Abstract: A system for controlling an operation of an air-conditioning system including a heat exchanger is provided. The system comprises a processor that executes a neural network trained to simulate an operation of the heat exchanger for a test control input, to produce an output of the simulation based on historical data defining a state of the heat exchanger. The historical data includes a sequence of historical control inputs provided to the heat exchanger and a sequence of historical outputs of the operation of the heat exchanger corresponding to the sequence of historical control inputs. The processor determines a control command to the air-conditioning system based on the predicted test output of the simulation of the operation of the heat exchanger for the test control input and transmits the determined control command to an actuator of the air-conditioning system.

Abstract: A system for controlling an operation of an air-conditioning system including a heat exchanger is provided. The system comprises a processor that executes a neural network trained to simulate an operation of the heat exchanger for a test control input, to produce an output of the simulation based on historical data defining a state of the heat exchanger. The historical data includes a sequence of historical control inputs provided to the heat exchanger and a sequence of historical outputs of the operation of the heat exchanger corresponding to the sequence of historical control inputs. The processor determines a control command to the air-conditioning system based on the predicted test output of the simulation of the operation of the heat exchanger for the test control input and transmits the determined control command to an actuator of the air-conditioning system.

Abstract: The present disclosure provides a system and a method for monitoring an operation of a vapor compression cycle. The method comprises collecting digital representation of observed variables of the operation of the vapor compression cycle over multiple instances of time and executing a constrained ensemble Kalman smoother for each instance of time to estimate the state variables of the vapor compression cycle for each instance of time. The constrained ensemble Kalman smoother updates the state variables over a sequence of time instances within a smoothing window by solving a series of constrained optimization problems in a range of a covariance, for which constraints are enforced for every variable in the smoothing window for every instance of the constrained optimization problems. The method further comprises outputting, based on the estimates of the state variables, estimates of variables of the vapor compression cycle at each instance of time.

Abstract: A system for controlling or optimizing the performance of a vapor compression system by modifying the actuator commands via an output interface, that realizes thermofluid property functions and their derivatives as spline functions which are represented in a coordinate system that is aligned with a fluid saturation curve. The system includes an interface configured to receive measurement data from sensors, a memory configured to store thermofluid property data and computer-executable programs including a B-spline method, and a processor for performing the computer-implemented method. The processor is configured to take as input two thermofluid property variables, and compute a coordinate transformation in which one axis of the coordinates is aligned with the liquid and vapor saturation curves. In the saturation-curve aligned coordinates, a spline function represents the thermofluid property function, with coefficients and knots stored in memory.

Abstract: A system for designing a circuitry configuration of heat-exchanger units includes an interface to acquire design parameters the heat-exchanger units, a memory to store computer-executable programs including a relaxed decision diagram formation module, and a processor, in connection with the memory, configured to perform the computer-executable programs. The computer-executable programs include steps of providing a configuration of the heat-exchanger units, providing the design parameters of the heat-exchanger units acquired via the interface, generating a relaxed decision diagram based on the design parameters, creating constraints with respect to connections of the heat-exchanger units according to the relaxed decision diagram, and generating feasible configurations of the heat-exchanger units by a mixed-integer-programing method using the constraints.

Abstract: A controller and a method for optimizing a controlled operation of a system performing a task is provided. The method for optimizing the controlled operation of the system comprises accessing a probabilistic distribution of a performance function trained to provide a relationship between different combinations of control parameters for controlling the system and their corresponding costs of operation, selecting a combination of control parameters from the different combinations of control parameters, such that the selected combination of control parameters is having the largest likelihood of being optimal at the probabilistic distribution of the performance function. The method further comprises controlling the system using the selected combination of the control parameters and modifying the probabilistic distribution of the performance function conditioned on the selected combination of the control parameters and the corresponding cost of operation.

