A direct adaptive PI control scheme for process control

This paper derives a simple yet effective PI controller parameter tuning algorithm that enables the controller to adaptively regulate dynamical processes in an autonomous way by merely observing the process output errors. The convergence of the parameter tuning algorithm is guaranteed so that the resulting direct adaptive PI control system is stable. The effectiveness and applicability of the proposed adaptive PI control scheme are demonstrated through the direct control of a typical nonlinear chemical process. Simulation results indicate that it is more robust and powerful in accommodating process nonlinearity, unmeasured disturbances, and plant parameter variations than existing conventional PI controllers.