Optimized Control of Phase Change Material-Based Storage Integrated in Building Air-Distribution Systems

— The objective of this paper is to investigate the Model Predictive Control (MPC) strategy, analyze and compare the control effects with Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control strategy in maintaining a level of spherical tank system using VFD. An advanced control method, MPC has been widely used and well received in a wide variety of applications in process control, it utilizes an explicit process model to predict the future response of a process and solve an optimal control problem with a finite horizon at each sampling instant. In this paper, an algorithm is developed for controlling the speed of the pump using VFD to maintain the level of the spherical tank system. Next, the system is modeled and linearized for analysis and design. Model is implemented in a simulation environment based on LabVIEW. Both MPC and PID control methods are tried to design the controller for the water level system in a spherical tank and compared the results in terms of peak time, settling time, overshoot, and steady-state error under various operational conditions including time delays. The results showed the advantage of MPC for dealing with the system dynamic over PID and could be designed for more complex and fast system dynamics even in presence of constraints and Reduction of power consumption by the pump due to usage of VFD for controlling level by varying the speed of the pump based on the level of the tank. Keywords: Non Linear - Spherical Tank System – Level Control – Variable Frequency Drive – PID Controller – MPC Controller – Modeling - LabVIEW. Cite this Article R. Dhanasekar, S. Vijayachitra, M. Pravin Savaridass. Controlling of Level Process in Nonlinear System Using Variable Frequency Drive. Current Trends in Information Technology. 2019; 9(1): 24–33p.

A model predictive control for a multi-chiller system in data center considering whole system energy conservation

Multi-power sources are included in hybrid electrical vehicles, which leads to multi-driving modes co-existing when driving the vehicle. However, the frequent driving mode switching (DMS) will probably need the engine to be started frequently, which can result in extra fuel consumption. So, avoiding unnecessary DMS should be fully considered when designing the control strategy. For solving this problem, a model predictive control (MPC) strategy integrating Markov chain driving intention identification is put forward. First, the component models of the powertrain system are established. Second, according to the real driving cycle data, a driving intention model based on the Markov chain is designed according to the real driving cycle data. Then the MPC-based control strategy aiming at reducing DMS times is proposed by integrating the cost of DMS. Finally, the proposed control strategy is contrasted with three other control strategies to verify its validity in reducing the mode switching times and improving the fuel economy.

Energy-efficient operation of the thermal management system in electric vehicles via integrated model predictive control

This paper shows how explicit model predictive control (MPC) strategies can be implemented in Python. They use a pre-calculated map between state measurements and control inputs to simplify and accelerate the calculation of optimal control inputs. By shifting majority of the computational effort off-line, the concept of explicit MPC offers a significantly faster and cheaper implementation of model predictive control. We show how explicit MPC feedbacks are designed and exported to a self-contained Python code that can be easily merged with existing applications. Two examples are provided to illustrate the procedure. One considers the design of an artificial player for a videogame. The second one tackles the problem of quadrocopter control.

