A distributed model predictive control approach for the control of irrigation canals

Reference:
R.R. Negenborn and B. De Schutter, "A distributed model predictive control approach for the control of irrigation canals," Proceedings of the International Conference on Infrastructure Systems 2008: Building Networks for a Brighter Future, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 6 pp., Nov. 2008. Paper 152.

Abstract:
Water networks are large-scale systems, consisting of many interacting components. They are currently typically operated by local decentralized controllers which receive set-points from human operators. We discuss how communication among the local controllers can be included and in particular propose the use of distributed model predictive control for enabling the local controllers to determine set-points autonomously using communication and coordination. We consider the control of a particular class of water networks, viz. irrigation canals. A simulation study on a 7-reach irrigation canal illustrates the potential of the proposed approach.