This paper proposes a combined control and state estimation strategy for inland waterways, aiming at simultaneously attaining the optimal water level management and maximizing hydroelectricity generation. The latter can be realized by turbines installed in canal locks that harness the energy generated during lock filling and draining operations. These two objectives are of opposed nature, as maximization of energy generation can be achieved by maximizing the number of lock operations, which in turn leads to unbalanced water levels upstream and downstream of the lock. To address this issue, the multi-objective optimization problem is formulated. Then, model predictive control (MPC) and moving horizon estimation (MHE) are designed to maintain navigation conditions in the canals while maximizing energy production. Finally, the proposed strategy is applied to a realistic case study based on part of the inland waterways in the north of France.

Model predictive control (MPC) has been widely employed to control a large variety of water systems, such as dams, irrigation canals, inland waterways, drinking water networks and wastewater treatment plants. Its predictive capabilities and the possibility to incorporate constraints make MPC well suited to address several, and sometimes opposite, management objectives linked to water systems. The design of MPC for water systems is usually performed via dedicated software (e.g., Matlab) and tested in simulation using dedicated hydraulic software. However, the implementation of MPC strategies in real systems requires additional development to allow for its embedding within the information systems that are used by system managers. A possible solution is to create a tool based on Python that can be easily integrated with the information systems of managers, and within which existing Matlab solutions can be incorporated. In this paper, the development a ready-to-use Python tool using a hierarchical MPC approach designed for the management of the Calais Canal is presented.

This work presents the design of a combined control and state estimation approach to simultaneously maintain optimal water levels and maximize hydroelectricity generation in inland waterways using gates and ON/OFF pumps. The latter objective can be achieved by installing turbines within canal locks, which harness the energy generated during lock filling and draining operations. Hence, the two objectives are antagonistic in nature, as energy generation maximization results from optimizing the number of lock operations, which in turn causes unbalanced upstream and downstream water levels. To overcome this problem, a two-layer control architecture is proposed. The upper layer receives external information regarding the current tidal period, and determines control actions that maintain optimal navigation conditions and maximize energy production using model predictive control (MPC) and moving horizon estimation (MHE). This information is provided to the lower layer, in which a scheduling problem is solved to determine the activation instants of the pumps that minimize the error with respect to the optimal pumping references. The strategy is applied to a realistic case study, using a section of the inland waterways in northern France, which allows to showcase its efficacy.