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Session 3559

AUTOMATIC LIQUID LEVEL CONTROLLER USING A LABVIEW BASED PC

James D. Wagoner, N. F. Macia

Department of Electronics & Computer Technology Arizona State University East

Abstract

A liquid level control system was designed and fabricated to control the level of a liquid in a water tank that had a randomly varying inlet. Control of the water level was accomplished by adjusting a gate valve in the drainpipe located at the bottom of the tank. A solenoid actuator, operated in a continuous mode, controlled the gate valve opening and a pressure sensor provided liquid level feedback to the controller. Input to this system was a random flow disturbance consisting of water entering the top of the tank through three pipes controlled by solenoid valves and programmed to randomly switch on and off. The liquid level control system was implemented with a PC running National Instruments LabView software allowing student interaction with the system. In conclusion, the system using a PC operated successfully and will be used as a teaching tool in a university class on feedback control theory.

I. Background

Automatic control systems have been evolving over the past 150 years[1]. These systems began as simple mechanical feedback devices and have evolved into complex electronic and computer controlled systems. The education of students in control systems is one of the functions of Arizona State University East's College of Technology and Applied Sciences.

This project consists of completing an apparatus that demonstrates the automatic control of water level in a tank that is being randomly filled. Random filling of the tank represents a real life unpredictable disturbance to the system. Automatic control is accomplished with the use of a personal computer operated with LabView software. Automatic control is accomplished by sensing the water level and then controlling the position of a gate valve that releases water from the tank. A manual control is also included so that the benefits of the automatic control can be demonstrated. This physical model will be used as a teaching aid so that the students can interact with and visually see a dynamic control system operating in real time.

Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright @ 2004, American Society for Engineering

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Macia, N. (2004, June), Automatic Liquid Level Controller Using Labview Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--13577