COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

PUTRAJAYA CAMPUS
FINAL EXAMINATION

SEMESTER 2, 2017 / 2018

PROGRAMME : Bachelor of Electrical & Electronic Engineering (Hons)

Bachelor of Electrical Power Engineering (Hons)
Bachelor of Computer & Communication Engineering (Hons)
Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Hons)

SUBJECT CODE : EEIB413

SUBJECT : Process Control & Instrumentation

DATE : January 2018

DURATION : 2.5 Hours

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES:

1. This paper contains FIVE (5) questions in SEVEN (7) pages.

2. Answer ALL questions.

3. Write ALL answers in the answer booklet provided.

4. Write answer to each question on a new page.

THIS QUESTION PAPER CONSISTS OF 7 PRINTED PAGES INCLUDING THIS

COVER PAGE.
 EEIB413, Semester 2 2017/2018

QUESTION 1 [25 MARKS]

Figure 1

Figure 1 shows a level control process system in which the activated relay opens the
valve and the deactivated relay closes the valve. Input flow Q1 and Q2 are not controlled.
The relay activates at 6.0 V and deactivates at 4.8 V. The level sensor has a transfer
function of Vh = 0.8h + 0.4 V.

(a) Solve the value of amplifier gain, K, required to open the valve when the level
reaches 1.5 m. [2 marks]
(b) Find the level does the valve close. [4 marks]

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 EEIB413, Semester 2 2017/2018

(c) Suppose Q1 = 5 m3/min, Q2 = 2 m3/min and Qout = 9 m3/min (when open).

Calculate the period of the level oscillation? [5 marks]
(d) Assume the level sensor has the time constant of 6ms, solve the output of the level
sensor when the level change from 1.15m to 1.45m at t = 9ms. [4 marks]
(e) Assume a PI controller with proportional gain of 5, integration gain of 2 and
initial output of the integral controller is 5% is used to control the level control
process in Figure 1. The setpoint of the process is 1.3m, the error equals to zero at
t < 0s, however at t = 0s the level is dropped to 1.292m for 2s and further dropped
to 1.288m for another 1s and this error recovered by the PI after that. Illustrate
graph of the error and the controller output of the process. [10 marks]

QUESTION 2 [25 MARKS]

(a) A 5 m diameter cylindrical tank is emptied by a constant outflow of 1.0 m3/min.

A two-position controller is used to open and close a fill valve with an open flow
of 2.0 m3/min. For level control, the neutral zone is 1 m and the setpoint is 12 m.
(i) Calculate the cycling period. [10 marks]
(ii) Plot the level versus time. [5 marks]
(b) A controlling variable is a motor speed that varies from 800 to 1750 rpm. If the
speed is controlled by a 25 to 50 Vdc signal.
(i) Calculate the speed produced by an input of 38 V [5 marks]
(ii) Calculate the speed calculated as a percent of span. [5 marks]

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 EEIB413, Semester 2 2017/2018

QUESTION 3 [25 MARKS]

(a) A control valve has a linear variation of opening as the input voltage varies from
0V to 10V. A microcomputer outputs an 8-bit word to control the valve opening
using an 8-bit DAC to generate the valve voltage.
(i) Find the reference voltage required to obtain a full open valve (10V).
(ii) Find the percentage of valve opening for a 1-bit change in the input word.
[10 marks]
(b) Draw and describe in brief the principle operation of a thermocouple.
[15 marks]

QUESTION 4 [25 MARKS]

Using an RTD with α =0.0034/ᵒC and R=100Ω at 20ᵒC, design a bridge and operational
amplifier system to provide a 0.0V to 10.0V output for 20ᵒC to 100ᵒC temperature
variation. The RTD dissipation constant is 28mW/ᵒC and the maximum self-heating
should be 0.05ᵒC. [25 marks]

-END OF QUESTION PAPER-

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 EEIB413, Semester 2 2017/2018

Formula sheet

Linear Equation
y = mx + c

First Order Response

b(t ) = b1 + (b f − bi )[1 − e −t / τ ]

Error Express as Percentage of Span

r −b
ep = × 100
bmax − bmin

Flow Rate
V
Q=
t

Cylindrical Volume
V = πr 2 h

Proportional Control
p = K P e p + p0

Integral Control
t
p(t ) = K I ∫ e p dt + p(0)
0

Derivative Control
de p
p (t ) = K D
dt

Proportional-Integral Control (PI)

t
p = K P e p + K P K I ∫ e p dt + p I (0)
0

Proportional-Derivative Control (PD)

de p
p = K Pep + K P K D + p0
dt

Proportional-Integral-Derivative Control (PID)

t de p
p = K P e p + K P K I ∫ e p dt + K P K D + p I (0)
0 dt

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 EEIB413, Semester 2 2017/2018

Wheatstone Bridge
R3 R2 − R1 R4
∆V = ×V
( R1 + R3 ) + ( R2 + R4 )

Current Balance Bridge

R3 R4 + R5
∆V = ×V − × V − IR5
R1 + R3 R2 + R4 + R5

Potential Measurement Bridge

R3 R4 + R5
Vx + ×V − × V − IR5 = 0
R1 + R3 R2 + R4 + R5

Low Pass Filter

Vout 1 1
= 2 1/ 2
; fc =
Vin [1 + ( f / f c ) ] 2πRC

HighPass Filter
Vout f / fc
=
Vin [1 + ( f / f c ) 2 ]1/ 2

Band Pass Filter

Vout fH f 1 1
= ; fH = ; fL =
Vin 2 2 2
( f − f H f L ) + [ f L + (1 + r ) f H ] f 2 2πRL C L 2πRH CH

Hysteresis Comparator
R
VL = Vref − V0 ; VH = Vref
Rf

Unipolar DAC
N
Vout = n VR
2

Bipolar DAC
N 1
Vout = n VR − VR
2 2

Conversion Resolution
V
∆Vout = Rn
2

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 EEIB413, Semester 2 2017/2018

Unipolar ADC
V 
N = INT  in 2n 
 VR 

Bipolar ADC
 V 1 
N = INT  in + 2 n 
 VR 2  

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