CyboSoft wins DOE technology development research grants

CyboSoft, a provider of control technology for process, buildings, and equipment, has received two new grants from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE):

• DOE Phase I Grant: “Intelligent Industrial Furnace Control Using Model-Free Adaptive (MFA) Control Technology,” managed by DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; and

• DOE Phase II Grant: “Intelligent Actuation Control Using Model-Free Adaptive Control Technology,” managed by DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory.

DOE is focusing grants on this area based on its own data that shows U.S. industrial plants consume more energy than any other sector, including the building and transportation sector. Manufacturers of commodity materials and products such as metals, glass, chemicals, and paper consume more than 70% of all energy consumed in the industrial sector. Thus, energy savings in these plants can have a big impact on our nation’s energy security, economic health, and carbon mitigation.

The purpose of these grants is to have CyboSoft develop an intelligent control solution for controlling industrial furnaces that can significantly improve energy efficiency and cost-effectively reduce carbon emissions in the near term. Prior efforts to develop novel sensing and control technologies for these areas have been successful, but little work has been devoted to the coordinated control and actuation.

Studies show as many as two-thirds of all control loop oscillations are caused by problems in actuation devices such as control valves or dampers. Therefore, more effective and robust valve and damper position control is a principal goal of these grants. CyboSoft has successfully finished the Phase I project and will develop multiple model-free adaptive actuation (MFA) control products in Phase II to effectively control actuation processes that have nonlinear backlash problems and large variations in valve gain, time constant, and delay time.

DOE adds that an effective MFA actuation control solution addresses an urgent need for clean coal technology and can help the power and process industries to improve efficiency, quality, safety, and emission reduction.

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