The text below is a brief description of the topics given by professor Lars Imsland. Contact lars.imsland@itk.ntnu.no for further information. Most topics can be continued in a Master if the candidate and supervisor(s) so wishes.

1. Dynamic positioning systems in arctic environments
   Several assignments are available in connection with a research project on development of technology for dynamic positioning in arctic environments. Supervisors and co-supervisors will be one or more of professor Lars Imsland, professor Roger Skjetne, IVT (IMT). Possible tasks are:
   • Control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for measuring ice properties in the arctics
   • Control of unmanned helicopters for support to ice management
   • Observer design for ice motion
   • Online observability/identifiability analysis and regularization in moving horizon observers
2. Modellering og regulering av boreslamprosess
   Medveiledere: John-Morten Godhavn, Statoil Forskningssenter, Rotvoll og Gerhard Nygaard, IRIS, Bergen.
   • Bakgrunn: Automatisering av boreprosessen er høyt prioritert av oljeselskaper. I dag er det en mudingeniør som blander boreslam, tar labprøver og analyserer returstrøm. Oppgaven går ut på å vurdere hvordan dette kan automatiseres. Tre parametere som er spesielt viktig er tetthet, viskositet og rate. Trykket nede i brønnen må holdes lavt nok for å unngå tap av boreslam ut til formasjonen og høyt nok til å unngå innstrømning av hydrokarboner mens man borer. Boreslammet skal transportere ut faste partikler (cuttings). Man kan anta at viskositet og tetthet for boreslam både inn og ut av brønnen måles.
   • Målsetting: Første del av oppgaven går på modellere slamsystemet med brønn og tanker topside med tanke på automatisering. En slik modell må kunne gjenskape de forsinkelser som ligger i systemet. Andre del av oppgaven går ut på å designe en regulator som automatisk justerer boreparametrene basert på en modell og tilbakekobling fra målinger. Regulatoren skal testes med simuleringer. En mulig løsning er MPC.
3. Methodology for automatic deduction testing of subsea wells
   Co-supervisor: Petter Tøndel, Statoil Forskningssenter, Rotvoll.
   Testing of subsea wells gives a loss of production for the duration of the test and requires a lot of attention from control room operators. Efficient testing requires tight control of the manifold pressure, to ensure that gas- and liquid flows from non-tested wells on a manifold remains constant. By automatically controlling this pressure one can reduce the duration of the well test while improving the test results and reducing operator work-load.
4. MPC for load-balancing
   Production of electrical power in a distribution network must match the consumption. Small deviations are taken care of automatically (primary control), while larger deviations are today often handled manually (secondary control). This project will look into how MPC can be used to automate the secondary control, by taking both production and market dynamics into account.
5. Techniques for efficient covariance propagation in the Extended Kalman Filter based on model reduction
   Even though the (recursive) EKF is considered an efficient algorithm for state estimation, it can still be computationally expensive for large/complex systems. The bulk of the complexity stems from the propagation of the state covariance matrix. In this task, the student will consider using techniques from model reduction to make the covariance propagation more efficient, while the full model still is used for state propagation.
6. Implementation and comparison of methods for sensitivity integration for gradient calculation in nonlinear MPC
   Practical implementation of analytical gradient-computation for 'single-shooting' non-linear MPC is usually based on sensitivity integration. The candidate should implement/compare different methods for sensitivity integration (including the algorithm of Schlegel et al (2004)), and assess their usefulness and appropriateness for different types of single-shooting NMPC problems.