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September 2006
In this issue
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Classes |
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Trick of the month: How long does it takes to stabilize a control loop? |
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To contact us |
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Coming classes and seminars
PlantTriage - Performance supervision and Process Control Optimization
September 26-28, Houston, TX
PlantTriage, What's new in V6?
September 29, Houston, TX
Detailed Loop Analysis with ExperTune
October 16-18, Hartland, WI and
October 16-18, Antwerp, Belgium
ExperTune Advanced Tools
October 18-20, Hartland, WI and
October 18-20, Antwerp, Belgium
Seminar on modern control methods
October 31-November 2, Vancouver, BC
See our calendar for 2006
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This month's tip : How long does it takes to stabilize a control loop?
Questions |
Answers |
| What is your worst enemy in process control? | Dead time. |
| What can you do to reduce the settling time in a loop? | Reduce dead time. |
| Is it possible to quickly estimate the settling time? | ~ 10 * Dead time. |
When using PID control, the settling time after a set point change or a disturbance is approximately 10 times the dead time. If sluggish tuning parameters are used, the settling time will be longer.
Examples:
Belt conveyor
A weighing scale is installed on a belt conveyor; to adjust the amount of material on the belt, a sliding door is moved by a PID controller signal. The distance between the measurement and this door is 15 meters. The belt is moving at 0.3 m/s. Hence, the dead time is 45 s and the settling time (if the loop is properly tuned) is ~450 s (7.5 minutes). Reducing the distance to 5 meters will reduce the settling time to 2.5 minutes.Water temperature
A temperature sensor installed in a pipe measures the temperature of water. To control water temperature, hot water is injected. The distance between the sensor and the injection point is 21 m. The velocity is 3 m/s; the transportation time is 7 s. Total dead time of 18 s on this loop has been found, using bump tests. Reducing the distance would reduce the dead time - but on the other hand, we need good mixing. The sensor is moved at 6 m from the injection point. The transportation time is now 2 s. The dead time has been reduced from 18 s to 13 s; the settling time has been reduced form 180 s to 130 s.Positioning
A positioning system has an apparent dead time of 30 ms and a measured settling time of 290 ms. Mechanical parts are rigid; a zero backlash gear box is used. After analysis, we note that this dead time is coming from 3 time constants: 3 ms, 15 ms, and 12 ms; the real dead time is 0 but the apparent dead time is 30 ms. After modifying the electronic circuit, 15 ms has been removed; the settling time has been reduced to 160 ms.Conclusions
It is a lot cheaper to combat dead time at the design level.When discussing with production people, the theoretical limit to stabilize a loop is estimated using the rule of thumb: tsettling ~ 10 tdead time. Retuning loops will change this value, but only slightly.
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each valve or transmitter will add 0.5 to 2 s to the dead time (use 1 s for your estimates if you cannot make a good educated guess). Do not hesitate to contact us.
To contact us
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