Research line

Automatic Control Image

The AUTOMATIC CONTROL line develops basic and applied research in automatic control, with special emphasis on modelling, control and supervision of nonlinear, complex and/or large-scale systems.
The group has acquired specific expertise in the application of advanced control techniques to environmental resources management, specifically in the water and energy fields.

Head of line: Maria Serra Prat

Head of line

Tech. transfer

Our activity finds applications in several fields through collaboration with our technological partners.

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Research projects

We carry out projects from the European FP7 and others national and international research programmes.
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Modelling and control of complex nonlinear systems

In order to design controllers for complex nonlinear systems, it is fundamental to have mathematical models of the systems' dynamic behaviour. Regarding dynamic modelling of complex nonlinear systems, the Control Group focuses on four subjects: models for multidomain systems using PHS formulation; distributed parameter models and their order reduction; experimental characterisation techniques combining the use of time and frequency responses of the dynamic system, conceived as diagnosis tools; the design of observers to be integrated in the control systems in order to improve the system performance and minimise the number of sensors. Regarding control system design, the work is based on the following advanced control techniques: passivity-based control, Optimal Control, Model Predictive Control, Variable Structure Control (VSC) and Linear Parameter Varying (LPV)-Robust Control.

Research area 1 of Automatic Control

Modelling and control of large-scale networked systems

In automation, it is more and more frequent to deal with large scale networked systems which are composed by a multitude of elements of diverse dynamical nature. Obtaining a mathematical model oriented to the management and control of such systems should take into account their real time operation and complex topology. Moreover, complementary considerations such as physical constraints, hybrid behaviour and bounded disturbances are also challenging topics in the study of this kind of systems.

Research area 2 of Automatic Control

Design and implementation of decision-support tools for resources management systems with multiple, heterogeneous constraints

A large variety of real-time resource allocation problems dealing with long- and medium-term resources management typically appear in public services and industry. Some examples are water management (both surface and pipeline systems), energy generation and distribution, and environmental planning. The operation of these systems requires dealing with multiple, heterogeneous constraints. Not just physical constraints are to be met, but also those imposed by regulations, operational practices, economy, ecology, etc. The overall aim is to step away from the classical trial-and-error-based simulation approach and create real problem-solving tools for optimal management of large-scale resources management problems.

Research area 3 of Automatic Control

Real-time Supervisory Control, Fault Diagnosis and Fault-Tolerance

Reliability is a feature required in modern control systems which implies the introduction of fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control modules that allow to know in real-time if there is any non-desired behaviour (fault) and activate some remedial action in order to keep the system in operation (fault tolerance). Complementary aspects as sensor/actuator location for achieving the desired fault diagnosis and tolerance are also addressed.

Research area 4 of Automatic Control

Applied Research

Theoretical knowledge is applied in real cases, in close collaboration with industry. Currently, research is mainly focused on four fields: modelling and control of systems based on Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells based systems; modelling, control and management of electrical networks; design of optimal operational management of networked systems related to the urban water cycle and sensor data validation/reconstruction of instrumentation systems. The Control Group gives primary importance to the tasks of implementation and experimental validation of the proposed control and modelling methodologies. These final stages of the control design process are developed either in the industry or at the Institute's Laboratories: the Fuel Cells Laboratory and the Water Cycle Control Systems Lab.

Research area 5 of Automatic Control

These are the latest research projects of the Automatic Control research line:

These are the most recent publications (2021 - 2020) of the Automatic Control

  • C. Sun, J. Lorenz, M. Schütze, G. Cembrano, M. Borup, V. Puig and L. Vezzaro. A SWMM model for the Astlingen benchmark network, 2021 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition, 2021, Copenhagen, Denmark, to appear.

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  • C. Sun, B. Parellada, V. Puig and G. Cembrano. Leak detection in drinking water network using pressure-based classifier, 2021 IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition, 2021, Copenhagen, Denmark, to appear.

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  • C. Sun, V. Puig and G. Cembrano. Real-time control of urban water cycle under cyber-physical systems framework. Water, 12(2): 406, 2020.

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  • H. Wang, Z. Liu, L. Liu, G. Han, H. Wang and C. Sun. Real time control solutions for urban drainage system under watershed treatment. Zhongguo Jishui Paishui/China Water and Wastewater, 14(36), 2020, to appear.

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  • Y. Xing, J. Na, R. Costa Castelló and G. Gao. Adaptive parameter estimation-based observer design for nonlinear systems, 59th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 2020, Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, IEEE, to appear.

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  • G. Belgioioso, W. Ananduta, S. Grammatico and C. Ocampo-Martínez. Energy management and peer-to-peer trading in future smart grids: A distributed game-theoretic approach, 2020 European Control Conference, 2020, Online, pp. 1324-1329.

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  • M.R. David, H. Alvarez, C. Ocampo-Martínez and R. Sánchez-Peña. Dynamic modelling of alkaline self-pressurized electrolyzers: a phenomenological-based semiphysical approach. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 45(43): 22394-22407, 2020.

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  • W. Ananduta, C. Ocampo-Martínez and A. Nedic. Accelerated Multi-Agent Optimization Method over Stochastic Networks, 59th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 2020, Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, IEEE, to appear.

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  • R. El Houda, S. Ahmed Ali and V. Puig. High-gain interval observer for partially linear systems with bounded disturbances. International Journal of Control, 2020, to appear.

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  • M. Pourasghar, V. Puig and C. Ocampo-Martínez. Characterisation of interval-observer fault detection and isolation properties using the set-invariance approach. Journal of the Franklin Institute, 357(3): 1853-1886, 2020.

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  • J.P. Martinez, N. Quijano and C. Ocampo-Martínez. Decentralized Charging Coordination of Electric Vehicles using Multi-Population Games, 59th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 2020, Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, IEEE, to appear.

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  • Y.O. Eldigair, F. Garelli, C. Kunusch and C. Ocampo-Martínez. Adaptive PI control with robust variable structure anti-windup strategy for systems with rate-limited actuators: Application to compression systems. Control Engineering Practice, 96: 104282, 2020.

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  • A. Clemente and R. Costa Castelló. Redox flow batteries: A literature review oriented to automatic control . Energies, 13(17): 4514, 2020.

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  • P. Reyero, C. Ocampo-Martínez and R. Braatz. Nonlinear Dynamical Analysis for an Ethanol Steam Reformer: A Singular Distributed Parameter System, 59th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 2020, Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, IEEE.

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  • A. Cecilia, J. Carroquino, V. Roda, R. Costa Castelló and F. Barreras. Optimal energy management in a standalone microgrid, with photovoltaic generation, short-term storage, and hydrogen production. Energies, 13(6): 1454, 2020.

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  • A. Clemente, G. Andres Ramos and R. Costa Castelló. Voltage H∞ control of a vanadium redox flow battery. Electronics, 9(10): 1567, 2020.

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  • P. Reyero, C. Ocampo-Martínez, R. Findeisen and R. Braatz. Nonlinearity Measures for Distributed Parameter and Descriptor Systems, 21st IFAC World Congress, 2020, Online, to appear.

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  • S. Siniscalchi, F. Bianchi, C. Ocampo-Martínez, J.L. Domínguez and B. De Schutter. A non-centralized predictive control strategy for wind farm active power control: A wake-based partitioning approach. Renewable Energy, 150: 656-669, 2020.

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  • Y. Xing, R. Costa Castelló, J. Na and H. Renaudineau. Control-oriented modelling and analysis of a solid oxide fuel cell system. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 45(40): 20659-20672, 2020.

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  • M. Pourasghar, V. Puig and C. Ocampo-Martínez. On robust interval observer design for uncertain systems subject to both time-invariant and time-varying uncertainties. International Journal of Control, 93(11): 2577-2595, 2020.

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  • C. Sun, J. Lorenz, M. Borup, V. Puig, G. Cembrano and L. Vezzaro. An MPC-enabled SWMM implementation of the Astlingen RTC benchmarking network. Water, 12: 1034, 2020.

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  • U. Raveendran Nair and R. Costa Castelló. A model predictive control-based energy management scheme for hybrid storage system in islanded microgrids. IEEE Access, 8: 97809-97822, 2020.

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  • H. Abdelghany, C. Ocampo-Martínez and N. Quijano. Online Network-Constrained Dispatch of Distributed Generators in Radial Networks, 2020 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Europe (ISGT-Europe), 2020, The Hague, Netherlands, pp. 489-493.

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  • Y. Wan, V. Puig, C. Ocampo-Martínez, Y. Wang, E. Harinath and R. Braatz. Fault detection for uncertain LPV systems using probabilistic set-membership parity relation. Journal of Process Control, 87: 27-36, 2020.

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  • German A. Ramos, R. Isaza and R. Costa Castelló. Robust repetitive control of power inverters for standalone operation in DG systems. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 35(1): 237-247, 2020.

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  • G.J. Conde, C. Ocampo-Martínez and N. Quijano. Control-Oriented Modeling Approach for Open Channel Irrigation Systems, 21st IFAC World Congress, 2020, Online, to appear.

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  • J. Martí, A. Santamaria-Navarro, C. Ocampo-Martínez and J. Andrade-Cetto. Multi-task closed-loop inverse kinematics stability through semidefinite programming, 2020 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2020, Online, pp. 7108-7114.

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  • J.A. Luna, R. Costa Castelló and S. Strahl. Chattering free sliding mode observer estimation of liquid water fraction in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Journal of the Franklin Institute, 357(18): 13816-13833, 2020.

