Computational intelligence methods for process control: fed-batch fermentation application

摘要

In current study, the ability of computational intelligence methods to tackle modern control problems is under observation. In particular, two computational intelligence techniques belonging to different algorithm families are reviewed, refined and applied to a benchmark fed-batch fermentation process - a linguistic inversion method that designs the controller through automated analysis of information encapsulated in fuzzy linguistic rules of the process model and an evolutionary computation approach that complements its search capabilities with a human critic that guides the optimisation process. The results in terms of productivity measures that compare very favourably to reported results available from literature strongly suggest that in conditions (i.e. presence of noise, parameter variation and randomness) that resemble real-life situations, approximate techniques have an edge over more or less conventional optimisation methods as being more robust and more effective in knowledge discovery.