INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL

LESSON 1

 BASIC CONCEPTS

Instrumentation and control is the nervous system of industrial

complexes, power generation, and basically all the processes that require
some intelligence to accomplish the task of producing a product or process.

When a process is modified to improve its function, the best and most
economic change of the system is to improve the control and occasionally the
instrumentation areas. Quality, quantity, and efficiency are directly related
to the control and instrumentation systems. The efficiency of the controls
reflects directly in the profitability and quality of the product or service
obtained from a process or system.

Examples of other benefits obtained by applying control systems are

evident in environmental controls, which help to manage the waste and
regulate the interface between the system and the environment. One
application in this area is seen in control of emissions which use specialized
instruments and controls to decrease the impact of pollutants in the
atmosphere.

The growth of the computer industry and its techniques has provided
expanding technology in the controls area, consequently producing more
efficient and sophisticated systems. These systems now control more
precisely the production of goods and information given to operators to refine
the quality of products and services.

INSTRUMENTATION
Use of technology and devices to detect and control physical and
chemical characteristics of materials; this includes motion, light,
color, acidity, etc.

CONTROL SYSTEM
A system that takes the information from instruments of a process
manipulating it using logic (algorithms) then applying the results to a
process or system to change its characteristics.

PROCESS CONTROL
A control system that is used in the process and chemical industries. A
process control has the characteristic of automatically regulating a
process. Automatic in this context means that the process is controlled
without the need of human intervention.

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VARIABLES
Are defined as the characteristic of the process. Some variables are
temperature, speed, humidity, viscosity, density, etc. There are two
basic types of variables: measured or controlled, and manipulated.

CONTROL LOOP
Control loop is a control system architecture that will manage a process
using elements that sense, adjust, and act upon the process. We can
define it as the configuration by which the control system manipulates
the control parameters.

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LESSON 2

 CONTROL LOOP DESCRIPTIONS

Figure 1

OPEN LOOP
The control loop configuration should be open, as in the control of a
valve to open. The controller receives the signal to open the valve.
That operation is completed without additional action. The loop is
open because it starts at the open command and ends at the valve
opening. This is known as an open-ended control.

CLOSED LOOP
A closed loop defines the action of sending a signal to a modulating
valve to open it half way; the controller applies the open signal until
the valve reaches the half way point. The position of the valve is
determined by an instrument that detects the position and sends the
signal back to the controller to close the loop. The loop is made from
the controller to the valve actuator to the position device to the
controller. See Figure 1 for a closed loop control.

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COMPARISON BETWEEN CLOSED AND OPEN LOOPS:

OPEN LOOP CLOSED LOOP

A measurement is detected A measurement is detected
Monitoring is performed (usually Measurement is compared to a
manually) set value
Adjustment is made to the
No adjustment is made
process

Return to measurement,
repeating the adjustment until
Return to measurement
the set value and measurement
are equal

EXAMPLE EXAMPLE
A conveyor belt carrying material Tank level control
A level sensor feeds
A measurement is made (scale)
measurement to a transducer
A comparison is made to set
An alarm bell performs monitoring
point at the controller

Action: If level is low a signal is

sent to an inlet valve to open.
Reporting: Activation of alarm is
If level is high or equal to the
made if weight is exceeded
set point a signal is set to inlet
valve to close

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LESSON 3

 ELEMENTS OF A CONTROL LOOP

Figure 2

PROCESS
The controlled system is called the process. It could be defined as a
conditioned situation that produces results which must be kept under
an expected value or range of values. As in Figure 2, the process deals
directly with the product. Product in this case could be taken as a
material, fluid, or whatever is produced, manufactured, or treated.

PRIMARY SENSOR
The primary sensor is normally an instrument that has properties to
detect the physical property desired to be measured. An example is a
thermocouple which produces a change in an electrical circuit
proportional to the temperature; this signal is sent to a transducer to
be detected and interpreted.

TRANSDUCER
The transducer is a device that translates the signal from the sensor
into a processed electric signal that can be amplified and used by the
controller.

SET POINT
This is a fixed value that is contained in the controller, set by the
operator or by an intelligent algorithm or device. This value is
compared to the measured value from the transducer. The difference
of this comparison is called the error.

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CONTROLLER
The controller is normally an electrical or electronic device that has
the following functions:

 compares the sensing signal from the transducer to the set point
(at the summation point)
 produces an error signal from the comparison
 processes the error signal:
 To convert it into an actuation signal
 To manipulate it to condition it by an algorithm, this
algorithm will make it:
 proportional to the error
 as a function signal that anticipate changes
 as a function signal that uses history of changes to apply
the correction
 as a function signal with a combination of the above
features

The manipulation of the error signal is processed by a mathematical operator

called a control algorithm. An example of an algorithm is the PID or
Proportional, Integral, Derivative algorithm. This Algorithm uses:

 the mathematical constant K or proportional multiplier actuating the

final control element in a linear way proportional to the value of the
error
 the integral operator to produce an actuator signal based on the history
of the previous errors
 the derivative operator to produce an actuator signal anticipating the
next change based on the slope of the error function

Other algorithms are available easily today in the controllers; an example

could be the rate-lag operator which uses a combination of PID elements.

AMPLIFIER
The amplifier increases the intensity of the signal until it is large
enough to be able to be used by the actuator.

ACTUATOR
It is an electromechanical device that takes the actuation signal and
converts it into motion following the actuation signal. This motion
could be a position as in the case of a solenoid valve, on or off, or a
motion, as in the positioning of a modulating or control valve.

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FINAL CONTROL ELEMENT

It is the element upon which the actuator operates. This device is in
contact with the process itself. An example would be a valve which
closes or opens as operated by the actuator and controls in such a way
the flow of a process, liquid, or gas.

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