Fuzzy integral tracking control of an activated sludge process

This paper addresses the issue of tracking the output of an activated sludge process using fuzzy integral control. First, the dynamics of the nonlinear process are modeled with a dynamic state space fuzzy model integrating the effect of external disturbances, and then an additional integral state of the output tracking error is introduced to obtain an augmented Takagi-Sugeno (TS) fuzzy model. The TS fuzzy model is able to describe the dynamics of complex nonlinear systems with an excellent degree of accuracy. It is formulated by fuzzy if-then rules which can give local linear representation of the overall nonlinear system. Second, the design of the fuzzy integral control is performed, in which the state feedback gains are obtained by solving linear matrix inequalities (LMI). The objective is to ensure trajectory tracking of an activated sludge process (ASP) by controlling two key variables: the substrate concentration and the level of dissolved oxygen. To assess the performance of the proposed control strategy, a comparative analysis is carried out with a gain scheduling PI (GS-PI) controller. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Where, the fuzzy integral control reduces the high energy consumption in water treatment plants.