Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybernetics, Shanghai, 26-29 August 2004

INTELLIGENT PID CONTROL SYSTEM FOR VACUUM ANNEALING FURNACE WORKPIECES TEMPERATURE
XIAO-BIN LI, DING LIU,SHANG-BINJIAO, JUN-XIAN GUO
I

.Information and Control Engineering Center, Xian University of Technology, Xian,71004&Chma .Institute Electrical and Information, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou,730050,China E-MAElixiaobinautoO 163.com

Abstrad: h e accurate control of the temperature of work pieces in vacuum annealing furnace is a typical nonlinear, large timedelay and inertia, cross-coupling, time-varying complicated contml problem. It is difficult to achieve the accnrate control of annealing furnace by conventional PID controller. This paper presents a new optimization variable arguments PID controller by adaptive immune genetic algorithm and solves accurate control problem of work pieces temperature in vacuum annealing furnace. The results of practtcal show that this temperature contml system is better than the conventional PID control system based on the temperature zones, and has good reliability, adaptability and robustness. Keywords:
Adaptive immune genetic algorithm vacuum annealing fiunace variable arguments PID work pieces temperature wntml

1 Introduction .

The vacuum annealing furnace is an important equipment used in the process of metal heat treatment. At present, it has been widely used in the industrial production process of frontier precise machinery manufacturing, aerospace and national defense. The vacuum annealing furnace is, in general, divided into two types of internal heating and external heating. This paper discusses the internal heating type of vacuum annealing furnace heated by electricity. The input electric power of heating wires of 3 groups installed on top part, side part and bottom part of the furnace body can control the temperature of heating wires of 3 groups in the temperature zones, whereby obtaining the objective of controlling the annealing temperature of work pieces. It always take the temperature of heat zones as the control target in the conventional control for vacuum annealing furnace, which can not completely reflect the heat condition of work pieces so that the annealing curve is
0-7803-8403-2/04/$20.00W O IEEE O4

not the requirement curve of the work pieces material, and there are many problems such as higher energy consumption, long annealing time, higher rate of waste . material etc. It is well-known that PID control is a kind of the most fundamental and most frequently-used control tactics in industrial control. For this reason, PID controller basing on the temperature of work pieces can be mainly adopted to control the temperature in the temperature zones with the heating wires of 3 groups in temperature controlling system of the vacuum annealing furnace. However, the complete fixation of PID parameters is a complicated process of searching for the optimization. In the process of engineering application, the empirical method and testing-together method, etc. are mostly adopted, while as to such a vacuum annealing furnace with a typical nonlinear, large time-delay, large inertia, existing CIOSS coupling, time varying and complicated control objective, it is difficult to find out PID parameters so that using this method can waste both time and capital, thereby the complete tuning results are much poor, and even if the results are obtained, they are frequently not the complete best. In combine with engineering needs of annealing temperature accurate control of the vacuum annealing fumace, and in borrowing the others use of genetic algorithm to o timize PID parameters with various kinds of methods [11[21[R[41[51 , this paper advances the use of the adaptive immune genetic algorithm, being able to overcome such weak points as the early maturityr6, easy to fall into local optimization[] and slow-rate convergence. being of strong complete ability to search for optimization, to carry out the complete fixation of PID parameters K,,. K,. KO on line whereby achieving the control over the variable arguments PID of annealing temperature of the vacuum annealing furnace. The result of practical shows that this method is of better temperature controlling accuracy, better reliability, adaptability and robustness.

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Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybernerics, Shanghai, 26-29 August 2004
2.

Give the setting temperature value according to work pieces temperature[Sl

The temperature of work pieces is controlled by tuming the temperatures of heating zones in the process of operation of vacuum annealing funace. There will be a large deviation if give the setting value of heating zones as same as the technology requirement of work pieces. It can be conclude that the error between the heating zones and work pieces is changing in the production process via the study and tests. In the beginning of the heating there is a larger deviation between the heating zones and work pieces for the temperature in the vacuum annealing furnace is not reach eqnality and stability, and the deviation will be less as the temperature trend to equality and stability in the process of heating, and at last the error is very small and holding as a constant in the process of holding temperature. And found that the temperature deviation will decrease clearly every increase 2C or so and that error holding as a constant in this area via the lots of study and tests based on the heating characteristic of heating material and thermodynamics theory. So, we can linear the technology curve of work pieces in different areas, and then calculate the temperature setting values of heating zones in order to decrease the temperature deviation in the process of anneal. The relation Temperature area The temperature setting value of upper heat wire The temperature setting value of sidepiece heat wire The temperature setting value of bottom beat wire 0-2C 0.95X(k)+70.6 0.95X(k)+49.2 0.95X(k)+45.5

between the temperature setting value and the temperature of work pieces is expressed as following: T ( k ) = AX@) B (1) where: T ( k )is the temperature of heating zones, X (k) is the temperature of work pieces, A, B are the coefficients. The formula (1) is a series of linear functions gather, in which different function relation is adopted in terms of the different annealing work pieces and different temperature area in the process of rising temperature. Here, we define every 200'C as a different temperature area and define different A and B in every temperature area in order to calculate the temperature setting values. A function relation date base between the temperature setting value and temperature of work pieces set up via much study and tests about different technology requirement curve. In the progress of practice product, the technology requirement curve of annealing work pieces is put into computer, and then the computer calculate the setting value according to the different annealing work pieces and function date base. For example, there is a kind of annealing work pieces, which technology requirement is: the constant temperature is 610~C, rising time is 215 minutes. According to study the and test, at last, the function relation table is set up as table 1.

201--400'C 0.93X(k)+36.7 0.94X(k)+32.4 0.93X(k)+31.7

401 -600C 0.90X(k)+45.2 0.92X(k)+31.7 0.90X(k)+27.2

Constant X@) X(k) X(k)

u = K , (e

1 +I;

de edt + Td -) dt

formulas: (2)

output of the process;

Where: deviation e = R-y, R is the setting value, y is the Kp is the ratio increment;

KP=K,,(l+K~[l- -

R.

I)

(3)

. K I =-KP IS the integral increment; Kn = K,Td is the li

differential increment. The physical meaning of each parameter of the conventional PW konuoller is definite; and the operation in engineering application is rather convenient, but as for a PW control system, it is only in the

K , = K , , [ l + KI

a?

K 1

(4)

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Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybernetics, Shanghai, 26-29 August 2004 individuals to form new population pop2. The number of new individuals extended by each individual can be determined by the evaluation values. The individual with high evaluation value can extend mnre new individuals. When the extension i s conducted, an extension zone with the individual m the center and r, as the radium among the zones for the individual to be extended should he determined in the corresponding space in terms of the searching for optimization range of the above parameters, and then a new individual can be extended in this extension zone. Mutation operation: the mutation operation should be made of the (n-m) pieces of the poorest individuals in the population pop2, and then the (n-m) pieces of the individuals should be mutated as any piece of individual in the feasible solution space. A&dingly, the similar mutation operation should be defined as a mutation zone with an individual as the center and rj as the radius in the solution space. In the process of optimizing parameters, the adaptive adjustment of the immune genetic algorithm is realized mainly via such tbree parameters as CZ r, and r, . Once the searching for the optimization starts, it is expected to have a larger selective probability and a smaller extension and mutation radius. When searching for the optimization is carried out to a certain extent, and particularly nearing convergence, the diversity of the population becomes small so that it is just at this time that it is expected to have a smaller selective probability and a larger extension and mutation radius. In order to judge the population diversity and be able tn have the adaptive adjustment of such t r e he parameters as a r, and r, , the method set in literature[7]can be borrowed to introduce the function of determining population diversity in the following:

e exp(- -)' K , = K,,[l+ K b

Where:

K,,

Kb, a,, K,,, K ; a, K O , K b .

(5)

01,. all are the parameters of complete fixation to be specified; e is the output error in the system; R is the set value, since the annealing work pieces to be specified are always changing, we have used this kind of method in the vacuum annealing furnace to enforce or increase PID control robustness; and also the adaptive immune genetic algorithm is used to search for the optimization of the above parameters.

4. Basic process of the adaptive immune genetic algorithm

Genetic algorithm is the optimization method of mimic biological evolution process, being of the better overall searching ability, but there being many weak points in itself so that the reduction of individual diversification is so fast that it is easy to have the advent of the immature convergence phenomena. At present, there have been many methods with an aim at improving the basic genetic a l g ~ r i t h m [ " ' ~ ~ " ~ [ ~ order' to avoid the immature in ~ ~ ~ convergence and to improve the population diversities. It is just for achieving this purpose that the adaptive immune genetic algorithm has been bome. The algorithm includes such three kinds of basic operations as selection, extension and mutation"': 0 Selective operation: decimal system is adopted to code the individual. Each individual consists of the 9 decimal or decimal systems in the order of expressing

as K,,

K ; , a . K , , , K; a, , K,, , K b , ,

be optimized. In the feasible space, the n pieces of individuals can be selected as the initial population pop in terms of the above coded manner at random; and the evaluation valne of each individual in the population should he calculated. The m pieces of individuals with the highest evaluation values can form the new population popl in terms of selection probability a , m=integer ( 01 X n ) indicates the nearest integer from (a n ), O< 01 < I . X Extension operation: each individual in the population popl via the extension operation can extend the n-in pieces of new individuals so as to fdl the advent of individual empty positions in selection operation. Also, there should be the m pieces of individuals to extend into the n pieces of new

a, ,to

Where, V is the judgment function; n is the number of the population; gen(i) is the i piece of individual . If and
(r

