New Methods for Adaptation to Degeneration in Process Models for Process Industries

Abstract

The implementation of model-based control and diagnostics suffer strongly from the fact that models deteriorate as a function of process and sensor deterioration. Also, changes in the raw material (i.e. wood) may occur and often the process control is not addressing these variations in reality. It is thus vital for the model system to be robust in the sense that it is transparent and easy for the operator to maintain. Robustness is essential in many parts of the system, including measurement, process model validation, the ability of the model to adapt to changes in the process, optimization algorithms, and of course the model itself. In this paper, we first show three real-life applications of the utilization of models for diagnostics and control. Thereafter conditions for on-line adaptation of the models are discussed. The challenges when designing such a system are in achieving operator confidence, filtering of misleading measured data, adaptation of process parameters when the process parameters change, and combining validation of measurements and process models. These challenges are met by using a combination of physical and statistical models and methods based on them such as model predictive control (MPC) and parameter estimation. The model should be maintained by a qualified engineer who should be able to explain the system to the operator so that it is understood and confidence can be maintained.