An optimum control-based approach for Dynamic Positioning of vessels

Abstract

This paper presents a solution to the problem of Dynamic Positioning of vessels in Arctic environments, using a finite-horizon optimal control based approach. As the first step, an Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) based non-linear observer is developed for estimating both the vessel states and unknown inputs such as ice load. To perform better set point control and disturbance rejection, a Non-linear Model Predictive Controller (NMPC) is employed for dynamic positioning. Using the developed estimation and control strategies, successful simulation results are obtained. � 2016 IEEE.