Date of Award

2018

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Electrical Engineering

Department

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

First Advisor

Zhao, Wenbing

Subject Headings

Engineering

Abstract

Knowing that a technology invented almost hundred years ago (PID controller) is still dominating industrial process control, a historical review was done to understand how the control field evolved. Model dependency and high level of mathematics appear as the main reasons that prevent other technologies from penetrating the engineering practice. A relatively novel methodology introduced by J. Han in 1998 called Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC) came with characteristics that matches process control needs and restrictions on model dependency. This study will present a transformative solution for process control based on that. The control algorithm is designed and discretized for digital implementation in PLC or DSC. The tuning process is explained in a logical and intuitive way based on time and frequency domain characteristics. The idea was to use the language familiar to industry practitioners. To show its applicability, a case study was done for server’s temperature control; and the results show energy savings of 30% when compared to PID controllers. This solution is not yet optimal, since it is generally applicable for a wide range of processes, but it aims to be a step further in process control.

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