OPTIMIZED MULTILOOP CONTROL OF THE VAN DE VUSSE REACTOR USING RGA AND NONLINEAR PROGRAMMING

Year 2025, Volume: 67 Issue: 2, 10 - 44

Mojtaba Azizi Mohammad Amin Ghanavati Omid Abedi

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Controlling multivariable, non-isothermal chemical reactors is especially important due to the complex behavior they often exhibit. In the Van de Vusse reactor, the presence of both parallel and consecutive reactions adds to this complexity by introducing strong temperature dependencies and tight interactions between process variables. These factors make achieving accurate and stable control a significant challenge. This study focuses on enhancing the reactor’s control performance by carefully selecting the most effective input-output pairings and optimizing the controller parameters. In the proposed approach, the most effective input-output pairings for applying multiloop control are first determined using the Relative Gain Array method. Once these pairings are established, the controller parameters for each loop are fine-tuned using nonlinear programming to achieve better overall performance. The simulation results show that the proposed optimization method significantly outperforms traditional manual tuning by improving system response, reducing the time to reach setpoints, and enhancing control stability. The main contribution of this work is the integration of the Relative Gain Array with nonlinear programming to optimally design and tune multiloop controllers for the Van de Vusse process. This combined approach leads to more accurate tuning and better dynamic performance, demonstrating its effectiveness for controlling complex chemical systems.

Keywords

Van de Vusse reactor , Multivariable control , Nonlinear Programming , Dynamic performance , Process control optimization

Ethical Statement

All submitted manuscripts to the Communications Faculty of Sciences University of Ankara Series B Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Journal, including original research articles, reviews, etc., must be accompanied by a signed Conflict of Interest (COI) disclosure statement. This statement must be declared by the authors that they do not have any conflicts of interest. The absence of any direct or indirect financial interests or other situations that can lead to bias(es) in any scientific or commercial aspect of the work is acknowledged by agreeing to the following:  All authors have participated in (a) conceptualization, design, and/or analysis and interpretation of the data; (b) drafting or editing the article, meaningfully contributing to intellectual content; and (c) approval of the final version.  The authors have no affiliation with any organization with a direct or indirect financial interest in the subject matter discussed in the manuscript. The corresponding author can obtain the relevant information listed below from all co‐authors and submit the form on their behalf. Authors can individually disclose any potential COI privately to the Editor‐in‐Chief, upon receiving the submission email.

Supporting Institution

no Supporting Institution

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