International Journal of Power System and Power Electronics
An Intelligent Gain Schedule Controller Design for a
Chemical Process
G. Glan Devadhas1 and Dr. S. Pushpa Kumar2
ABSTRACT
CSTR plays a vital role in almost all the chemical
industries. Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) is
a highly nonlinear process exhibiting stable and
unstable steady state at different regions. Control of
CSTR in the complete range is a mind boggling
problem. In this paper, a fuzzy scheduled pole
placement based state feedback control of CSTR is
investigated. The entire region is divided into three
regions; low, middle and the high region. The low and
the high region have stable steady state and the middle
region have unstable steady state. Initially, the gain
matrix of the state feedback controller is computed for
each region using pole placement technique. Then using
fuzzy gain scheduler, the complete controller is formed.
The result shows the feasibility of using the proposed
controller for the control of CSTR. In this chapter
optimal control of CSTR is investigated for the tracking
and regulatory problems.
Keywords: State feedback using pole placement, Fuzzy
Gain Scheduler, Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor.
I. INTRODUCTION
Due to its strong nonlinear behavior, the problem
of controlling of CSTR is always an attracting task
for control system engineers. Conventional control
techniques are suited for completely known and well
understood Linear Time-Invariant systems. When the
system exhibits parameter inaccuracy and time
varying dynamics, conventional control methods
encounters problem. Despite of the difficulty in
achieving high control performance, the fine-tuning
of controller parameters is a tedious task that requires
expert knowledge both in control theory and process
information. Therefore, the control of systems with
nonlinear, complex, unknown and uncertain
dynamics is a serious challenge to control community
[1]. Optimal control of systems are used to provide a
desired control of the process [2,3].
In order to accommodate the nonlinearity, a
gain scheduled control scheme is investigated. A gain
scheduled control system consists of a family of
controllers (Local Controllers) and a scheduler. The
scheduler selects the controller depending on the
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Vol:4 No:1 Oct:2011
operating region. Plethora of advanced control
schemes such as neural adaptive controller [4,5,6],
Nonlinear Internal Model Control Scheme [7] and
Adaptive Control Scheme [8,9] and Robust control
[10] have been attempted on the CSTR process
considered for the simulation study in this paper.
Even with the all the nonlinear control strategies,
gain scheduling is the simplest and has low
computational complexity.
Gain-scheduling is a well-known technique
of industrial control and is used when a plant is
subject to large changes in its operating state, a
situation that is typical in industry. Large changes in
the operating state lead to corresponding variations in
the parameters of the linearized models of the plant
about these operating states, it is well known that it is
not possible therefore to design a controller to
operate satisfactorily at one operating state and
expect it to perform equally well elsewhere without
re-tuning it[11,12]. Closed system performance is
degraded since the controller cannot track the
changes in the operating states. Considerable effort
has gone into developing controllers that can track
the variations in plant parameters with a view to
achieving invariant operation throughout the domain
of operation of the plant. Adaptive controllers are one
such approach, yet even these controllers do not
always demonstrate satisfactory performance
throughout the domain of operation of the plant and
may, on occasion, lose control altogether[14]. Robust
controllers, [13] another approach, also have their
limitations since they must deal with system
dynamics that vary over a wide range though using
constant parameters only. Clearly this class of
controllers can only operate satisfactorily over a
limited domain. Fuzzy Gain-Scheduling assures
smooth transitions in the control law, yet maintains
essentially invariant closed system characteristics.
In this paper, control of CSTR using state
feedback gain using pole placement technique is
investigated. The state feedback gain parameters are
gain scheduled using Sugeno Fuzzy Logic Control to
provide the appropriate values for the different
regions.
International Journal of Power System and Power Electronics Vol:4 No:1 Oct:2011

II. PROCESS DESCRIPTION

Chemical reactions [13] in a reactor are either
exothermic (release energy) or endothermic (require
energy input) and therefore require that energy either Table:1
be removed or added to the reactor for a constant The CSTR parameters
temperature to be maintained. Parameter Description Nominal
Figure 1 shows the schematic of the CSTR
value
process. In the CSTR process model under
discussion,[4] an irreversible exothermic reaction
Q Process flow 100 l/min
takes place. The heat of the reaction is removed by a
coolant medium that flows through a jacket around rate
the reactor. A fluid stream A is fed to the reactor. A
catalyst is placed inside the reactor. The fluid inside V Reactor 100 l
the reactor is perfectly mixed and sent out through volume
the exit valve. The jacket surrounding the reactor also
has feed and exit streams. The jacket is assumed to be k0 Reaction rate 7.2 ×
perfectly mixed and at a lower temperature than the constant 1010
reactor. 1/min

