Level Control of a Three-Tank System

The experiment "Level Control of a Three-Tank System" is a classic example of a linear SISO system with a large time delay,

The task is to use a pump to bring the liquid level in one of the three tanks to a specified level and maintain it there.

To do this, a linear SISO model of the “three-tank system” is derived using the Matlab/Simulink program.

Next, a P-controller and a PI-controller are designed for this system using the root locus method.

These controllers are then experimentally tested on the “AMIRA DTS 200” or “Amira TTS20” three-tank system.

Laboratory Director

Axel Dürrbaum, B.S. in Engineering

Implementation/Description

Each group consists of 4–5 participants. During the lab experiment, each participant prepares a lab report describing all the steps taken and the results obtained.
The duration of each experiment is 4+4 (FP-MRI) or 5 (FP-MRS) hours.

Experimental steps:

  1. Linearization of the “three-tank system” section
  2. Controller design using the root locus method
  3. Testing the controllers on the nonlinear “DTS 200” or "TTS20" system
  4. Comparison of simulation and experiment
  5. Comparison of results for the linearized and nonlinear plant
  6. Discussion of the results

Experimental Setup

The system to be controlled is the "DTS 200" test setup from Amira.

The system is considered a single-input, single-output (SISO) system:

  • one input variable: pump voltage UZ1
  • one output variable: liquid level h2

(Basic) literature

Lecture Notes on "Measurement and Control Engineering" by Prof. Andreas Kroll