Practical Process Control Best Practices in PID Control, Loop Tuning and Analysis Course

Course Overview:

This course teaches engineers and techs the theory and practical use of process loops and their enhancement in the ecosystem of process control.

Attendees will learn the basics of the process control such as process lag and reaction curves together with more complex topics involving PID control hydra tuning methods and adaptive controllers. 

The subject matters taking care of sensor positioning, valve behavior, and the effects of control elements on performance. A course of this kind is suitable for people engaged in automation, chemical engineering, and process system engineering design. 

This course advocates for enhancing process quality and safety whilst reducing cost and boosting system integrity and stability through a variety of real world applications.

Course Objectives:

This workshop is designed to provide engineers and technicians with the basic theoretical and practical understanding of the process loop and how this can be applied to optimize process control in terms of quality, safety, flexibility, and costs.

On successful completion of this workshop delegates will be able to:

• Understand the fundamentals of Process Control
• Define such terms as process lag, capacitance, and resistance
• Gain an insight into the process reaction curve
• Appreciate the effects of 1^st and 2^nd order reactions
• Avoid incorrect sensor placement
• Distinguish the effect of span on the system performance

Who Should Attend?

Professionals involved in designing, selecting, sizing, specifying, installing, testing, operating, and maintaining process instrumentation and control systems

• Automation Engineers
• Chemical Engineers
• Consulting Engineers
• Design Engineers

Course Outlines:

Basic process considerations

• Definition of terms
• Process lag, capacitance, and resistance
• Process reaction curve
• 1^st and 2^nd order reactions

Process measurement

• Instrumentation cabling
• Do’s and don’ts
• Filtering
• Aliasing
• Reaction masking
• Sensor placement
• Correct PV
• Effect of span

Final control element

• Choked flow
• Pressure recovery
• Flashing and cavitation
• Valve construction
• Valve characteristics
• Inherent
• Profiling
• Installed
• Cavitation control
• Actuators
• Diaphragm
• Cylinder
• Electric
• Valve positioners
• Deadband and hysteresis
• Stick-slip
• Testing procedures and analysis
• Effect of valve performance on controllability

Fundamentals of Process Control

• ON/OFF control
• Proportional control
• Proportional band vs. proportional gain
• Proportional offset
• Reset
• Integral action
• Integral windup
• Stability
• Bode plot
• Nyquist plot
• Derivative action
• PID control
• Control algorithms
• Load disturbances and offset
• Speed, stability, and robustness
• Proportional band vs. proportional gain
• Proportional offset
• Reset
• Integral action
• Integral windup
• Stability
• Bode plot
• Nyquist plot
• Derivative action
• PID control
• Control algorithms
• Load disturbances and offset
• Speed, stability, and robustness

Fundamentals of Tuning

• Basic principles
• Open-loop reaction curve method (Ziegler-Nichols)
• Default and typical settings
• Closed-loop continuous cycling method (Ziegler-Nichols)
• Lambda tuning
• Fine-tuning
• Tuning for load rejection vs. set-point rejection
• Tuning according to Pessin
• Tuning for different applications
• Speed of response vs. robustness
• Surge tank level control

Automated tuning systems

• Self-tuning loops
• Adaptive control

Advanced control algorithms

• Cascade systems
• Feedforward and combined systems
• Ratio control
• Adaptive control systems
• Deadtime compensation
• Fuzzy logic control