Actuator fault‐tolerant control based on set separation

In this paper, an actuator fault‐tolerant control (FTC) strategy based on set separation is presented. The proposed scheme employs a standard configuration consisting of a bank of observers which match the different fault situations that can occur in the plant. Each of these observers has an associated estimation error with a distinctive behaviour when a estimator matches the current fault situation of the plant. With this information from each observer, a fault diagnosis and isolation (FDI) module is able to reconfigure the control loop by selecting the appropriate stabilising controller from a bank of precomputed control laws, each of them related to one of the considered fault models. The control law consists of a reference feedforward term and a feedback gain multiplying the state estimate provided by the matching observer. A novel feature of the proposed scheme resides in the decision criteria of the FDI, which is based on the computation of sets towards which the output estimation errors related to each fault scenario and for each control configuration converge. Conditions for the design of the FDI module and for fault tolerant closed‐loop stability are given, and the effectiveness of the approach is illustrated by means of a numerical example. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparisons of adaptive fault‐tolerant insensitive control methods for a class of linear systems

In this paper, the problem of fault‐tolerant insensitive control is addressed for a class of linear time‐invariant continuous‐time systems against bounded time‐varying actuator faults and controller gain variations. Adaptive mechanisms are developed to adjust controller gains in order to compensate for the detrimental effects of partial loss of control effectiveness and bias‐actuator faults. Variations of controller gains arise from time‐varying and bounded perturbations that are supposed to always exist in adaptive mechanisms. Based on the disturbed outputs of adaptive mechanisms, three different adaptive control strategies are constructed to achieve bounded stability results of the closed‐loop adaptive fault‐tolerant control systems in the presence of actuator faults and controller gain variations. Furthermore, comparisons of convergence boundaries of states and limits of control inputs among adaptive strategies are developed in this paper. The efficiency of the proposed adaptive control strategies and their comparisons are demonstrated by a rocket fairing structural‐acoustic model.     

Adaptive fault tolerant control for a class of multi‐input multi‐output nonlinear systems with both sensor and actuator faults

Compared with the fault diagnosis, detection, and isolation literature, very few results are available to discuss control algorithms directly for multi‐input multi‐output nonlinear systems with both sensor and actuator faults in the fault tolerant control literature. In this work, we present a fault tolerant control algorithm to address the system output stabilization problem for a class of multi‐input multi‐output nonlinear systems with both parametric and nonparametric uncertainties, subject to sensor and actuator faults that can be both multiplicative and additive. All elements of the sensor measurements and actuator components can be faulty. Besides, the control input gain function is not fully known. Backstepping method is used in the analysis and control design. We show that under the proposed control scheme, uniformly ultimate boundedness of the system output is guaranteed, while all closed‐loop system signals stay bounded. In the cases where the sensor faults are only multiplicative, exponential convergence of the system state variables into small neighbourhoods around zero is guaranteed. An illustrative example on a robot manipulator model is presented in the end to further demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

Model‐free fault‐tolerant control approach for uncertain state‐constrained linear systems with actuator faults

This paper investigates the robust adaptive fault‐tolerant control problem for state‐constrained continuous‐time linear systems with parameter uncertainties, external disturbances, and actuator faults including stuck, outage, and loss of effectiveness. It is assumed that the knowledge of the system matrices, as well as the upper bounds of the disturbances and faults, is unknown. By incorporating a barrier‐function like term into the Lyapunov function design, a novel model‐free fault‐tolerant control scheme is proposed in a parameter‐dependent form, and the state constraint requirements are guaranteed. The time‐varying parameters are adjusted online based on an adaptive method to prevent the states from violating the constraints and compensate automatically the uncertainties, disturbances, and actuator faults. The time‐invariant parameters solved by using data‐based policy iteration algorithm are introduced for helping to stabilize the system. Furthermore, it is shown that the states converge asymptotically to zero without transgression of the constraints and all signals in the resulting closed‐loop system are uniformly bounded. Finally, two simulation examples are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fault‐tolerant saturated control for switching discrete‐time systems with delays

In this paper, fault‐tolerant control problem for discrete‐time switching systems with delay and saturated input is studied. Sufficient conditions of building an observer are obtained by using multiple Lyapunov function. These conditions are worked out using cone complementarity technique, to obtain LMIs with slack variables and multiple weighted residual matrices. The obtained results are applied on a numerical example showing fault detection, localization of fault, and reconfiguration of the control to maintain asymptotic stability even in the presence of a permanent sensor fault and saturation on the control. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fault‐tolerant control using command‐filtered adaptive back‐stepping technique: Application to hypersonic longitudinal flight dynamics

In this paper, the adaptive back‐stepping controller is investigated for a class of strict‐feedback systems using the command filter technique. Adaptive laws are designed for updating the controller parameters when both the plant parameters and actuator‐failure parameters are unknown. Furthermore, the auxiliary dynamics is developed to deal with the input constraints. Closed‐loop stability and asymptotic‐state tracking are ensured. The method is applied to the longitudinal dynamics of a generic hypersonic aircraft in the presence of actuator faults and input constraints. Based on the parameter estimation, the command‐filtered adaptive back‐stepping control is presented. Simulation results on the control‐oriented model show that the proposed approach achieves good tracking performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fault‐tolerant control for wireless networked control systems with an integrated scheduler

This paper addresses a study of fault‐tolerant control (FTC) for wireless networked control systems (WNCSs) in industrial automatic processes. The WNCSs is composed of many subsystems, which operate with different sampling cycles. In order to meet the real‐time requirements and ensure a deterministic data transmission, the time division multiple access (TDMA) mechanism is adopted in WNCSs. The data in WNCSs are transmitted following a TDMA‐based scheduler. According to the periodicity, WNCSs integrated with the scheduler is first formulated as discrete linear time periodic systems (LTPSs). Afterwards, a fault estimation method for LTPSs is developed under a H_∞ performance specification with a regional pole constraint. With the achieved state observer and fault estimator, an FTC strategy for LTPSs is explored. Finally, the proposed methods are verified on a physical experimental WiNC platform. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Finite‐time prescribed performance adaptive fuzzy fault‐tolerant control for nonstrict‐feedback nonlinear systems

This paper focuses on a finite‐time adaptive fuzzy control problem for nonstrict‐feedback nonlinear systems with actuator faults and prescribed performance. Compared with existing results, the finite‐time prescribed performance adaptive fuzzy output feedback control is under study for the first time. By designing performance function, the transient performance of the corresponding controlled variable is maintained in a prescribed area. Combining the finite‐time stability criterion with backstepping technique, a feasible adaptive fault‐tolerant control scheme is proposed to guarantee that the system output converges to a small neighborhood of the origin in finite time, and the closed‐loop signals are bounded. Finally, simulation results are shown to illustrate the effectiveness of the presented control method.     

Active fault‐tolerant control system design with trajectory re‐planning against actuator faults and saturation: Application to a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle

During the past 30 years, various fault‐tolerant control (FTC) methods have been developed to address actuator or component faults for various systems with or without tracking control objectives. However, very few FTC strategies establish a relation between the post‐fault reference trajectory to track and the remaining resources in the system after fault occurrence. This is an open problem that is not well considered in the literature. The main contribution of this paper is in the design of a reconfigurable FTC and trajectory planning scheme with emphasis on online decision making using differential flatness. In the fault‐free case and on the basis of the available actuator resources, the reference trajectories are synthesized so as to drive the system as fast as possible to its desired setpoint without violating system constraints. In the fault case, the proposed active FTC system (AFTCS) consists in synthesizing a reconfigurable feedback control along with a modified reference trajectories once an actuator fault has been diagnosed by a fault detection and diagnosis scheme, which uses a parameter‐estimation‐based unscented Kalman filter. Benefited with the integration of trajectory re‐planning using the flatness concept and the compensation‐based reconfigurable controller, both faults and saturation in actuators can be handled effectively with the proposed AFTCS design. Advantages and limitations of the proposed AFTCS are illustrated using an experimental quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle testbed.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fault‐tolerant control of linear multivariable controllers using iterative feedback tuning

This paper introduces the iterative feedback tuning (IFT) into a Youla parameterization scheme for fault‐tolerant control. By off‐line IFT‐experiments of tuning Youla parameters, the proposed algorithm deals with a number of conditional failures that are described by the dual Youla parameter. The main contribution of this paper is to show how Youla scheme‐based IFT can be constructed for multivariable linear time‐invariant systems. Particular attention is given to the issue of the structure of the Youla parameter (filter), in which both finite impulse response and infinite impulse response filters are presented and compared. As an illustration, the method is applied to a simulation model of a continuous stirred tank heater system. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis and detection of incipient faults in post‐fault systems subject to adaptive fault‐tolerant control

