Automatic control
Automatic control is everywhere. It is a truly ubiquitous technology without which modern life will not be possible. For example, control forms an integral part of modern automobiles and aircraft, homes and buildings, factories and power plants, and cell phones and networks. Automatic control is not only restricted to physical systems - control theory can for example also be applied to biological and financial systems. Given the proliferation of new sensors and actuators, the impact of control on modern life will only become more pronounced.
Purpose of the group
The control systems group provides students with the opportunity to perform internationally competitive and locally relevant research in automatic control. This is achieved by providing a good grounding in advanced control through the offering of:
- Postgraduate control courses
- International exposure via attendance of international conferences and visits to top international control groups
Research topics
Research performed is typically of an applied nature and include the following topics:
- Autonomous vehicles in mining
- Modelling and control of systems in mineral and metal processing
- Process control and economic performance assessment
Postgraduate control courses
- optimal control
- multivariable control
Research outputs
Research results are routinely presented at international conferences. In addition, most students in the control systems group are able to publish the research resulting from Masters and PhD thesis work in top international journals. Some recent publications include:
Process control and economic performance assessment
1. Muller, C.J., Craig, I.K., and Ricker, N.L., Modelling, Validation, and Control of an Industrial Fuel Gas Blending System, Journal of Process Control, Vol. 21, No. 6, 2011, pp. 852-860.
2. I. Craig et al., Control in the Process Industries, in “The Impact of Control Technology”, T. Samad and A.M. Annaswamy (eds.), IEEE Control Systems Society, 2011, available at http://www.ieeecss.org/main/IoCT-report.
3. Wei, D., and Craig, I.K., Economic performance assessment of two ROM ore milling circuit controllers. Minerals Engineering, Vol. 22, No. 9-10, 2009, pp. 826-839.
4. Bauer, M., and Craig, I.K., Economic assessment of advanced process control - A survey and framework, Journal of Process Control. Vol. 18, No. 1, 2008, pp. 2-18.
5. Bauer, M., Craig, I.K., Tolsma, E., and de Beer, H., A profit index for assessing the benefits of process control, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. Vol. 46, No. 17, 2007, pp. 5614-5623.
Modelling and control of systems in mineral and metal processing
1. Olivier, L.E., Craig, I.K., Chen, Y.Q., Fractional Order and BICO Disturbance Observers for a Run-of-Mine Ore Milling Circuit, Journal of Process Control, submitted for publication.
2. Meyer, E.J., and Craig, I.K., The development of dynamic models for a dense medium separation circuit in coal beneficiation, Minerals Engineering, Vol. 23, No. 10, 2010, pp. 791–805.
3. Coetzee, L.C., Craig, I.K., and Kerrigan, E.C., Robust model predictive control of a run-of-mine ore milling circuit. IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, Vol. 18, No. 1, Jan. 2010, pp. 222-229.
4. Wei, D., Craig, I.K., Grinding Mill Circuits - A Survey of Control and Economic Concerns, International Journal of Mineral Processing, Vol. 90, No.1-4, 16 Feb. 2009, pp. 56-66.
