Controllability analysis of plug flow nonisothermal reactors using a nonlinear model

Controllability analysis and the determination of the reachable states for a nonlinear model of plug flow non-isothermal reactors with control constraints are investigated. The main results reduce this problem to the determination of the reachable states, by means of admissible controls, for the approximate linear systems. The approach is developed using a state space system framework and is based on the application of a result from coincidence of the topological degree theory. The paper also gives a procedure to generate an admissible control which steers the system to a reachable desired state.