Learning outcome

A candidate who has successfully completed the course will have a learning outcome in the form of aquired knowledge, skills, and general competence, as described below.

Knowledge:

The student will have knowledge about

• how control engineering can be applied to solve industrial and environmental problems,
• characterization of process dynamics,
• the structure of a feedback control loop,
• how the PID controller works,
• which factors influence control system stability,
• the principles of a number of different methods for controller tuning,
• the principle of and applications of cascade control,
• the principle of and applications of feedforward control,
• the basic principles of control structures for industrial processes,
• how control structures are documented with Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs),
• the principle of and applications of sequential control,
• the physical components of a feedback control loop, including automation devices, actuators and sensors,
• the principles of PC-based measurement, control and data logging with LabVIEW.

Skills

The student will be able to

• characterize process dynamics in terms of gain, time-constant, integrator (accumulator) gain, and time-delay from a given dynamic model in the time-domain (differential equations),
• design the structure of feedback control loops,
• explain how a PID controller works,
• identify factors which typically influence control system stability,
• apply various methods for controller tuning on a simulator and on a physical system,
• design the structure of cascade control systems,
• design feedforward controllers,
• design the structure of control systems for industrial processes in terms of a process and instrumentation diagrams to obtain specifications related to mass balances, production rate, temperature (energy) control, and quality control,
• design sequential control systems using sequential function chart (SFC),
• identify physical components of a feedback control loop, including automation devices, actuators and sensors,
• identify the components needed to implement a PC-based system for measurement, control and data logging with LabVIEW,
• do practical work with a given PC-based system for measurement, control and data logging with LabVIEW,
• identify the function blocks for PID control, measurement filtering (smoothing), scaling, analog input from sensors, analog output to actuators, and writing data continuously to a logfile in a given LabVIEW program for measurement and control.

General competences

The student will

• be able to evaluate the benefits of implementing control systems industrial processes and environmental engineerings systems,
• be able to communicate with control engineers,
• know how control systems are documented with block diagrams and process and instrumentation diagrams,
• master basic control systems terminology,
• be able to write a report for laboratory assignment and for a project task.

Course Description

Importance of control engineering for solving industrial and environmental problems. Characterization of process dynamics. Feedback control with PID (proportional-integral-derivative) controller. Factors influencing control system stability. Controller tuning. Cascade control. Feedforward control. Control structures for industrial processes. Sequential control. Automation technology. Sensors. Actuators. PC-based measurement, control and data logging with LabVIEW.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Lectures including simulations (hands-on). Theoretical exercises. Simulations. Laboratory assignment (student groups). Project (individual, but cooperation among students is encouraged).

Assessment Methods

The project and the laboratory assignment must be accomplished satisfactorily to pass the course. Once this requirement is fullfilled, the grade is given 100% by the results of the individual written examination which takes place without aids.

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean