TABLE OF CONTENTS In considering control applications for specific processes, Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC) gains advantage when developing a process model is difficult or impossible. Another advantage of FLC is its easy and natural use of the existing experience of human operators in process control and optimization. Such terms as "smooth operation," "good performance," and "good quality" are commonly heard from people involved in building and tuning FLC.
Fuzzy logic was developed in the 1960's and was first applied in the early 1970's for the control of a cement kiln [7.3]. Recent applications of FLC spread over various areas of automatic control, mostly as a complement to existing classical techniques. In some areas, FLC has become the dominant control technology, primarily as embedded controllers. Some examples of extremely successful fuzzy logic applications [7.4] are:
Electrode positioning and power control in a high-power electrical arc furnace
Waste incineration plant
Carbon testing equipment
Ore crushing mill
Tension control on paper ribbon, film, steel in a rolling mill or cable winders
Induction motor controllers
The greatest advantage of fuzzy logic control is evident when it is applied to processes with insignificant dead time in order to accelerate the speed of control while retaining a high-quality level of control. In the applications where set point changes and severe disturbances are common, and the PID controller does not meet expectations, fuzzy logic control may be considered as an alternative.
A fuzzy logic controller was applied to a temperature control...
