High gain observer for a class of nonlinear systems with coupled structure and sampled output measurements: application to a quadrotor

This paper proposes a new high gain observer for a class of non-uniformly observable nonlinear systems with coupled structure driven by sampled outputs. The considered class of systems is particularly constituted by several subsystems where each subsystem is associated to a subset of the output variables. The observer design is carried out through two steps. First, a high-gain observer is proposed in the continuous-time output case under the assumption that an adequate persistent excitation condition is satisfied by each subsystem. Then, the proposed observer is redesigned to handle the case of sampled outputs leading thereby to a continuous-discrete time observer. The latter property is achieved thanks to the approach pursued along the convergence analysis. The effectiveness of the proposed observer is emphasised in a realistic simulation framework involving a mathematical model of a quadrotor which is diffeomorphic to the proposed class of considered systems.     

Observer-based prescribed performance attitude control for flexible spacecraft with actuator saturation

This paper investigates the prescribed performance attitude control problem for flexible spacecraft subject to external disturbances and actuator constraints. By using a new performance function and an error transformation, the attitude control system is transformed into an error system which will be kept bounded to ensure expected dynamic and steady-state responses. Compared with the commonly used performance function, the modified one has an explicit prespecified terminal time which determines the maximum convergence time of the attitude control system. A modal observer and a disturbance observer are designed to deal with the flexible vibration and disturbances, respectively. Furthermore, when considering actuator saturation, an improved control strategy is developed with an auxiliary system utilized to compensate the saturation. The stability of the closed-loop system is analyzed by Lyapunov theory. Simulation results show the effectiveness and performance of the proposed methods.     

New variable gain super-twisting sliding mode observer for sensorless vector control of nonsinusoidal back-EMF PMSM

This paper presents a new discrete-time super-twisting sliding mode observer with variable gains for sensorless nonsinusoidal vector control of permanent magnet synchronous motors. This observer is adopted to estimate the back electromotive forces (back-EMF) that are required for the rotor speed estimation and for the nonsinusoidal vector control. In addition, their gains are time-varying to minimize the chattering. So, they are adjusted based on internal states of the super-twisting algorithm. The stability analysis is investigated from the Lyapunov theory for discrete-time systems. Finally, simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the good performance and the effectiveness of the proposed observer.     

Proposal of disturbance-compensating and energy-saving control method of air turbine spindle and evaluation of its energy consumption

This paper introduces a disturbance-compensating and energy-saving control method of an air turbine spindle equipped with a rotation control system designed for use in ultra-precision milling. As one of the key components, our proposed pneumatic regulating device, called a high-precision quick-response pneumatic pressure regulator (HPQR), is used to control the air supply pressure of the air turbine spindle precisely and quickly. The rotation feedback control system including the HPQR and a disturbance force observer, which avoids changes of rotation speed due to disturbance forces applied to the air turbine spindle, is explained. In addition, a pneumatic energy assessment method using a device called an “air power meter” is explained. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through the experimental results.     

Monitoring of a biodiesel production process via reset observer

This paper is concerned with the monitoring of a biodiesel production process, more specifically with the monitoring of the esterification of grease trap wastes, a low quality feedstock for biodiesel production typically characterized by its high content of Free Fatty Acids (FFAs). The esterification takes place in a jacketed Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR). A reset observer is designed and applied in order to provide on-line estimation of the concentration of FFAs from temperature measurements within the CSTR. In addition, the proposed reset observer is compared to two other observers (classical fuzzy observer and extended Kalman filter). According to a multiple range test conducted for analyzing the estimation error, the monitoring task for the process under study has been better fulfilled by the reset observer which is able to update the estimation results every instant when the measurements were available.     

Dual-rate-loop control based on disturbance observer of angular acceleration for a three-axis aerial inertially stabilized platform

This paper presents a dual-rate-loop control method based on disturbance observer (DOB) of angular acceleration for a three-axis ISP for aerial remote sensing applications, by which the control accuracy and stabilization of ISP are improved obviously. In stabilization loop of ISP, a dual-rate-loop strategy is designed through constituting inner rate loop and the outer rate loop, by which the capability of disturbance rejection is advanced. Further, a DOB-based on angular acceleration is proposed to attenuate the influences of the main disturbances on stabilization accuracy. Particularly, an information fusion method is suggested to obtain accurate angular acceleration in DOB design, which is the key for the disturbance compensation. The proposed methods are theoretically analyzed and experimentally validated to illustrate the effectiveness.     

Sensorless Vector Control of Induction Motors Using Minimum Dimensional Flux D‐State Observer with Instantaneous Speed Estimation

This paper proposes a new sensorless vector control method for induction motors using a minimum dimensional flux D‐state observer with instantaneous speed estimation. First, the D‐state observer with a new design rule of constant observer gains is established in a different way. Second, a new speed estimator using flux estimates produced by the observer is established on the basis of the fundamental relationship between the rotor flux and the slip frequency. Speed estimates are reused in the observer as feedback. Characteristic analyses and the usefulness of the proposed vector control method are verified by simulations.     

Modified reduced order observer based linear active disturbance rejection control for TITO systems

This paper proposes an observer based control approach for two input and two output (TITO) plant affected by the lumped disturbance which includes the undesirable effect of cross couplings, parametric uncertainties, and external disturbances. A modified reduced order extended state observer (ESO) based active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) is designed to estimate the lumped disturbance actively as an extended state and compensate its effect by adding it to the control. The decoupled mechanism has been used to determine the controller parameters, while the proposed control technique is applied to the TITO coupled plant without using decoupler to show its efficacy. Simulation results show that the proposed design is efficiently able to nullify the interactions within the loops in the multivariable process with better transient performance as compared to the existing proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control methods. An experimental application of two tanks multivariable level control system is investigated to present the validity of proposed scheme.     

A geometric approach for adaptive estimation of unknown growth kinetics in bioreactors

This paper proposes a new approach for the estimation of unknown and time-varying specific growth rate in fed-batch bioprocess. A novel adaptive estimation technique based on the concept of invariant manifold is proposed as an effective approach to estimate growth kinetic parameters. An asymptotic nonlinear observer is used to provide simultaneous on-line estimation of biomass concentration and growth kinetic. The method is easy to implement and requires only one tuning parameter. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is illustrated with representative bioreactor simulation examples.     

Robust guaranteed cost ILC with dynamic feedforward and disturbance compensation for accurate PMSM position control

This contribution presents a robust ILC control design based on guaranteed costs. By combining this ILC design with dynamic feedforward control and an observer-based disturbance compensation, the initial tracking errors in an early learning stage can be reduced. The benefits of the proposed design approach are pointed out at the example of a robust position control of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM), which is subject to uncertain model parameters. The paper is concluded with convincing experimental results from a dedicated test rig. Moreover, a comparison with a classical observer-based tracking control is provided.