Optimal control design for block-ice production process using time of use tariff

This paper presents an application of optimal control design to a block-ice production process using the time of use tariff. The optimal strategy is developed to minimize the electricity cost over a finite-time horizon and is subjected to constraints involving control signals and state variables. Applying the principle of optimality, the control input is calculated by dynamic programming. Various factors have been analyzed with respect to energy consumption and cost. The optimal controller is then compared to the conventional control strategy. The simulation reveals that the proposed control design has a significant advantage over the conventional control strategy.