ADAPTIVE DYNAMIC MATRIX CONTROL OF A DISTILLATION COLUMN WITH CLOSED-LOOP ONLINE IDENTIFICATION

This paper presents an online identification technique where a process is identified in terms of pseudo impulse response coefficients and subsequently used to update convolution type models to accommodate process-model mismatch. As an example, dynamic matrix control has been applied adaptively to control the top product composition of a distillation column for both servo and regulatory problems. The algorithm automatically detects a large step-like disturbance requiring fresh identification of the process and subsequently adapts the controller to the new model. Simulation studies using an analytical dynamic full order model of a distillation column demonstrated the usefulness of the adaptation scheme. Experimentation on a pilot scale distillation unit vindicated the simulation results.