Feedback linearization control for a distributed solar collector field

This article describes the application of a feedback linearization technique for control of a distributed solar collector field using the energy from solar radiation to heat a fluid. The control target is to track an outlet temperature reference by manipulating the fluid flow rate through the solar field, while attenuating the effect of disturbances (mainly radiation and inlet temperature). The proposed control scheme is very easy to implement, as it uses a numerical approximation of the transport delay and a modification of the classical control scheme to improve startup in such a way that results compared with other control structures under similar conditions are improved while preserving short commissioning times. Experiments in the real plant are also described, demonstrating how operation can be started up efficiently.     

Reduced complexity adaptive nonlinear control of a distributed collector solar field

An approach to the control of a distributed collector solar field relying on feedback linearization, Lyapunov based adaptation and a simplified plant model is presented. The control objective consists of manipulating the oil flow so that the outlet oil temperature is regulated around a given setpoint. For dealing with plant nonlinearities and external disturbances, a nonlinear transformation is performed on the accessible variables such that the transformed system behaves as an integrator, to which linear control techniques are then applied. Since the transformation depends on an unknown parameter, an adaptation law is designed so as to minimize a Lyapunov function for the whole system's state. For the sake of control synthesis a simplified plant model which retains the bilinear nonlinearity is employed. The resulting control law has the same control structure of the one yielding exact input-output linearization but assumes a different placement of a temperature sensor. In order to justify this procedure, plant internal dynamics is studied. Experimental results obtained in the actual field are presented.     

Energy-based control of a distributed solar collector field

Model-based control of the outlet temperature of a distributed solar collector field is studied. An energy-based controller is derived using internal energy as a controlled variable. The controller relies on a distributed parameter nonlinear plant model and includes feedforward from the solar irradiation and inlet temperature. Convergence of the closed loop is proved, and the method is experimentally verified to perform well on a pilot-scale solar power plant.     

Cascade control of a distributed collector solar field

This paper reports experimental results on the cascade control of a distributed collector solar field. The control problem consists of keeping constant the field outlet oil temperature by acting on the circulating oil flow used for heat transfer. In the inner loop an adaptive model based predictive controller exploiting the information conveyed by accessible disturbances (radiation changes and inlet oil temperature) is used, while in the outer loop a PID is employed. The need for adaptive control arises from the time varying behaviour of the plant. Due to the generality of the methods employed, the experience reported is relevant to a wide class of industrial processes.     

A switching control strategy applied to a solar collector field

This work presents a new switching control procedure that has been chosen to deal with the changes in plant dynamics. Several control systems composed of IMC-based PID controllers and feedforward compensators are designed for each operation region and a continuous switching mechanism for the overall control system is defined. Experimental tests which have been performed in a distributed collector field of a solar air cooling system, are presented showing promising results for the proposed strategy.     

Time scaling internal state predictive control of a solar plant

The control of a distributed collector solar field is addressed in this work, exploiting the plant's transport characteristic. The plant is modeled by a hyperbolic type partial differential equation (PDE) where the transport speed is the manipulated flow, i.e. the controller output. The model has an external distributed source, which is the solar radiation captured along the collector, approximated to depend only of time. From the solution of the PDE, a linear discrete state space model is obtained by using time-scaling and the redefinition of the control input. This method allows overcoming the dependency of the time constants with the operating point. A model-based predictive adaptive controller is derived with the internal temperature distribution estimated with a state observer. Experimental results at the solar power plant are presented, illustrating the advantages of the approach under consideration.     

Implementation of feedback linearization GPC control for a solar furnace

In this paper the temperature control of a solar furnace is addressed. In particular, we propose the use of a feedback linearization generalized predictive control strategy where both the reference tracking task and the rejection of disturbances (represented by the variation of the input energy provided by the Sun, mainly because of the solar daily cycle and passing clouds) are considered. This allows the physical and security constraints to be explicitly taken into account in the design. Simulation and experimental results show the effectiveness of the methodology and that this kind of plants can be considered as a cheap or alternative option for the material treatment and testing in the industrial context.     

