What is a common side effect of a large integral term if not properly tuned?

• A. Faster rise time.
• B. Decreased steady-state error.
• C. Increases the risk of overshoot and slower response.
• D. Eliminates derivative action.

Answer: (C)

A large integral term accumulates error over time to drive the steady-state error toward zero, but if that term is too big, its corrective action becomes excessive. The integrator keeps pushing the output to correct even small errors, which can cause the response to overshoot the setpoint. That same strong corrective action also tends to slow the system’s return to rest, since the accumulated action takes time to unwind as the error changes sign. So the most likely consequence is more overshoot and a slower overall response.

The other ideas aren’t the typical side effects of a too-large integral term: while integral action helps reduce steady-state error, that’s a controlled benefit, not a side effect. A large integral term doesn’t inherently make the rise faster, and it doesn’t remove derivative action, which is a separate part of the controller.