"SENSITIVITY CONSIDERATIONS IN DISTRIBUTED PARAMETER OPTIMAL CONTROL SYSTEMS

Abstract

This thesis deals with the sensitivity considerations in the distributed parameter optimal control systems. There has been r..uoh work done in the -field of lumped parameter optimal control theory and considerable work has also been done as regards the sensitivity of these systems. 11duevor, it was rather recently that the importance of distributed parameter optimal control systems was realized since a large amber of • the practical systems such as metailurc~ical furnaces, heat exchangers, distillation columns, nuclear reactor belonq to this class. But so' f'ar hardly attention has been pais to the sensitivity problem in distributed parameter optimal control systems. rhe solution of this problem is important,for obvious reasons. An attempt has boon made in this direction in this thesis. The sensitivity function is refined for distributed parameter optima. control systems and ox aroseion for sensitivity function for a cjenerel class of distributed parameter optimal control systems io obtained, The importance of this analysis is brought out by suitable examples. In narticular, the performance of a heat diffusion system is investigated under plant parameter variation for both open loop and closed loop implementations of this system* It is hoped that this work will stimulate further interest in this Important problem