Understanding the PID Controller and Its Application in Electrical Systems
1. Introduction to PID Control A PID controller —short for Proportional-Integral-Derivative controller —is one of the most widely used closed-loop control strategies in modern engineering systems. It is employed to continuously modulate a control signal in order to minimize the error between a desired setpoint and the actual output of a system. The popularity of PID controllers stems from their simplicity, ease of implementation, and effectiveness across a wide range of dynamic systems. The controller operates on three distinct components: Proportional (P): Produces an output proportional to the instantaneous error. Integral (I): Accumulates the error over time to eliminate steady-state offset. Derivative (D): Predicts the future behavior of the error based on its rate of change, thereby improving system stability and response time. The standard control law governing PID operation can be mathematically expressed as: ...