Adaptive control is finding its way into real-life situations, mainly
as a result of considerable advances in microelectronics and the under
standing of adaptive control theory. Several adaptive control algorith
ms are now available and many industrial applications have been perfor
med in the field of chemical engineering and more recently in the fiel
d of particulate processes. This paper gives an overview of discrete a
daptive controllers. It presents qualitatively rite underlying control
design and discusses the recursive least-squares estimation algorithm
with requirements for long-term parameter tracking. Particular emphas
is is put on the design assumptions and several adaptive central appli
cations in the particulate process field are given. Results concerning
the adaptive control of a simulated grinding circuit are detailed.