Analytical design of fractional-order proportional-integral controllers for time-delay processes

A new design method of fractional-order proportional-integral controllers is proposed based on fractional calculus and Bode's ideal transfer function for a first-order-plus-dead-time process model. It can be extended to be applied to various dynamic models. Tuning rules were analytically derived to cope with both set-point tracking and disturbance rejection problems. Simulations of a broad range of processes are reported, with each simulated controller being tuned to have a similar degree of robustness in terms of resonant peak to other reported controllers. The proposed controller consistently showed improved performance over other similar controllers and established integer PI controllers. (C) 2013 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.