Selected projects: Optimization and Control for Multi-physics Systems

DFG-Projekt: Charakterisierung und Approximation des Rands der zulässigen Menge (2024-2027)
Die zulässige Menge eines beschränkten Regelkreises besteht aus allen Anfangswerten, für die eine Steuerung existiert, sodass die für das System geltenden Beschränkungen eingehalten werden können. Diese Menge wird in vielen Forschungsgebieten eingesetzt, darunter nachhaltiges Ressourcenmanagement, Epidemien, Energiesysteme und Robotik. Sie spielt zudem eine wichtige Rolle in Stabilitäts- und rekursiven Zulässigkeitsuntersuchungen in modelprädiktiver Regelung (MPC). In diesem Projekt nutzen wir das sogenannte Minimumprinzip aus, welches für spezielle Systemtrajektorien auf dem Rand der zulässigen Menge gilt, um die Menge selbst zu charakterisieren.

MORE-KIBA: Human-understandable, optimal resource and energy management for complex, grid-integrated, biogenic production plants (2025-2028)

The objective of this study is to utilise artificial intelligence (AI) to elucidate the algorithmic decisions that result in sustainable operation. This will be achieved by employing a biorefinery and an energy grid simulator as exemplars. In periods of limited resources, the optimal functioning of production facilities is imperative. It is evident that proposals for the enhancement of technical processes frequently entail the utilisation of mathematical algorithms. However, these algorithms can often be challenging for operators to comprehension, primarily due to the intricacy of the industrial facilities and the complexity of the algorithmic representations employed. Consequently, the potential for sustainable operation is often overlooked, or technologies are even discarded despite the fact that their optimised operation could lead to considerable short-term savings. The objective of this junior research group is to facilitate the transparency and comprehensibility of algorithmic decisions for the operators of technically complex production systems utilising AI. The approach will be demonstrated using the example of a biochemical production facility integrated with an energy grid simulator. The project is co-financed by tax revenues based on the budget approved by the members of the Saxon State Parliament and by the European Union.

CUBES Circle: Agricultural systems of the future: A closed symbiotic cycle system of modular units with the aim of resource-efficient food production (2019-2028)
In the project CUBES Circle (closed urban modular energy- and resource-efficient agricultural systems), three agricultural production systems - aquaculture, insect production and horticultural plant production - are linked together as a closed-loop system. The organisms utilize the residual materials from the respective other production processes. In this way, the residual materials from one production step become valuable materials again in the next. The CUBES production systems are also digitally networked in order to control and optimize the circulation system.