Optimal PID tuning for controlling the temperature of electric furnace by genetic algorithm

Abstract

Temperature is one of the exigent parameters that needs to be controlled in today’s industries. Importantly this temperature control should be precise and fast. As the conventional controllers are not optimally tuned, the controller used for controlling the temperature of the electric furnace does not exhibit better performance. Its rise time and settling time is too large as well as it has a sizable amount of overshoot. This paper presents a Genetic Algorithm based PID controller to overcome the low precision, long rise time and settling time of the controller. In this algorithm, Integral of Absolute Error is taken as the object function for minimizing the error. Using this function, the algorithm engenders the optimum value of the gain parameters (Kp, Ki, Kd) for the PID controller. It shows better control over the conventional controllers. As the overshoot, settling time, and rise time are substantially improved, it provides sharp and prompt control over the temperature. This precise and instant control of temperature has a great impact on the food and medicine industries. As the temperature could be controlled precisely and instantly, we can avoid the change/degradation of the physical properties of the materials that are under process.