Learning Switching Control: A Tank Level-Control Exercise

A key topic in multicontroller strategies is the mechanism for switching between controllers, depending on the current operating point. The objective of the switching mechanism is to keep the control action coherent. To help students understand the switching strategy involved in multicontroller schema and the relationship between the system dynamics and the switching structure, this paper proposes a student practical where basic linear control knowledge and a simple switching strategy are applied to an educational nonlinear control problem, that of controlling the level in a tank. Evaluation provided by the students is also included.