A PID controller with adaptive error dispersion for interacting gates on main irrigation canals

A multivariable PID controller with a novel adaptive error dispersion technique has been developed for the control of interacting gates on main irrigation canals. The error dispersion technique was designed to cope with nonideal gates that cannot accomplish the movements requested by the controller and has proven to be robust with respect to disturbance directions, operating points and the model's topographical parameters. The controller was tested on a simulation model that uses the double-sweep method to solve the discretized de Saint Venant equations. Compared to other control algorithms reported in the literature, this controller provides improved performance, robustness and simplicity. Also of practical importance is that the controller can be implemented and maintained at reasonable cost.