INTERNAL MODEL

CONTROL
WHAT IS IMC?
 The internal model control (IMC) philosophy relies on the
internal model principle which states that if any control system
encapsulates within it, some representation of the process to be
controlled then a perfect control is easily achieved.

 IMC is based on an accurate model of the process that leads to

the design of a control system that is stable and robust.
WHY DO WE NEED IMC?
 It provides and maintains a satisfactory control in spite of
changes in the dynamics of the process.

 G  Transfer function of the process

 Gm Transfer function of model

 GI Transfer function of IMC Controller

 Transfer function of measuring element is taken to be 1.

IMC STRUCTURES

R’
DIFFERENT CASES

 U1= 0

Then feedback signal will depend upon the

difference between the actual process and its model.

 G=Gm

If actual process same as process model, then B is

equal to the unknown disturbance.

 Assume that the model exactly matches the process and
U1=0, then

 Upon substitution in this eqn,

We get GGI =1 i.e GI Gm =1.

DESIGN OF IMC CONTROLLER
 Separate the process model Gm into two terms

Gm=GmaGmm

Gma is a transfer function of an all pass filter. It is a transfer

function that has no minimum phase characteristics. A system has no
minimum phase characteristics if it contains zeros, poles in the right
half-plane or transportation lags, or both. Gmm has minimum phase
characteristics.

For a disturbance other than a step change, obtaining GI is more

complicated .
 To obtain a practical IMC controller, one multiplies GI in step 1 by a
transfer function of a filter f(s). The simplest form recommended is
given by

Where λ is a filter parameter and n is an integer. The IMC controller

can be expressed as

λ is the tunable parameter and can be related to the model

uncertainty.
 Check that GC turns out to be equivalent to which
controller(P/PI/PID) multiplied by a first order transfer
function.

If for PID controller

Where kc,τD, τI, τ1 are functions of λ and the parameters in GI

and Gm.
 QUICK REVIEW
 To apply the IMC method, one must have an accurate model of the process,
the model uncertainty, the type of disturbance (step, ramp, etc.), and the
performance objective (integral of square error). The method, which is based
on a rigorous mathematical foundation, leads to an IMC controller that is
the best that can be designed in terms of the performance objective. The IMC
structure can be reduced to a conventional control structure in which the
conventional controller is related to the IMC controller and the parameters
of the model. For many simple processes with simple disturbance (impulse,
step, etc.), the equivalent conventional controller based on the IMC design
method turns out to be the equivalent of a PID controller.
THANK YOU