First steps towards flatness based control of a class of nonlinear chemical reactors with time delays

A trajectory tracking control method for a class of nonlinear chemical reactors with time delays is proposed. For this, the new concept of δ-flatness is introduced, which is an extension of the notions of flatness of nonlinear systems and δ-freeness oflinear delay systems. It is shown that the reactors under consideration are δ-flat and how this property may be used to change their operating regime along appropriate trajectories. The two step design procedure splits into open loop tracking and stabilization around the reference trajectory based on a state prediction.