Control of thermal runaway via optimal bifurcation tailoring aided gain-scheduling feedback

Thermal runaway of chemical reactors has been proved to be strictly related to the experience of catastrophic bifurcation operating conditions. In this framework, bifurcation control theory, dealing with the modification of the bifurcation structure of nonlinear systems, is to become a powerful tool to design control systems able to tame thermal runaway hazards. In this work we focus on a novel bifurcation control strategy: the bifurcation tailoring. Bifurcation tailoring aims to globally reshape the bifurcation diagram of a nonlinear system. In order to cope with process constraints, an optimal formulation of the bifurcation tailoring method is proposed and implemented to remove thermal runaway hazards in chemical reactors.