,? '

r2 variable range can

be ( U , $ , )

(a,,'bl) ,

respectively, the adaptive adjustment of algorithm parameters should be as follows:

(a,,b,)

(7)

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Proceedings of the Thxd Internatiooal Conference on Machine Learning and Cybemetics, Shanghai, 26-29 August 2004

r 2 = a l +b, -a2 l+v

(9)

parameters to be optimized are the

5. Optimization process of variable PID parameters of the vacuum annealing furnace based on adaptive immune genetic algorithm

In order to make the work pieces in the vacuum annealing fumace receiving even heat, the heating wires are installed at top part, side part and bottom part of the annealing fumace so that the annealing furnace is a typical nonlinear, large time-delay, large inertia, the existing cross-coupling, time varying and complicated control objective. And at the same time, for the different annealing work pieces, the annealing technology curves are different, whose time constant and equivalent delay change with different work pieces. Accordingly, it is difficult to achieve the purposes by using the conventional fixed parameter PID controller to control all the work pieces. For this reason, we have use variable arguments PID controller to cany out the complete tuning of parameters on line with the adaptive immune genetic algorithm. Since the control problem of heating wire electric current of three groups is basically the same so that any one group is selected for further discussion as shown in Fig.1 - variable arguments PID control system structure of the vacuum annealing fumace adaptive immune genetic algorithm:

K ; . Q, K,, , The concrete optimization procedures are described in the following: (1) Process initialization: in this operation, the main work to be done is to determine the range and coding accuracy of each parameter in searching for optimization. Accordingly, the parameter range should be appropriate medium. Therefore, too small range is bound not to obtain the optimal solution, but too large range is bound to prolong the process of searching for optimization and to affect real timeliness. Ton small coding accuracy is bound to affect the accuracy of searching for optimization while too large coding accuracy is bound to increase calculation quantities. It is here that we should be first on the site to select the relative optimal parameters of several groups, and then fix the range of searching for optimization in the vicinity of these parameters: it is just here that we will fix K,, K i
rangeas [I, 101and K,,

K,, ,K ; . a, K,, K b . a , i n formulas (3) - (5).

K ; K,,

Kb

. 01,

Q,

ranges as [O J]. (2) Population initialization: the decimal system is selected to code the initial population. The code by the decimal system has more advantages than that by the binary system'61; and the n pieces of individuals produced at random in the solution space can form the initial population pop. The population produced by this method is characterized at random and wholeness so as to avoid the problem of local most optimal solution. The larger number of the population is, the wider its representation is and the larger possibility of obtaining optimal solution is, but it is inevitable to cause an increase in calculation time. In general, the number n of the population is to select 20 to 100. It is here that the number of population is fixed as n=26. (3) Calculation of evaluation value of individuals: the J value of optimal objective functions should be worked out; and J is used to obtain the evaluation function value f, letting

a,

f = -,

Figure.1 The Component Frame Chart of the vacuum annealing fumace adaptive immune genetic algorithm The PID parameters of the controller in this system can be revised by the adaptive immune genetic algorithm, and the PID controller output is as follows:
u ( t ) = K,e(t)

1 J+1

in here, the denominator of the

+ K , je(t)dt +K, de(*)

dt

(10)

The parameters K, K, K, of PID controller in the above formula are given by formulas (3) - (5); and the

evaluation function formula which can be expressed as J+l is to prevent the Occurrence of calculation ovefflow when the optima1 objective function value tends to become zero. Apart from taking output error as the objective function in designing the optimal objective function, we have added the square term of control quantity to the objective function in order to prevent the control over overlarge energy so that the concrete formula of the optimal objective function J is shown as follows:

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Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybernetics, Shanghai, 26-29 August 2004

Where, e ( t )= r(t)- y ( t ) indicates the output error in

, the system; u(t) indicates the controller output; 0, 0,are the weights. It is here that the two weights are introduced, which can adjust the system error and control energy of the components in the optimal objective function based on the role of two optimal objectives of the system error and control energy played in the optimal process in practical production. They can be set in the production process in terms of practical needs. Meanwhile, in order to avoid the over-adjustment, used to punish function, i.e. once the production is. over-adjusted, the over-adjusted quantity can be used as one term of the optimal target"'; and the optimal target is as follows: If e(t) <0,

(7) Mutation operation: The mutation operation is conducted for the poorest n-m pieces of individuals in population pop,?, whose mutation can be any individual in the adjacent field. The adjacent field selection is the same as the method used in the (6) step. The radium r2 here can be obtained through the calculation with formula (9).
6. R a control rrsults el

