Specialized course Process Control at Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Spring 2018


Compulsory exercise for Lecture 5

1.      Parameter estimation of a DC motor with least squares (LS) method: This web page presents a DC motor. The web page includes some experimental data. Estimate K, T and L using the ordinary least squares method. As known data for the estimation, use control signal u [V] and speed S [krpm]. Do not use any special function in Matlab for the LS estimation, i.e., program from scratch the formulas that calculate the estimate. Finally, check, qualitatively, with a simulation if the model is good. [Karla]

2.      Parameter estimation of an air heater using the grid optimization method: This web page presents an air heater. The web page includes some experimental data. Make a Matlab program which estimates the heater gain K_h, the time constant theta_t, the time-delay theta_d, and the environmental temperature T_env with the grid optimization method. Finally, run a simulation that (hopefully) demonstrates that the adapted model represents the real air heater well.
(Tip 1: Data can be loaded into the Matlab workspace with the load command. Tip 2: At each grid point, a simulation is run. Tip 3: A time-delay can be implementented with an array which contents are moved one array “cell” at each simulation iteration.) [Aleksander]
 

3.      Parameter estimation of the air heater using the nonlinear least squares (NLS) method: As Problem 2, but now use nonlinear least squares method implemented with fmincon() in Matlab.
(Tip: The objective function is calculated from a simulation of the model. In other words: At each iteration, the optimizer (fmincon) runs a simulation.) [Duo]

4.      Comparison of estimation results: Which of the grid method and the NLS method gives the best parameter estimates for the air heater? (Design the comparison yourself.) [Abhilash]

5.      Subspace identification of the air heater:  Try to identify an input/output model (a discrete-time state space model) of the air heater using subspace identification (n4sid() in Matlab). Check if the model is good.
(Tip 1: The process contains a time-delay of some seconds. This may cause problems for the identification with n4sid since the model form assumed by n4sid does not directly include any time-delay term. Cf. the comments in the lecture about this.
Tip 2: Matlab script for subspace identification of DC motor using these experiemental data, demonstrated in the lecture 18th March 2018.) [Xiaodong]

Comment: Above, there are no exercises about observers, although this topic was introduced in the lecture Friday 16th March. Exercises about observers will instead be included in the exercises for Lecture 6.


Updated 11 April 2018 by Finn Aakre Haugen, course teacher.