PLC Elementary and Control Loops Course

Course Overview:

This course is designed to introduce the participants to the concepts of process control in an accurate manner and practice how to optimally tune loops for different industrial needs. 

The participants will be introduced to basic principles of feedback and feedforward control concepts, ways to tune PID settings and troubleshoot expectations to online system performance. 

Theoretical session will be accompanied with practical ones, including tuning procedures, control valve operators and automatic tuners for cascade and multivariable loops. 

The course outline is best for engineers, technicians and consultants of all branches and imparts in the audience working and best techniques for achieving competent, dependable and well-adjusted control systems.

Course Objectives:

By completing this training course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the fundamentals of Process Control
• Know the fundamentals of tuning loops - both open and closed-loop
• Get the best PID settings right first time
• Know where to troubleshoot to achieve optimally tuned control loops
• Be able to apply step-by-step descriptions of the best field-proven tuning procedures
• Know the typical procedures for troubleshooting tuning problems
• Tune more control loops in less time with consistently excellent results
• Be able to apply the practical rules of thumb for tuning systems

Who Should Attend?

This course is intended for all Instrumentation & Control Engineers, Process Control Engineers, Mechanical Engineers & Technicians, System Integrators, Consultants, Operators Monitoring & Controlling Processes, Installation & Maintenance Technicians as well as Energy Management Consultants, Electrical Engineers, Electricians, and Automation Engineers.

Course Outlines:

Introduction & BASIC CONTROL CONCEPTS

• Typical Manual Control
• Feedback and Feedforward Control
• Block Diagrams

INTRODUCTION TO INSTRUMENTATION

• Selection and Specification of devices
• Pressure Measurement
• Flow Measurement
• Level Measurement
• Temperature Measurement

Introduction to Control Valves

• Basic Principles
• Rotary Control Valves
• Ball Valves
• Characteristics and Specifications

FUNDAMENTALS OF PROCESS CONTROL

• Processes, controllers, and tuning
• PID controllers - P, I, and D modes of operation
• Load disturbances and offset
• Speed, stability, and robustness
• Gain, dead time, and time constants
• Process noise
• Feedback controllers
• How to select feedback controller modes
• Practical Session

Fundamentals of Tuning

• Open-loop characterization of process dynamics
• Default and typical settings
• The general-purpose closed-loop tuning method
• The quick and easy-open loop method
• Fine-tuning for different process types
• Simplified lambda tuning
• Practical Session

THE DIFFERENT TUNING RULES

• Ten different rules compared
• Tables of typical tuning settings
• When to use them/when not to use them
• Rules of thumb in tuning
• Practical Session

TUNING OF VALVES

• Hysteresis
• Stiction
• Practical Session

AUTOMATED TUNING

• Self-tuning loops
• Adaptive control
• Practical Session

TUNING OF MORE COMPLEX SYSTEMS

• Cascade systems - tuning of them
• Feedforward, ratio, multivariable systems
• Interactive loops tuning
• Deadtime compensation
• Practical limitations
• Practical Session

GOOD PRACTICE

• Good practice for common loop problems
• Flow control loop characteristics
• Level control loop characteristics
• Temperature control loop characteristics
• Pressure control loop characteristics
• Other less common loops