Profit Control: A New Paradigm in Control System Design

Illinois Institute Of Technology, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Chmielewski 0967906 Intellectual Merit: Since the inception of feedback control, there has always been a strong, but vague, relationship between control system performance (in a regulatory sense) and the time-averaged profit of the plant (which is a function of nominal operating conditions). The transformative concept underlying Profit Control is the simple notion of quantifying this relationship, which will enable control system design while simultaneously maximizing plant profit. Such an approach represents a paradigm shift in controller synthesis, in that the generated controllers will be tailored not only to the dynamics of the plant but also to the specific economic situation. The project objectives are twofold. First, the PI will extend the theoretical foundation of the scheme to include the following disturbance classes: non-stationary (or steady-state) disturbances, model uncertainty and peak-to-peak measures. The result will be a unified approach that simultaneously addresses the new disturbance classes as well as the original stochastic (or H2) disturbances. The entire scheme will be guided by a measure of economic performance common to the Real-Time Optimization (RTO) literature: the notion of minimizing the backed-off operating point from that suggested by the RTO. The second objective is to apply Profit Control to systems from a variety of disciplines. These include; the multi-product, multi-echelon supply chain problem (management science), a fluidized catalytic cracking unit (chemical processes), and the power system of a hybrid electric vehicle (electrical systems). These application studies will illustrate the broad and applicability of this approach. Broader Impact: The broader aspects of the project are threefold; multidisciplinary interaction, student outreach and software dissemination. Due to the broad spectrum of topics covered, achievement of the primary project objectives will require multidisciplinary input. As such, collaborations with individuals from outside the field have been scheduled. The PI is planning to recruit both graduate and undergraduate students of all backgrounds, genders and ethnicities. Toward broad dissemination of the technology, a software tool aimed at those versed in control theory, but non-experts in linear matrix inequalities and branch-and-bound calculations, will be developed and freely distributed via the internet.