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

Unstationnary control of a launcher using observer-based structures

This paper deals with the design of a gain-scheduled controller for the attitude control of a launcher during atmospheric flight. The design is characterized by classical requirements such as phase/gain margins and flexible mode attenuations as well as time-domain constraints on the response of angle of attack to a worstcase wind profile. Moreover, these requirements must be fulfilled over the full atmospheric flight envelope and must be robust against parametric uncertainties. In order to achieve this goal, we propose a method based on minimal observer-based realizations of arbitrary stabilizing compensators. An original technique to assign the closed-loop dynamics between the state-feedback dynamics and the state-estimation dynamics is presented for the H∞ compensators case. The structure is used to mix various specifications through the Cross Standard Form(CSF) and to perform a smooth gain scheduling interpolation through an Euler-Newton algorithm of continuation

A review of convex approaches for control, observation and safety of linear parameter varying and Takagi-Sugeno systems

This paper provides a review about the concept of convex systems based on Takagi-Sugeno, linear parameter varying (LPV) and quasi-LPV modeling. These paradigms are capable of hiding the nonlinearities by means of an equivalent description which uses a set of linear models interpolated by appropriately defined weighing functions. Convex systems have become very popular since they allow applying extended linear techniques based on linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) to complex nonlinear systems. This survey aims at providing the reader with a significant overview of the existing LMI-based techniques for convex systems in the fields of control, observation and safety. Firstly, a detailed review of stability, feedback, tracking and model predictive control (MPC) convex controllers is considered. Secondly, the problem of state estimation is addressed through the design of proportional, proportional-integral, unknown input and descriptor observers. Finally, safety of convex systems is discussed by describing popular techniques for fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control (FTC).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Active vibration control techniques for flexible space structures

Two proposed control system design techniques for active vibration control in flexible space structures are detailed. Control issues relevant only to flexible-body dynamics are addressed, whereas no attempt was made to integrate the flexible and rigid-body spacecraft dynamics. Both of the proposed approaches revealed encouraging results; however, further investigation of the interaction of the flexible and rigid-body dynamics is warranted

Advanced rotorcraft control using parameter optimization

A reliable algorithm for the evaluation of a quadratic performance index and its gradients with respect to the controller design parameters is presented. The algorithm is part of a design algorithm for an optimal linear dynamic output feedback controller that minimizes a finite time quadratic performance index. The numerical scheme is particularly robust when it is applied to the control law synthesis for systems with densely packed modes and where there is a high likelihood of encountering degeneracies in the closed loop eigensystem. This approach through the use of a accurate Pade series approximation does not require the closed loop system matrix to be diagonalizable. The algorithm has been included in a control design package for optimal robust low order controllers. Usefulness of the proposed numerical algorithm has been demonstrated using numerous practical design cases where degeneracies occur frequently in the closed loop system under an arbitrary controller design initialization and during the numerical search

The design of a turboshaft speed governor using modern control techniques

The objectives of this program were: to verify the model of off schedule compressor variable geometry in the T700 turboshaft engine nonlinear model; to evaluate the use of the pseudo-random binary noise (PRBN) technique for obtaining engine frequency response data; and to design a high performance power turbine speed governor using modern control methods. Reduction of T700 engine test data generated at NASA-Lewis indicated that the off schedule variable geometry effects were accurate as modeled. Analysis also showed that the PRBN technique combined with the maximum likelihood model identification method produced a Bode frequency response that was as accurate as the response obtained from standard sinewave testing methods. The frequency response verified the accuracy of linear models consisting of engine partial derivatives and used for design. A power turbine governor was designed using the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) method of full state feedback control. A Kalman filter observer was used to estimate helicopter main rotor blade velocity. Compared to the baseline T700 power turbine speed governor, the LQR governor reduced droop up to 25 percent for a 490 shaft horsepower transient in 0.1 sec simulating a wind gust, and up to 85 percent for a 700 shaft horsepower transient in 0.5 sec simulating a large collective pitch angle transient

Linear Control Theory with an ℋ∞ Optimality Criterion

This expository paper sets out the principal results in ℋ∞ control theory in the context of continuous-time linear systems. The focus is on the mathematical theory rather than computational methods

Control design and gain-scheduling using observer-based structures

we present the procedure to compute the observer-based realization of a given controller and a given model. The application of this procedure to a very simple missile model is proposed in the third section to illustrate the interest of observer-based controller for gain-scheduling, controller switching and state monitoring. In section four, the Cross Standard Form is presented and also applied to the same academic example: a low-order controller is improved to fulfill a template on its frequency-domain response. The extension of theses results to the discrete-time case are gathered in section five. In section six, Cross Standard Form and gain scheduling using observer-based realizations are applied to the control design for a launch vehicle on the full atmospheric flight envelope. Concluding remarks and future works are proposed in the last section

Robust Adaptive Control in H(infinity).

This dissertation addresses the problem of unifying identification and control in the paradigm of {\cal H}\sb\infty to achieve robust adaptive control. To achieve robust adaptive control, we employ the same approach used for identification in {\cal H}\sb\infty and robust control in {\cal H}\sb\infty. In the modeling part, we aim not only to identify the nominal plant, but also to quantify the modeling error in {\cal H}\sb\infty norm. The linear algorithm based on least-squares is used, and the upper bounds for the corresponding modeling error are derived. In the control part, we aim to achieve the performance specification in frequency domain using innovative model reference control. New algorithms are derived that minimize an {\cal H}\sb\infty index function associated with the deviation between the performance of the feedback system to be designed, and that of the reference model. The results for the modeling and control part are then combined and applied to adaptive control. It is shown that with mild assumption on persistent excitation, the least squares algorithm in frequency domain is equivalent to the recursive least squares algorithm in time domain. Moreover, finite horizon {\cal H}\sb\infty is employed to design feedback controller recursively using the identified model that is time varying in nature. The robust stability of the adaptive feedback system is then established

Magnetic Actuators and Suspension for Space Vibration Control

The research on microgravity vibration isolation performed at the University of Virginia is summarized. This research on microgravity vibration isolation was focused in three areas: (1) the development of new actuators for use in microgravity isolation; (2) the design of controllers for multiple-degree-of-freedom active isolation; and (3) the construction of a single-degree-of-freedom test rig with umbilicals. Described are the design and testing of a large stroke linear actuator; the conceptual design and analysis of a redundant coarse-fine six-degree-of-freedom actuator; an investigation of the control issues of active microgravity isolation; a methodology for the design of multiple-degree-of-freedom isolation control systems using modern control theory; and the design and testing of a single-degree-of-freedom test rig with umbilicals