Jesus, Isabel Maria de Sousa deSANTOS, TIAGO FILIPE RIBEIRO2025-10-012025-10-012025-07-16http://hdl.handle.net/10400.22/30520Thermal systems with long delay times and slow dynamic response are common in industrial processes, where precise temperature regulation is necessary to ensure e ciency. Traditional control strategies, speci cally Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controllers, struggle with systems that demonstrate signi cant delays. This dissertation seeks to develop and implement a fractional-order controller for a thermal di usion system with time delay. In order to achieve this goal, a comparative study was carried out between the classical and fractional controllers, along with an analysis of the thermal di usion system in order to nd the fractional-order model that best represents its behaviour. The controllers were tested through simulations, testing both performance and regression metrics, as well as prediction techniques such as the Smith Predictor, anti-windup system and non-linearities. The results demonstrated that the fractional controller outperformed the classical ones, especially in the implemented system with a signi cant delay, as it showed better robustness and response to the actual system, which was further con- rmed after the frequency-domain studies, especially the Bode Diagrams. And, together with the Root Locus, it con rmed the system's stability. These results showed that the fractional-order controller with Smith Predictor and Anti-windup is a viable solution for thermal systems with high delay values.engFractional controllerFractional caculusPID controllerMATLABFOMCON toolboxHeat diffusion systemsmaster thesis204007160