Talk:Control loop

Redirect taken off
This is a notable topic within control engineering, and by taking the re-direct off it can be directly referenced. Dougsim (talk) 16:44, 16 September 2017 (UTC)

Requested move
For the requested move of the page, see Talk:Open loop (disambiguation).  Paine Ellsworth , ed.  put'r there  16:24, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

Section duplication
I've merged into Control_loop five (!) nearly exactly duplicated sections. fgnievinski (talk) 06:21, 11 March 2023 (UTC)

From Open-loop_controller


Fundamentally, there are two types of control loop: open-loop control (feedforward), and closed-loop control (feedback).

In open-loop control, the control action from the controller is independent of the "process output" (or "controlled process variable"). A good example of this is a central heating boiler controlled only by a timer, so that heat is applied for a constant time, regardless of the temperature of the building. The control action is the switching on/off of the boiler, but the controlled variable should be the building temperature, but is not because this is open-loop control of the boiler, which does not give closed-loop control of the temperature.

In closed loop control, the control action from the controller is dependent on the process output. In the case of the boiler analogy this would include a thermostat to monitor the building temperature, and thereby feed back a signal to ensure the controller maintains the building at the temperature set on the thermostat. A closed loop controller therefore has a feedback loop which ensures the controller exerts a control action to give a process output the same as the "reference input" or "set point". For this reason, closed loop controllers are also called feedback controllers.

The definition of a closed loop control system according to the British Standard Institution is "a control system possessing monitoring feedback, the deviation signal formed as a result of this feedback being used to control the action of a final control element in such a way as to tend to reduce the deviation to zero."

From Control_theory
Fundamentally, there are two types of control loops: open loop control and closed loop (feedback) control.

In open loop control, the control action from the controller is independent of the "process output" (or "controlled process variable" - PV). A good example of this is a central heating boiler controlled only by a timer, so that heat is applied for a constant time, regardless of the temperature of the building. The control action is the timed switching on/off of the boiler, the process variable is the building temperature, but neither is linked.

In closed loop control, the control action from the controller is dependent on feedback from the process in the form of the value of the process variable (PV). In the case of the boiler analogy, a closed loop would include a thermostat to compare the building temperature (PV) with the temperature set on the thermostat (the set point - SP). This generates a controller output to maintain the building at the desired temperature by switching the boiler on and off. A closed loop controller, therefore, has a feedback loop which ensures the controller exerts a control action to manipulate the process variable to be the same as the "Reference input" or "set point". For this reason, closed loop controllers are also called feedback controllers.

The definition of a closed loop control system according to the British Standard Institution is "a control system possessing monitoring feedback, the deviation signal formed as a result of this feedback being used to control the action of a final control element in such a way as to tend to reduce the deviation to zero."

Likewise; "A Feedback Control System is a system which tends to maintain a prescribed relationship of one system variable to another by comparing functions of these variables and using the difference as a means of control."

Other examples
An example of a control system is a car's cruise control, which is a device designed to maintain vehicle speed at a constant desired or reference speed provided by the driver. The controller is the cruise control, the plant is the car, and the system is the car and the cruise control. The system output is the car's speed, and the control itself is the engine's throttle position which determines how much power the engine delivers.

A primitive way to implement cruise control is simply to lock the throttle position when the driver engages cruise control. However, if the cruise control is engaged on a stretch of non-flat road, then the car will travel slower going uphill and faster when going downhill. This type of controller is called an open-loop controller because there is no feedback; no measurement of the system output (the car's speed) is used to alter the control (the throttle position.) As a result, the controller cannot compensate for changes acting on the car, like a change in the slope of the road.

In a closed-loop control system, data from a sensor monitoring the car's speed (the system output) enters a controller which continuously compares the quantity representing the speed with the reference quantity representing the desired speed. The difference, called the error, determines the throttle position (the control). The result is to match the car's speed to the reference speed (maintain the desired system output). Now, when the car goes uphill, the difference between the input (the sensed speed) and the reference continuously determines the throttle position. As the sensed speed drops below the reference, the difference increases, the throttle opens, and engine power increases, speeding up the vehicle. In this way, the controller dynamically counteracts changes to the car's speed. The central idea of these control systems is the feedback loop, the controller affects the system output, which in turn is measured and fed back to the controller.

From Control_system
There are two common classes of control action: open loop and closed loop. In an open-loop control system, the control action from the controller is independent of the process variable. An example of this is a central heating boiler controlled only by a timer. The control action is the switching on or off of the boiler. The process variable is the building temperature. This controller operates the heating system for a constant time regardless of the temperature of the building.

In a closed-loop control system, the control action from the controller is dependent on the desired and actual process variable. In the case of the boiler analogy, this would utilize a thermostat to monitor the building temperature, and feed back a signal to ensure the controller output maintains the building temperature close to that set on the thermostat. A closed-loop controller has a feedback loop which ensures the controller exerts a control action to control a process variable at the same value as the setpoint. For this reason, closed-loop controllers are also called feedback controllers.

From Automation
Fundamentally, there are two types of control loops: open-loop control, and closed-loop control.

In open-loop control, the control action from the controller is independent of the "process output" (or "controlled process variable"). A good example of this is a central heating boiler controlled only by a timer, so that heat is applied for a constant time, regardless of the temperature of the building. (The control action is switching the boiler off and on. The process output is building temperature.)

In closed-loop control, the control action from the controller is dependent on the process output. In the case of the boiler analogy, this would include a temperature sensor to monitor the building temperature, and thereby feed a signal back to the controller to ensure it maintains the building at the temperature set on the thermostat. A closed-loop controller, therefore, has a feedback loop that ensures the controller exerts a control action to give a process output equal to the "reference input" or "set point". For this reason, closed-loop control is also called feedback control.

The definition of a closed-loop control system according to the British Standard Institution is 'a control system possessing monitoring feedback, the deviation signal formed as a result of this feedback being used to control the action of a final control element in such a way as to tend to reduce the deviation to zero.'

Likewise, a feedback control system is a system that tends to maintain a prescribed relationship of one system variable to another by comparing functions of these variables and using the difference as a means of control. The advanced type of automation that revolutionized manufacturing, aircraft, communications, and other industries, is feedback control, which is usually continuous and involves taking measurements using a sensor and making calculated adjustments to keep the measured variable within a set range. The theoretical basis of closed-loop automation is control theory.