E/R Activation 1 × 104

energy K

ϑ0 Feed 350K
temperature

ϑC0 Inlet coolant 350K

temperature

ΔH Heat of −2 × 105
reaction cal/mol

Cp, Cpc Specific 1 cal/gK

heats

ρ,ρc Liquid 1 × 103

densities g/l
Fig1: CSTR process
The reactor is modeled using its material
Ca0 Inlet feed 1mol/l
and energy balance equations.
concentration
˙Ca(t)=Q(Ca0−Ca(t))/V−k0Ca(t)e−E/Rϑ(t) .(1)

˙ϑ(t)=Q(ϑ0−ϑ(t))/V+ 1Ca(t)e−E/Rϑ(t)+k2qc(t) ha Heat transfer 7 × 105

coefficient cal
(1 − e−k3/qc (t)) (ϑc0− ϑ(t)) . (2)

where ϑ and C are the temperature and concentration
in the reactor respectively.. Table 1 gives the
parameters of the CSTR.
Consider the flow rate qc(t) as the input and
product concentration Ca(t) as the output of the
system. As seen from Fig. 2, the gain and damping of
the system, vary widely over the whole operating
region, from 0.08 mol/l to 0.13 mol/l.

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International Journal of Power System and Power Electronics Vol:4 No:1 Oct:2011

Figure 4: Coolant flow Vs Concentration

Figure 2. Open-loop step response of the CSTR

III. STEADY STATE
CHARACTERISTICS
By simulating the differential equations, the
steady state behavior of the CSTR is obtained. The
process outputs Effluent Temperature, Effluent
Concentration and Coolant Temperature are plotted
against the coolant flow.
Figure5: Coolant flow Vs Coolant temperature
On analyzing the responses in the figures 3,
4 & 5, the curve signifies a nonlinear characteristic
and operates in three regions: low, middle and high
region. The middle region has the property of output
multiplicity. It is likely to operate the CSTR at the
middle unstable steady state as at very low
temperature, steady states cause low yields as the
temperature is very low and at high temperatures,
steady state may be very high causing unsafe
conditions, destroying the catalyst for a catalytic
rector degrading the product Table 2 shows the
operating regions with operating points for the states
and the input. The operating points are found for each
linear region.

Table2: Operating Regions

Operating
Fc0 Ca0 T0 Tc0
Figure 3: Coolant flow Vs Temperature region

Low
5 1.5635 380.25 317.55
region

Middle
14.25 4.8446 345.81 304.7
Region

High
17 7.919 318.24 303.9
Region

IV. STABILITY ANALYSIS BY

INVESTIGATION OF THE EIGEN
VALUES

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International Journal of Power System and Power Electronics Vol:4 No:1 Oct:2011

The stability characteristics are determined by linguistically meaningful basis for interpreting the
the eigen values of A, which are obtained by solving notion of an operating point. In this connection we
det (_λ I - A) = 0. The eigen values are tabulated in should point out that the concept of Takagi-
table3
Sugeno(T.S) fuzzy control in effect amounts to a
Table3: Eigen values at operating region form of gain scheduling control. Fig 6.shows the
Operating region Eigenvalue membership function of fuzzy gain schedule
-1.7727+j1.0773 controller. Specifically in this approach a piecewise
Low region -1.7727-j1.0773 model of the plant is formed via a combination of if-
-4.7161 then rules and linearised plant models and
0.6091 subsequently used to devise a gain scheduling control
Middle region -0.7836
strategy that may take the form
-13.9445
-0.8976
Rule j: if (k) is Aj then uj(k)=Kjx(k) (3)
High region -0.2142
-16.6947

V. Fuzzy Gain Scheduler for State

Feedback Controller using Pole Where is the external parameter on which
placement Technique for CSTR scheduling takes place and

X(k)=[x1(k) x2(k) ……..xn(k)]T (4)

Is the state vector used in the feedback strategy. The

control law takes the form

Fig:5 Fuzzy gain schedule controller

Fig 5 shows the block diagram of fuzzy gain schedule

controller. In gain-scheduling controllers, the
parameters (i.e. gains) of the controller are varied
usually as a function of the exogenous variable, here
the effluent temperature in an attempt to compensate
for the changes in the operating state of the plant
through stepwise changes in the controller
Fig .6.The membership function of Fuzzy
parameters. The gain scheduled controller output is
gain schedule controller
based on multiple local linear controllers. To
combine multiple local linear PID controller outputs
a method is be devised to partition the operating state
space. Fuzzy logic based gain scheduling essentially
amounts to using a fuzzy logic based strategy with in
the gain scheduling mechanism. Specifically instead
of simple linear interpolation, one utilize a set of if-
then rules to characterize the operating points of the
system and to associate a set of controller parameters
with those points. This strategy in effect provides a

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International Journal of Power System and Power Electronics Vol:4 No:1 Oct:2011

Fig:7. Membership function of operating regions

Table 2 shows the operating regions with operating

points for the states and the input. The operating
points are found for each linear region. The
membership function of each region is shown in
Fig.7,where, a is switched point between the adjacent
regimes. The value of a influences the control
performance on chattering and non-error. In general,
it depends on the experience of designer or trial and
error.

