Modified active disturbance rejection control design with application to superheated steam temperature systems

In industrial control systems, high-order inertial systems widely exist. However, how to design suitable control methods for these systems are facing many challenges, such as slow dynamic characteristics and weak anti-interference ability. This paper emphasizes the theoretical analysis and applications of modified active disturbance rejection control (MADRC) for high-order inertial systems. The stability analysis of MADRC is carried out by separating the high-order transfer function and using the dual-locus diagram method. Then, a simple and quantitative semi-empirical parameter tuning rule based on the expected adjustment time is provided. The effectiveness of the high-order inertial system with MADRC compared to other ADRCs and PIs is then verified by tracking and disturbance suppression simulations. MADRC with the proposed parameter tuning rule is applied to both primary and secondary superheated steam temperature systems of a 660 MW power plant. The running data show that the cascade control system with MADRC can obtain better control performance than the original control method, and show great application potential for more complex industrial control systems.