Part I of the thesis investigates novel urban traffic state estimation methods utilizing probe vehicle data. Chapter 2 proposes a method to integrate the collective effect of dispersed probe data with traffic kinematic wave theory and data mining techniques to model the spatial and temporal dynamics of queue formation and dissipation in arterials. The queue estimation method captures interdependencies in queue evolutions of successive intersections, and moreover, the method is applicable in oversaturated conditions and includes a queue spillover statistical inference procedure. Chapter 3 develops a travel time reliability model to estimate arterial route travel times distribution (TTD) considering spatial and temporal correlations between traffic states in consecutive links. The model uses link-level travel time data and a heuristic grid clustering method to estimate the state structure and transition probabilities of a Markov chain. By applying the Markov chain procedure, the correlation between states of successive links is integrated and the route-level TTD is estimated. The methods in Part I are tested with various probe vehicle penetration rates on case studies with field measurements and simulated data. The methods are straightforward in implementation and have demonstrated promising performance and accuracy through numerous experiments. Part II studies network-level modeling and control of large-scale urban networks. Chapter 4 is the pioneer that introduces the urban perimeter control for two-region urban cities as an elegant control strategy to decrease delays in urban networks. Perimeter controllers operate on the border between the two regions, and manipulate the percentages of transfer flows between the two regions, such that the number of trips reaching their destinations is maximized. The optimal perimeter control problem is solved by the model predictive control (MPC) scheme, where the prediction model and the plant (reality) are formulated by macroscopic fundamental diagrams (MFD). Chapter 5 extends the perimeter control strategy and MFD modeling to mixed urban-freeway networks to provide a holistic approach for large-scale integrated corridor management (ICM). The network consists of two urban regions, each one with a well-defined MFD, and a freeway, modeled by the asymmetric cell transmission model, that is an alternative commuting route which has one on-ramp and one off-ramp within each urban region. The optimal traffic control problem is solved by the MPC approach to minimize total delay in the entire network considering several control policies with different levels of urban-freeway control coordination. Chapter 6 integrates traffic heterogeneity dynamics in large-scale urban modeling and control to develop a hierarchical control strategy for heterogeneously congested cities. Two aggregated models, region- and subregion-based MFDs, are introduced to study the effect of link density heterogeneity on the scatter and hysteresis of MFD. A hierarchical perimeter flow control problem is proposed to minimize the network delay and to homogenize the distribution of congestion. The first level of the hierarchical control problem is solved by the MPC approach, where the prediction model is the aggregated parsimonious region-based MFD and the plant is the subregion-based MFD, which is a more detailed model. At the lower level, a feedback controller tries to maximize the network outflow, by increasing regional homogeneity.

A habituating blood glucose control strategy for the critically ill

Modeling and model predictive control of the BioPower combined heat and power (CHP) plant

Model predictive control (MPC) as a nonlinear control method, is being studied for a wide variety of power electronics applications targeting various power ranges. The fast dynamic response, robustness under different load conditions, multi-objective control, and simplicity of implementation are the main features of MPC. However, the implementation of finite control set MPC (FCS-MPC) or direct MPC in its basic form for multilevel converters (MLCs) demonstrates the inability to generate the staircase multilevel output voltage waveform in a voltage sourced inverter (VSI) application. Adding a reference evaluation block to the basic FCS-MPC method can significantly improve its multilevel voltage generation capability. In this paper, an enhanced model predictive nearest level control (EMP-NLC) is proposed and implemented on a 5-Level flying capacitor multilevel converter (FCMC). The proposed method is simulated under different load conditions, while a comparison against existing MPC techniques is also presented. Experimental results verified the efficacy of the proposed controller.

This paper presents a model predictive voltage control method for single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) DC/DC converters operating in the continuous conduction mode (CCM). The state-space model for a SIMO DC/DC converter system is formulated and a Model Predictive Control (MPC) strategy, which has the capability to track the reference voltage automatically and reduce the impact of cross regulation problem, is proposed to regulate the system. Considering that the switches in the converter only have ON/OFF modes, the quadratic programming algorithm is employed to obtain the MPC's solution. Simulation studies are conducted in MATLAB/Simulink to verify the performance of the proposed method.

Battery is the core equipment of the electrical vehicle (EV), battery life, and performance are critical to EV. Only motor variables are considered in most model predictive control (MPC) strategy in which battery indexes are neglected. A model predictive speed control (MPSC) strategy with adjustable C-rate of battery is proposed in this paper on EV with permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM). The rest capacity of battery is involved in the cost function, and the operating speed is related to the rest capacity of battery which adjusts the C-rate of the discharging currents further to protect battery. As the EV runs, the C-rate is decreased step by step according to the improved cost function, and the energy is saved to prolong mileage. The benefits of the proposed method including discharging capacities and operating mileage are corroborated by the simulation and repetitive experimental results under same conditions.