A Sugeno Fuzzy model is used to provide the

gain scheduling of the Gain generated by the State
Feedback. Considering the Effluent Temperature as
the input for the Fuzzy model and kI, k1, k2 & k3 as
the output, the Sugeno fuzzy model is developed. Figure. 9. Manipulated Variable and Process Variable
Figure 8 shows the rules of the gain scheduler based for change in Set Point
on IAE.

Figure 8: Rule Viewer of Fuzzy Gain Schedule

Model

Figure 9 shows the manipulated variable &

process output for change in set point in the entire Figure 10. Manipulated Variable and Output for
region. Figure 10 shows the manipulated variable & Regulatory Problem by varying Feed
process output for regulatory problem by varying
feed concentration for the CSTR operated in the
entire region.

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International Journal of Power System and Power Electronics Vol:4 No:1 Oct:2011

TABLE:3 Comparison of PID VS IGS

Time domain PID

IGS
parameters

35s
Rise time 0.0209 s

100s
Settling time 47.9552 s

7.5
Overshoot 6.1915e - 004

Fig:.11 Closed loop response of CSTR for IGS 3.1448

The closed loop response of CSTR for the
designed Intelligent Gain Schedule controller is
shown in Fig11.It shows the monotonic variation
and easy settling. Figure 12 compares the response
of the Intelligent gain schedule controller with the
conventional PID controller and the performance
indices are compared and tabulated in Table3 .The
results shows the oscillations in PID controller are
eliminated in the Intelligent Gain-Schedule
controller (IGS).
Undershoot 9.5091e - 012
494.3424
Peak time 1.0395
VI. CONCLUSION
In this paper, a Sugeno Fuzzy gain
scheduled Pole placement based State Feedback
Controller is applied to CSTR process which has a
highly nonlinear characteristics. This paper presents a
methodology for finding the State Feedback
controller using Pole placement technique. The
Sugeno Fuzzy gain scheduler combines the multiple
local linear State feedback gains. The proposed
controller shows best performance for both set point
tracking and regulatory conditions compared with the
conventional techniques.

VII. REFERENCES
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[1].Athans. M. and P.L. Falb, “Optimal Control: An

introduction to the Theory and its Applications”,
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[2].B.W. Bequette, “Nonlinear control of chemical

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[3] Chyi-Tsong Chen and Shih-Tein Peng,

“Intelligent process control using neural fuzzy
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[4]C.Jayachandran, M.Rajaram Comparative

performance analysis of Intelligent controllers

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International Journal of Power System and Power Electronics Vol:4 No:1 Oct:2011

design for CSTR International journal of Power ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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[5]D.E.Seborg, “A perspective on advanced

strategies for process control, Modeling,
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[6]E.P. Nahas, M.A. Henson and D.E. Seborg,
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[7]G.Glandevadhas, Dr.S.Pushpakumar, Robust
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[8]G.Glandevadhas, Dr.S.Pushpakumar Intelligent
controller design for a chemical process International
Journal of Engineering Vol. (5), 2010, 399-410.
G.Glan Devadhas1 got his B.E.degree from
University of Madras and M.E.in Process Control and
Instrumentation from Annamalai University, and pursuing
his doctoral degree from PRIST University Thanjavur. He
has more than ten years of experience and presently he is
working as Asst.Professor in Noorul Islam Centre for
Higher Education. His areas of Interest are Controller
design, System modeling and Intelligent controller
design.His email is glandeva@gmail.com and contact no is
9894896257

[9]G.Stephanopoulos and C.Han, “Intelligent systems

in process engineering: a review”, Computers Chem.
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[10]Kirk, D.E., “Optimal Control Theory: An
introduction”, Prentice Hall, Englewood cliffs, N.J.,
1970
[11]Karl J. Astrom and Bjorn Wittenmark, “Adaptive
Control” Pearson Education Press, 2001
[12]P.Lakshmi, M.Srinivasan, Winner model based
PID controller for CSTR, International journal of
Power system and power electronics Vol.2.2009 pp7-
12
2
Dr.S.Pushpa Kumar got his doctoral
degree in power systems from Roorkee University. He has
more than thirty four years of teaching experience. He
published several research papers in national and
International conferences and journals He is former
principal of Government college of Engineering Kannur
and presently he is working as principal in Heera College
of Engineering and Technology.He is presently guiding
three Ph.d students in PRIST University, Thanjavur. His
areas of interest are Power Systems and Power Electronics.
His email id is spushpakumar@gmail.com

[13]Morari and Zafiriou, “Robust Process Control”,

Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1989

[14]Venugopal G. Krishnapura and Arthur Jutan, “A

Neural Adaptive Controller” Chemical Engineering
Science, 55, 2000, pp.3803-3812

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