3 research outputs found
Structured Linearization of Discrete Mechanical Systems for Analysis and Optimal Control
Variational integrators are well-suited for simulation of mechanical systems
because they preserve mechanical quantities about a system such as momentum, or
its change if external forcing is involved, and holonomic constraints. While
they are not energy-preserving they do exhibit long-time stable energy
behavior. However, variational integrators often simulate mechanical system
dynamics by solving an implicit difference equation at each time step, one that
is moreover expressed purely in terms of configurations at different time
steps. This paper formulates the first- and second-order linearizations of a
variational integrator in a manner that is amenable to control analysis and
synthesis, creating a bridge between existing analysis and optimal control
tools for discrete dynamic systems and variational integrators for mechanical
systems in generalized coordinates with forcing and holonomic constraints. The
forced pendulum is used to illustrate the technique. A second example solves
the discrete LQR problem to find a locally stabilizing controller for a 40 DOF
system with 6 constraints.Comment: 13 page
Structured Linearization of Discrete Mechanical Systems for Analysis and Optimal Control
Variational integrators are well-suited for simulation of mechanical systems
because they preserve mechanical quantities about a system such as momentum, or
its change if external forcing is involved, and holonomic constraints. While
they are not energy-preserving they do exhibit long-time stable energy
behavior. However, variational integrators often simulate mechanical system
dynamics by solving an implicit difference equation at each time step, one that
is moreover expressed purely in terms of configurations at different time
steps. This paper formulates the first- and second-order linearizations of a
variational integrator in a manner that is amenable to control analysis and
synthesis, creating a bridge between existing analysis and optimal control
tools for discrete dynamic systems and variational integrators for mechanical
systems in generalized coordinates with forcing and holonomic constraints. The
forced pendulum is used to illustrate the technique. A second example solves
the discrete LQR problem to find a locally stabilizing controller for a 40 DOF
system with 6 constraints.Comment: 13 page