In practice, the process dates can he amassed and sent to upper computer by lower computer. That using the control algorithm work out PID parameters and control value is realized through C++ programming language in upper, which are sent to lower computer to put out the control devices. The new method in this paper is used in the @2100X2100 high vacuum annealing furnaces. In one of test processes, we defined the W, W , @i ,n the formulas ( l l ) , (12) respectively as 0.99,0.001,100, The upper computer offered the setting values and such relevant parameters in terms of real technology requirements, and obtain the optimal parameters via running the adaptive immune genetic algorithm program with the relevant dates of similar production before: K,, K ; ap K,, ,K ; ,

Where, 03, weight; and w 3 > > w ,. is It is necessary to judge whether the evaluation (4) function value reaches the requirement of complete fixation or not. If the requirements are met with, the most optimal values of complete tuning can be obtained so that the process of searching for the optimization should be exited. Selective operation: It is here that the m pieces of (5) individuals with the highest evaluation values can form the population p o p l . The selective probability OI can be obtained by the calculation with formula (7). The 01 value taking range here is (0.1). Extension operation: Each individual in new (6) population pop1 formed through selective operation should have the cxtension probability calculated through formula (13)

a, K,, Kh a, ; and then get the optimal PID parameters by formulas (3) (5). These parameters are taken as initial PID parameters and adjusted oc line according to the productive process in order to get a good result. The temperature rising, constant temperatue and the final operation results as shown in Fig.2, Fig.3; Fig.4.

Pk =-

fk

2fz
,=I

(13)

And then, the roulene wheel method is used to determine the number of new individual extended from each individual, and then, the corresponding number of new individuals is selected at random in the adjacent field to obtain new population pop,?. The adjacent field is selected with the k pieces of individual as the center, and the section space with rl as the radium; and rl selection is obtained through the calculation with formula (8). The rI value taking section space can be (-d, d); and d is the minimum value of the two end distance from the k pieces of individuals to the tracking zone of searching for the optimization.

Figure.2 Temperature rising process

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Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybemetics, Shanghai, 26-29 August 2004 It can be seen from the Fig.5-6 that the intelligent PID temperature control system for vacuum annealing furnace based on work pieces temperature can achieve the accurate annealing temperahue control whatever it is in the process of either temperature rising or beiig constant temperature that the temperature deviation is f2 %,which completely satisfies the control emor < +3'C of the technology requirement, and the deviation of the intelligent PID temperature control system for vacuum annealing fumace based on the temperature of heating zone is &3'C, and the deviation of the control based on conventional PID is f 7 'C ,which is not satisfy the technology requirement.

<

,*

mmmm

. ..

Figure.3 Temperature holding process

Figure.4 Final temperature control results

Figure 6 Temperature control e m r compare for different PID control method And the practical operations indicate that the result of this control method is of better temperature controlling accuracy, better stability, adaptability and robusmess when work pieces and vacuum value change. The eligibility rate of annealing aerospace work pieces is raised from 85% to 95%. shortens the annealing time and reduces energy, which completely satisfies the technology requirement.
7.

Conclusions

Figure.5 Temperature control result compare for different PlD control method

As of the heating behaviors in the frontier industrial production process as well as special requirements of process control, and the use of high vacuum annealing fumace used in precise machinery manufacturing, aerosp(ice, national defense, etc. this paper advances a kind of precise control method of the annealing temperahue of the practical high vacuum annealing fumace using the reliable and stable method. This method has been used in practical control so as to achieve the accurate control of the annealing temperature. The optimized PID parameters for

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Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybernetics, Shanghai, 26-29 August 2004

different work pieces on line rolling have reached the fmal control deviation < k2OC objective, whereby solving the original difficult problem of lowering energy consumption, shortening the time of annealing and lowering the rate of w s e materials with remarkable effects obtained. at

PID parameter optimal simulation based on adaptive

[51
genetic algorithm. The Journal of China Science Electrical Engineering,2002,22(8),pp. 145-149. Mehrdad salami, Grey cain, An adaptive PID controller based on genetic algorithm processor ( C) ,IEE Genetic Algorithm in Engineer System: Innovation and Applications 2003,23 (9), pp.88-93. Wang Dongfeng,-et al. Temperamre System Variable arguments PID Control Based on Immune Genetic Algorithm (J) . The Journal of China Science Electrical Engineering, 2003,23(9),pp.212-217. Zuo Xinquan, et al. A Kind of Adaptive Immune Algorithm Used in Optimal Algorithm. Computer Engineering and Applications ,2003.20, pp.68-70. Wang Rengrong et al A New Method to Optimize the Control of Reheating Furnaces Control Theory and Applications 2001,18(Suppl),pp. 145-148. Li Yingsheng, et al. The Vacuum Induction Furnace PID Temperature Control System Based on Genetic Algorithm(J), Metallurgical Automation, 2003, 3,pp.12 -15.

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