Pressure control for constant-pressure masks

This research focuses on developing an automatic control scheme to maintain a constant pressure in a mask which is normally used in respiratory devices to help patients with breathing difficulties. The problem of dead time associated with fluid flow in relatively long tubes conveying air is resolved using a feedforward compensation scheme. This compensation includes adding additional electronic components between the system and the controller. Appropriate transfer functions are developed and the system is simulated using Simulink in a Matlab environment. The compensation scheme has demonstrated an effective control, a more stable system and a reduced time delay. The theoretical response is validated experimentally.