Abstract: A calibration system and method for calibrating a model of dynamics of an industrial system is provided. The calibration method includes simulating the model multiple times with different combinations of parameters within an admissible range of values of the parameters to estimate success or failure of the simulation. Training the calibration system, iteratively, until a termination condition is met for defining a likelihood of failure of the simulation of the model and for a probabilistic parameter-to-cost mapping between various combinations of different values of the parameters of the model and their corresponding calibration errors. Further, calibrating, when the termination condition is met, the model with an optimal combination of the parameters having the largest likelihood of minimizing the calibration errors at the probabilistic parameter-to-cost mapping.

Abstract: A controller for controlling a vapor compression system is provided. The controller is configured to control an operation of the VCS with different combinations of setpoints for different actuators of the VCS to estimate a cost of operation of the VCS for each of the different combinations of setpoints, and compute, using a Bayesian optimization of the combinations of setpoints and their corresponding estimated costs of operation, a probabilistic surrogate model, wherein the probabilistic surrogate model defines at least first two order moments of the cost of operation in the probabilistic mapping. The controller is further configured to select an optimal combination of setpoints having the largest likelihood of being a global minimum at the surrogate model according to an acquisition function of the first two order moments of the cost of operation.

Abstract: A system for controlling or optimizing the performance of a vapor compression system by modifying the actuator commands via an output interface, that realizes thermofluid property functions and their derivatives as spline functions which are represented in a coordinate system that is aligned with a fluid saturation curve. The system includes an interface configured to receive measurement data from sensors, a memory configured to store thermofluid property data and computer-executable programs including a B-spline method, and a processor for performing the computer-implemented method. The processor is configured to take as input two thermofluid property variables, and compute a coordinate transformation in which one axis of the coordinates is aligned with the liquid and vapor saturation curves. In the saturation-curve aligned coordinates, a spline function represents the thermofluid property function, with coefficients and knots stored in memory.

Abstract: A system and a method for calibrating a model of thermal dynamics of thermal state in an environment of a building conditioned by an operation of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system is provided. The method includes receiving values of the control inputs to the actuators of the HVAC system and values of the thermal state at locations of the environment caused by the operation of the HVAC system according to the values of the control inputs, and computing a probabilistic surrogate model iteratively, using a Bayesian optimization, until a termination condition is met. The method further comprises outputting, when the termination condition is met, an optimal combination of the different parameters of the model of thermal dynamics having the largest likelihood of being a global minimum at the probabilistic surrogate model according to an acquisition function of the first two order moments of the calibration errors.

Abstract: A control system for controlling a set of actuators of a system. The control system comprising a switcher configured to select a subset of setpoints from a set of setpoints that control the corresponding set of actuators. An extremum-seeking controller (ESC) configured to perturb a subset of setpoints at each iteration based on a probabilistic distribution of partial gradients of a cost function relating values of the subset of setpoints to a cost of operation of the system. A stochastic gradient estimator is configured to estimate a full gradient of the cost function and update the estimation of the full gradient based on the probabilistic distribution of the partial gradients generated at each ESC iteration. A feedback controller is configured to drive a state of the subset of actuators of the system towards the corresponding perturbed subset of setpoints.

Abstract: A control system for controlling a set of actuators of a system. The control system comprising a switcher configured to select a subset of setpoints from a set of setpoints that control the corresponding set of actuators. An extremum-seeking controller (ESC) configured to perturb a subset of setpoints at each iteration based on a probabilistic distribution of partial gradients of a cost function relating values of the subset of setpoints to a cost of operation of the system. A stochastic gradient estimator is configured to estimate a full gradient of the cost function and update the estimation of the full gradient based on the probabilistic distribution of the partial gradients generated at each ESC iteration. A feedback controller is configured to drive a state of the subset of actuators of the system towards the corresponding perturbed subset of setpoints.

Abstract: A controller for controlling a vapor compression system is provided. The controller is configured to control an operation of the VCS with different combinations of setpoints for different actuators of the VCS to estimate a cost of operation of the VCS for each of the different combinations of setpoints, and compute, using a Bayesian optimization of the combinations of setpoints and their corresponding estimated costs of operation, a probabilistic surrogate model, wherein the probabilistic surrogate model defines at least first two order moments of the cost of operation in the probabilistic mapping. The controller is further configured to select an optimal combination of setpoints having the largest likelihood of being a global minimum at the surrogate model according to an acquisition function of the first two order moments of the cost of operation.

