Multiple Model Predictive Functional Control for Marine Diesel Engine

A novel control scheme based on multiple model predictive functional control (MMPFC) is proposed to solve the cumbersome and time-consuming parameters tuning of the speed controller for a marine diesel engine. It combines the MMPFC with traditional PID algorithm. In each local linearization, a first-order plus time delay (FOPTD) model is adopted to be the approximate submodel. To overcome the model mismatches under the load disturbance conditions, we introduce a method to estimate the open-loop gain of the speed control model, by which the predictive multimodels are modified online. Thus, the adaptation and robustness of the proposed controller can be improved. A cycle-detailed hybrid nonlinear engine model rather than a common used mean value engine model (MVEM) is developed to evaluate the control performance. In such model, the marine engine is treated as a whole system, and the discreteness in torque generation, the working imbalance among different cylinders, and the cycle delays are considered. As a result, more reliable and practical validation can be achieved. Finally, numerical simulation of both steady and dynamic performances of the proposed controller is carried out based on the aforementioned engine model. A conventional well-tuned PID with integral windup scheme is adopted to make a comparison. The results emphasize that the proposed controller is with stable and adaptive ability but without needing complex and tough parameters regulation. Moreover, it has excellent disturbance rejection ability by modifying the predictive multimodels online.