Design and robust tuning of control scheme based on the PD controller plus Disturbance Observer and low-order integrating first-order plus dead-time model

This paper presents an effective design and robust tuning method for the control structure based on a series PD controller and a simple Disturbance Observer. All elements of the proposed controller are directly obtained from the low-order Integrating First-Order Plus Dead-Time (IFOPDT) model, used to approximate essential dynamic characteristics of lag-dominant stable, integrating and unstable plants. The structure of the proposed controller is an effective, easy to implement and tune, extension of the series PID controller. For the same robustness, a better disturbance rejection response is obtained by the proposed controller than that of the PID, by adjusting only two parameters with a clear meaning. A comparison with well-tuned PIDs, done by simulations, and the experimental results, obtained on a real thermal power plant, confirm that high performance and robustness are obtained, for dynamic characteristics common to industrial processes.