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    Cascade Control

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    anon-482953
    Cascade control involves using two controllers in a hierarchical structure where the output of the primary controller is the set point of the secondary controller. The secondary controller directly controls an intermediate process variable that affects the primary process variable. This allows more effective control of the primary variable. Cascade control is useful when the primary process has a large time delay and the secondary process has a smaller delay. It provides benefits like reducing the effect of disturbances on the primary variable and increasing the speed of the primary loop response. Potential downsides include increased complexity and cost.

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    Cascade Control

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    anon-482953
    3K views4 pages
    Cascade control involves using two controllers in a hierarchical structure where the output of the primary controller is the set point of the secondary controller. The secondary controller directly controls an intermediate process variable that affects the primary process variable. This allows more effective control of the primary variable. Cascade control is useful when the primary process has a large time delay and the secondary process has a smaller delay. It provides benefits like reducing the effect of disturbances on the primary variable and increasing the speed of the primary loop response. Potential downsides include increased complexity and cost.

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    Cascade control involves using two controllers in a hierarchical structure where the output of the primary controller is the set point of the secondary controller. The secondary controller directly controls an intermediate process variable that affects the primary process variable. This allows more effective control of the primary variable. Cascade control is useful when the primary process has a large time delay and the secondary process has a smaller delay. It provides benefits like reducing the effect of disturbances on the primary variable and increasing the speed of the primary loop response. Potential downsides include increased complexity and cost.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    3K views4 pages

    Cascade Control

    Uploaded by

    anon-482953
    Cascade control involves using two controllers in a hierarchical structure where the output of the primary controller is the set point of the secondary controller. The secondary controller directly controls an intermediate process variable that affects the primary process variable. This allows more effective control of the primary variable. Cascade control is useful when the primary process has a large time delay and the secondary process has a smaller delay. It provides benefits like reducing the effect of disturbances on the primary variable and increasing the speed of the primary loop response. Potential downsides include increased complexity and cost.

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    of 4

    ]

    1.0Cascade Control

    1.1Introduction

    Cascade Control has a multi-loop structure, where the output of the controller
    in the outer loop (the “primary” or “master”) is the set point of a controller in
    the inner loop (the “secondary” or “slave”).

    The slave measurement is an intermediate process variable that can be used


    to achieve more effective control of the primary process variable. Two
    controllers are used, but only one process variable is manipulated.

    The primary controller maintains the primary variable at its set point by
    adjusting the set point of the secondary controller. The secondary controller,
    in turn responds both to set point and to the secondary controlled variable.

    Figure 1 shows a cascade loop to control heat exchanger process fluid outlet
    temperature by controlling the steam inlet flow.

    Figure 1 – Control of Heat Exchanger Outlet Temperature using Steam


    Flow as Secondary Loop.

    There are three main requirements for using cascade control:

    • Secondary loop must have influence over the primary loop.


    • Secondary loop must be measured and controllable.
    • Secondary loop process dynamics must be at least four times as fast as
    primary loop process dynamics.

    Cascade control is advantageous in applications where the primary process


    has a large dead time or time lag and the time delays in the secondary part of
    the process are smaller. Lags in a process is a major obstacles to good
    temperature control. Cascade control is also desirable when the main
    disturbance is in the secondary loop.

    There are four main advantages gained by the use of cascade control:

    a- Disturbances that are affecting the secondary variable can be corrected by


    the secondary controller before their influence is felt by the primary variable.

    b- The primary lag seen by the primary controller is reduced, resulting in


    increased speed response.

    c- Allow secondary controller to handle non-linear valve and other final control
    element problems.

    d- Allow operator to directly control secondary loop during certain modes of


    operation (such as start-up).

    Other advantages include the ability to limit the set point of the secondary
    controller. In addition, by speeding up the loop response, the sensitivity of the
    primary process variable to process upsets is also reduced.

    On the other hand, cascade control introduces additional complexity and


    increases the cost of measurement of secondary variable (assuming it is not
    measured for other reasons).

    1.2Cascade Control Modes

    In most applications, the control loop is not functioning as a cascade loop all
    the time. The operator (in the case of batch control, the batch control
    program) has the ability to change modes. Following is the typical selection of
    modes of operation available for a cascade control loop. Manual and Auto are
    usually used during start-up while cascade is used for normal operation.

    • Manual Mode - The set point of the flow controller tracks the actual flow
    variable. Figure 7 shows in (a) the schematic of a Manual mode.
    • Auto Mode - The output of the temperature controller tracks the set point
    of the flow controller. Figure 7 shows in (b)the schematic of an Auto
    mode.
    • Cascade Mode - The temperature controller manipulates the set point of
    the flow controller. Figure 7 shows in (c) a schematic of a Cascade mode.

    Therefore, when switching from one mode to another there is no sudden


    change in the output to the valve.
    a)
    Manual
    mode

    b) Auto
    mode

    c)
    Cascade
    mode

    Figure 2 – Cascade Control Modes

    1.3Windup

    If the secondary controller cannot deliver enough flow, even with its valve
    wide open, to bring the primary measured variable to its set point, the primary
    controller will "windup" and continue to increase the flow set point above the
    maximum flow. Later, when the flow is sufficient to bring the primary
    measurement to its set point, the primary controller must take the time to
    "wind down" the secondary set point to the actual flow before the valve begins
    to close.

    The windup problem can be eliminated by connecting the secondary


    measurement to the external feedback of the primary.
    Figure 3 – Control Modes for a Heat Exchanger

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