PID Temperature Control

Abstract

For any industrial furnaces, it is important to monitor and control temperature. The function and purpose of these temperature control devices might be different, but they all follow the same design concept, which is to construct a control loop to reach the preset temperature. A simple thermostat system merely includes a heater and a cooler (air conditioner, etc.), and a switch to change mode between these two according to a thermometer. A more complex system adjusts the amount of heat added or removed, depending on the difference between the required temperature and the current temperature. This method is called Proportional control. Furthermore, by using the accumulated signal (Integral part) and error changing rate (Derivative part), we can build a more complex PID Controller which is mature in the industry. In this chapter, we will introduce different types of temperature control first and then talk about PID control in detail through its theory, methods, and modifications.