An orthogonal test approach based control parameter optimization and its application to a hydro-turbine governor

The control parameters of the industrial controller should be tuned to match the characteristics of the controlled system, at installation and even during operation. However, many existing controllers can not complete this task themselves. An expert's intervention is usually expected. A control parameter optimization algorithm based on the orthogonal test approach is described in this paper. This algorithm has been implemented in a synthesis test instrument and successfully integrated into a microcomputer-based hydro-turbine governor. The efficiency of this algorithm has been proved by field test results.