Application of ADMM in a Quadruple Tank System with Varying Agent Configurations

This paper explores the application of the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) to solve an optimal control problem in a quadruple tank system, a benchmark problem in process control due to the multivariable and nonlinear dynamics of the Systems of Systems (SoS). Using the decomposition capabilities of ADMM, we address the computational challenges in achieving optimal water-level control across interconnected tanks. The control problem is reformulated to comply with the formulation required by the ADMM, then, a receding horizon approach is used to control the system during the experiments. Different agent configurations are also explored, and in order to compare their performances, the time and number of iterations required to obtain the control actions are reported for each of them.