Dynamical modeling and optimal control of landfills

Abstract

We propose a simple model of landfill and study a minimal time control problem where the re-circulation leachate is the manipulated variable. We propose a scheme to construct the optimal strategy by dividing the state space into three subsets E0, Z1 and the complementary. On E0 and Z1, the optimal control is constant until reaching target, while it can exhibit a singular arc outside these two subsets. Moreover, the singular arc could have a barrier. In this case, we prove the existence of a switching curve that passes through a point of prior saturation under the assumption that the set E0 intersects the singular arc. Numerical computations allow then to determine the switching curve and depict the optimal synthesis.