The input-output pairing problem: An optimization based approach

In this work an optimization based approach is presented to solve the input-output pairing problem for industrial processes. This kind of problems grow in complexity quickly with the process dimension and interaction. Indeed, for a n × n plant there are n! alternative pairings to be examined. In this case, an alternative formulation is suggested which utilizes the simple and powerful philosophy of the classical relative gain array (RGA) approach within a deterministic MILP formulation in the GAMS environment. This representation favors the systematic evaluation, minimizes the heuristic consideration and could be easily incorporated into more complex problems such as the plant-wide control designs. Furthermore, a comparison with a stochastic global search approach such as genetic algorithms (GA) is proposed and applied on academic as well as industrial cases.