Teaching Control of Irrigation Canals for non system engineering audiences

This paper presents an experience of teaching automatic control for multidisciplinary audiences within the master course Real-time Control of Irrigation Canals. This course is a part of the specialty module Decision Support Systems, offered by the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) in the framework of the European Erasmus Mundus Master Program Hydro-Informatics and Water Management (EUROAQUAE). After some insights on signals, systems and control theory, the students are introduced on the operational management of irrigation canals and on the mathematical models needed for simulation and control purposes. PI and predictive control are taught and used to design irrigation canal control systems. Matlab-Simulink and Real Time Workshop environments are extensively used to run explanatory exercises during lectures, student homework tasks and final design project on a laboratory canal. A visit to a real canal installation is organized during the course.