Disturbance Observer-based Robust Control and Its Applications: 35th Anniversary Overview

Disturbance Observer has been one of the most widely used robust control tools since it was proposed in 1983. This paper introduces the origins of Disturbance Observer and presents a survey of the major results on Disturbance Observer-based robust control in the last thirty-five years. Furthermore, it explains the analysis and synthesis techniques of Disturbance Observer-based robust control for linear and nonlinear systems by using a unified framework. In the last section, this paper presents concluding remarks on Disturbance Observer-based robust control and its engineering applications.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

H ∞ sliding mode observer design for a class of nonlinear discrete time-delay systems: A delay-fractioning approach

Copyright @ 2012 John Wiley & SonsIn this paper, the H ∞  sliding mode observer (SMO) design problem is investigated for a class of nonlinear discrete time-delay systems. The nonlinear descriptions quantify the maximum possible derivations from a linear model, and the system states are allowed to be immeasurable. Attention is focused on the design of a discrete-time SMO such that the asymptotic stability as well as the H ∞  performance requirement of the error dynamics can be guaranteed in the presence of nonlinearities, time delay and external disturbances. Firstly, a discrete-time discontinuous switched term is proposed to make sure that the reaching condition holds. Then, by constructing a new Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional based on the idea of ‘delay fractioning’ and by introducing some appropriate free-weighting matrices, a sufficient condition is established to guarantee the desired performance of the error dynamics in the specified sliding mode surface by solving a minimization problem. Finally, an illustrative example is given to show the effectiveness of the designed SMO design scheme

Smooth non linear high gain observers for a class of dynamical systems

High-gain observers are powerful tools for estimating the state of nonlinear systems. However, their design poses several challenges due to the need of dealing with phenomena such as peaking and chattering. To address these issues, we propose a differentiator operator design based on a non linear second order high-gain observer, which is suited to a class of dynamical systems. Our method includes a procedure to determine high gains in order to avoid chattering in the case of noise-free models, and cut-off frequency based gain design in the case of noisy measurements. Complementary, we suggest performing observability analyses to ensure a priori the feasibility of the estimation. The main strengths of our approach are its simplicity and robustness. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed method by applying it to two processes (chemical and biological).Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431F 2021/003MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 | Ref. RYC-2019-027537-

Introduction to State Estimation of High-Rate System Dynamics

Engineering systems experiencing high-rate dynamic events, including airbags, debris detection, and active blast protection systems, could benefit from real-time observability for enhanced performance. However, the task of high-rate state estimation is challenging, in particular for real-time applications where the rate of the observer’s convergence needs to be in the microsecond range. This paper identifies the challenges of state estimation of high-rate systems and discusses the fundamental characteristics of high-rate systems. A survey of applications and methods for estimators that have the potential to produce accurate estimations for a complex system experiencing highly dynamic events is presented. It is argued that adaptive observers are important to this research. In particular, adaptive data-driven observers are advantageous due to their adaptability and lack of dependence on the system model

An energy-based state observer for dynamical subsystems with inaccessible state variables

This work presents an energy-based state estimation formalism for a class of dynamical systems with inaccessible/ unknown outputs, and systems at which sensor utilization is impractical, or when measurements can not be taken. The power-conserving physical interconnections among most of the dynamical subsystems allow for power exchange through their power ports. Power exchange is conceptually considered as information exchange among the dynamical subsystems and further utilized to develop a natural feedback-like information from a class of dynamical systems with inaccessible/unknown outputs. This information is used in the design of an energybased state observer. Convergence stability of the estimation error for the proposed state observer is proved for systems with linear dynamics. Furthermore, robustness of the convergence stability is analyzed over a range of parameter deviation and model uncertainties. Experiments are conducted on a dynamical system with a single input and multiple inaccessible outputs (Fig. 1) to demonstrate the validity of the proposed energybased state estimation formalism

An Energy-Based State Observer for Dynamical Subsystems with Inaccessible State Variables

This work presents an energy-based state estimation formalism for a class of dynamical systems with inaccessible/ unknown outputs, and systems at which sensor utilization is impractical, or when measurements can not be taken. The power-conserving physical interconnections among most of the dynamical subsystems allow for power exchange through their power ports. Power exchange is conceptually considered as information exchange among the dynamical subsystems and further utilized to develop a natural feedback-like information from a class of dynamical systems with inaccessible/unknown outputs. This information is used in the design of an energybased state observer. Convergence stability of the estimation error for the proposed state observer is proved for systems with linear dynamics. Furthermore, robustness of the convergence stability is analyzed over a range of parameter deviation and model uncertainties. Experiments are conducted on a dynamical system with a single input and multiple inaccessible outputs (Fig. 1) to demonstrate the validity of the proposed energybased state estimation formalism

Adaptive and Robust Braking-Traction Control Systems

The designs of commercial Anti-Lock Braking Systems often rely on assumptions of a torsionally rigid tire-wheel system and heavily rely on hub-mounted wheel speed sensors to manage tire-road slip conditions. However, advancements in high-bandwidth braking systems, in-wheel motors, variations in tire/wheel designs, and loss of inflation pressure, have produced scenarios where the tire\u27s torsional dynamics could be easily excited by the braking system actuator. In these scenarios, the slip conditions for the tire-belt/ring will be dynamically different from what can be inferred from the wheel speed sensors. This dissertation investigates the interaction of tire torsional dynamics with ABS & traction controllers and offers new control designs that incorporate schemes for identifying and accommodating these dynamics. To this end, suitable braking system and tire torsional dynamics simulation models as well as experimental test rigs were developed. It is found that, indeed, rigid-wheel based controllers give degraded performance when coupled with low torsional stiffness tires. A closed-loop observer/nonlinear controller structure is proposed that adapts to unknown tire sidewall and tread parameters during braking events. It also provides estimates of difficult to measure state variables such as belt/ring speed. The controller includes a novel virtual damper emulation that can be used to tune the system response. An adaptive sliding-mode controller is also introduced that combines robust stability characteristics with tire/tread parameter and state estimation. The sliding mode controller is shown to be very effective at tracking its estimated target, at the expense of reducing the tire parameter adaptation performance. Finally, a modular robust state observer is developed that allows for robust estimation of the system states in the presence of uncertainties and external disturbances without the need for sidewall parameter adaptation