Process dynamics

• A chemical process is a dynamical system, whose behavior changes

over time.

• Control systems are needed to handle such changes in the process.

• Thus, it is important to understand the process dynamics when a control

system is designed.

• Mathematically, the process dynamics can be described by differential

equations.

• Unsteady-state (or transient) process behavior corresponds to a

situation, where (at least some) time derivatives of the differential
equations are nonzero.
Definitions
System: it is a combination of components that act together and perform a certain objective.

Plant: it is the machine of which a particular quantity or condition is to be controlled.

Process: is defined as the changing or refining of raw materials that pass through or remain in a liquid, gaseous, or slurry state to create end

products.

Control: in process industries refers to the regulation of all aspects of the process. Precise control of level, pH, oxygen, foam, nutrient,

temperature, pressure and flow is important in many process applications.

Sensor: a measuring instrument, the most common measurements are of flow (F), temperature (T), pressure (P), level (L), pH and composition

(A, for analyzer).The sensor will detect the value of the measured variable as a function of time.

Set point: The value at which the controlled parameter is to be maintained.

Controller: A device which receives a measurement of the process variable, compares with a set point representing the desired control point,

and adjusts its output to minimize the error between the measurement and the set point.
Error Signal: The signal resulting from the difference between the set point reference signal and the process variable feedback signal in a controller.

Feedback Control: A type of control whereby the controller receives a feedback signal representing the condition of the controlled process variable,

compares it to the set point, and adjusts the controller output accordingly.

Steady-State: The condition when all process properties are constant with time, transient responses having died out.

Transmitter: A device that converts a process measurement (pressure, flow, level, temperature, etc.) into an electrical or pneumatic signal suitable for

use by an indicating or control system.

Controlled variable: process output which is to be maintained at a desired value by adjustment of a process input. Manipulated variable: process

input which is adjusted to maintain the controlled output at set point.

Disturbance: a process input (other than the manipulated parameter) which affects the controlled parameter.

Process Time Constant(𝝉𝒑 ): Amount of time counted from the moment the variable starts to respond that it takes the process variable to reach

63.2% of its total change.

Block diagram: it is relationship between the input and the output of the [Link] is easier to visualize the control system in terms of a block

diagram.
Transient nature of a chemical process

• Transient operation occurs during important situations such as start-ups and shutdowns, unusual process
disturbances, and planned transitions from one product grade to another.

• Even at normal operation, a process does not operate at a steady state (with all time derivatives of the
differential equations exactly zero) because there are always variations in external variables, such as feed
composition or cooling medium temperature.

• Thus, knowledge of steady-state (or static) process properties, learned in previous courses (such as
thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, mass transfer, reaction engineering), is not sufficient for
control design
Laplace transform
Shifting theorem
Laplace transform of the derivative
Laplace transform of the integrals
Inverse of Laplace Transform
Inversion by partial fraction
Example
Initial and final value theorems
Input functions and their responses
Example
FIRST-ORDER SYSTEMS
A first-order system is one whose output, y(t), is modeled by a first order, linear differential
equation

A first-order process with a transfer function given by [Link]

also known as: first-order lag, linear lag, exponential transfer
lag. If on the other hand, a0 = 0, then from eqn.

In such case the process is called purely capacitive or pure integrator.

Properties of transfer functions: A Transfer function relates two variables in a physical process. One of these is
(Forcing or Input variable) and the other is the effect (Response or Output)

response
Transient response with different changes
Dynamic behaviour of first order system
Before studying the control system it is necessary to become familiar with the response of some of
simple basic systems (i.e study the dynamic behaviour of the first and second order systems)
First order systems
• Transfer function of the system is the ratio of the Laplace transform of the deviation in thermometer reading (output) to the Laplace

transform of the deviation in the surrounding temperature (input).

• In examining other physical systems, we usually attempt to obtain a transfer function.

• Any physical system for which the relation between Laplace transforms of input and output deviation variables is of the form given by

above Eq. is called a first-order system.

• Synonyms for first-order systems are first-order lag and single exponential stage.

To summarize the procedure for determining the transfer function for a process:

Step 1. Write the appropriate balance equations (usually mass or energy balances for a chemical process).

Step 2. Linearize terms if necessary.

Step 3. Place balance equations in deviation variable form

Step 4. Laplace-transform the linear balance equations.

Step 5. Solve the resulting transformed equations for the transfer function, the output divided by the input.

This procedure is a very useful summary for developing the transfer function for a process
Example 2: Liquid level tank
Pure capacitive
/integral system
• A thermometer having a time constant of 0.1 min is at a steady state temperature of 90 °F. At time t = 0, the
thermometer is placed in a temperature bath maintained at 100°F. Determine the time needed for the
thermometer to read 98 °F.

