DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ADVANCED PROCESS CONTROLLERS (APC) FOR FLOW APPLICATION

The main objective of this project is to improve the capability of conventional PID controller for flow control by developing and implementing Advanced Process Controllers (APCs) which consist of Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). Flow is one of the most difficult process variables (PV) to control because the properties of a fluid can easily change. This can lead the system to become non-linear process dynamic. When disturbances present, flow control will become more difficult to control and the conventional PID controller will not be the best option. As a solution, in this project APCs will be developed and the controllers‟ performance will be compare with the conventional PID controller. Development of the controllers will be based on MATLAB/Simulink Toolboxes. Then, the designed controllers will be implemented onto the PcA SimExpert Mobile Pilot Plant SE231B-21 - Flow Control and Calibration Process Unit. In addition, for having better maintenance and data trend collection for the process, Human Machine Interface (HMI) will be developed by using MATLAB/Simulink. In designing the controllers, it will involve data gathering, designing and tuning membership functions and develop rule base. Based on the experiment results, APCs show better control performance as compared to PID controller.