Economic Model Predictive Control with Zone Tracking

In this work, we propose a framework for economic model predictive control (EMPC) with zone tracking. A zone tracking stage cost is incorporated into the existing EMPC framework to essentially form a multi-objective optimization problem. We provide sufficient conditions for asymptotic stability of the optimal steady state and characterize exact penalty for the zone tracking cost which prioritizes zone tracking objective over economic objective. A comprehensive study on the tradeoff between zone tracking and economic performance is carried out on a simple scalar linear system. Simulation results reveal intrinsic difficulties in parameter tuning due to the inconsistency between the zone tracking and economic objectives. A procedure to modify the target zone based on the economic performance and reachability of the optimal steady state is proposed. The modified target zone effectively decouples the dynamic zone tracking and economic objectives and simplifies parameter tuning. (C) 2018, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.