INTERVAL-VALUED FUZZY LOGIC CONTROL FOR A CLASS OF DISTRIBUTED PARAMETER SYSTEMS.

An interval-valued fuzzy logic controller (I-V FLC) is presented to control a class of nonlinear distributed parameter systems. The proposed FLC is inspired by human operators' knowledge or expert experience to control a distributed parameter process from the point of view of overall space domain. Based on spatial fuzzy set, the I-V FLC employs a centralized rule base over the space domain. Using spatial membership degree fusion operation, the I-V FLC can compress spatial input information into interval-valued fuzzy sets and then execute an interval-valued rule inference mechanism; thereby the I-V FLC has the capability to process spatial information over the space domain. Compared with traditional FLCs, the I-V FLC can improve its control performance due to its increased ability to express and process spatial information. The I-V FLC is successfully applied to a catalytic packed-bed reactor and compared with the traditional FLCs. The results demonstrate its effectiveness to control the unknown nonlinear distributed parameter process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]