CONTROL AND STABILITY ANALYSIS OF THE GMC ALGORITHM APPLIED TO pH SYSTEMS

This paper deals with the control of the neutralization processes of the strong acid-strong base and the weak acid-strong base systems using the Generic Model Control (GMC) algorithm. The control strategy is applied to a pilot plant where hydrochloric acid-sodium hydroxide and acetic acid-sodium hydroxide systems are neutralized. The GMC algorithm includes in the controller structure a nonlinear model of the process in the controller structure. The paper also focuses the provides a stability analysis of the controller for some of the uncertainties involved in the system. The rResults indicate that the controller stabilizes the system for a large range of uncertainties, but the performance may deteriorate when the system is submitted to large disturbances