Design and implementation of a strategy of predictive control of paddy rice drying

Abstract

In this paper we present a Model Predictive Controller (MPC) implemented in a rice drying process with inclined silo. A pilot system is used at scale of 1:10, and capacity of 25 kg. In this system temperature and humidity of the rice grains are measured as well as air humidity. Additionally, the flow and temperature of drying air are controlled and measured. In order to design the controller a model based on thin layer and physical first principles is obtained and validated. Then, a MPC controller is designed based on this model. The type of MPC controller used is Dynamic Matrix Control (DMC) which uses the system step and free responses to estimate the next optimal control input. As a result, a good performance of the controller is obtained, showing that this is a promising technology that can be used in the Paddy rice drying process. The results show improvements in: a) reduction in drying time and energy consumption, b) over drying is avoided, c) the drying process is homogeneous, hence the quality of rice grains is better. Consequently, a positive impact on the productivity of the milling regional industry can be reached.

Keywords

• paddy rice
• predictive control dmc
• thin layer model