Half order plus time delay (HOPTD) models to tune PI controllers

Methods based on the first‐order plus time delay (FOPTD) model are very popular for tuning proportional‐integral (PI) controllers. The FOPTD model‐based methods are simple and their utility has been proved with many successful applications to a wide range of processes in practice. However, even for some overdamped processes where the FOPTD model seems to be applied successfully, these empirical FOPTD model‐based methods can fail to provide stable tuning results. To remove these drawbacks, a PI controller tuning method based on half‐order plus time delay (HOPTD) model is proposed. Because FOPTD model‐based methods can be applied to higher order processes, the proposed HOPTD model‐based method can be applied to higher order processes as well. It does not require any additional process information compared to the FOPTD model‐based method and hence can be used for overdamped processes in practice, complementing the traditional FOPTD model‐based methods. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 601–609, 2017