• .
Example 3: Mixing tank
Example 4: Stirred Tank
Heating System
Response of 1st order systems in series

Many physical systems can be represented by several first-order processes connected in series as shown
in figure:

In fig (a) variation of h does not effect on q then

2 1

In fig (b) variation of h does effect on q then

2 1
Generalization for Several Noninteracting Systems in Series We have observed that the overall transfer function for two
noninteracting first-order systems connected in series is simply the product of the individual transfer functions. We may now
generalize this concept by considering n noninteracting first-order systems as represented by the block diagram of Fig.
To obtain the overall transfer function, we simply multiply the individual transfer functions;
thus

To show how the transfer lag is increased as the number of

stages increases, Fig. gives the unit-step response curves for
several systems containing one or more firstorder stages in
series
Derive the transfer function H(s)/Q(s) for the liquid level system shown below when
• (a) The tank level operates about the steady-state value of hs​ = 1 ft.
• (b) The tank level operates about the steady-state value of hs​ = 3 ft.
• The pump removes water at a constant rate of 10 cfm (cubic feet per minute); this rate is
independent of head. The cross-sectional area of the tank is 1.0 ft2 and the resistance R is 0.5
ft/cfm.
A thermometer with a time constant of 0.5 minutes is placed in a temperature bath. After the
thermometer comes to equilibrium, the temperature of the bath Ti begins to increase linearly at a rate
of 10 °C per minute.
Determine the difference between the indicated temperature and the bath temperature in the
following cases:
a) 0.25 minutes after the change in bath temperature begins.
b) 3 minutes after the change in bath temperature begins.
c) The maximum deviation between the indicated and bath temperature, and the time at which it
occurs.
d) The time by which the thermometer response lags the bath temperature after a long time has
elapsed.
Transportation lag
• A phenomenon that is often present in flow systems is the transportation lag.
• Synonyms for this term are dead time and distance velocity lag.
• As an example, consider the system shown in Fig. , in which a liquid flows through an insulated tube of uniform cross-sectional area A and length L at a constant
volumetric flow rate q.
• The density ρ and the heat capacity C are constant. The tube wall has negligible heat capacity, and the velocity profile is flat (plug flow)
• The temperature x of the entering fluid varies with time, and it is desired to find the response of the outlet
temperature y (t) in terms of a transfer function.
• As usual, it is assumed that the system is initially at steady state; for this system, it is obvious that the inlet
temperature equals the outlet temperature; i.e.,

If a step change were made in x (t) at t = 0, the change would not be detected at the end of the tube until τ s later, where τ is the time required for the entering fluid to pass
through the tube. This simple step response is shown in Fig. If the variation in x (t) were some arbitrary function, as shown in Fig., the response y (t) at the end of the pipe
would be identical with x (t) but again delayed τ units of time. The transportation lag parameter t is simply the time needed for a particle of fluid to flow from the entrance of
the tube to the exit, and it can be calculated from the expression
Approximation of Higher-Order Transfer Functions

A general approach for approximating high-order transfer

function models with lower-order models that have similar
dynamic and steady-state characteristics.

In Eq. we showed that the transfer function for a time delay

can be expressed as a Taylor series expansion. For small
values of s,

𝑒 −θ0𝑠 ≈ 1 − θ0 𝑠

64
• An alternative first-order approximation consists of the transfer
function,

1 1
𝑒 −θ0𝑠 = ≈
𝑒 θ0 𝑠 1 + θ0 𝑠

where the time constant has a value of θ 0 .

• Equations and were derived to approximate time-delay terms.
• However, these expressions can also be used to approximate
the pole or zero term on the right-hand side of the equation by
the time-delay term on the left side.

65
Skogestad’s “half rule”
• Skogestad (2002) has proposed a related approximation method
for higher-order models that contain multiple time constants.
• He approximates the largest neglected time constant in the
following manner.
• One half of its value is added to the existing time delay (if any)
and the other half is added to the smallest retained time
constant.
• Time constants that are smaller than the “largest neglected time
constant” are approximated as time delays using.

66
 Consider a transfer function:

𝐾 −0.1𝑠 + 1
𝐺 𝑠 =
5𝑠 + 1 3𝑠 + 1 0.5𝑠 + 1

Derive an approximate first-order-plus-time-delay model,

Chapter 6

𝐾𝑒 −θ𝑠
𝐺෨ 𝑠 =
τ𝑠 + 1

using two methods:

(a) The Taylor series expansions of Eqs.
(b) Skogestad’s half rule

Compare the normalized responses of G(s) and the approximate

models for a unit step input. 67
Solution

(a) The dominant time constant (5) is retained. Applying

the approximations in:
−0.1𝑠 + 1 ≈ 𝑒 −0.1𝑠

and
Chapter 6

1 1
≈ 𝑒 −3𝑠 ≈ 𝑒 −0.5𝑠
3𝑠 + 1 0.5𝑠 + 1

Substitution into above gives the Taylor series

approximation, GTS ( s ) :

𝐾𝑒 −0.1𝑠 𝑒 −3𝑠 𝑒 −0.5𝑠 𝐾𝑒 −3.6𝑠

𝐺෨𝑇𝑆 𝑠 = =
5𝑠 + 1 5𝑠 + 1

68
 (b) To use Skogestad’s method, we note that the largest neglected
time constant in has a value of three.
• According to his “half rule”, half of this value is added to the next largest time
constant to generate a new time constant
τ = 5 + 0.5(3) = 6.5.
• The other half provides a new time delay of 0.5(3) = 1.5.
• The approximation of the RHP zero in provides an additional time delay of 0.1.
• Approximating the smallest time constant of 0.5 in by produces an additional
time delay of 0.5.
• Thus the total time delay in eqn is,

θ = 1.5 + 0.1 + 0.5 = 2.1

69
and G(s) can be approximated as:
−2.1s
Ke
GSk ( s ) = (6-64)
6.5s + 1

The normalized step responses for G(s) and the two approximate
models are shown in Fig. Skogestad’s method provides better
agreement with the actual response.