This paper presents an effective scheme for detecting incipient faults in post‐fault systems (PFSs) subject to adaptive fault‐tolerant control (AFTC). Through a survey of existing techniques, it is shown that the adaptivity of the AFTC counteracts the effect of an incipient fault in the PFS. This makes some of the conventional fault‐detection strategies, such as Beard–Jones detection filters and adaptive observers, ineffective in this situation. It is shown that the unknown input observer (UIO) is an effective tool; hence, the UIO is designed to decouple the incipient fault from the AFTC such that the fault‐detection residual is sensitive only to the incipient fault. Extensive simulation study is presented using an aircraft example to test three fault‐detection approaches; it is demonstrated that the UIO is the most effective tool in detecting the incipient fault in a PFS subject to AFTC. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fault‐tolerant control allocation for Mars entry vehicle using adaptive control

Accurate and reliable control of planetary entry is a major challenge for planetary exploration vehicles. For Mars entry, uncertainties in atmospheric properties such as winds aloft and density pose a major problem for meeting precision landing requirements. Anticipated manned missions to Mars will also require levels of safety and fault tolerance not required during earlier robotic missions. This paper develops a nonlinear fault‐tolerant controller specifically tailored for addressing the unique environmental and mission demands of future Mars entry vehicles. The controller tracks a desired trajectory from entry interface to parachute deployment, and has an adaptation mechanism that reduces tracking errors in the presence of uncertain parameters such as atmospheric density, and vehicle properties such as aerodynamic coefficients and inertias. This nonlinear control law generates the commanded moments for a discrete control allocation algorithm, which then generates the optimal controls required to follow the desired trajectory. The reaction control system acts as a non‐uniform quantizer, which generates applied moments that approximate the desired moments generated by a continuous adaptive control law. If a fault is detected in the control jets, it reconfigures the controls and minimizes the impact of control failures or damage on trajectory tracking. It is assumed that a fault identification and isolation scheme already exists to identify failures. A stability analysis is presented, and fault tolerance performance is evaluated with non real‐time simulation for a complete Mars entry trajectory tracking scenario using various scenarios of control effector failures. The results presented in the paper demonstrate that the control algorithm has a satisfactory performance for tracking a pre‐defined trajectory in the presence of control failures, in addition to plant and environment uncertainties. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Active fault tolerant control of piecewise affine systems with reference tracking and input constraints

An active fault tolerant control (AFTC) method is proposed for discrete‐time piecewise affine (PWA) systems. Only actuator faults are considered. The AFTC framework contains a supervisory scheme, which selects a suitable controller in a set of controllers such that the stability and an acceptable performance of the faulty system are held. The design of the supervisory scheme is not considered here. The set of controllers is composed of a normal controller for the fault‐free case, an active fault detection and isolation controller for isolation and identification of the faults, and a set of passive fault tolerant controllers (PFTCs) modules designed to be robust against a set of actuator faults. In this research, the piecewise nonlinear model is approximated by a PWA system. The PFTCs are state feedback laws. Each one is robust against a fixed set of actuator faults and is able to track the reference signal while the control inputs are bounded. The PFTC problem is transformed into a feasibility problem of a set of LMIs. The method is applied on a large‐scale live‐stock ventilation model. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accommodation of unknown actuator faults using output feedback‐based adaptive robust control

In this paper, we solve the problem of output tracking for linear uncertain systems in the presence of unknown actuator failures using discontinuous projection‐based output feedback adaptive robust control (ARC). The faulty actuators are characterized as unknown inputs stuck at unknown values experiencing bounded disturbance and actuators losing effectiveness at unknown instants of time. Many existing techniques to solve this problem use model reference adaptive control (MRAC), which may not be well suited for handling various disturbances and modeling errors inherent to any realistic system model. Robust control‐based fault‐tolerant schemes have guaranteed transient performance and are capable of dealing with modeling errors to certain degrees. But, the steady‐state tracking accuracy of robust controllers, e.g. sliding mode controller, is limited. In comparison, the backstepping‐based output feedback adaptive robust fault‐tolerant control (ARFTC) strategy presented here can effectively deal with such uncertainties and overcome the drawbacks of individual adaptive and robust controls. Comparative simulation studies are performed on a linearized Boeing 747 model, which shows the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Active fault‐tolerant control for switched systems with time delay

This paper focuses on the problem of active fault‐tolerant control for switched systems with time delay. By utilizing the fault diagnosis observer, an adaptive fault estimate algorithm is proposed, which can estimate the fault signal fast and exactly. Meanwhile, a delay‐dependent criterion is obtained with the purpose of reducing the conservatism of the adaptive observer design. Based on the fault estimation information, an observer‐based fault‐tolerant controller is designed to guarantee the stability of the closed‐loop system. In terms of linear matrix inequality, sufficient conditions are derived for the existence of the adaptive observer and fault‐tolerant controller. Finally, a numerical example is included to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Active fault tolerant control systems by the semi‐Markov model approach

This paper investigates the active fault tolerant control problem via the H _∞ state feedback controller. Because of the limitations of Markov processes, we apply semi‐Markov process in the system modeling. Two random processes are involved in the system: the failure process and the fault detection process. Therefore, two corresponding semi‐Markov processes are integrated in the closed‐loop system model. This framework can generally accommodate different types of system faults, including the randomly happening sensor faults and actuator faults. A controller is designed to guarantee the closed‐loop system stability with a prescribed noise/disturbance attenuation level. The controller can be readily solved by using convex optimization techniques. A vertical take‐off and landing vehicle example with actuation faults is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Extended flow algorithm for online reconfiguration of large‐scale distribution system with interconnected distributed generators

The interconnection of distributed generators (DGs) in a power system increases the difficulty of managing the system. The minimization of the voltage deviation by network reconfiguration is an important requirement for dealing with the issue. We had previously developed a reconfiguration technique, named the intelligent flow algorithm (IFA), for determining the optimum or suboptimum network configuration within a short computation time. In the present paper, we propose an extension of IFA, named the extended flow algorithm (EFA), for more effective determination of the optimal network configuration of a distribution system containing massive installations of DGs. EFA is a two‐stage method in which the configuration that produces uniform power supply, referred to as the balanced configuration, is first generated, and then used to seek the optimal configuration using an improved branch exchange approach. Accordingly, EFA is more simplified to improve its computation speed on large‐scale systems. The algorithm was tested by case studies of different test distribution systems in the MATLAB environment, and was confirmed to have high performance to cope with DG installations and large‐scale systems. © 2017 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Sensor fault diagnosis and fault‐tolerant control for stochastic distribution time‐delayed control systems

In this paper, a new fault diagnosis and fault‐tolerant control method based on the model equivalent transformation is proposed for the stochastic distribution time‐delayed control system, in which the random delay between the controller and the actuator and the external disturbance is considered. The system is modeled by using a linear B‐spline to approximate the probability density function (PDF) of system output. The original system is transformed into an equivalent system without random delay based on the Laplace transformation method. Then, the equivalent system that is converted to the augmentation system with a new state variable is introduced. The observer is designed to estimate the fault information based on the augmentation system. Observer gain matrices and controller parameters are obtained by solving the linear matrix inequality. The PI control algorithm is used to make the PDF of the system output track the desired distribution. Finally, the validity of the proposed method is verified by computer simulation results.     

LMI‐based adaptive output feedback fault‐tolerant controller design for nonlinear systems

This paper presents 2‐novel linear matrix inequality (LMI)‐based adaptive output feedback fault‐tolerant control strategies for the class of nonlinear Lipschitz systems in the presence of bounded matched or mismatched disturbances and simultaneous occurrence of actuator faults, including failure, loss of effectiveness, and stuck. The constructive algorithms based on LMI with creatively using Lyapunov stability theory and without the need for an explicit information about mode of actuator faults or fault detection and isolation mechanism are developed for online tuning of adaptive and fixed output‐feedback gains to stabilize the closed‐loop control system asymptotically. The proposed controllers guarantee to compensate actuator faults effects and to attenuate disturbance effects. The resulting control methods have simpler structure, as compared with most existing recent methods and more suitable for practical systems. The merits of the proposed fault‐tolerant control scheme have been verified by the simulation on nonlinear Boeing 747 lateral motion dynamic model subjected to actuator faults.     

Transient management of a supervisory fault‐tolerant control scheme based on dwell‐time conditions

The paper deals with the design of an active fault‐tolerant control strategy based on the supervisory control approach technique for linear time invariant MIMO systems affected by disturbances, measurement noise, and faults. From a bank of Luenberger observers that plays the role of a fault detection and isolation scheme, the supervisory algorithm aims at selecting the suitable fault‐tolerant controller by means of a hysteresis‐based switching mechanism. Based on dwell‐time conditions, Lyapunov global exponential stability is addressed, and it is shown how transient behaviors due to the inherent interactions between fault detection and isolation, fault‐tolerant control, and the reconfiguration mechanism can be improved. The main advantage with respect to existing solutions of open literature is relative to a simple parameterization of all controllers (possibly having different state dimensions, integral action, and/or unstable poles) in order to cope with bumps and undesirable transients when (possible multiple) switches occur. Moreover, it is shown that it is possible to improve (reduce) the dwell‐time value in some cases. The efficiency of the approach is demonstrated on the academic highly maneuverable technology benchmark. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.