Abstract
Conference Title: 2017 American Control Conference (ACC) Conference Start Date: 2017, May 24 Conference End Date: 2017, May 26 Conference Location: Seattle, WA, USA In this work, we propose initial steps in the first systems safety approach that coordinates the control and safety systems through a common metric (a Safeness Index) and develop a controller formulation that incorporates this index. Specifically, this work presents an economic model predictive control (EMPC) scheme that utilizes a Safeness Index function as a hard constraint to define a safe region of operation termed the safety zone. Under the proposed EMPC, the closed-loop state of a nonlinear process can be guaranteed to enter the safety zone in finite time while maximizing the process economics. The proposed design is demonstrated using a chemical process example.