Kiln/cooler control and upset recovery using a combination of model predictive control and expert systems

1. A method for controlling a non-linear process, comprising the steps of:

providing a controller that is operable to receive inputs representing measured variables of the process and predicting on an output of the controller predicted control values for manipulatible variables that control the process;

providing an expert system that models the actions of an operator of the process over an operating region of the process that represents a set of rules for actions to be taken by an operator upon the occurrence of predetermined conditions in the operation of the process; and

overriding the operation of the controller with the expert system when one of the predetermined conditions exists and taking the associated action by the expert system to control the operation of the process by changing one or more of the manipulatible variables.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the controller is operable to model the dynamics of the plant.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dynamics of the plant are modeled over a defined region of the input space.