Output Regulation of Large-Scale Hydraulic Networks

The problem of output regulation for a class of hydraulic networks found in district heating systems is addressed in this brief. The results show that global asymptotic and semiglobal exponential output regulation is achievable using a set of decentralized proportional-integral controllers. The fact that the result is global and independent of the number of end users has the consequence that structural changes such as end-user addition and removal can be made in the network while maintaining the stability properties of the system. Furthermore, the decentralized nature of the control architecture eases the implementation of structural changes in the network.