CAREER: Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks in Process Control

职业：过程控制中的无线传感器和执行器网络

• 批准号: 0747954
• 负责人: Nael El-Farra
• 金额: $ 40.31万
• 依托单位: University of California-Davis
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0747954&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Wireless; Sensor; Actuator; Networks

PI: Nael H. El-Farra Institution: University of California/DavisProposal Number: 0747954Title: CAREER: Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks in Process ControlThis is a CAREER grant to fund research and educational activities aimed at using wireless sensors and actuators to control industrial chemical processes.Intellectual meritExisting process control systems rely on sensors, actuators and controllers that are connected via dedicated, wired control networks to reliably achieve critical control objectives such as stability, robustness and set-point tracking. Recently, the convergence of innovations in actuator and sensor technologies, wireless communications and digital electronics has led to the availability of low-cost wireless sensors and actuators that can be easily deployed and interfaced with the existing control systems. Augmenting pre-existing process control systems with additional wireless sensor and actuator networks (WSANs) creates new opportunities for enhancing and expanding the capabilities of process control technology through high density sensing and actuation, as well as deployments in unsafe areas that may be impossible to instrument with wired approaches. The availability of more sensor data, more actuation capabilities and more intercommunication between plant units enables the attainment of goals that cannot be achieved with existing control systems including proactive fault-tolerance and real-time plant reconfiguration to accommodate market demand changes. These goals are aligned with the emerging paradigm in process control and operations dealing with the development of ?smart plant? solutions. Realizing this potential requires handling the fundamental challenges that this new technology introduces from a control point of view. Low-cost WSANs are often resource constrained, with limited power, computation and communication capabilities, and may occasionally be unreliable due to interference in the field, device failure, or environmental impact. These two real-world limitations can significantly limit the performance and flexibility benefits of WSANs if not accounted for in the controller design framework. Motivated by this, the objective of the proposed research is to resolve the fundamental issues associated with the deployment of wireless sensor and actuator networks in chemical plants for the purpose of augmenting existing process control systems to improve closed-loop system performance. To achieve this objective, a number of projects are planned, including: (1) the development of model-based control,1 estimation and scheduling strategies that achieve the desired closed-loop performance with optimal use of WSAN resources, (2) the development of robust control methods that handle communication disruptions and the unreliability of the wireless communication medium, (3) application of the networked control, estimation and scheduling methods to large-scale chemical plants and distributed fuel cell networks used in distributed energy generation, and (4) integration of the research results into education and outreach activities. In addition to the networked analysis and control methods, this research will provide a fundamental understanding of the capabilities and limitations of WSANs in augmenting process control systems, give insight into the tradeoffs that exist between control and communications, and address practical implementation issues for managing these tradeoffs.Broader Impact Augmenting existing process control systems with WSANs is an important step towards realizing the vision of a smart reconfigurable plant which utilizes advanced cyber-infrastructure and communication technologies to tightly integrate process control and operations with real-time process information. There is a wide range of industrial processes that could benefit including large-scale chemical plants and fuel cell networks where the deployment of WSANs has the potential to enhance and expand existing control technology. To transfer the results and insight of the research into the industrial sector, the PI plans to seek collaborations with industry, organize tutorials and workshops both at UC Davis and in the context of major control conferences, and develop user-friendly software that will facilitate the practical implementation of the developed methods. A number of activities are planned to integrate the research with education, including incorporation of research results into undergraduate and graduate-level process control courses, writing the first research monograph on networked process control, undergraduate student participation in research in collaboration with the NSF- funded California Alliance for Minority Participation program at UC Davis, the development of a Process Control Breadboard system to facilitate curriculum integration as well as outreach to high-school and college students from under-represented groups.

PI：Nael H. El-Farra研究所：加州大学戴维斯分校提案编号：0747954职位：职业：过程控制中的无线传感器和执行器网络这是一个职业生涯基金，旨在资助研究和教育活动，旨在使用无线传感器和执行器来控制工业化学过程。知识产权现有的过程控制系统依赖于传感器，执行器和控制器，它们通过专用的，有线控制网络，以可靠地实现关键控制目标，如稳定性，鲁棒性和设定点跟踪。 最近，致动器和传感器技术、无线通信和数字电子技术的创新的融合导致了低成本无线传感器和致动器的可用性，这些传感器和致动器可以容易地部署并与现有的控制系统接口。 用附加的无线传感器和致动器网络（WSAN）增强预先存在的过程控制系统为通过高密度感测和致动以及在可能不可能用有线方法仪表化的不安全区域中的部署来增强和扩展过程控制技术的能力创造了新的机会。 更多的传感器数据、更多的驱动能力和工厂单元之间更多的相互通信的可用性使得能够实现现有控制系统无法实现的目标，包括主动容错和实时工厂重新配置以适应市场需求变化。 这些目标是一致的过程控制和业务处理的发展与新兴的范例？智能工厂？解决方案实现这一潜力需要从控制的角度处理这项新技术带来的基本挑战。 低成本的WSAN通常资源受限，具有有限的功率、计算和通信能力，并且可能偶尔由于现场干扰、设备故障或环境影响而不可靠。 如果在控制器设计框架中没有考虑到这两个现实限制，则会显著限制WSAN的性能和灵活性优势。 受此启发，所提出的研究的目标是解决与无线传感器和执行器网络在化工厂的部署，以增强现有的过程控制系统，以提高闭环系统的性能的目的相关的基本问题。为实现这一目标，计划开展一些项目，包括：（1）开发基于模型的控制、估计和调度策略，其通过WSAN资源的最佳使用来实现期望的闭环性能，（2）开发鲁棒控制方法，其处理通信中断和无线通信介质的不可靠性，（3）网络控制的应用，用于分布式能源发电的大型化工厂和分布式燃料电池网络的估计和调度方法，以及（4）将研究成果纳入教育和推广活动。 除了网络分析和控制方法，这项研究将提供一个基本的理解的能力和限制的WSAN在增强过程控制系统，洞察到权衡之间存在的控制和通信，更广泛的影响使用WSAN增强现有的过程控制系统是实现智能可重构工厂，利用先进的网络基础设施和通信技术，将过程控制和操作与实时过程信息紧密集成。 有广泛的工业过程可以受益，包括大型化工厂和燃料电池网络，其中WSAN的部署有可能增强和扩展现有的控制技术。 为了将研究结果和见解转移到工业部门，PI计划寻求与工业界的合作，在加州大学戴维斯分校和主要控制会议的背景下组织教程和研讨会，并开发用户友好的软件，以促进所开发方法的实际实施。一些活动计划将研究与教育相结合，包括将研究成果纳入本科生和研究生阶段的过程控制课程，撰写第一本关于网络化过程控制的研究专著，本科生与NSF资助的加州少数民族参与联盟合作参与研究加州大学戴维斯分校的计划，开发一个过程控制试验板系统，以促进课程整合，并向代表性不足的群体的高中和大学学生推广。