Controle preditivo robusto baseado em desigualdades matriciais lineares aplicado a um sistema de tanques acoplados

This work deals with an on-line control strategy based on Robust Model Predictive Control (RMPC) technique applied in a real coupled tanks system. This process consists of two coupled tanks and a pump to feed the liquid to the system. The control objective (regulator problem) is to keep the tanks levels in the considered operation point even in the presence of disturbance. The RMPC is a technique that allows explicit incorporation of the plant uncertainty in the problem formulation. The goal is to design, at each time step, a state-feedback control law that minimizes a 'worst-case' infinite horizon objective function, subject to constraint in the control. The existence of a feedback control law satisfying the input constraints is reduced to a convex optimization over linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) problem. It is shown in this work that for the plant uncertainty described by the polytope, the feasible receding horizon state feedback control design is robustly stabilizing. The software implementation of the RMPC is made using Scilab, and its communication with Coupled Tanks Systems is done through the OLE for Process Control (OPC) industrial protocol

Estudo de massa cerâmica triaxial visando à otimização do ciclo de queima da indústria de cerâmica estrutural

Over recent years the structural ceramics industry in Brazil has found a very favorable market for growth. However, difficulties related to productivity and product quality are partially inhibiting this possible growth. An alternative for trying to solve these problems and, thus, provide the pottery industry the feasibility of full development, is the substitution of firewood used in the burning process by natural gas. In order to contribute to this process of technological innovation, this paper studies the effect of co-use of ceramic phyllite and kaolin waste on the properties of a clay matrix, verifying the possible benefits that these raw materials can give to the final product, as well as the possibility of such materials to reduce the heat load necessary to obtain products with equal or superior quality. The study was divided into two steps: characterization of materials and study of formulations. Two clays, a phyllite and a residue of kaolin were characterized by the following techniques: laser granulometry, plasticity index by Atterberg limits, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, mineralogical composition by Rietveld, thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis. To study the formulations, specifically for evaluation of technological properties of the parts, was performed an experimental model that combined planning involving a mixture of three components (standard mass x phyllite x kaolin waste) and a 23 factorial design with central point associated with thermal processing parameters. The experiment was performed with restricted strip-plot randomization. In total, 13 compositional points were investigated within the following constraints: phyllite ≤ 20% by weight, kaolin waste ≤ 40% by weight, and standard mass ≥ 60% by weight. The thermal parameters were used at the following levels: 750 and 950 °C to the firing temperature, 5 and 15 °C/min at the heating rate, 15 and 45min to the baseline. The results showed that the introduction of phyllite and/or kaolin waste in ceramic body produced a number of benefits in properties of the final product, such as: decreased absorption of water, apparent porosity and linear retraction at burn; besides the increase in apparent specific mass and mechanical properties of parts. The best results were obtained in the compositional points where the sum of the levels of kaolin waste and phyllite was maximal (40% by weight), as well as conditions which were used in firing temperatures of 950 °C. Regarding the prospect of savings in heat energy required to form the desired microstructure, the phyllite and the residue of kaolin, for having small particle sizes and constitutions mineralogical phases with the presence of fluxes, contributed to the optimization of the firing cycle.

Controlador preditivo não linear aplicado ao controle de golfadas em processos de produção de petróleo

Slugging is a well-known slugging phenomenon in multiphase flow, which may cause problems such as vibration in pipeline and high liquid level in the separator. It can be classified according to the place of its occurrence. The most severe, known as slugging in the riser, occurs in the vertical pipe which feeds the platform. Also known as severe slugging, it is capable of causing severe pressure fluctuations in the flow of the process, excessive vibration, flooding in separator tanks, limited production, nonscheduled stop of production, among other negative aspects that motivated the production of this work . A feasible solution to deal with this problem would be to design an effective method for the removal or reduction of the system, a controller. According to the literature, a conventional PID controller did not produce good results due to the high degree of nonlinearity of the process, fueling the development of advanced control techniques. Among these, the model predictive controller (MPC), where the control action results from the solution of an optimization problem, it is robust, can incorporate physical and /or security constraints. The objective of this work is to apply a non-conventional non-linear model predictive control technique to severe slugging, where the amount of liquid mass in the riser is controlled by the production valve and, indirectly, the oscillation of flow and pressure is suppressed, while looking for environmental and economic benefits. The proposed strategy is based on the use of the model linear approximations and repeatedly solving of a quadratic optimization problem, providing solutions that improve at each iteration. In the event where the convergence of this algorithm is satisfied, the predicted values of the process variables are the same as to those obtained by the original nonlinear model, ensuring that the constraints are satisfied for them along the prediction horizon. A mathematical model recently published in the literature, capable of representing characteristics of severe slugging in a real oil well, is used both for simulation and for the project of the proposed controller, whose performance is compared to a linear MPC

A produção das desigualdades: análise da relação entre trabalho infantil e indicadores sociais

