Process Control: Modeling, Design, and Simulation

16.1. Motivation

Most of the techniques presented in this textbook have been based on continuous-time models. The controllers are normally implemented by microprocessors and, therefore, must be converted to discrete time before implementation. We have focused on continuous time because few changes in the techniques are needed for the discrete-time case. One advanced control technique that has solely had discrete-time application is model predictive control (MPC). MPC is by far the most commonly applied advanced control technique in the chemical process industry, so it is worth devoting a chapter to it. One major contributor to the success of MPC is the ability to handle constraints in an optimal fashion. The optimization-based procedure is intuitive ...