Optimal control of mass/energy distribution networks under uncertainties ?

This paper presents a general framework for the optimal control of nonlinear hydrodynamic systems under uncertainties. In this paper the tag hydrodynamic refers to systems with special decomposable state space structure, where the sub-spaces are constituted by the following triple: (1) mass/energy conservation law, (2) disturbance model and (3) auxiliary state components. For optimal control, permutational invariance is utilized executing stochastic approximate dynamic programming on a rolling horizon. The primary targets for the application are distribution systems e.g. water distribution networks (mass distribution) and district heating systems (energy distribution). However, the mathematical abstraction is suitable for power generation systems such as multi–reservoir and hydro–thermal grids.