Figure Comparison of
the actual and
approximate models
for Example 6.4.

70
Higher order systems: Second order and transportation lag
Second-order systems or a quadratic lag are described by a second-order differential equation that relates the output
variable y to the input variable x (the forcing function) with time as the independent variable.

Consider a simple manometer as shown in Fig.. The pressure on both legs of the
manometer is initially the same.
The length of the fluid column in the manometer is L.
At time t = 0, a pressure difference is imposed across the legs of the manometer.
Assuming the resulting flow in the manometer to be laminar and the steady-state friction
law for drag force in laminar flow to apply at each instant, we will determine the transfer
function between the applied pressure difference ∆P and the manometer reading h.
A momentum balance on the fluid in the manometer:
• The response of the system Y (t) can be found by inverting equation. The roots sa and
sb will be real or complex depending on value of the parameter z. The nature of the
roots will, in turn, affect the form of Y (t). The problem may be divided into the three
cases shown in
• CASE I STEP RESPONSE FOR  < 1. For this case, the inversion of Eq. yields the result
CASE I STEP RESPONSE FOR  = 1
CASE III STEP RESPONSE FOR  > 1. For this case, the
inversion of Eq. yields the result
Step response for underdamped System Step response for Overdamped Second order process
Consider the second order system where 𝜁=0.6 and wn=5 rad/sec. find the rise time tr ,
peak time tp, maximum overshoot Mp, and settling time ts when the system is subjected
to a unit-step input?
The two tanks shown in Fig. are connected in an interacting fashion. The system is initially at steady state with q = 10 cfm. The following data
apply to the tanks: A1 = 1 ft 2, A2 = 1.25 ft 2 , R1 = 1 ft/cfm, and R2 = 0.8 ft/cfm.
Inverse Response
The Control system
Servo Problem versus Regulator Problem
Servo Problem There is no change in load Ti, and that we are interested in changing the bath temperature
(change in the desired value (set point) with no disturbance load).
Regulating problem The desired value TR is to remain fixed and the purpose of the control system is to maintain
the controlled variable TR in spite of change in load if there is a change in the input variable (disturbance load).
The temperature sensing element for the stirred-tank heater is a
thermocouple. The manufacturer’s specifications state that the
thermocouple has a response time of 45s (with the response time
defined by the manufacturer as the time required for the
thermocouple’s reading to be 90 percent complete after a step
change).
Assuming that the thermocouple behaves as a first-order system,
determine the transfer function for the temperature measuring
element.
• Temperature control of an
exothermic chemical
reaction taking place in a
Continuous Stirred Tank
Reactor (CSTR) is achieved
using cooling water flowing
through a jacket
surrounding the reactor.
• Which of the following
combinations of control valve
type and controller action is
most appropriate for this
system?
Servo Problem versus Regulator Problem
Servo Problem There is no change in load Ti, and that we are interested in changing the bath temperature
(change in the desired value (set point) with no disturbance load).
Regulating problem The desired value TR is to remain fixed and the purpose of the control system is to maintain
the controlled variable TR in spite of change in load if there is a change in the input variable (disturbance load).
The temperature sensing element for the stirred-tank heater is a
thermocouple. The manufacturer’s specifications state that the
thermocouple has a response time of 45 s (with the response time
defined by the manufacturer as the time required for the
thermocouple’s reading to be 90 percent complete after a step
change).
Assuming that the thermocouple behaves as a first-order system,
determine the transfer function for the temperature measuring
element.
The temperature sensing element for the stirred-tank heater is a thermocouple. The
manufacturer’s specifications state that the thermocouple has a response time of 45 s
(with the response time defined by the manufacturer as the time required for the
thermocouple’s reading to be 90 percent complete after a step change). Assuming that the
thermocouple behaves as a first-order system, determine the transfer function for the
temperature measuring element.
• In some cases, the blocks labeled Gc and G1 will be lumped together into a single block. The series of blocks between the comparator
and the controlled variable, which consist of Gc, G1, and G2, is referred to as the forward path.
• The block H between the controlled variable and the comparator is called the feedback path.
• The use of G for a transfer function in the forward path and H for one in the feedback path is a common convention.
• The product GH, which is the product of all transfer functions ( GcG1G2H) in the loop, is called the open-loop transfer function. We call
GH the open-loop transfer function because it relates the measured variable B to the set point R if the feedback loop is disconnected
(i.e., opened) from the comparator. The subject of this chapter is the closed-loop transfer function, which relates two variables when
the loop of Fig. is closed.