Taylor, C. James and Leigh, P. and Chotai, Arun and Young, Peter C. and Vranken, E. and Berckmans, D. (2004) Cost effective combined axial fan and throttling valve control of ventilation rate. IEE Proceedings - Control Theory and Applications, 151 (5). pp. 577-584. ISSN 1350-2379
Abstract
This paper is concerned with Proportional-Integral-Plus (PIP) control of ventilation rate in mechanically ventilated agricultural buildings. In particular, it develops a unique fan and throttling valve control system for a 22m3 test chamber, representing a section of a livestock building or glasshouse, at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Here, the throttling valve is employed to restrict airflow at the outlet, so generating a higher static pressure difference over the control fan. In contrast with previous approaches, however, the throttling valve is directly employed as a second control actuator, utilising airflow from either the axial fan or natural ventilation. The new combined fan/valve configuration is compared with a commercially available PID-based controller and a previously developed scheduled PIP design, yielding a reduction in power consumption in both cases of up to 45%.