Self-tuning and self-adaptive PIP control systems

The design procedure presented in this Chapter provides a simple yet flexible method of synthesising self-tuning and self adaptive control systems which are inherently digital in form and can be considered as logical successors to more conventional digital systems, such as the ubiquitous PI and PID controllers. The new class of controller offers “True Digital Control” (TDC). In the TDC design, the sampling rate is chosen to enhance the performance of both the closed loop dynamic system and the estimation algorithms employed in the self-tuning/self-adaptive mechanisation.The practical examples presented in the Chapter emphasise the advantages of the true digital PIP designs in relation to their more conventional forbears. For instance, all of the examples involve processes that are difficult to control using continuous-time or digitised continuous-time designs, since they are characterised by relatively long pure time delays.