Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) has become the accepted methodology to solve complex control problems related to process industries. The main motivation behind explicit NMPC is that an explicit state feedback law avoids the need for executing a numerical optimization algorithm in real time. The benefits of an explicit solution, in addition to the efficient on-line computations, include also verifiability of the implementation and the possibility to design embedded control systems with low software and hardware complexity. This book considers the multi-parametric Nonlinear Programming (mp-NLP) approaches to explicit approximate NMPC of constrained nonlinear systems, developed by the authors, as well as their applications to various NMPC problem formulations and several case studies. The following types of nonlinear systems are considered, resulting in different NMPC problem formulations: ؠ Nonlinear systems described by first-principles models and nonlinear systems described by black-box models; - Nonlinear systems with continuous control inputs and nonlinear systems with quantized control inputs; - Nonlinear systems without uncertainty and nonlinear systems with uncertainties (polyhedral description of uncertainty and stochastic description of uncertainty); - Nonlinear systems, consisting of interconnected nonlinear sub-systems. The proposed mp-NLP approaches are illustrated with applications to several case studies, which are taken from diverse areas such as automotive mechatronics, compressor control, combustion plant control, reactor control, pH maintaining system control, cart and spring system control, and diving computers.

This book presents general methods for the design of economic model predictive control (EMPC) systems for broad classes of nonlinear systems that address key theoretical and practical considerations including recursive feasibility, closed-loop stability, closed-loop performance, and computational efficiency. Specifically, the book proposes: Lyapunov-based EMPC methods for nonlinear systems; two-tier EMPC architectures that are highly computationally efficient; and EMPC schemes handling explicitly uncertainty, time-varying cost functions, time-delays and multiple-time-scale dynamics. The proposed methods employ a variety of tools ranging from nonlinear systems analysis, through Lyapunov-based control techniques to nonlinear dynamic optimization. The applicability and performance of the proposed methods are demonstrated through a number of chemical process examples. The book presents state-of-the-art methods for the design of economic model predictive control systems for chemical processes.In addition to being mathematically rigorous, these methods accommodate key practical issues, for example, direct optimization of process economics, time-varying economic cost functions and computational efficiency. Numerous comments and remarks providing fundamental understanding of the merging of process economics and feedback control into a single framework are included. A control engineer can easily tailor the many detailed examples of industrial relevance given within the text to a specific application. The authors present a rich collection of new research topics and references to significant recent work making Economic Model Predictive Control an important source of information and inspiration for academics and graduate students researching the area and for process engineers interested in applying its ideas.

This book focuses on distributed and economic Model Predictive Control (MPC) with applications in different fields. MPC is one of the most successful advanced control methodologies due to the simplicity of the basic idea (measure the current state, predict and optimize the future behavior of the plant to determine an input signal, and repeat this procedure ad infinitum) and its capability to deal with constrained nonlinear multi-input multi-output systems. While the basic idea is simple, the rigorous analysis of the MPC closed loop can be quite involved. Here, distributed means that either the computation is distributed to meet real-time requirements for (very) large-scale systems or that distributed agents act autonomously while being coupled via the constraints and/or the control objective. In the latter case, communication is necessary to maintain feasibility or to recover system-wide optimal performance. The term economic refers to general control tasks and, thus, goes beyond the typically predominant control objective of set-point stabilization. Here, recently developed concepts like (strict) dissipativity of optimal control problems or turnpike properties play a crucial role. The book collects research and survey articles on recent ideas and it provides perspectives on current trends in nonlinear model predictive control. Indeed, the book is the outcome of a series of six workshops funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) involving early-stage career scientists from different countries and from leading European industry stakeholders.

Nonlinear Model Predictive Control is a thorough and rigorous introduction to nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) for discrete-time and sampled-data systems. NMPC is interpreted as an approximation of infinite-horizon optimal control so that important properties like closed-loop stability, inverse optimality and suboptimality can be derived in a uniform manner. These results are complemented by discussions of feasibility and robustness. NMPC schemes with and without stabilizing terminal constraints are detailed and intuitive examples illustrate the performance of different NMPC variants. An introduction to nonlinear optimal control algorithms gives insight into how the nonlinear optimisation routine – the core of any NMPC controller – works. An appendix covering NMPC software and accompanying software in MATLAB® and C++(downloadable from www.springer.com/ISBN) enables readers to perform computer experiments exploring the possibilities and limitations of NMPC.

