Decentralized proportional-integral controller based on dynamic decoupling technique using Beckhoff TwinCAT-3.1

Abstract

An improved technique for the design of decentralized dynamic decoupled proportional-integral (PI) controllers to control many variables of column flotation was developed and implemented in this paper. This work was motivated by challenges when working with multiple inputs and multiple outputs (MIMO) systems that are not controllable by conventional linear feedback controllers. Conventional feedback control design consists of various drawbacks when it comes to complex industrial processes. The introduction of decentralization, decoupling, and many advanced controls design methods overcomes these drawbacks. Hence, the design and implementation of control systems that mitigate stability for MIMO systems are important. The developed closed-loop model of the flotation process is implemented in a real-time platform using TwinCAT 3.1 automation software and CX5020 Beckhoff programmable logic controllers (PLC) through the model transformation technique. The reasons for using the CX5020 as an implementation environment were motivated by the reliability, and is built according to new industry standards, allowing transformation, which makes it more advantageous to be used more than any other PLCs. This is done to validate the effectiveness of the recommended technique and prove its usability for any multivariable system. Comparable numerical results are presented, and they imply that industrial usage of this method is highly recommended.