Nonlinear model predictive control of a four tank system: an experimental stability study

There are well-known theoretical examples that show that stability constraints in nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) are necessary in order to guarantee closed loop stability. In this paper it is shown that these stability constraints, derived from theory, are also essential in practice. In particular, an experimental study is carried out on a four tank system that illustrates the stability behavior of NMPC.