Nonlinear Model Based Process Control

Book excerpt: The increasingly competitive environment within which modern industry has to work means that processes have to be operated over a wider range of conditions in order to meet constantly changing performance targets. Add to this the fact that many industrial operations are nonlinear, and the need for on-line control algorithms for nonlinear processes becomes clear. Major progress has been booked in constrained model-based control and important issues of nonlinear process control have been solved. This text surveys the state-of-the-art in nonlinear model-based control technology, by writers who have actually created the scientific profile. A broad range of issues are covered in depth, from traditional nonlinear approaches to nonlinear model predictive control, from nonlinear process identification and state estimation to control-integrated design. Advances in the control of inverse response and unstable processes are presented. Comparisons with linear control are given, and case studies are used for illustration.