Improved Relay Autotuning using Normalized Time Delay

The relay autotuner provides a simple way offinding PID controllers of sufficient performance. By usingan asymmetric relay function the excitation of the process isimproved. This gives better models, and hence a better tuning,without increasing the time consumption or complexity of theexperiment. Some processes demand more accurate modelingand tuning to obtain controllers of sufficient performance.These processes can be singled out by their normalized timedelays and be subject to further modeling efforts. The autotunerproposed in this paper provides a simple way of findingthe normalized time delay from the experiment, and uses itfor model and controller selection. The autotuner has beenimplemented and evaluated both in a simulation environmentand by industrial experiments

PID Controller Tuning Using Bode's Integrals

A new method for PID controller tuning based on Bode's integrals is proposed. It is shown that the derivatives of amplitude and phase of a plant model with respect to frequency can be approximated by Bode's integrals without any model of the plant. This information can be used to design a PID controller for slope adjustment of the Nyquist diagram and improve the closed-loop performance. Besides, the derivatives can be also employed to estimate the gradient and the Hessian of a frequency criterion in an iterative PID controller tuning method. The frequency criterion is defined as the sum of squared errors between the desired and measured gain margin, phase margin and crossover frequency. The method benefits from specific feedback relay tests to determine the gain margin, the phase margin and the crossover frequency of the closed-loop system. Simulation examples and experimental results illustrate the effectiveness and the simplicity of the proposed method to design and tune the PID controllers

Towards a New Generation of Relay Autotuners

The relay autotuner for PID control is based on the simple idea of investigating process dynamics by the oscillation obtained when the PID controller is replaced by a relay unction. In this paper an asymmetric relay function is used, which provides an equation for the static gain of the process. A method to find the normalized time delay is proposed and the benefits of this is discussed. Ways to find low-order models from the experiment are described. Considerations of how to choose the relay parameters are made and some examples are given

Autotuning of a PID-controller

This master's thesis has been performed in cooperation with TAC in Malmö. The TAC group makes commercial buildings smarter by integrating and automating the technical systems required to run them. TAC:s control systems use PID-controllers to control processes such as heating and ventilation. The PID-controllers are often badly tuned, since it is too timeconsuming to calculate good PID-parameters at the time of deployment. A simple way of finding PID-parameters that give faster control loops is needed. To solve this problem the thesis proposes an autotuner based on the areamethod Method of Moments and the AMIGO tuning rules. The implementation of the autotuner using IEC 61131 is described. The resulting autotuner is tested on simulated processes and gives satisfactory results. The thesis also includes practical insights on the use of the autotuner

Autotuner identification of TITO systems using a single relay feedback experiment

Relay autotuning has proven very successful for single-input single-output systems. This paper proposes an identification method for relay autotuning of systems with two inputs and two outputs (TITO systems). The combination of asymmetric relay feedback and output error identification admits short tuning time, without the need for limit cycle convergence. The method is successfully demonstrated on relevant system models, including the Wood-Berry distillation column

Automatic Tuning of PID Controllers Based on Asymmetric Relay Feedback

This thesis presents an improved version of the classic relay autotuner. The proposed autotuner uses an asymmetric relay function to better excite the process in the experiment phase. The improved excitation provides the possibility to obtain better models and hence better tuning, without making the autotuner more complicated or time consuming.Some processes demand more accurate modeling and tuning to obtain con-trollers of sufficient performance. The proposed autotuner can classify these processes from the experiment. In an advanced version of the autotuner an additional experiment could be dhttps://localhost/admin/login.phpesigned for these processes, in order to further increase the possibilities in modeling and tuning. The experiment design would then rely on information from the relay experiment. A simple version of the autotuner could instead make a somewhat better model estimation immediately, or suggest that some extra effort may be put in modeling if the control performance of the loop is crucial. The main focus in this thesis is on the simple version of the autotuner.The proposed autotuner uses the process classification for model and controller selection also in the simple version. The processes are classified according to their normalized time delays. In this thesis a simple method of finding the normalized time delay from the asymmetric relay experiment is presented and evaluated.Research presented on different versions of the relay autotuner is often based solely on simulations. In large simulation environments, the ability to automatically tune the large amount of PID controllers is practical and time-saving. However, the ability to use the autotuner in an industrial setting, requires considerations not always present in a simulation environment. This thesis investigates many of these issues, regarding parameter settings and possible error sources. The proposed autotuner is implemented, tested and evaluated both in a simulation environment and by industrial experiments. The simple version of the autotuner gives satisfactory results, both in simulations and on the industrial processes. Still, there is a possibility to further increase the performance by an advanced version of the autotuner

