A scenario approach for non-convex control design

Randomized optimization is an established tool for control design with modulated robustness. While for uncertain convex programs there exist randomized approaches with efficient sampling, this is not the case for non-convex problems. Approaches based on statistical learning theory are applicable to non-convex problems, but they usually are conservative in terms of performance and require high sample complexity to achieve the desired probabilistic guarantees. In this paper, we derive a novel scenario approach for a wide class of random non-convex programs, with a sample complexity similar to that of uncertain convex programs and with probabilistic guarantees that hold not only for the optimal solution of the scenario program, but for all feasible solutions inside a set of a-priori chosen complexity. We also address measure-theoretic issues for uncertain convex and non-convex programs. Among the family of non-convex control- design problems that can be addressed via randomization, we apply our scenario approach to randomized Model Predictive Control for chance-constrained nonlinear control-affine systems.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Automatic Contro

Robust H∞ control of time-varying systems with stochastic non-linearities: the finite-horizon case

The official published version can be obtained from the link below.This paper is concerned with the robust H∞ control problem for the class of uncertain non-linear discrete time-varying stochastic systems with a covariance constraint. All the system parameters are time-varying and the uncertainties enter into the state matrix. The non-linearities under consideration are described by statistical means and they cover several classes of well-studied non-linearities. The purpose of the addressed problem is to design a dynamic output-feedback controller such that, the H∞ disturbance rejection attenuation level is achieved in the finite-horizon case while the state covariance is not more than an individual upper bound at each time point. An algorithm is developed to deal with the addressed problem by means of recursive linear matrix inequalities (RLMIs). It is shown that the robust H∞ control problem is solvable if the series of RLMIs is feasible. An illustrative simulation example is given to show the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.This work was supported in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the UK under grant GR/S27658/01, the Royal Society of the UK, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany

Robust Optimal Power Flow with Wind Integration Using Conditional Value-at-Risk

Integrating renewable energy into the power grid requires intelligent risk-aware dispatch accounting for the stochastic availability of renewables. Toward achieving this goal, a robust DC optimal flow problem is developed in the present paper for power systems with a high penetration of wind energy. The optimal dispatch is obtained as the solution to a convex program with a suitable regularizer, which is able to mitigate the potentially high risk of inadequate wind power. The regularizer is constructed based on the energy transaction cost using conditional value-at-risk (CVaR). Bypassing the prohibitive high-dimensional integral, the distribution-free sample average approximation method is efficiently utilized for solving the resulting optimization problem. Case studies are reported to corroborate the efficacy of the novel model and approach tested on the IEEE 30-bus benchmark system with real operation data from seven wind farms.Comment: To Appear in Proc. of the 4th Intl. Conf. on Smart Grid Communication

Polynomial Optimization with Applications to Stability Analysis and Control - Alternatives to Sum of Squares

In this paper, we explore the merits of various algorithms for polynomial optimization problems, focusing on alternatives to sum of squares programming. While we refer to advantages and disadvantages of Quantifier Elimination, Reformulation Linear Techniques, Blossoming and Groebner basis methods, our main focus is on algorithms defined by Polya's theorem, Bernstein's theorem and Handelman's theorem. We first formulate polynomial optimization problems as verifying the feasibility of semi-algebraic sets. Then, we discuss how Polya's algorithm, Bernstein's algorithm and Handelman's algorithm reduce the intractable problem of feasibility of semi-algebraic sets to linear and/or semi-definite programming. We apply these algorithms to different problems in robust stability analysis and stability of nonlinear dynamical systems. As one contribution of this paper, we apply Polya's algorithm to the problem of H_infinity control of systems with parametric uncertainty. Numerical examples are provided to compare the accuracy of these algorithms with other polynomial optimization algorithms in the literature.Comment: AIMS Journal of Discrete and Continuous Dynamical Systems - Series