Modeling

PID Loop Tuning Technology

Finally – a tuning software that can handle real-world applications!

When it comes to accurately modeling complex process dynamics, LOOP-PRO truly stands alone. It is the only commercial software tool that has consistently proven to handle noisy, oscillatory process data – what process manufacturers know as the ‘real world’. At its core is a proprietary modeling capability that eliminates the need for a steady-state condition. If you need a tool capable of taming your most important PID control loops, then look no further.

LOOP-PRO makes it easy for you to examine and model different segments of your step test data. With the ability to generate multiple models, users can focus on different portions of data, different process dynamics, and even different operating ranges. The software’s graphical interface includes utilities that make it easy to avoid disturbance-driven data, and LOOP-PRO’s model analysis calculates both the R2 value and other relevant information for each model generated. With LOOP-PRO you gain a powerful tool for understanding and controlling your facility’s most challenging processes.

Other important LOOP-PRO attributes include:

Integrating vs. Non-Integrating

If your tuning software only works with select types of processes, then maybe a different software is needed – one like LOOP-PRO. There are a lot of software products in the market. Some can only handle data that starts and ends with a steady-state condition. Others can only handle the non-steady state data of integrating processes. Control Station believes that tuning software should work under all conditions and support all process types. If your tuning software has these limitations, then LOOP-PRO is your answer.

Methods for modeling integrating processes have been widely published, but integrating processes only represent a small portion of industrial control applications. LOOP-PRO accurately models the dynamics of both integrating (a.k.a. non-self-regulating) and non-integrating (a.k.a. self-regulating) processes.  LOOP-PRO distinguishes integrating from non-integrating process characteristics in your data, and it automatically applies the appropriate model. With that capability LOOP-PRO delivers the correct tuning parameters every time.

Following are several process types that LOOP-PRO readily supports:

  • Concentration
  • Flow
  • Level
  • pH
  • Pressure
  • Temperature
  • Among many others

NSS Modeling Innovation

A typical production environment is inherently dynamic due to the interaction the occurs among and between the facility’s 100s or even 1,000s of interconnected controllers. Assuring that all elements of a production process are ‘quiet’ and stable both prior to and during testing is rarely feasible and it’s often impossible. While other ‘state-of-the-art’ process modeling and tuning tools require steady-state operation before conducting process diagnostic and optimization tests, LOOP-PRO is the only software on the market that doesn’t.

LOOP-PRO is equipped with the Non-Steady State (NSS) Modeling Innovation. This proprietary feature eliminates the need for a steady-state condition prior to the start of testing. All that LOOP-PRO requires is data that shows a clear change in the Controller Output. What that means is that you can bump your process and successfully improve control over your facility’s most critical PID loops under everyday conditions including the following:

  • Noisy, oscillatory and transitional processes
  • Processes with a large Dead-Time
  • During start-up and cut-over
  • Open-Loop and Closed-Loop data
  • Integrating and Non-Integrating processes

Still looking for more?

Now that you’ve gotten the basics, connect with our team to learn how our people, processes and technologies can help you optimize.