Minimum-time feedforward control for industrial processes

In this paper we present a design methodology for Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control loops in order to obtain a minimum-time process output transition subject to constraints on the process variable and on the manipulated variable. The technique relies on the synthesis of a suitable command input that has to be applied to the closed-loop system, where the PID controller has been tuned previously by any conventional method. Simulation as well as experimental results related to a level control problem in a laboratory setup are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.