Adaptive Control Strategies for Process Startup

In many process control problems it is desirable to startup the process by making a smooth and rapid transition to the desired operating condition with little or no overshoot. For processes with large thermal capacitances, it is especially difficult to avoid overshoot during startup unless a very conservative (i.e., slow) startup is implemented. Adaptive control strategies are a promising solution because they can be used to predict the time at which heating should be stopped and cooling begun. Simulation studies for a fluidized sandbath demonstrate the advantages of the proposed approach.