Robust PID controller design using particle swarm optimization-enabled automated quantitative feedback theory approach for a first-order lag system with minimal dead time

This paper presents the design of a robust proportional integral and derivative (PID) controller for a first-order lag with pure delay (FOLPD) model using particle swarm optimization (PSO)-enabled automated quantitative feedback theory (QFT). The plant model considered here can be approximated as a first-order system with a non-minimum phase (NMP) zero. Synthesis of controller for the FOLPD model via manual graphical technique involved in the QFT method is always a challenging and cumbersome task, because an NMP system stabilizes by a small gain. In this paper, a proposal is being presented to automate the loop-shaping phase in the QFT design method to synthesize a robust controller that can undertake the exact amount of plant uncertainty even in the presence of larger uncertainties than those assumed initially and can ensure a proper trade-off between robust stability and tracking performance specifications over the entire range of design frequencies. In this paper,s the PSO technique has been employed to tune the controller automatically,which can significantly reduce the computational effort compared with manual graphical techniques. It has also been demonstrated that this methodology not only automates loop shaping but also improves design quality and, most usefully, improves performance with optimally tuned PID controller in quantitative manner.