Online real-time scheduled model predictive feedforward control for impounded river reaches applied to the Moselle river

The automatic management of impounded rivers ensures easy and safe navigation implying the realization of two contradicting control goals. These are a steady water level at the ship locks and under bridges as well as the attenuation of discharge transients. The operational local gain scheduled PI based control solution used in Moselle river barrages can only guarantee a steady water level at the cost of propagating and amplifying discharge disturbances from reach to reach. To remedy this behavior, a linear model predictive feedforward control method for constant discharge setpoints is available. This paper analyzes the changing dynamics of the Moselle reaches at different setpoints and proposes an online scheduled linear model predictive feedforward approach to cover all practically relevant discharge setpoints. To maintain real time capability, simple control models based on linearized and discretized Saint-Venant equations are conveniently identified using existing high precision models. Together with few intuitive parameters, a global control solution for all relevant setpoints is presented. The performance of the presented control solution is asserted by simulation experiments on verified high precision models.