Design procedure for satisfying time domain bounds for nonminimum-phase systems

Design techniques are presented applicable to nonminimum-phase systems. They are designed to handle plants with one right-half-plane zero which may vary, and any other variation of the plant parameters within known limits. The specifications that must be designed are given as a set of step response bounds in the time domain. A completed design will yield responses that stay within the time domain bounds at all times and utilize the entire region of allowed variation

Quantitative Feedback Theory (QFT) and Robust Control

QFT, a theory developed by Horowitz [H3], is claimed by its advocates to provide a complete and general treatment of feedback design for highly uncertain multi-input-output (MIMO) systems. This paper reviews QFT and shows that while the philosophy behind QFT is attractive, the claims for the theory are unjustified. In particular, counterexamples are given for the main theorem of QFT on which the claims are based. This is in spite of the severe assumptions (no rhp zeros and fixed relative degree) that QFT requires on the plant model

Computer program for single input-output, single-loop feedback systems

Additional work is reported on a completely automatic computer program for the design of single input/output, single loop feedback systems with parameter uncertainly, to satisfy time domain bounds on the system response to step commands and disturbances. The inputs to the program are basically the specified time-domain response bounds, the form of the constrained plant transfer function and the ranges of the uncertain parameters of the plant. The program output consists of the transfer functions of the two free compensation networks, in the form of the coefficients of the numerator and denominator polynomials, and the data on the prescribed bounds and the extremes actually obtained for the system response to commands and disturbances

The Design of QFT Robust Compensators with Magnitude and Phase Specifications

The frequency response is an important tool for practical and efficient design of control systems. Control techniques based on frequency response are of special interest to dealing with important subjects such as the bandwidth and the cost of feedback. Furthermore, these techniques are easily adapted to deal with the uncertainty of the process to control. Quantitative feedback theory (QFT) is an engineering design technique of uncertain feedback systems that uses frequency domain specifications. This paper analyzes the phase specifications problem in frequency domain using QFT. This type of specification is not commonly taken into account due to the fundamental limitations of the linear control given by Bode's integral. An algorithm is proposed aimed at achieving prespecified closed-loop transfer function phase and magnitude variations, taking into account the plant uncertainty. A two-degrees-of-freedom feedback control structure is used and a new type of boundary is defined to satisfy these objectives. As the control effort heavily depends on a good estimation of these boundaries, the proposed algorithm allows avoiding overdesign

Performance limits and robustness issues in the control of flexible link manipulators

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1992.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 179-186).by Carlos Eduardo Padilla Santos.Ph.D

Low Bandwidth Robust Controllers for Flight

Through throttle manipulations, engine thrust can be used for emergency flight control for multi-engine aircraft. Previous study by NASA Dryden has shown the use of throttles for emergency flight control to be very difficult. In general, manual fly-by-throttle is extremely difficult - with landing almost impossible, but control augmentation makes runway landings feasible. Flight path control using throttles-only to achieve safe emergency landing for a large jet transport airplane, Boeing 720, was investigated using Quantitative Feedback Theory (QFT). Results were compared to an augmented control developed in a previous simulation study. The control augmentation corrected the unsatisfactory open-loop characteristics by increasing system bandwidth and damping, but increasing the control bandwidth substantially proved very difficult. The augmented pitch control is robust under no or moderate turbulence. The augmented roll control is sensitive to configuration changes

Synthesis of oscillating adaptive feedback systems

A synthesis theory is developed which allows system design to proceed from practical specifications on system command and/or disturbance response to a design which is very nearly optimal in terms of feedback sensor noise effects. The approach taken is to replace the nonlinear element by a mean square error minimizing approximation (dual-input describing function), and then use linear frequency domain synthesis techniques subject to additional constraints imposed by the limit cycle and the approximator. Synthesis techniques are also developed for a similar system using an externally excited oscillating signal with the above approach. The results remove the design of the systems considered from the realm of simulation and experimentation, permitting true synthesis and the optimization that accompanies it

A Hybrid Controller for Stability Robustness, Performance Robustness, and Disturbance Attenuation of a Maglev System

Devices using magnetic levitation (maglev) offer the potential for friction-free, high-speed, and high-precision operation. Applications include frictionless bearings, high-speed ground transportation systems, wafer distribution systems, high-precision positioning stages, and vibration isolation tables. Maglev systems rely on feedback controllers to maintain stable levitation. Designing such feedback controllers is challenging since mathematically the electromagnetic force is nonlinear and there is no local minimum point on the levitating force function. As a result, maglev systems are open-loop unstable. Additionally, maglev systems experience disturbances and system parameter variations (uncertainties) during operation. A successful controller design for maglev system guarantees stability during levitating despite system nonlinearity, and desirable system performance despite disturbances and system uncertainties. This research investigates five controllers that can achieve stable levitation: PD, PID, lead, model reference control, and LQR/LQG. It proposes an acceleration feedback controller (AFC) design that attenuates disturbance on a maglev system with a PD controller. This research proposes three robust controllers, QFT, Hinf , and QFT/Hinf , followed by a novel AFC-enhanced QFT/Hinf (AQH) controller. The AQH controller allows system robustness and disturbance attenuation to be achieved in one controller design. The controller designs are validated through simulations and experiments. In this research, the disturbances are represented by force disturbances on the levitated object, and the system uncertainties are represented by parameter variations. The experiments are conducted on a 1 DOF maglev testbed, with system performance including stability, disturbance rejection, and robustness being evaluated. Experiments show that the tested controllers can maintain stable levitation. Disturbance attenuation is achieved with the AFC. The robust controllers, QFT, Hinf , QFT/ Hinf, and AQH successfully guarantee system robustness. In addition, AQH controller provides the maglev system with a disturbance attenuation feature. The contributions of this research are the design and implementation of the acceleration feedback controller, the QFT/ Hinf , and the AQH controller. Disturbance attenuation and system robustness are achieved with these controllers. The controllers developed in this research are applicable to similar maglev systems