The objective of this 5-day course is to provide you with a comprehensive grasp of the fundamental principles of Process Control and equip you and/or your staff with the latest techniques for tuning Industrial Control Loops, all while minimizing the reliance on complex mathematics and formulas.

The course starts with a concise overview of the principles and core concepts of Process Control, enabling you to develop the necessary skills for tuning various types of controllers. Tuning controllers is a precise discipline that involves accurately configuring the process controller using appropriate procedures. Achieving the optimal configuration of the controller is known as tuning.

Throughout the course, the emphasis is on practical application and hands-on learning. By the end of the program, you will have gained a solid understanding of the essentials of Process Control and acquired the proficiency to effectively tune a wide range of controllers. The course provides you with the knowledge and skills to confidently perform the tuning process, ensuring optimal performance of industrial control loops.

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
Be proficient at tuning with a detailed knowledge of Open Loop Tuning and Closed Loop Tuning (including such classics as Ziegler Nichols Tuning and Lambda Tuning)
Be able to determine the minimum settling time for a control loop
Know the optimum amount of filtering or dampening to apply to the measurement
Know why and how to size valves for best control loop performance
Be able to handle problems such as valve hysteresis, stiction, and non-linearities
Be able to tune complex loops ranging from cascade to feedforward
Know when to use derivative control for the best-tuned loop
Understand cascade loops and feedforward control
Be able to identify and correct problems with dead time in the process
Apply the fundamentals of Process Control
Set up efficient Process Control systems
Set up cascade and feedforward systems
Tune loops effectively
Apply open and closed-loop tuning rules
Deal with stiction, hysteresis, and non-linearities
Correct problems with dead time
Troubleshoot tuning problems

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
General-purpose closed-loop tuning method
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

Filters