PLC Implementation of a Genetic Algorithm for Controller Optimization

A common practice is to design a controller by plant observations (i.e., experiments) and to optimize some of its parameters by trial-and-error. This paper proposes a genetic algorithm for the automation of the search procedure. A chemical process is introduced to explain the proposed approach. The process is controlled by a programmable logic controller (PLC). A genetic algorithm was implemented on a PLC and used for controller performance optimization. The advantage of such an approach consists of automating the search for a good solution. Moreover the genetic algorithm can be easily programmed in the PLC and reused for different plants with the only need of string encoding and fitness evaluation reprogramming.