Distributed Robust Stability Analysis of Interconnected Uncertain Systems

This paper considers robust stability analysis of a large network of interconnected uncertain systems. To avoid analyzing the entire network as a single large, lumped system, we model the network interconnections with integral quadratic constraints. This approach yields a sparse linear matrix inequality which can be decomposed into a set of smaller, coupled linear matrix inequalities. This allows us to solve the analysis problem efficiently and in a distributed manner. We also show that the decomposed problem is equivalent to the original robustness analysis problem, and hence our method does not introduce additional conservativeness.Comment: This paper has been accepted for presentation at the 51st IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Maui, Hawaii, 201

Gather-and-broadcast frequency control in power systems

We propose a novel frequency control approach in between centralized and distributed architectures, that is a continuous-time feedback control version of the dual decomposition optimization method. Specifically, a convex combination of the frequency measurements is centrally aggregated, followed by an integral control and a broadcast signal, which is then optimally allocated at local generation units. We show that our gather-and-broadcast control architecture comprises many previously proposed strategies as special cases. We prove local asymptotic stability of the closed-loop equilibria of the considered power system model, which is a nonlinear differential-algebraic system that includes traditional generators, frequency-responsive devices, as well as passive loads, where the sources are already equipped with primary droop control. Our feedback control is designed such that the closed-loop equilibria of the power system solve the optimal economic dispatch problem

A Framework for Worst-Case and Stochastic Safety Verification Using Barrier Certificates

This paper presents a methodology for safety verification of continuous and hybrid systems in the worst-case and stochastic settings. In the worst-case setting, a function of state termed barrier certificate is used to certify that all trajectories of the system starting from a given initial set do not enter an unsafe region. No explicit computation of reachable sets is required in the construction of barrier certificates, which makes it possible to handle nonlinearity, uncertainty, and constraints directly within this framework. In the stochastic setting, our method computes an upper bound on the probability that a trajectory of the system reaches the unsafe set, a bound whose validity is proven by the existence of a barrier certificate. For polynomial systems, barrier certificates can be constructed using convex optimization, and hence the method is computationally tractable. Some examples are provided to illustrate the use of the method

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

PIETOOLS: A Matlab Toolbox for Manipulation and Optimization of Partial Integral Operators

In this paper, we present PIETOOLS, a MATLAB toolbox for the construction and handling of Partial Integral (PI) operators. The toolbox introduces a new class of MATLAB object, opvar, for which standard MATLAB matrix operation syntax (e.g. +, *, ' e tc.) is defined. PI operators are a generalization of bounded linear operators on infinite-dimensional spaces that form a *-subalgebra with two binary operations (addition and composition) on the space RxL2. These operators frequently appear in analysis and control of infinite-dimensional systems such as Partial Differential equations (PDE) and Time-delay systems (TDS). Furthermore, PIETOOLS can: declare opvar decision variables, add operator positivity constraints, declare an objective function, and solve the resulting optimization problem using a syntax similar to the sdpvar class in YALMIP. Use of the resulting Linear Operator Inequalities (LOIs) are demonstrated on several examples, including stability analysis of a PDE, bounding operator norms, and verifying integral inequalities. The result is that PIETOOLS, packaged with SOSTOOLS and MULTIPOLY, offers a scalable, user-friendly and computationally efficient toolbox for parsing, performing algebraic operations, setting up and solving convex optimization problems on PI operators