Robust optimal design with consideration of robust eigenvalue assignment

In this paper, a novel robust design method is proposed for the process design under uncertainty. The key idea is to integrate the robust optimal design with the robust eigenvalue assignment to design the process with the desirable steady-state design performance and the satisfactory dynamic performance. The robust optimal design is developed to achieve the desirable steady-state design performance through minimizing the steady-state objective function and its variation caused by uncertainty. The robust eigenvalue assignment is proposed to maintain the system eigenvalues in the desirable domain and make these eigenvalues less sensitive to uncertainty so that the system has the satisfactory dynamic response. The particle swarm optimization is proposed to solve the nonconvex and nondifferential integration problem. Finally, a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) example is applied to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed integration method. © 2010 American Chemical Society.