A fractional representation approach to the robust regulation problem for MIMO systems

The aim of this paper is in developing unifying frequency domain theory for robust regulation of MIMO systems. The main theoretical results achieved are a new formulation of the internal model principle, solvability conditions for the robust regulation problem, and a parametrization of all robustly regulating controllers. The main results are formulated with minimal assumptions and without using coprime factorizations thus guaranteeing applicability with a very general class of systems. In addition to theoretical results, the design of robust controllers is addressed. The results are illustrated by two examples involving a delay and a heat equation.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figures, submitted to International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Contro

Geometric characterization on the solvability of regulator equations

The solvability of the regulator equation for a general nonlinear system is discussed in this paper by using geometric method. The ‘feedback’ part of the regulator equation, that is, the feasible controllers for the regulator equation, is studied thoroughly. The concepts of minimal output zeroing control invariant submanifold and left invertibility are introduced to find all the possible controllers for the regulator equation under the condition of left invertibility. Useful results, such as a necessary condition for the output regulation problem and some properties of friend sets of controlled invariant manifolds, are also obtained

A fractional representation approach to the robust regulation problem for SISO systems

The purpose of this article is to develop a new approach to the robust regulation problem for plants which do not necessarily admit coprime factorizations. The approach is purely algebraic and allows us dealing with a very general class of systems in a unique simple framework. We formulate the famous internal model principle in a form suitable for plants defined by fractional representations which are not necessarily coprime factorizations. By using the internal model principle, we are able to give necessary and sufficient solvability conditions for the robust regulation problem and to parameterize all robustly regulating controllers.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Systems & Control Letter

A State-Space Approach to Parametrization of Stabilizing Controllers for Nonlinear Systems

A state-space approach to Youla-parametrization of stabilizing controllers for linear and nonlinear systems is suggested. The stabilizing controllers (or a class of stabilizing controllers for nonlinear systems) are characterized as (linear/nonlinear) fractional transformations of stable parameters. The main idea behind this approach is to decompose the output feedback stabilization problem into state feedback and state estimation problems. The parametrized output feedback controllers have separation structures. A separation principle follows from the construction. This machinery allows the parametrization of stabilizing controllers to be conducted directly in state space without using coprime-factorization

On the Minimization of Maximum Transient Energy Growth.

The problem of minimizing the maximum transient energy growth is considered. This problem has importance in some fluid flow control problems and other classes of nonlinear systems. Conditions for the existence of static controllers that ensure strict dissipativity of the transient energy are established and an explicit parametrization of all such controllers is provided. It also is shown that by means of a Q-parametrization, the problem of minimizing the maximum transient energy growth can be posed as a convex optimization problem that can be solved by means of a Ritz approximation of the free parameter. By considering the transient energy growth at an appropriate sequence of discrete time points, the minimal maximum transient energy growth problem can be posed as a semidefinite program. The theoretical developments are demonstrated on a numerical example

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

Stochastic focusing coupled with negative feedback enables robust regulation in biochemical reaction networks

Nature presents multiple intriguing examples of processes which proceed at high precision and regularity. This remarkable stability is frequently counter to modelers' experience with the inherent stochasticity of chemical reactions in the regime of low copy numbers. Moreover, the effects of noise and nonlinearities can lead to "counter-intuitive" behavior, as demonstrated for a basic enzymatic reaction scheme that can display stochastic focusing (SF). Under the assumption of rapid signal fluctuations, SF has been shown to convert a graded response into a threshold mechanism, thus attenuating the detrimental effects of signal noise. However, when the rapid fluctuation assumption is violated, this gain in sensitivity is generally obtained at the cost of very large product variance, and this unpredictable behavior may be one possible explanation of why, more than a decade after its introduction, SF has still not been observed in real biochemical systems. In this work we explore the noise properties of a simple enzymatic reaction mechanism with a small and fluctuating number of active enzymes that behaves as a high-gain, noisy amplifier due to SF caused by slow enzyme fluctuations. We then show that the inclusion of a plausible negative feedback mechanism turns the system from a noisy signal detector to a strong homeostatic mechanism by exchanging high gain with strong attenuation in output noise and robustness to parameter variations. Moreover, we observe that the discrepancy between deterministic and stochastic descriptions of stochastically focused systems in the evolution of the means almost completely disappears, despite very low molecule counts and the additional nonlinearity due to feedback. The reaction mechanism considered here can provide a possible resolution to the apparent conflict between intrinsic noise and high precision in critical intracellular processes