Resumen de Teaching control of irrigation canals to non system engineers

Juan A. Mantecón, Manuel Gómez, José Julián Rodellar Benedé

• This paper presents an experience of teaching automatic control within the master course Real-time Control of Irrigation Canals. It ispart of Semester 3, focusing on Decision Support Systems, offered by the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) in the frameworkof the Erasmus Mundus Master Program Hydro-Informatics and Water Management (EUROAQUAE). After some insights intosignals, systems and control theory, the students are introduced to the operational management of irrigation canals and to themathematical models needed for simulation and control purposes. PI and predictive control are taught and used to design irrigationcanal control systems. MATLAB-Simulink and Real Time Workshop environments are extensively used to provide explanatoryexercises along with lectures, student homework tasks and a final design project on a laboratory canal. A visit to a real canalinstallation is organized during the course.