The optimality of an easily implementable feedback control system: An inverse problem in optimal control theory

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Abstract
In most control applications in the chemical process industries it is not realistic to attempt to define a unique mathematical statement of the control objective, for many criteria will satisfy the physical requirement of the rapid elimination of errors in the product stream as the result of an upset. The strong dependence of the structure of an optimal control system on the choice of objective then makes optimal control theory irrelevant in such situations, since the control engineer has no assurance that a complicated controller is a necessity of the process, rather than a consequence of an unfortunate choice of objective. In this paper an inverse problem is considered, in which an easily implementable feedback control system is first chosen and then is shown to be optimal for a physically meaningful objective in a large class of systems.