Abstract: Systems and methods for a vapor compression system including primary actuators, secondary actuators, primary sensors that provide a primary set of system outputs, and secondary sensors that provide a secondary set of system outputs. A primary controller receives the primary set of system outputs, and produces a primary set of control inputs for the primary actuators, to regulate one or more zone temperatures to set-points and to regulate one or more critical process variables to set-points. A secondary controller receives the secondary set of system outputs, and produces a secondary set of control inputs, to minimize an overall system power consumption. The secondary inputs may include set-points to the primary controller. The primary outputs may include estimates of critical process variables that are used as inputs to the secondary controller.

Abstract: A system for designing a circuitry configuration of heat-exchanger units includes an interface to acquire design parameters the heat-exchanger units, a memory to store computer-executable programs including a relaxed decision diagram formation module, and a processor, in connection with the memory, configured to perform the computer-executable programs. The computer-executable programs include steps of providing a configuration of the heat-exchanger units, providing the design parameters of the heat-exchanger units acquired via the interface, generating a relaxed decision diagram based on the design parameters, creating constraints with respect to connections of the heat-exchanger units according to the relaxed decision diagram, and generating feasible configurations of the heat-exchanger units by a mixed-integer-programing method using the constraints.

Abstract: A thermal conditioning system for controlling a thermal comfort of an occupant of a building includes a vapor compression system to control an air temperature in the building space and a radiant system to control a radiant temperature in the building space. The system also includes a feedback controller to generate a first control signal for controlling a state of the vapor compression system to reduce an error between a set-point air temperature and a current air temperature in the building space and includes a feedforward controller to generate a second control signal control for controlling a state of the radiant system based on the state of the vapor compression system.

Abstract: Systems and methods for a vapor compression system including primary actuators, secondary actuators, primary sensors that provide a primary set of system outputs, and secondary sensors that provide a secondary set of system outputs. A primary controller receives the primary set of system outputs, and produces a primary set of control inputs for the primary actuators, to regulate one or more zone temperatures to set-points and to regulate one or more critical process variables to set-points. A secondary controller receives the secondary set of system outputs, and produces a secondary set of control inputs, to minimize an overall system power consumption. The secondary inputs may include set-points to the primary controller. The primary outputs may include estimates of critical process variables that are used as inputs to the secondary controller.

Abstract: A thermal conditioning system for controlling a thermal comfort of an occupant of a building includes a vapor compression system to control an air temperature in the building space and a radiant system to control a radiant temperature in the building space. The system also includes a feedback controller to generate a first control signal for controlling a state of the vapor compression system to reduce an error between a set-point air temperature and a current air temperature in the building space and includes a feedforward controller to generate a second control signal control for controlling a state of the radiant system based on the state of the vapor compression system.

Abstract: A method for controlling an operation of a vapor compression system (VCS) determines values of measured outputs of the operation of the VCS that include performance and constrained outputs. The method determines states of the VCS using an estimator model of the VCS defining a relationship between the states of the VCS, control inputs and controlled outputs, such that a difference between outputs predicted using the estimator model and the measured outputs asymptotically approaches zero. The states of the VCS include a main state representing the operation of the VCS and an auxiliary state representing the effect of unknown disturbances on each measured output of the VCS. The control inputs for controlling the operation of the VCS are determined using a prediction model, such that the constrained output satisfies the constraints, and a difference between the performance output and the value of the setpoint asymptotically approaches zero.

Abstract: A method controls discharge temperature of a compressor of a vapor compression system. Using a mapping among discharge temperature, speed of the compressor, and outdoor air temperature, the method determines a desired discharge temperature for a new value of the speed of the compressor. The compressor is abruptly controlled to change the current speed of the compressor to the new value. A valve of the vapor compression system is smoothly controlled, such that the discharge temperature is transitioned to the desired discharge temperature according to a function of time representing a low pass filter with a time constant proportional to the thermal time constant of the compressor.