Primal or Dual Terminal Constraints in Economic MPC? Comparison and Insights

This chapter compares different formulations for economic nonlinear model predictive control (EMPC) which are all based on an established dissipativity assumption on the underlying optimal control problem (OCP). This includes schemes with and without stabilizing terminal constraints, respectively, or with stabilizing terminal costs. We recall that a recently proposed approach based on gradient correcting terminal penalties implies a terminal constraint on the adjoints of the OCP. We analyze the feasibility implications of these dual/adjoint terminal constraints and we compare our findings to approaches with and without primal terminal constraints. Moreover, we suggest a conceptual framework for the approximation of the minimal stabilizing horizon length. Finally, we illustrate our findings considering a chemical reactor as an example.