Practical Evaluation of a Novel Multivariable Relay Autotuner with Short and Efficient Excitation

In this paper we propose an autotuning method that combines a setup for decentralized relay autotuning of two-input two-output systems with an identification method that uses short experiments to estimate up to second-ordertime-delayed systems. A small modification of the experiment gives better low-frequency excitation and improved models. The method is successfully demonstrated in simulations and on a quadruple tank process

First order plus frequency dependent delay modeling : new perspective or mathematical curiosity?

The first-order-plus-dead-time model (FOPDT) is a popular simplified representation of higher order dynamics. However, a well known drawback is the rapid decrease of the frequency response accuracy with increasing process order. This especially applies to the higher frequency range. Literature offers solutions by extending this three parameter model with more parameters. Here, a fractional dead time is proposed. As such, a Frequency-Dependent Delay (FDD) is introduced, which offers a better approximation. As the fractional-order term introduces nonlinear coupling between the phase and the magnitude of the process, the fitting of the function becomes an iterative process, so a constrained multi-objective optimization is needed. This novel model, first-order-plus-frequency-dependent-delay or FOPFDD is fitted on a real electrical ladder network of resistors and capacitors of four and eight parts. The classic model, which is clearly a special case of the new model, is outperformed in the entire bandwidth

PI/PID Controller Relay Experiment Auto-Tuning with Extended Kalman Filter and Second-Order Generalized Integrator as Parameter Estimators

This paper presents a method for the estimation of key parameters of limit cycle oscillations (amplitude and frequency) during a relay experiment used for automatic tuning of proportional-integral (PI) and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) feedback controllers. The limit cycle parameter estimator is based on the first-order extended Kalman filter (EKF) for resonance frequency estimation, to which a second-order generalized integrator (SOGI) is cascaded for the purpose of limit cycle amplitude estimation. Based on thus-obtained parameters of the limit cycle oscillations, the ultimate gain and the ultimate period of the limit cycle oscillations are estimated. These are subsequently used for the tuning of PI and PID controller according to Takahashi modifications of Ziegler-Nichols tuning rules. The proposed PI and PID controller auto-tuning method is verified by means of simulations and experimentally on the heat and air-flow experimental setup for the case of air temperature feedback control. The results have shown that the proposed auto-tuning system based on relay control experiment for the heat and air-flow process PI/PID temperature control can capture the ultimate gain and period parameters fairly quickly in simulations and in experiments. Subsequent controller tuning according to Takahashi modifications of Ziegler-Nichols rules using thus-obtained ultimate point parameters can provide favourable closed-loop load disturbance rejection, particularly in the case of PID controller

PI/PID Controller Relay Experiment Auto-Tuning with Extended Kalman Filter and Second-Order Generalized Integrator as Parameter Estimators

This paper presents a method for the estimation of key parameters of limit cycle oscillations (amplitude and frequency) during a relay experiment used for automatic tuning of proportional-integral (PI) and proportional-integral-derivative (PID) feedback controllers. The limit cycle parameter estimator is based on the first-order extended Kalman filter (EKF) for resonance frequency estimation, to which a second-order generalized integrator (SOGI) is cascaded for the purpose of limit cycle amplitude estimation. Based on thus-obtained parameters of the limit cycle oscillations, the ultimate gain and the ultimate period of the limit cycle oscillations are estimated. These are subsequently used for the tuning of PI and PID controller according to Takahashi modifications of Ziegler-Nichols tuning rules. The proposed PI and PID controller auto-tuning method is verified by means of simulations and experimentally on the heat and air-flow experimental setup for the case of air temperature feedback control. The results have shown that the proposed auto-tuning system based on relay control experiment for the heat and air-flow process PI/PID temperature control can capture the ultimate gain and period parameters fairly quickly in simulations and in experiments. Subsequent controller tuning according to Takahashi modifications of Ziegler-Nichols rules using thus-obtained ultimate point parameters can provide favourable closed-loop load disturbance rejection, particularly in the case of PID controller