Adaptive UKF-based model predictive control of a Fresnel collector field

One of the ways to improve the efficiency of solar energy plants is by using advanced control and optimization algorithms. In particular, model predictive control strategies have been applied successfully in their control.The control objective of this kind of plant is to regulate the solar field outlet temperature around a desired set-point. Due to the highly nonlinear dynamics of these plants, a simple linear controller with fixed parameters is not able to cope with the changing dynamics and the multiple disturbance sources affecting the field.In this paper, an adaptative model predictive control strategy is designed for a Fresnel collector field belonging to the solar cooling plant installed at the Escuela Superior de Ingenieros in Sevilla. The controller changes the linear model used to predict the future evolution of the system with respect to the operating point.Since only the inlet and outlet temperatures of the heat transfer fluid are measurable, the intermediate temperatures have to be estimated. An unscented Kalman filter is used as a state estimator. It estimates metal-fluid temperature profiles and effective solar radiation.Simulation results are provided comparing the proposed strategy with a PID + feedforward series controller showing better performance. The controller is also compared to a gain scheduling generalized predictive controller (GS-GPC) which has previously been tested at the actual plant with a very good performance. The proposed strategy outperforms these two strategies.Furthermore, two real tests are presented. These tests show that the proposed controller achieves adequate set-point tracking in spite of strong disturbances.     

广义预测控制在非线性系统中的应用研究

本文研究了一类非线性系统的广义预测控制,将其等效为时变线性系统,然后在线辨识时变参数,进行广义预测控制。给出了两种辨识时变参数的方法,并以二容液位系统为模型,进行了仿真研究,结果表明,此方法计算量小,工作点变化时跟踪速度快．具有较好的控制效果。     

Adaptive iterative learning control for high-order nonlinear multi-agent systems consensus tracking

In this work, we present a new distributed adaptive iterative learning control (AILC) scheme for a class of high-order nonlinear multi-agent systems (MAS) under alignment condition with both parametric and nonparametric system uncertainties, where the actuators may be faulty and the control input gain functions are not fully known. Backstepping design with the composite energy function (CEF) structure is used in the discussion. Through rigorous analysis, we show that under this new AILC scheme, uniform convergence of agents output tracking error over the iteration domain is guaranteed. In the end, an illustrative example is presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed AILC scheme.     

Gain-scheduling model predictive control of a Fresnel collector field

Model predictive control strategies have been applied successfully when controlling solar plants. If the control algorithm uses a linear model associated only to an operating point, when the plant is working far from the design conditions, the performance of the controller may deteriorate.In this paper, a gain scheduling model predictive control strategy is designed for the Fresnel collector field located at the Escuela Superior de Ingenieros de Sevilla. Simulation results are provided comparing the proposed strategy with another linear MPC controller showing a better performance. Furthermore, two real tests are presented showing the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.     

一类复杂系统非建模控制方法的研究

以石油化工中加热炉、反应器、蒸馏塔等为背景，讨论复杂系统的控制问题，目的是寻求对复杂系统的有效控制方法。对复杂系统进行稳定控制，必须考虑诸如非线性、大时滞、时交和强耦合的控制问题。给出了这类问题的一种解决途径，并给出了成功应用的实例。     

Constrained tracking control of nonlinear systems

The problem of tracking control for nonlinear systems subject to bounded-control constraints is considered. A novel nonlinear, continuous-time, predictive control approach is taken. Control laws are obtained for both nonlinear systems that are affine in the control and general nonlinear systems. Efficient and reliable algorithms based on contraction mapping theorems are devised for on-line implementation. Illustrative examples are provided.     

Advanced control with parameter estimation of batch transesterification reactor

The objective of this work is to enhance the economic performance of a batch transesterification reactor producing biodiesel by implementing advanced, model based control strategies. To achieve this goal, a dynamic model of the batch reactor system is first developed by considering reaction kinetics, mass balances and heat balances. The possible plant-model mismatch due to inaccurate or uncertain model parameter values can adversely affect model based control strategies. Therefore, an evolutionary algorithm to estimate the uncertain parameters is proposed. It is shown that the system is not observable with the available measurements, and hence a closed loop model predictive control cannot be implemented on a real system. Therefore, the productivity of the reactor is increased by first solving an open-loop optimal control problem. The objective function for this purpose optimizes the concentration of biodiesel, the batch time and the heating and cooling rates to the reactor. Subsequently, a closed-loop nonlinear model predictive control strategy is presented in order to take disturbances and model uncertainties into account. The controller, designed with a reduced model, tracks an offline determined set-point reactor temperature trajectory by manipulating the heating and cooling mass flows to the reactor. Several operational scenarios are simulated and the results are discussed in view of a real application. With the proposed optimization and control strategy and no parameter mismatch, a revenue of 2.76 $ min⁻¹ can be achieved from the batch reactor. Even with a minor parameter mismatch, the revenue is still 2.01 $ min⁻¹. While these values are comparable to those reported in the literature, this work also accounts for the cost of energy. Moreover, this approach results in a control strategy that can be implemented on a real system with limited online measurements.     

