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PID Tuning Using Extremum Seeking

Description: Although proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers are widely used in the process industry, their effectiveness is often limited due to poor tuning. Manual tuning of PID controllers, which requires optimization of three parameters, is a time-consuming task. To remedy this difficulty, much effort has been invested in developing systematic tuning methods. Many of these methods rely on knowledge of the plant model or require special experiments to identify a suitable plant model. Reviews of these methods are given in [1] and the survey paper [2]. However, in many situations a plant model is not known, and it is not desirable to open the process loop for system identification. Thus a method for tuning PID parameters within a closed-loop setting is advantageous. In relay feedback tuning [3]-[5], the feedback controller is temporarily replaced by a relay. Relay feedback causes most systems to oscillate, thus determining one point on the Nyquist diagram. Based on the location of this point, PID parameters can be chosen to give the closed-loop system a desired phase and gain margin. An alternative tuning method, which does not require either a modification of the system or a system model, is unfalsified control [6], [7]. This method uses input-output data to determine whether a set of PID parameters meets performance specifications. An adaptive algorithm is used to update the PID controller based on whether or not the controller falsifies a given criterion. The method requires a finite set of candidate PID controllers that must be initially specified [6]. Unfalsified control for an infinite set of PID controllers has been developed in [7]; this approach requires a carefully chosen input signal [8]. Yet another model-free PID tuning method that does not require opening of the loop is iterative feedback tuning (IFT). IFT iteratively optimizes the controller parameters with respect to a cost ...
Date: November 15, 2005
Creator: Killingsworth, N & Krstic, M
Item Type: Refine your search to only Article
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

A Simple HCCI Engine Model for Control

Description: The homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine is an attractive technology because of its high efficiency and low emissions. However, HCCI lacks a direct combustion trigger making control of combustion timing challenging, especially during transients. To aid in HCCI engine control we present a simple model of the HCCI combustion process valid over a range of intake pressures, intake temperatures, equivalence ratios, and engine speeds. The model provides an estimate of the combustion timing on a cycle-by-cycle basis. An ignition threshold, which is a function of the in-cylinder motored temperature and pressure is used to predict start of combustion. This model allows the synthesis of nonlinear control laws, which can be utilized for control of an HCCI engine during transients.
Date: June 29, 2006
Creator: Killingsworth, N; Aceves, S; Flowers, D & Krstic, M
Item Type: Refine your search to only Article
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Characteristics of Knock in Hydrogen-Oxygen-Argon SI Engine

Description: A promising approach for improving the efficiency of internal combustion engines is to employ a working fluid with a high specific heat ratio such as the noble gas argon. Moreover, all harmful emissions are eliminated when the intake charge is composed of oxygen, nonreactive argon, and hydrogen fuel. Previous research demonstrated indicated thermal efficiencies greater than 45% at 5.5 compression ratio in engines operating with hydrogen, oxygen, and argon. However, knock limits spark advance and increasing the efficiency further. Conditions under which knock occurs in such engines differs from typical gasoline fueled engines. In-cylinder temperatures using hydrogen-oxygen-argon are higher due to the high specific heat ratio and pressures are lower because of the low compression ratio. Better understanding of knock under these conditions can lead to operating strategies that inhibit knock and allow operation closer to the knock limit. In this work we compare knock with a hydrogen, oxygen, and argon mixture to that of air-gasoline mixtures in a variable compression ratio cooperative fuels research (CFR) engine. The focus is on stability of knocking phenomena, as well as, amplitude and frequency of the resulting pressure waves.
Date: February 23, 2010
Creator: Killingsworth, N; Rapp, V; Flowers, D; Aceves, S; Chen, J & Dibble, R
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Increased Efficiency in SI Engine with Air Replaced by Oxygen in Argon Mixture

Description: Basic engine thermodynamics predicts that spark ignited engine efficiency is a function of both the compression ratio of the engine and the specific heat ratio of the working fluid. In practice the compression ratio of the engine is often limited due to knock. Both higher specific heat ratio and higher compression ratio lead to higher end gas temperatures and increase the likelihood of knock. In actual engine cycles, heat transfer losses increase at higher compression ratios and limit efficiency even when the knock limit is not reached. In this paper we investigate the role of both the compression ratio and the specific heat ratio on engine efficiency by conducting experiments comparing operation of a single-cylinder variable-compression-ratio engine with both hydrogen-air and hydrogen-oxygen-argon mixtures. For low load operation it is found that the hydrogen-oxygen-argon mixtures result in higher indicated thermal efficiencies. Peak efficiency for the hydrogen-oxygen-argon mixtures is found at compression ratio 5.5 whereas for the hydrogen-air mixture with an equivalence ratio of 0.24 the peak efficiency is found at compression ratio 13. We apply a three-zone model to help explain the effects of specific heat ratio and compression ratio on efficiency. Operation with hydrogen-oxygen-argon mixtures at low loads is more efficient because the lower compression ratio results in a substantially larger portion of the gas to reside in the adiabatic core rather than in the boundary layer and in the crevices, leading to less heat transfer and more complete combustion.
Date: January 13, 2010
Creator: Killingsworth, N J; Rapp, V H; Flowers, D L; Aceves, S M; Chen, J & Dibble, R
Item Type: Refine your search to only Article
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department

Development and Testing of a 6-Cylinder HCCI Engine for Distributed Generation

Description: This paper describes the technical approach for converting a Caterpillar 3406 natural gas spark ignited engine into HCCI mode. The paper describes all stages of the process, starting with a preliminary analysis that determined that the engine can be operated by preheating the intake air with a heat exchanger that recovers energy from the exhaust gases. This heat exchanger plays a dual role, since it is also used for starting the engine. For start-up, the heat exchanger is preheated with a natural gas burner. The engine is therefore started in HCCI mode, avoiding the need to handle the potentially difficult transition from SI or diesel mode to HCCI. The fueling system was modified by replacing the natural gas carburetor with a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) carburetor. This modification sets an upper limit for the equivalence ratio at {phi} {approx} 0.4, which is ideal for HCCI operation and guarantees that the engine will not fail due to knock. Equivalence ratio can be reduced below 0.4 for low load operation with an electronic control valve. Intake boosting has been a challenge, as commercially available turbochargers are not a good match for the engine, due to the low HCCI exhaust temperature. Commercial introduction of HCCI engines for stationary power will therefore require the development of turbochargers designed specifically for this mode of operation. Considering that no appropriate off-the-shelf turbocharger for HCCI engines exists at this time, we are investigating mechanical supercharging options, which will deliver the required boost pressure (3 bar absolute intake) at the expense of some reduction in the output power and efficiency. An appropriate turbocharger can later be installed for improved performance when it becomes available or when a custom turbocharger is developed. The engine is now running in HCCI mode and producing power in an essentially naturally aspirated mode. ...
Date: July 12, 2005
Creator: Flowers, D L; Martinez-Frias, J; Espinosa-Loza, F; Killingsworth, N; Aceves, S M; Dibble, R et al.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Article
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department