A New Pattern Recognition Adaptive Controller with Application to HVAC Systems

  • Authors:
  • John E. Seem

  • Affiliations:
  • Controls Group Research Department, Johnson Controls, Inc., Milwaukee, WI 53202, USA

  • Venue:
  • Automatica (Journal of IFAC)
  • Year:
  • 1998

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Abstract

This paper describes a novel method for automatically adjusting the gain and integral time of proportional-integral controllers based upon patterns that characterize the closed-loop response. The method was developed for self-regulating systems that can be modeled as first-order plus dead-time systems. This new pattern recognition adaptive controller (PRAC) is easy to use and provides near-optimal performance for a range of systems and noise levels. Also, the algorithm is computationally efficient and does not have large memory requirements. PRAC has successfully tuned control systems for heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment in office buildings, high schools, universities, national laboratories, department stores, hospitals, clinics, and large sports stadiums. Simulation and field test results are included in this paper.