Predictive regulatory controller

A method for adjusting control signal values for use in controlling a plant to conform a system parameter to a set-point, the method comprising the steps of:

• determining a reference trajectory for the set-point based at least in part on a user supplied set-point tracking tuning parameter;
• estimating a current disturbance value for the system parameter based at least in part on a robustness tuning parameter, a model prediction value resulting from a control signal value associated with the system parameter, and an actual system value associated with the system parameter;
• predicting a future disturbance value based at least in part on the estimated current disturbance value and a disturbance rejection tuning parameter;
• and
• adjusting the control signal value based at least in part on the reference trajectory, the model prediction value, the future disturbance value, and an aggressiveness tuning parameter.

An apparatus for adjusting control signal values for use in controlling a plant to conform a system parameter to a set-point based on an actual system value associated with the plant, the apparatus comprising:

• a reference trajectory calculator that determines a reference trajectory based on the set-point and a set-point tracking tuning parameter;
• a model that determines a model prediction value resulting from a control signal value;
• a current disturbance estimator coupled to the model, the current disturbance estimator configured to estimate a current disturbance value based on a robustness tuning parameter and a difference between the model prediction value and the actual system value;
• a future disturbance predictor coupled to the current disturbance estimator, the future disturbance predictor configured to determine a future disturbance value based on the estimated current disturbance and a disturbance rejection tuning parameter;
• a control action calculator coupled to the model, the reference trajectory calculator, and the future disturbance predictor, the control action calculator configured to update the control signal value based on the reference trajectory, the model prediction value, the future disturbance value, and an aggressiveness tuning parameter;
• and
• at least one tuning parameter input that receives at lease one of the set-point tracking tuning parameter, the robustness tuning parameter, the disturbance rejection tuning parameter, and the aggressiveness tuning parameter from a user.

A computer readable carrier including software that is configured to control a computer to implement a control method embodied in a computer readable medium for adjusting control signal values for use in controlling a plant to conform a system parameter to a set-point, the method comprising the steps of:

• determining a reference trajectory for the set-point based at least in part on a user supplied set-point tracking tuning parameter;
• estimating a current disturbance value for the system parameter based at least in part on a robustness tuning parameter, a model prediction value resulting from a control signal value associated with the system parameter, and an actual system value associated with the system parameter;
• predicting a future disturbance value based at least in part on the estimated current disturbance value and a disturbance rejection tuning parameter;
• and
• adjusting the control signal value based at least in part on the reference trajectory, the model prediction value, the future disturbance value, and an aggressiveness tuning parameter