Model Predictive Control on Open Water Systems

In the research Model Predictive Control on Open Water Systems, the relatively new control methodology Model Predictive Control is configured for application of water quantity control on open water systems, especially on irrigation canals and large drainage systems. The methodology applies an internal model of the open water system, by which optimal control actions are calculated over a prediction horizon. As internal model, two simplified models are used, the Integrator Delay model and the Saint Venant model. Kalman filtering is applied to initialize the internal models. The optimization uses an objective function in which conflicting objectives can be weighed. In most of the cases, these conflicting objectives are keeping the water levels at different locations in the water system within a range around setpoint and executing this by using as little control effort or energy as possible. To tune the weight factors in the objective function, an estimate of the maximum allowed value of each variable in the objective function is used. The optimization takes the constraints of the control structures into account. Every control time step, the optimal control actions are calculated, while only the first set of control actions is actually executed. This results in a controlled water system that is constantly maintaining the objective in an optimal way, while taking predictions, such as expected irrigation demands or extreme storm events, and the constraints of the water system into account.