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  • A. Cecilia and R. Costa Castelló. Observador de alta ganancia con zona muerta ajustable para estimar la saturación de agua líquida en pilas de combustible tipo PEM. Revista Iberoamericana de Automática e Informática Industrial, 17(2): 169-180, 2020.

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  • U. Raveendran Nair, M. Sandelic, A. Sangwongwanich, T. Dragicevic, R. Costa Castelló and F. Blaabjerg. Grid congestion mitigation and battery degradation minimisation using model predictive control in PV-based microgrid. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 2020, to appear.

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  • J.L. Diaz, S. Olaru and C. Ocampo-Martínez. A comparison of modelling approaches for closed-loop decision making over discrete domains in manufacturing systems, 4th IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications, 2020, Online, to appear.

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  • Y. Xing, R. Costa Castelló and J. Na. Temperature control for a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell system with unknown dynamic compensations. Complexity, 2020: 8822835, 2020.

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  • C. Sun, L. Romero, B. Joseph, J. Meseguer, E. Muñoz, R. Guasch, M. Martinez, V. Puig and G. Cembrano. Integrated pollution-based real-time control of sanitation systems. Journal of Environmental Management, 269: 110798, 2020.

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  • J. Anderson, J. Moré, P.F. Puleston, V. Roda and R. Costa Castelló. Implementación y validación experimental del control de un sistema híbrido basado en pilas de combustible para vehículos eléctricos, XXVII Congreso Argentino de Control Automático, 2020, Online, pp. 313-318.

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  • J. Na, Y. Xing and R. Costa Castelló. Adaptive estimation of time-varying parameters with application to roto-magnet plant. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems, 2020, to appear.

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  • C. Sun, B. Parellada, J. Feng, V. Puig and G. Cembrano. Factors influencing the stormwater quality model of sewer networks and a case study of Louis Fargue urban catchment in Bordeaux, France. Water Science & Technology, 2020, to appear.

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  • J.M. Díaz, S. Dormido and R. Costa Castelló. An interactive teaching/learning approach to the design of robust linear control systems using the closed-loop shaping methodology, 21st IFAC World Congress, 2020, Online, pp. 1-5, to appear.

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  • W. Ananduta, J.M. Maestre, C. Ocampo-Martínez and H. Ishii. Resilient distributed model predictive control for energy management of interconnected microgrids. Optimal Control Applications and Methods, 41(1): 146-169, 2020.

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  • J.L. Diaz, C. Ocampo-Martínez and S. Olaru. Dual mode control strategy for the energy efficiency of complex and flexible manufacturing systems. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 56: 104-116, 2020.

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  • J.M. Díaz, S. Dormido, B. Nicolau and R. Costa Castelló. H∞ interactive controller design for teaching purposes, 21st IFAC World Congress, 2020, Online, pp. 1-5, to appear.

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  • A. San Miguel, V. Puig and G. Alenyà. Fault-tolerant control of a service robot. In Fault Diagnosis and Fault-tolerant Control of Robotic Systems, . The Institution of Engineering and Technology, 2020.

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  • J.L. Diaz and C. Ocampo-Martínez. Optimal production planning for flexible manufacturing systems: an energy-based approach, 21st IFAC World Congress, 2020, Online, to appear.

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  • J.C. Paredes, C.R. Torres, R. Vázquez, J.A. Leal, F.E. Ortiz and R. Costa Castelló. Pollutant emissions and combustion efficiency assessment of engines using biodiesel. Applied Sciences, 10(23): 1-19, 2020.

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  • C. Sun, B. Parellada, V. Puig and G. Cembrano. Leak localization in water distribution networks using pressure and data-driven classifier approach. Water, 12(54): 1-14, 2020.

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  • J. Vendrell, C. Sun, V. Puig and G. Cembrano. Fuzzy clustering application on failure rate prediction in water distribution networks. Technical Report IRI-TR-20-02, Institut de Robòtica i Informàtica Industrial, CSIC-UPC, 2020.

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  • A. Cecilia, M. Serra and R. Costa Castelló. PEMFC state and parameter estimation through a high-gain based adaptive observer, 21st IFAC World Congress, 2020, Online, to appear.

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Fuel Cell Control Laboratory

The objective of the Laboratory is the validation and testing of control strategies of fuel cell based energy conversion systems. The facilities are equipped with a supervisor system which monitors necessary safety conditions. Each of the five fuel cell test stations is equipped with the necessary sensors and actuators to be able to operate in a safe and automated way, as well as to modify the working conditions that affect a fuel cell (humidity, temperature, flow, etc.).

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Research area 1 of Automatic Control

Water-cycle Control Systems Laboratory

The aim of this laboratory is to test and validate modelling and control developments for dynamic systems associated to the water cycle. Hence, it provides platforms of pressure, flow and level processes, over which it is possible to implement real-time advanced control strategies. This laboratory is also open to offer services to other teams in the research community.

Research area 2 of Automatic Control
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