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 (2022 - 2021) of the Automatic Control

  • L. Romero, D. Alves, J. Blesa, G. Cembrano, V. Puig and E. Duviella. Leak localization in water distribution networks using data-driven and model-based approaches. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 148(5): 04022016, 2022, to appear.

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  • J.P. Martínez, N. Quijano and C. Ocampo-Martínez. A payoff dynamics model for equality-constrained population games. IEEE Control Systems Letters, 6: 530-535, 2022.

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  • J.P. Martínez, N. Quijano and C. Ocampo-Martínez. Decentralized charging coordination of electric vehicles under feeder capacity constraints. IEEE Transactions on Control of Network Systems, 2022, to appear.

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  • R. Yang, D. Rotondo and V. Puig. LMI-based design of state-feedback controllers for pole clustering of LPV systems in a union of DR-regions. International Journal of Systems Science, 53(2): 291-312, 2022.

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  • J.P. Martínez, N. Quijano and C. Ocampo-Martínez. A payoff dynamics model for generalized Nash equilibrium seeking in population games. Automatica, 140: 110227, 2022, to appear.

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  • A. San-Miguel, G. Alenyà and V. Puig. Automated off-line generation of stable variable impedance controllers according to performance specifications. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 7(3): 5874-5881, 2022, to appear.

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  • Y. Xing, J. Na, M. Chen, R. Costa and V. Roda. Adaptive nonlinear parameter estimation for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 2022, to appear.

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  • B. Moaveni, F. Rashidi Fathabadi and A. Molavi. Fuzzy control system design for wheel slip prevention and tracking of desired speed profile in electric trains. Asian Journal of Control, 24(1): 388-400, 2022.

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  • A. Cecilia, S. Sahoo, T. Dragičević, R. Costa and F. Blaabjerg. On addressing the security and stability issues due to false data injection attacks in DC microgrids – An adaptive observer approach. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 37(3): 2801-2814, 2022.

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  • L. Romero, J. Blesa, V. Puig and G. Cembrano. Clustering-learning approach to the localization of leaks in water distribution networks. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 148(4): 04022003, 2022.

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  • J.M. Maestre, F. Lopez, F. Muros and C. Ocampo-Martínez. Modular feedback control of networked systems by clustering: A drinking water network case study. Processes, 9(2): 389-407, 2021.

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  • A. San-Miguel, V. Puig and G. Alenyà. Disturbance observer-based LPV feedback control of a N-DoF robotic manipulator including compliance through gain shifting. Control Engineering Practice, 115(104887), 2021.

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  • G.J. Conde, N. Quijano and C. Ocampo-Martínez. Detection, isolation, and magnitude estimation of unknown flows in open-channel irrigation systems. IEEE Access, 9: 115348-115369, 2021.

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  • J.L. Diaz and C. Ocampo-Martínez. Non-centralised control strategies for energy-efficient and flexible manufacturing systems. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 59: 386-397, 2021.

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  • J.C. Gómez, M. Serra and A.P. Husar. Controller design for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell systems for automotive applications. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 46(45): 23263-23278, 2021.

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  • F. Arqué, C. Uribe and C. Ocampo-Martínez. Application of Wasserstein attraction ows for optimal transport in network systems, 60th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 2021, Austin, TX, USA (Virtual), pp. 4058-4063.

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  • F. Karimi, V. Puig and C. Ocampo-Martínez. Economic model predictive control of nonlinear systems using a linear parameter varying approach. International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control, 31(17): 8218–8238, 2021.

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  • C. Sun, L. Romero, B. Joseph, J. Meseguer, R. Guasch, M. Martinez, V. Puig and G. Cembrano. Control-oriented quality modelling approach of sewer networks. Journal of Environmental Management, 294: 113031, 2021.

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  • G.J. Conde, N. Quijano and C. Ocampo-Martínez. An unknown input moving horizon estimator for open channel irrigation ystems, 20th European Control Conference, 2021, Rotterdam, Netherlands, pp. 1249-1254.

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  • A. Cecilia, M. Serra and R. Costa. Nonlinear adaptive observation of the liquid water saturation in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Journal of Power Sources, 492: 229641, 2021.

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  • A. Cecilia and R. Costa. Library-based adaptive observation through a sparsity-promoting adaptive observer, 20th European Control Conference, 2021, Rotterdam, Netherlands, pp. 2187-2192.

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  • M.R. David, F. Bianchi, C. Ocampo-Martínez and R. Sánchez-Peña. H2 purity control for highpressure alkaline electrolyzers, 2021 IFAC International Symposium on Advanced Control of Chemical Processes, 2021, Venice, Italy, pp. 109-114.

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  • W. Ananduta, C. Ocampo-Martínez and A. Nedic. A distributed augmented Lagrangian method over stochastic networks for economic dispatch of large-scale energy systems. IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy, 12(4): 1927-1934, 2021.