Model Predictive Control is an important technique used in the process control industries. It has developed considerably in the last few years, because it is the most general way of posing the process control problem in the time domain. The Model Predictive Control formulation integrates optimal control, stochastic control, control of processes with dead time, multivariable control and future references. The finite control horizon makes it possible to handle constraints and non linear processes in general which are frequently found in industry. Focusing on implementation issues for Model Predictive Controllers in industry, it fills the gap between the empirical way practitioners use control algorithms and the sometimes abstractly formulated techniques developed by researchers. The text is firmly based on material from lectures given to senior undergraduate and graduate students and articles written by the authors.

Automotive control has developed over the decades from an auxiliary te- nology to a key element without which the actual performances, emission, safety and consumption targets could not be met. Accordingly, automotive control has been increasing its authority and responsibility – at the price of complexity and di?cult tuning. The progressive evolution has been mainly ledby speci?capplicationsandshorttermtargets,withthe consequencethat automotive control is to a very large extent more heuristic than systematic. Product requirements are still increasing and new challenges are coming from potentially huge markets like India and China, and against this ba- ground there is wide consensus both in the industry and academia that the current state is not satisfactory. Model-based control could be an approach to improve performance while reducing development and tuning times and possibly costs. Model predictive control is a kind of model-based control design approach which has experienced a growing success since the middle of the 1980s for “slow” complex plants, in particular of the chemical and process industry. In the last decades, severaldevelopments haveallowedusing these methods also for “fast”systemsandthis hassupporteda growinginterestinitsusealsofor automotive applications, with several promising results reported. Still there is no consensus on whether model predictive control with its high requi- ments on model quality and on computational power is a sensible choice for automotive control.

Recent developments in model-predictive control promise remarkable opportunities for designing multi-input, multi-output control systems and improving the control of single-input, single-output systems. This volume provides a definitive survey of the latest model-predictive control methods available to engineers and scientists today. The initial set of chapters present various methods for managing uncertainty in systems, including stochastic model-predictive control. With the advent of affordable and fast computation, control engineers now need to think about using “computationally intensive controls,” so the second part of this book addresses the solution of optimization problems in “real” time for model-predictive control. The theory and applications of control theory often influence each other, so the last section of Handbook of Model Predictive Control rounds out the book with representative applications to automobiles, healthcare, robotics, and finance. The chapters in this volume will be useful to working engineers, scientists, and mathematicians, as well as students and faculty interested in the progression of control theory. Future developments in MPC will no doubt build from concepts demonstrated in this book and anyone with an interest in MPC will find fruitful information and suggestions for additional reading.

Although industrial processes are inherently nonlinear, many contributions for controller design for those plants are based on the assumption of a linear model of the system. However, in some cases it is difficult to represent a given process using a linear model. Model Predictive Control (MPC) is an optimal control approach which can effectively deal with constraints and multivariable processes in industries. Because of its advantages, MPC has been widely applied in automotive and process control communities. This book discusses the theory, practices and future challenges of model predictive control.

Practical Design and Application of Model Predictive Control is a self-learning resource on how to design, tune and deploy an MPC using MATLAB® and Simulink®. This reference is one of the most detailed publications on how to design and tune MPC controllers. Examples presented range from double-Mass spring system, ship heading and speed control, robustness analysis through Monte-Carlo simulations, photovoltaic optimal control, and energy management of power-split and air-handling control. Readers will also learn how to embed the designed MPC controller in a real-time platform such as Arduino®. The selected problems are nonlinear and challenging, and thus serve as an excellent experimental, dynamic system to show the reader the capability of MPC. The step-by-step solutions of the problems are thoroughly documented to allow the reader to easily replicate the results. Furthermore, the MATLAB® and Simulink® codes for the solutions are available for free download. Readers can connect with the authors through the dedicated website which includes additional free resources at www.practicalmpc.com. - Illustrates how to design, tune and deploy MPC for projects in a quick manner - Demonstrates a variety of applications that are solved using MATLAB® and Simulink® - Bridges the gap in providing a number of realistic problems with very hands-on training - Provides MATLAB® and Simulink® code solutions. This includes nonlinear plant models that the reader can use for other projects and research work - Presents application problems with solutions to help reinforce the information learned