A PREDICTIVE FUZZY LOGIC CONTROLLER FOR RESIN MANUFACTURING

Exothermic reactions in polymerization processes require precise control of the reaction temperature in order to avoid the danger of temperature run-away and the consequent damage to expensive materials. Mathematical modeling of the reaction process, in order to construct a model-based control, is highly complex due to the unpredictable and nonlinear exothermic reaction temperatures. In such cases, Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC) is very useful since it does not require a mathematical model for generating a control law. This paper details a design methodology for a sensor-based FLC control system in producing phenol formaldehyde resin adhesives. A control structure called predictive FLC is developed and employed. Several experiments were carried out to ascertain the accuracy of predictive FLC in controlling the reaction temperature. Two of the temperature responses are included in the paper.