An investigation of techniques for nonlinear state observation

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. Johannesburg, 2016An investigation and analysis of a collection of different techniques, for estimating the states of nonlinear systems, was undertaken. It was found that most of the existing literature on the topic could be organized into several groups of nonlinear observer design techniques, of which each group follows a specific concept and slight variations thereof. From out of this investigation it was discovered that a variation of the adaptive observer could be successfully applied to numerous nonlinear systems, given only limited output information. This particular technique formed the foundation on which a design procedure was developed in order to asymptotically estimate the states of nonlinear systems of a certain form, using only partial state information available. Lyapunov stability theory was used to prove the validity of this technique, given that certain conditions and assumptions are satisfied. A heuristic procedure was then developed to get a linearized model of the error transient behaviour that could form the upper bounds of the transient times of the observer. The technique above, characterized by a design algorithm, was then applied to three well-known nonlinear systems; namely the Lorenz attractor, the Rössler attractor, and the Van Der Pol oscillator. The results, illustrated through numerical simulation, clearly indicate that the technique developed is successful, provided all assumptions and conditions are satisfied.MT201

Robust fault tolerant control of induction motor system

Research into fault tolerant control (FTC, a set of techniques that are developed to increase plant availability and reduce the risk of safety hazards) for induction motors is motivated by practical concerns including the need for enhanced reliability, improved maintenance operations and reduced cost. Its aim is to prevent that simple faults develop into serious failure. Although, the subject of induction motor control is well known, the main topics in the literature are concerned with scalar and vector control and structural stability. However, induction machines experience various fault scenarios and to meet the above requirements FTC strategies based on existing or more advanced control methods become desirable. Some earlier studies on FTC have addressed particular problems of 3-phase sensor current/voltage FTC, torque FTC, etc. However, the development of these methods lacks a more general understanding of the overall problem of FTC for an induction motor based on a true fault classification of possible fault types.In order to develop a more general approach to FTC for induction motors, i.e. not just designing specific control approaches for individual induction motor fault scenarios, this thesis has carried out a systematic research on induction motor systems considering the various faults that can typically be present, having either “additive” fault or “multiplicative” effects on the system dynamics, according to whether the faults are sensor or actuator (additive fault) types or component or motor faults (multiplicative fault) types.To achieve the required objectives, an active approach to FTC is used, making use of fault estimation (FE, an approach that determine the magnitude of a fault signal online) and fault compensation. This approach of FTC/FE considers an integration of the electrical and mechanical dynamics, initially using adaptive and/or sliding mode observers, Linear Parameter Varying (LPV, in which nonlinear systems are locally decomposed into several linear systems scheduled by varying parameters) and then using back-stepping control combined with observer/estimation methods for handling certain forms of nonlinearity.In conclusion, the thesis proposed an integrated research of induction motor FTC/FE with the consideration of different types of faults and different types of uncertainties, and validated the approaches through simulations and experiments

Design of a unified adaptive fuzzy observer for uncertain nonlinear systems

International audienceThis paper presents an adaptive fuzzy observer for a class of uncertain nonlinear systems. More precisely, we propose a unified approach for designing such an observer with some design flexibility so that it can be easily adaptable and employed either as a high-gain or a sliding mode observer by selecting its gain appropriately. Additionally, we derive a suitable parameter adaptation law so that the proposed observer is robust with respect to ubiquitous fuzzy approximation errors and external disturbances. We also show that the observation error is ultimately bounded using a Lyapunov approach without having recourse to the usual strictly positive real (SPR) condition or a suitable observation error filtering. The effectiveness of the proposed observers is illustrated through two simulation case studies taken from the adaptive fuzzy control literature