Steady-state behaviors in nonlinear systems with an application to robust disturbance rejection

Despite the widespread intuitive appeal of the concept of steady-state response and its use in shaping the asymptotic behavior of control systems, this concept has only been rigorously defined for finite-dimensional, linear time invariant systems. In this paper, we investigate this concept for nonlinear systems, following some classical developments in nonlinear dynamics. As an application, we show how the concept in question plays a role of paramount importance in the design of control laws for asymptotic tracking and disturbance attenuation. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved