On-Line Fuzzy Logic Temperature Control of a Concentric-Tubes Heat Exchanger Facility

Abstract

We develop a fuzzy rule based controller to perform on-line temperature control of a concentric-tubes heat exchanger facility. The rules were derived from dynamical values of the mass flow rates and fluid temperatures in the heat exchanger. The controller was embedded in a closed-loop single-input single-output system to control the outlet temperature of the cold fluid. The controller was constructed in two stages, the difference between them being the amount of information provided to the controller. To validate the fuzzy controller two sets of tests were carried out for maintaining a constant value of the outlet temperature under different perturbations. Results from this analysis demonstrate that the fuzzy-based controller is able to achieve control of the system, and that the information about the system provided to it is important in terms of accuracy and efficiency.