 d s 1  Ps 1
Then from Equation (15-21)

K d  P s  1  s e  s - implies prediction
Gf   e of future
KT KV K P  d s  1 disturbances
3) Suppose G P  KP , same Gd
1s  12s  1

To implement this controller, we would have to take the

second derivative of the load measurements (not possible).

K d 1s  1 2 s  1
Then, Gf  
KT KV K P  d s  1
This ideal controller is also unrealizable.
 The process gain K is found by
calculating the ratio of the steady-
state change in out put to the size of
the in unit step change input.
EX 15.3 It is desired to control liquid level h2 in the storage tank system shown in Fig. E15.3 by manipulating
flow rate q3. Disturbance variable q1 can be measured. Use the information available to do the following:
a) Draw a block diagram for a feedforward feedback control system.
b) Derive an ideal feedforard controller based on a steady-state analysis.
c) Suppose that the flow-head relation for the hand valve is Does the ideal feedforward
controller of part (b) change?
Available Information
i. The two tanks have uniform cross-sectional areas, A1 and A2, respectively.
ii. The valve on the exit line of Tank 1 acts as a linear resistance with a flow-head relation, q2 = (h1 — 2)/R.
iii. The transmitters and control valve are pneumatic instruments that have negligible dynamics.
iv. The pump operates so that flow rate q is independent of h2 when the control valve stem position is
maintained constant.
EX15.4 For the liquid storage system shown in Fig. E15.4, the control objective is to regulate liquid
level h2 despite disturbances in flow rates, q1 and q4are neglected. q2 Flow rate can be manipulated.
The two hand valves have the following flow-head relations:

Do the following, assuming that the flow transmitters and the control valve have negligible dynamics:
a) Draw a block diagram for a feedforward control system for the case where q1 can be measured
and variations in q4 are neglected.
b) Design a feedforward control law for case (a) based on a steady-state analysis.
c) Repeat part (b) but consider dynamic behavior.
d) Repeat parts (a) through (c) for the situation. where ,q4 can be measured and variations in q1
are neglected.