Self-Tuning Control of a Binary Distillation Column — A Simulation Test Care

Abstract In this simulation study, a nine-trays binary distillation column is dealt with. The classical regulation scheme consisting of two controllers located at the bottom and top of the column is considered. An analog P.I.D. is taken as bottom controller, whereas a number of digital controllers are used in the top feedback loop. The digital controllers are based on SISO Self-Tuning Concepts. Precisely, the control performances achieved by the Minimum Variance, Model Following and Detuned Minimum Variance approaches are compared. Finally, the robustness improvement obtained with a time-varying forgetting factor is discussed.