Managing energy operation
Electronic control is a pervasive technology that affects quality of modern life. Model predictive control (MPC) repeatedly and efficiently solves an optimisation problem online to determine the optimal control action. Unfortunately, this method is expensive and time consuming to install. The 'Development of efficient and robust controllers for advanced energy systems' (DECADE) project developed an advanced control technology to monitor a system or process without requiring expensive tools. The technology involves an electronic look-up function tailor-made for specific energy systems. It can be retrofitted on to existing or new control hardware. Fast and accurate control can be achieved without the need of a computer. The output is identical to what would be achieved using MPC approaches, but without the computational overhead. The original MPC problem is recast as a multi-parametric optimisation problem, in which sensor measurements act as parameters. Solving this offline using the developed tools yields the full explicit control law in the space of these parameters. A transfer-of-knowledge programme between academic partners and small- and medium-sized enterprises enabled the achievement of project objectives. By taking the computational burden offline, DECADE addresses applications that were previously off limits for model-based control, opening up exciting new markets.
