Control reconfiguration of a thermofluid process by means of a virtual actuator

The application of a virtual actuator to the control reconfiguration of a thermofluid process after actuator faults is described. The virtual actuator is a model-based scheme for reconfiguring the control loop, after actuator faults have occurred. It works by hiding the fault from the controller, thus allowing the nominal controller to remain in the loop. Several design approaches proposed in the literature are tested experimentally for three actuator failure scenarios on a physical thermofluid process. The obtained experimental results are interpreted to evaluate the applicability of the virtual actuator and to motivate future research directions.