The International Labor Organization (OIT) estimates that there are around 118 million children subjected to child labor around the world. In Brazil, there are 3.5 million workers aged between 5 and 17. This exploitation practice constitutes a serious social problem, including of Public Health, since these workers are exposed to a wide range of risks, such as those related to health, physical integrity and even to life, which may cause them to become sick adults and/or interrupt their lives prematurely. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the relationship between the frequency of child labor in the age group of 10 to 13 years and some socio-economic indicators. It is a quantitative research in an ecological study whose levels of analysis are the Brazilian municipalities grouped in 161 regions, defined from socioeconomic criteria. The dependent variable of this study was the prevalence of child labor in the age group of 10 to 13 years. The independent variables were selected after a correlation between the 2010 Census of child labor in the age group of 10 to 13 years and secondary data had been conducted, adopting two main independent variables: funds from the Family Allowance Program (PBF) per 1,000 inhabitants and Funds from the Child Labor Eradication Program (PETI) per a thousand inhabitants. Initially, it was conducted a descriptive analysis of the variables of the study, then, a bivariate analysis, and the correlation matrix was built. At last, the Multiple Linear Regression stratified analysis was performed. The results of this survey indicate that public policies , like the Bolsa Familia Program Features per 1000 inhabitants and Resources Program for the Eradication of Child Labour to be allocated to municipalities with HDI < 0.697 represent a decrease in the rate of child labor ; These programs have the resources to be invested in municipalities with HDI > = 0.697 have no effect on the rate of child labor. Other adjustment variables showed significance, among these the municipal Human Development Index (IDH), years of schooling at 18 years of age, illiteracy at 15 years of age or more, employees without employment contract at 18 years of age and the Gini Index. It is understood that the child labor issue is complex. The problem is associated, although not restricted to, poverty, the social exclusion and inequality that exist in Brazil, but other factors of cultural and economic nature, as well as of organization of production, also account for its aggravation. Fighting child labor involves a wide intersectoral articulation, shared and integrated with several public policies, among them health, sports, culture, agriculture, labor and human rights, with a view to guaranteeing the integrality of the rights of children and adolescents in situation of labor and of their respective families

Identificação e comparação entre controle preditivo com modelo não linear e PI sintonizados com PSO em sistema de separação gravitacional de águia-óleo

The separation methods are reduced applications as a result of the operational costs, the low output and the long time to separate the uids. But, these treatment methods are important because of the need for extraction of unwanted contaminants in the oil production. The water and the concentration of oil in water should be minimal (around 40 to 20 ppm) in order to take it to the sea. Because of the need of primary treatment, the objective of this project is to study and implement algorithms for identification of polynomial NARX (Nonlinear Auto-Regressive with Exogenous Input) models in closed loop, implement a structural identification, and compare strategies using PI control and updated on-line NARX predictive models on a combination of three-phase separator in series with three hydro cyclones batteries. The main goal of this project is to: obtain an optimized process of phase separation that will regulate the system, even in the presence of oil gushes; Show that it is possible to get optimized tunings for controllers analyzing the mesh as a whole, and evaluate and compare the strategies of PI and predictive control applied to the process. To accomplish these goals a simulator was used to represent the three phase separator and hydro cyclones. Algorithms were developed for system identification (NARX) using RLS(Recursive Least Square), along with methods for structure models detection. Predictive Control Algorithms were also implemented with NARX model updated on-line, and optimization algorithms using PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization). This project ends with a comparison of results obtained from the use of PI and predictive controllers (both with optimal state through the algorithm of cloud particles) in the simulated system. Thus, concluding that the performed optimizations make the system less sensitive to external perturbations and when optimized, the two controllers show similar results with the assessment of predictive control somewhat less sensitive to disturbances

Estudo de massa cerâmica triaxial visando à otimização do ciclo de queima da indústria de cerâmica estrutural

Over recent years the structural ceramics industry in Brazil has found a very favorable market for growth. However, difficulties related to productivity and product quality are partially inhibiting this possible growth. An alternative for trying to solve these problems and, thus, provide the pottery industry the feasibility of full development, is the substitution of firewood used in the burning process by natural gas. In order to contribute to this process of technological innovation, this paper studies the effect of co-use of ceramic phyllite and kaolin waste on the properties of a clay matrix, verifying the possible benefits that these raw materials can give to the final product, as well as the possibility of such materials to reduce the heat load necessary to obtain products with equal or superior quality. The study was divided into two steps: characterization of materials and study of formulations. Two clays, a phyllite and a residue of kaolin were characterized by the following techniques: laser granulometry, plasticity index by Atterberg limits, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, mineralogical composition by Rietveld, thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis. To study the formulations, specifically for evaluation of technological properties of the parts, was performed an experimental model that combined planning involving a mixture of three components (standard mass x phyllite x kaolin waste) and a 23 factorial design with central point associated with thermal processing parameters. The experiment was performed with restricted strip-plot randomization. In total, 13 compositional points were investigated within the following constraints: phyllite ≤ 20% by weight, kaolin waste ≤ 40% by weight, and standard mass ≥ 60% by weight. The thermal parameters were used at the following levels: 750 and 950 °C to the firing temperature, 5 and 15 °C/min at the heating rate, 15 and 45min to the baseline. The results showed that the introduction of phyllite and/or kaolin waste in ceramic body produced a number of benefits in properties of the final product, such as: decreased absorption of water, apparent porosity and linear retraction at burn; besides the increase in apparent specific mass and mechanical properties of parts. The best results were obtained in the compositional points where the sum of the levels of kaolin waste and phyllite was maximal (40% by weight), as well as conditions which were used in firing temperatures of 950 °C. Regarding the prospect of savings in heat energy required to form the desired microstructure, the phyllite and the residue of kaolin, for having small particle sizes and constitutions mineralogical phases with the presence of fluxes, contributed to the optimization of the firing cycle.