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  • L. Romero, V. Puig, G. Cembrano, J. Blesa and J. Meseguer. A fully data-driven approach for leak localization in water distribution networks, 20th European Control Conference, 2021, Rotterdam, Netherlands, pp. 1851-1856.

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  • P. Reyero, X. Yu, C. Ocampo-Martínez and R. Braatz. A reduced-order model for real-time NMPC of ethanol steam reformers, 2021 IFAC International Symposium on Advanced Control of Chemical Processes, 2021, Venice, Italy, pp. 103-108.

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  • J. Na, Y. Xing and R. Costa. Adaptive estimation of time-varying parameters with application to roto-magnet plant. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems, 51(2): 731-741, 2021.

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  • M.R. David, F. Bianchi, C. Ocampo-Martínez and R. Sánchez Peña. Model-based control design for H2 purity regulation in high-pressure alkaline electrolyzers. Journal of the Franklin Institute, 358(8): 4373–4392, 2021.

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  • S. Zhang and V. Puig. Robust Fault Detection using Set-based Approaches, 2021 Conference on Control and Fault Tolerant Systems, 2021, Saint-Raphaël, France, pp. 91-96.

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  • C. Gonzalez, E. Acosta, J. Mazo, C. Ocampo-Martínez and D. Muñoz. Observability analysis and state estimator proposal for the chocolate conching process, 2021 IEEE Colombian Conference on Automatic Control, 2021, Ibagué, Colombia, pp. 37-42.

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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, 94(5): 1376-1385, 2021.

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  • A. Clemente, M. Montiel, F. Barreras, A. Lozano and R. Costa. Vanadium redox fow battery state of charge estimation using a concentration model and a sliding mode observer. IEEE Access, 9: 72368-72376, 2021.

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  • A. Cecilia and R. Costa. On state-estimation in weakly-observable scenarios and implicitly regularized observers, 60th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 2021, Austin, TX, USA (Virtual), pp. 3996-4001.

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  • R.E. Haber, G. Cembrano, J. Villagrá, A.R. Jiménez, J.M. Margarit, L.A. Fonseca, T.E. Gómez, J. Camacho, S. Aparicio, R. Carmona, J. Fernández, R. del Río, J.A. Jiménez and C. Capdevila. Challenge 4: Cyberphysical systems and internet of things. In Digital & complex information, 76-89. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2021.

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  • 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.

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  • L. Romero, B. Joseph, C. Sun, J. Meseguer, G. Cembrano, R. Guasch, M. Martinez, E. Muñoz and V. Puig. An integrated software architecture for the pollution-based real-time control of urban drainage systems. Journal of Hydroinformatics, 23(3): 671-687, 2021.

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  • E. Sanz, J. Blesa and V. Puig. BiDrac industry 4.0 framework: application to an automotive paint shop process. Control Engineering Practice, 109: 104757, 2021.

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  • I. Santos-Ruiz, F.R. Lopez, V. Puig, L.A. Torres, G. Valencia-Palomo and S. Gomez. Optimal estimation of the roughness coefficient and friction factor of a pipeline. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 143(5), 2021.

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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.

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  • H. Chouiref, B. Boussaid, M.N. Abdelkrim, V. Puig and C. Aubrun. Integrated FDI/FTC approach for wind turbines using a LPV interval predictor subspace approach and virtual sensors/actuators. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part A: Journal of Power and Energy, 235(6): 1527-1543, 2021.

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  • D. Alves, J. Blesa, E. Duviella and L. Rajaoarisoa. Robust data-driven leak localization in water distribution networks using pressure measurements and topological information. Sensors, 21(22): 7551, 2021.

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  • I. Bessa, V. Puig and R. Martinez Palhares. Passivation blocks for fault tolerant control of nonlinear systems. Automatica, 125: 109450, 2021.

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  • U. Raveendran Nair, M. Sandelic, A. Sangwongwanich, T. Dragicevic, R. Costa and F. Blaabjerg. Grid congestion mitigation and battery degradation minimisation using model predictive control in PV-based microgrid. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 36(2): 1500-1509, 2021.

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  • J. Delgado, V. Puig and F. Becerra. Leak diagnosis in pipelines based on a Kalman filter for Linear Parameter Varying systems. Control Engineering Practice, 115: 104888, 2021.

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  • P. Haering, J.M. Garcia Campos, C. Mora González, M. Kogler, A. Molavi, J. Sanchez Monreal, E. Nordqvist, G. Oberholzer, D. Ramette, G. Montaner Rios and A. Schenk. INN-BALANCE Guidebook. Improvement of Balance of Plant Components for PEM Based Automotive Fuel Cell Systems. Steinbeis-Edition, 2021.

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  • M. Ghaniee Zarch, V. Puig, J. Poshtan and M. Aliyari Shoorehdeli. Process performance verification using viability theory. Processes, 9(3): 482, 2021.

