Control of Hyperbolic Heat Transfer Mechanisms Application to the Distributed Concentrated Solar Collectors

Abstract

This dissertation addresses the flow control problem in hyperbolic heat transfer mechanisms. It raises in concentrated distributed solar collectors to enhance their production efficiency under the unpredictable variations of the solar energy and the external disturbances. These factors which are either locally measured (the solar irradiance) or inaccessible for measurement (the collectors’ cleanliness) affect the source term of the distributed model and represent a major difficulty for the control design. Moreover, the temperature in the collector can only be measured at the boundaries. In this dissertation, we propose new adaptive control approaches to provide the adequate level of heat while coping with the unpredictable varying disturbances. First, we design model based control strategies for a better efficiency, in terms of accuracy and response time, with a relatively reduced complexity. Second, we enhance the controllers with on-line adaptation laws to continuously update the efficient value of the external conditions. In this study, we approach the control problem using both, the infinite dimensional model (late lumping) and a finite dimensional approximate representation (early lumping). For the early lumping approach, we introduce a new reduced order bilinear approximate model for system analysis and control design. This approximate state representation is then used to derive a nonlinear state feedback resorting to Lyapunov stability theory. To compensate for the external disturbances and the approximation uncertainties, an adaptive controller is developed based on a phenomenological representation of the system dynamics. For the late lumping approach, we propose two PDE based controllers by stabilization of the reference tracking error distributed profile. The control laws are explicitly defined as functions of the available measurement. The first one is obtained using a direct approach for error stabilization while the second one is derived through a nonlinear mapping. Furthermore, we endow the nonlinear controllers with an adaptation law to cope with the unpredictable unmeasured disturbances. The proposed adaptation law is based on a Proportional plus Integral correction feedback. We show that the control objectives with the required performance can be achieved following both approaches, but yet are conditioned with the physical limitations of the system.