Online tuning of fuzzy PID controllers via rule weighing based on normalized acceleration

In this study, an on-line tuning method is proposed for fuzzy PID controllers via rule weighing. The rule weighing mechanism is a fuzzy rule base with two inputs namely; "error" and "normalized acceleration". Here, the normalized acceleration provides relative information on the fastness or slowness of the system response. In deriving the fuzzy rules of the weighing mechanism, the transient phase of the unit step response of the closed loop system is to be analyzed. For this purpose, this response is assumed to be divided into certain regions, depending on the number of membership functions defined for the error input of the fuzzy logic controller. Then, the relative importance or influence of the fired fuzzy rules is determined for each region of the transient phase of the unit step response of the closed loop system. The output of the fuzzy rule weighing mechanism is charged as the tuning variable of the rule weights; and, in this manner, an on-line self-tuning rule weight assignment is accomplished. The effectiveness of the proposed on-line weight adjustment method is demonstrated on linear and non-linear systems by simulations. Moreover, a real time application of this new method is accomplished on a pH neutralization process. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.