空天飞空天飞行器的自适应变论域模糊预测控制行器的自适应变论域模糊预测控制

考虑一类非线性不确定系统的变论域模糊预测控制问题.根据跟踪误差在线调整伸缩因子,使变论域模糊系统一致逼近被控对象中的未知干扰和不确定因素.通过引入鲁棒自适应控制器,消除了模糊建模误差,提高了系统的动态性能.基于泰勒展开的非线性预测控制律,避免了繁重的计算负担.基于Lyapunov理论,给出了伸缩因子的σ调整律,并证明了闭环系统一致最终有界.最后,将该算法用于空天飞行器(ASV)姿态控制系统的设计,仿真结果表明了该算法的有效性.     

一类非线性系统的自适应预测函数控制

针对一类具有输出反馈耦合的离散非线性系统,将过程的非线性状态空间模型等效为线性时变状态空间模型;然后利用最小二乘法辨识系统参数,并通过在目标函数中引入系统状态的变化给出一种具有类似离散PI最优调节器结构的新型自适应预测函数控制器．由于引入了新的优化目标函数,该控制器控制效果与鲁棒性要优于仅考虑预测输出误差的传统预测函数控制器．仿真结果表明,该控制器优于经典离散PI最优调节器．     

Adaptive output feedback control for nonlinear time-delay systems using neural network

This paper extends the adaptive neural network （NN） control approaches to a class of unknown output feedback nonlinear time-delay systems. An adaptive output feedback NN tracking controller is designed by backstepping technique. NNs are used to approximate unknown functions dependent on time delay, Delay-dependent filters are introduced for state estimation. The domination method is used to deal with the smooth time-delay basis functions. The adaptive bounding technique is employed to estimate the upper bound of the NN approximation errors. Based on Lyapunov- Krasovskii functional, the semi-global uniform ultimate boundedness of all the signals in the closed-loop system is proved, The feasibility is investigated by two illustrative simulation examples.     

Optimal control of a solar collector loop using a distributed-lumped model

This paper considers the optimal control of a solar collector loop described by a bilinear distributed parameter model for the collector fluid temperature and a bilinear lumped parameter model for the storage fluid temperature. The objective is to control the collector fluid velocity so as to maximize the net energy collected over a fixed time period. Necessary conditions for optimality, given by a set of equations whose solution yields the optimal control, are derived. It is shown that the optimal control is an open-loop, bang-bang control which depends on two terms: a measurable quantity which depends on the state of the collector fluid, and a quantity which depends on a future knowledge of the weather data. It is also shown that for the case in which only two switches occur during the period of operation, the optimal control depends only on the temperature difference across the collector. Thus, one can construct a feedback on/off controller for the system provided that it is known a priori that only two switches will occur during the time interval under consideration.     

Nonlinear system identification for predictive control using continuous time recurrent neural networks and automatic differentiation

In this paper, a continuous time recurrent neural network (CTRNN) is developed to be used in nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) context. The neural network represented in a general nonlinear state-space form is used to predict the future dynamic behavior of the nonlinear process in real time. An efficient training algorithm for the proposed network is developed using automatic differentiation (AD) techniques. By automatically generating Taylor coefficients, the algorithm not only solves the differentiation equations of the network but also produces the sensitivity for the training problem. The same approach is also used to solve the online optimization problem in the predictive controller. The proposed neural network and the nonlinear predictive controller were tested on an evaporation case study. A good model fitting for the nonlinear plant is obtained using the new method. A comparison with other approaches shows that the new algorithm can considerably reduce network training time and improve solution accuracy. The CTRNN trained is used as an internal model in a predictive controller and results in good performance under different operating conditions.     

Fault-tolerant control for a class of nonlinear sampled-data systems via a Euler approximate observer

In this paper, a fault-tolerant control (FTC) scheme is developed for a class of nonlinear sampled-data systems. First, a Euler approximate discrete model is used to describe the plant under the sampling. Under this model, an observer-based fault estimation method is proposed. To guarantee the accuracy of both the state and fault estimation values, the conditions to make the approximate model consistent with the exact model are presented. Then, an active fault-tolerant controller, which has a constraint condition for the sampling time, is designed to make the faulty system stable. Finally, an inverted pendulum is used to show the efficiency of the proposed method.