PID & Process Control

The loops that run every plant. PID control from theory to practice: tuning rules, anti-windup and digital implementation, cascade, feedforward, ratio, split-range and override strategies, control valves, actuators and positioners.

• PID Control — The PID controller is used in over 90 % of industrial loops. Learn what P, I and D each do, tuning with Ziegler–Nichols and practical rules, anti-windup, derivative filtering and a digital implementation.
• PID Tuning & Digital Implementation — Making PID work on real plants. Learn PID forms (ideal, parallel, series), tuning methods (Ziegler–Nichols open and closed loop, Cohen–Coon, IMC/lambda, SIMC), derivative filtering and derivative-on-measurement, setpoint weighting, integral windup and anti-windup, bumpless transfer, discretisation and sample time — with a full discrete PID simulator in Python comparing Z-N and SIMC tuning.
• Advanced Regulatory Control: Cascade, Feedforward, Ratio & More — Single PID loops are not enough for real plants. Learn cascade control, feedforward (static and dynamic), ratio control, split-range, override/selector control, valve-position control, Smith predictor for dead time, and decoupling for interacting loops — with a simulation showing feedforward cancelling a disturbance.
• Control Valves, Actuators & Positioners — The final control element does the real work in most loops. Learn valve body types (globe, ball, butterfly, plug), inherent and installed characteristics (linear, equal-percentage, quick-opening), sizing with Kv/Cv, rangeability, cavitation, flashing and noise, pneumatic actuators and fail-safe action, smart positioners, stiction and dead band, and alternatives such as variable-speed pumps and dampers.
• Controllers & Final Control Elements — Controllers and final control elements act on the process. Learn feedback control loops, controller action (direct/reverse), control valves (characteristics, sizing with Kv/Cv, fail-safe), on/off vs modulating control, cascade, ratio and feedforward strategies, and loop troubleshooting.