INTEGRATED HANDS-ON AND REMOTE PID TUNING LABORATORY

Abstract

University control engineering coursesusually focus on Proportional Integral Derivative (PID)controllers. Moreover PID controllers are used in morethan 90% of the industrial control applications, becausethey are relatively cheap, easy to use, and robust enoughfor most industrial applications. However, universityteaching attaches most importance to the theoreticalknowledge of PID controllers, rather than the practicalskills required to support the use of these controllers inindustry. In addition, the cost and space challengesassociated with hands on laboratories make simulationbased laboratories a more attractive option for teachingPID controllers. Unfortunately, simulations do notcapture the complexity of control systems that areimportant to develop the practical skills of students. Inthis paper, we present a laboratory setup that is used toteach practical skills in PID tuning. The system controlsthe temperature of a small fictitious house whosetemperature is affected by an uncontrolled heating sourceand blow fan. The PID data is accessible to the systemuser through OLE( Object Linking & Embedding) forProcess Control, also referred as Open ProcessControl(OPC) technology. This technology allows thesystem to be used as a hands-on or remote laboratory,which allows students to learn the complexity of PIDcontrollers, while removing the time and spaceconstraints imposed by purely hands on laboratories.Being accessible remotely, the setup enables andencourages instructors to include demonstrations of PIDtuning into their lectures