ROBUST MPC OF THE REFINING STAGE OF AN ELECTRIC ARC FURNACE

In this article a robust MPC controller is presented for the refining stage of an electric arc furnace. A reduced version of a generic EAF model will be used - it simplifies the controller. The controller's objective is to steer the temperature to the desired value before the carbon content reaches its target value. The controller design is verified through a simulation study. The controller behaves well even under extreme model mismatch when full state feedback is used, but is high dependent on the accuracy of the predictor under limited feedback conditions. With timely measurement, the error can be contained and even reduced if the predictor's parameters are adjusted when measurements are taken.