This letter presents a novel model predictive control strategy without involving any proportional-integral-differential regulators for practical renewable energy based ac microgrids. The proposed method consists of a model predictive power control (MPPC) scheme and a model predictive voltage control (MPVC) scheme. By controlling the bidirectional buck-boost converters of the battery energy storage systems based on the MPPC algorithm, the fluctuating output from the renewable energy sources can be smoothed, while stable dc-bus voltages can be maintained as the inverters' inputs. Then, the parallel inverters are controlled by using a combination of the MPVC scheme and the droop method to ensure stable ac voltage output and proper power sharing. Compared with the traditional cascade control, the proposed method is simpler and shows better performance, which is validated in simulation on MATLAB/Simulink and on real-time laboratory platform.

This paper proposes an improved constrained networked model predictive tracking control design for the chamber pressure of a coke furnace under uncertainty and packet losses. Unlike conventional constrained model predictive control (MPC) strategies that have a limitation in the consideration of both set-point tracking and the dynamic process responses, the system state variables and output tracking errors are combined and thus can be regulated simultaneously in the new MPC scheme. Based on such advantages, there are more degrees of freedom for the subsequent controller design and improved system performance can then be obtained. Case studies on the regulation of chamber pressure of a coke furnace under process uncertainties and packet losses are investigated to verify the proposed approach in comparison with typical traditional constrained MPC schemes.

Predefined-time control has been extensively implemented in marine control systems due to its capability to enhance transient performance and achieve superior control specifications. However, inaccurate control execution resulting from faulty actuators can compromise this control strategy and critically undermine system performance. To address this challenge, this paper propose a predefined-time model predictive fault-tolerant control strategy for unmanned surface vessels (USVs) while considering actuator failures and ocean disturbances. Firstly, a novel predefined-time model predictive control (PTMPC) strategy is designed by incorporating contraction constraints derived from an auxiliary predefined-time control system into the proposed optimization framework. This ensures that the resulting control variables guarantee predefined-time convergence of tracking errors when applied to the USV system. Furthermore, a long short-term memory-based neural network for disturbance prediction is integrated into the control strategy, leveraging its exceptional capability in modeling temporal sequences to achieve accurate forecasting of ocean disturbances. Thirdly, the proposed control scheme utilizes its integrated fault observation mechanism to actively compensate for actuator failures through real-time fault estimation, ensuring predefined-time convergence performance while providing rigorous guarantees of closed-loop stability and feasibility. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the efficacy and superiority of the proposed algorithm.

This paper presents an event-triggered model predictive control (MPC) strategy with learning terminal cost for robotic manipulators containing model uncertainty and input constraints. In the proposed MPC structure, an adaptive predictive model for the robotic system is established by radial basis function neural networks (RBFNNs) firstly. Then, a terminal cost adjusted by the global learning mechanism is constructed. Both global steady-state optimization and transient fast convergence are achieved by adding the learning terminal cost to the MPC scheme. After that, a triggering condition of the MPC solving is developed based on the predictive model’s weights and the predictive tracking error. Besides, the condition to avoid Zeno behavior is obtained. The recursive feasibility of the proposed MPC strategy is verified, and the ultimately uniformly boundedness (UUB) of all variables is proved according to the Lyapunov theorem. Finally, experiments based on an xMate7 Pro robot are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented method. Note to Practitioners—The tracking control of robotic manipulators is a common and important problem in industrial applications, such as grasping, loading, unloading, et al. There exist some limitations in existing control methods. For example, general control strategies such as adaptive control, sliding mode control neglect the balance between control costs and expected performance; existing optimal control approaches rarely consider global steady-state optimization and transient fast convergence under the influence of model uncertainty. This paper is motivated by these limitations of robotic control design and inspired by model predictive control and optimal control theory. It develops a novel strategy for tracking control of robotic manipulators, which includes three following items: (1) adopt an approximation model constructed by neural networks as the predictive model for estimating the robotic system; (2) introduce a critic network into the terminal cost of the objective function of MPC for learning global optimal solution; (3) establish an event-triggered mechanism for solving of the optimization problem. The proposed method is verified by experimental results. In our future work, the proposed control strategy will be applied to more industrial processes.