Designing an optimal controller for rectangular natural circulation loops

Abstract

Controlling the dynamics of natural circulation loops represents a major task for the widespread use of this kind of system in safe industrial applications. This paper aims to design an innovative model-based optimal controller for the suppression of unstable oscillations and flow reversals, which affect the dynamical behaviour of a closed-loop thermosyphon at high heating rate. The key idea is to define a multivariable control law aiming to minimize an objective function taking into account both the stability of the system and the cost of control. The design of the proposed controller has been based on a model approximating to the first three modes of the dynamics of rectangular circulation loops with imposed heat fluxes at the boundaries. The capability of the proposed controller in suppressing undesired dynamics has been experimentally demonstrated.