Sliding mode control of an automotive air conditioning system

The air conditioning system is one of the largest ancillary loads on passenger cars, with considerable effects on the fuel consumption. In this scenario, the optimization and control of the A/C system actuators has an important role in reducing the parasitic load of the A/C compressor. This paper presents an application of sliding mode control to an automotive air conditioning system, with the objective of regulating the superheat temperature and cooling capacity by using the compressor speed and expansion valve position inputs. A nonlinear, physical A/C system model was considered as the starting point to operate Model Order Reduction, with the objective of obtaining a simple model for control design. Then, an error feedback sliding mode regulation problem is solved to design a local controller tracking desired trajectories by the compressor speed and expansion valve position. The simulation results obtained show that the controller is robust to external disturbances such as variations in the air speed or temperature.

[1]  Andrew G. Alleyne,et al.  Gain Scheduled Control of an Air Conditioning System Using the Youla Parameterization , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology.

[2]  Andrew G. Alleyne,et al.  Application of a multivariable adaptive control strategy to automotive air conditioning systems , 2004 .

[3]  D. Leducq,et al.  Non-linear predictive control of a vapour compression cycle , 2006 .

[4]  Johannes P. Schlöder,et al.  Nonlinear Model Predictive Control of a Vapor Compression Cycle based on First Principle Models , 2012 .

[5]  B. Francis.  The linear multivariable regulator problem , 1976, 1976 IEEE Conference on Decision and Control including the 15th Symposium on Adaptive Processes.

[6]  Chun-Lu Zhang,et al.  A generalized moving-boundary model for transient simulation of dry-expansion evaporators under larger disturbances , 2006 .

[7]  Matthew Stuart Elliott,et al.  Decentralized Model Predictive Control of a Multiple Evaporator HVAC System , 2009 .

[8]  Christopher Edwards,et al.  ROBUST OUTPUT TRACKING USING A SLIDING MODE CONTROLLER/OBSERVER SCHEME , 1996 .

[9]  H. Harry Asada,et al.  Modeling of Vapor Compression Cycles for Multivariable Feedback Control of HVAC Systems , 1997 .

[10]  Morten Willatzen,et al.  A general dynamic simulation model for evaporators and condensers in refrigeration. Part II: simulation and control of an evaporator , 1998 .

[11]  Christian J.L. Hermes,et al.  A model-driven multivariable controller for vapor compression refrigeration systems , 2009 .

[12]  A. Isidori,et al.  Output regulation of nonlinear systems , 1990 .

[13]  Morten Willatzen,et al.  A general dynamic simulation model for evaporators and condensers in refrigeration. Part I: moving-boundary formulation of two-phase flows with heat exchange , 1998 .

[14]  Andrew G. Alleyne,et al.  APPLICATION OF MULTIVARIABLE ADAPTIVE CONTROL TO AUTOMOTIVE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS , 2003 .

[15]  J. MacArthur,et al.  Unsteady compressible two-phase flow model for predicting cyclic heat pump performance and a comparison with experimental data , 1989 .

[16]  Andrew G. Alleyne,et al.  An advanced nonlinear switched heat exchanger model for vapor compression cycles using the moving-boundary method , 2008 .

[17]  Prodromos Daoutidis,et al.  Singular perturbation modeling of nonlinear processes with nonexplicit time-scale multiplicity , 1998 .

[18]  Andrew G. Alleyne,et al.  Gain scheduled control of an air conditioning system using the Youla parameterization , 2006 .

[19]  Christopher Edwards,et al.  SLIDING MODE OUTPUT TRACKING WITH APPLICATION TO A MULTIVARIABLE HIGH TEMPERATURE FURNACE PROBLEM , 1997 .

[20]  Andrew G. Alleyne,et al.  A dynamic model of a vapor compression cycle with shut-down and start-up operations , 2010 .

[21]  J. M. Jensen,et al.  Dynamic modelling of thermo-fluid systems - with focus on evaporators for refrigeration , 2003 .