IMC-PID tuning method based on sensitivity specification for process with time-delay

Abstract

To overcome the deficiencies addressed in the conventional PID control and improve the dynamic performance and robustness of the system, a simple design and parameters tuning approach of internal model control-PID (IMC-PID) controller was proposed for the first order plus time-delay (FOPTD) process and the second order plus time-delay (SOPTD) process. By approximating the time-delay term of the process model with the first-order Taylor series, the expressions for IMC-PID controller parameters were derived, and they had only one adjustable parameter λ which was directly related to the dynamic performance and robustness of the system. Moreover, an analytical approach of selecting λ was given based on the maximum sensitivity Ms. Then, the robust tuning of the system could be achieved according to the value of Ms. In addition, the proposed method could be extended to the integrator plus time-delay (IPTD) process and the first order delay integrating (FODI) process. Simulation studies were carried out on various processes with time-delay, and the results show that the proposed method could provide a better dynamic performance of both the set-point tracking and disturbance rejection and robustness against parameters perturbation.