Hybrid control of MISO systems with delays

Area of Science:

• Control Systems Engineering
• Process Automation
• Mechatronics

Background:

• Linear and time-invariant control systems possess inherent limitations.
• Existing control strategies struggle with overshooting in multiple-input single-output systems with time delays.
• Advanced control methods are needed to enhance system performance and stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a hybrid control strategy to overcome limitations of traditional controllers.
• To virtually eliminate overshoot in multiple-input single-output (MISO) first-order linear time-invariant (LTI) plants with time delay.
• To maintain response velocity while eliminating overshoot.

Main Methods:

• Employed a parallel control strategy.
• Utilized a hybrid enhancement of the proportional-integral (PI) controller, termed the proportional-integral plus Clegg integrator (PI+CI) controller.
• Implemented a novel hybrid control approach: a reset-and-hold strategy.

Main Results:

• Successfully eliminated overshoot in MISO first-order LTI plants with time delay.
• Maintained response velocity, surpassing previous findings for single-input systems and MISO systems without delay.
• Demonstrated effectiveness in a pilot plant heat exchanger temperature control case study for food processing.

Conclusions:

• The proposed hybrid control strategy, combining PI+CI and reset-and-hold, effectively addresses overshoot in complex systems.
• This method offers superior performance compared to existing techniques for MISO LTI plants with time delays.
• The approach is validated through a practical application in food processing, highlighting its industrial relevance.