ON THE SELECTION Of INPUT VARIABLES TO BE RETAINED IN A REDUCED_ORDER MODEL

This paper presents the choice of appropriate sets of input variables for large-scale linear multivariable systems. It is shown that the selection of a good set of input variables for control may become important when both strong and weak input variables are available. The transmission of information from the inputs to the outputs is investigated and appropriate scaling procedures to derive a scaled input matrix are proposed. Singular value decomposition methods facilitate the quantification of the systems excitation stemming from the various input variables, and thus the selection of an appropriately strong and orthogonal set of input variables. The need for and the implementation and benefits of reducing the number of input variables are illustrated by a large-scale steam generator model of a real process.