A novel genetic algorithm (GA) based fuzzy logic control (FLC) system
has been developed for the solar power plant, Plataforma Solar de Alme
ria (PSA) at Tabernas, in Almeria, Spain. The rule base encompasses an
empirical set of 49 'if-then' rules. Chromosomes consisting of 49 gen
es of 5-bit data are created to link to the rule base. The 5-bit data
of each gene represents the strength of the corresponding 'If-Then' ru
le. The GA performs the basic operations of reproduction, crossover an
d mutation on a pool of chromosomes to search for the best rule base w
hich optimises the response time of the plant to input temperature or
power demand by controlling the distributed collector field of the pla
nt. The collect field is essentially an array of parabolic mirrors and
oil pipes in which the transversal of solar energy takes place. Simul
ation results on the plant with an optimised rule-base using the 100th
generation of the chromosome show that the proposed GA-FLC scheme giv
es a better and more robust performance of the plant than other scheme
s previously implemented. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
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