Modelling of level process

Abstract

Industries such as, textile, food processing, chemical and water treatment plants are part of our global development. The efficiency of processes used by them is always a matter of great importance. Efficiency can be greatly improved by obtaining an exact model of the process. This paper studies the two main classifications of model development – First-Principles Model and Empirical Model. First-Principles Model can be obtained with an understanding of the basic physics of the system. On the other hand, Empirical Models require only the input-output data and can thus factor in process non-linearity, disturbances and unexpected errors. This paper utilizes the System Identification Toolbox in MATLAB for empirical model development. Models are developed for a single tank system, a classic SISO problem and for the two interacting tank system. Both systems are studied with respect to three operating points, each from a local linear region. The obtained models are validated with the real-time setup. They are satisfactory in their closeness to the real time process and hence deemed fit for use in control algorithms and other process manipulations.