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  • M.A. Bermeo, C. Ocampo-Martínez and J. Diaz. Adaptive predictive control for peripheral equipment management to enhance energy efficiency in smart manufacturing systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 291: 125556, 2021.

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  • E.d. Perez Perez, F.R. Lopez Estrada, G. Valencia, L.A. Torres, V. Puig and J.D. Mina. Leak diagnosis in pipelines using a combined artificial neural network approach. Control Engineering Practice, 107: 104677, 2021.

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  • A. Clemente, A. Cecilia and R. Costa. SOC and diffusion rate estimation in redox flow batteries: An I&I-based high-gain observer approach, 20th European Control Conference, 2021, Rotterdam, Netherlands, pp. 1640-1644.

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  • D. Henry, C. Sun, J. Vendrell, V. Puig and E. Bonet. Pipe life prognosis in water distribution networks using reliable data-based approaches, 2021 5th International Conference on Control and Fault-Tolerant Systems, 2021, Saint-Raphaël, France, pp. 187-192.

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  • L. Levieux, C. Ocampo-Martínez, F. Inthamoussou and H. De Battista. Predictive management approach for the coordination of wind and water-based power supplies. Energy, 219: 119535, 2021.

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  • W. Ananduta and C. Ocampo-Martínez. Event-triggered partitioning for non-centralized predictive-control-based economic dispatch of interconnected microgrids. Automatica, 132: 109829, 2021.

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  • A. Clemente and R. Costa. Flow controlling tuning for the voltage of a redox flow battery considering the effect of overpotentials, 2021 IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation, 2021, Västerås, Sweden.

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  • C. Trapiello, V. Puig and D. Rotondo. A zonotopic set-invariance analysis of replay attacks affecting the supervisory layer. Systems and Control Letters, 157: 105056, 2021.

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  • A. Cecilia, S. Sahoo, T. Dragičević, R. Costa and F. Blaabjerg. Detection and mitigation of false data in cooperative DC microgrids with unknown constant power loads. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 36(8): 9565-9577, 2021.

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  • J.A. Aguilar, A.P. Husar and J. Andrade-Cetto. Box-Jenkins autoregressive models for PEMFC operating under dynamical conditions, 17th Symposium on Modeling and Experimental Validation of Electrochemical Energy Technologies, 2021, Sion, Switzerland (Virtual), pp. 93.

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  • V. Sanz, G. Lopez, R. Costa and C. Batlle. Combined heat and power using high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells for housing facilities, 2021 IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation, 2021, Västerås, Sweden, pp. 1-8.

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  • S. Wang, J. Na and Y. Xing. Adaptive optimal parameter estimation and control of servo mechanisms: Theory and experiments. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, 68(1): 598-608, 2021.

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  • G.J. Conde, N. Quijano and C. Ocampo-Martínez. Modeling and control in open-channel irrigation systems: A review. Annual Reviews in Control, 51: 153-171, 2021.

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  • E. Jove, A. Lozano, A. Pérez, F. Barreras, R. Costa and J.L. Calvo-Rolle. A virtual sensor for a cell voltage prediction of a Proton-Exchange Membranes based on intelligent techniques, 2021 International Conference on Smart Sustainable Cities and Territories, 2021, Doha, Qatar, pp. 240--248, Springer.

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  • G.A. Ramos, T. Montobbio, C. Domènech-Mestres and R. Costa. Industrial robots fuel cell based hybrid power-trains: A comparison between different configurations. Electronics, 10(12): 1431, 2021.

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  • A. Soldevila, J. Blesa, T. Jensen, S. Tornil-Sin, R.M. Fernandez-Cantí and V. Puig. Leak localization method for water distribution networks using a data-driven model and Dempster-Shafer reasoning. IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, 29(3): 937-948, 2021.

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  • R. Domingo-Enrich, A. Cecilia and R. Costa. Control no lineal adaptativo con identificación dispersa, XLII Jornadas de Automática, 2021, Castellón, Spain, pp. 365-372.

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  • U. Raveendran Nair, M. Sandelic, A. Sangwongwanich, T. Dragicevic, R. Costa and F. Blaabjerg. An analysis of multi objective energy scheduling in PV-BESS system under prediction uncertainty. IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, 36(3): 2276-2286, 2021.

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  • F. Karimi, D. Theilliol, V. Puig and G. Cembrano. Health-aware control design based on remaining useful life estimation for autonomous racing vehicle. ISA Transactions, 113: 196-209, 2021.

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  • A. Clemente, A. Cecilia and R. Costa. Estimación del estado de carga y coeficientes de difusión en baterías de flujo redox, XLII Jornadas de Automática, 2021, Castellón, Spain, pp. 357-364.

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  • J. Barreiro-Gomez, I. Mas, J. Giribet, P. Moreno, C. Ocampo-Martínez, R. Sanchez and N. Quijano. Distributed data-driven UAV formation control via evolutionary games: Experimental results. Journal of the Franklin Institute, 358(10): 5334-5352, 2021.

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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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