Path-following for linear systems with unstable zero dynamics

A constructive solution to the path-following problem for MIMO linear systems with unstable zero dynamics is developed. While the original control variable steers the system output along the path, the path parameter θ is used as an additional control to stabilize zero dynamics with a feedback law which is nonlinear due to the path constraint. A sufficient condition for solvability of the path-following problem is given in terms of the geometric properties of the path. When this condition is satisfied, an arbitrary small L₂ norm of path-following error can be achieved, thus avoiding performance limitations of the standard reference tracking problem imposed by unstable zero dynamics.     

Singular PDEs and the assignment of zero dynamics in nonlinear systems

The present research work aims at the development of a systematic method to arbitrarily assign the zero dynamics of a nonlinear system by constructing the requisite synthetic output maps. The minimum-phase synthetic output maps constructed can be made statically equivalent to the original output maps, and therefore, they could be directly used for nonminimum-phase compensation purposes. Specifically, the mathematical formulation of the problem is realized via a system of first-order nonlinear singular PDEs and a rather general set of necessary and sufficient conditions for solvability is derived. The solution to the above system of singular PDEs can be proven to be locally analytic and this enables the development of a series solution method that is easily programmable with the aid of a symbolic software package. The minimum-phase synthetic output maps that induce the prescribed zero dynamics for the original nonlinear system can be computed on the basis of the solution of the aforementioned system of singular PDEs. Moreover, static equivalence to the original output map can be readily established by a simple algebraic construction.     

A note on the differential regulator equation for non-minimum phase linear systems with time-varying exosystems

Some control problems in practice are often formulated as a linear output regulation problem with time-varying exosystems. Although this problem has been studied recently, an explicit and constructive solution has been given only for minimum phase systems. This paper presents a solution for non-minimum phase systems whose zero dynamics is hyperbolic (or has an exponentially dichotomic split in the case of time-varying zero dynamics). The idea is inspired by the non-causal stable inversion.     

A new approach to the zero-dynamics assignment problem for nonlinear discrete-time systems using functional equations

The present research work aims at the development of a systematic method to arbitrarily assign the zero dynamics of a nonlinear discrete-time real analytic system by constructing the requisite synthetic output maps. The problem under consideration is motivated by the need to adequately address the control problem of nonminimum-phase nonlinear discrete-time systems, since the latter represent a rather broad class of systems due to the well-known effect of sampling on the stability of zero-dynamics. In the proposed approach, the above control objective can be attained through: (i) a systematic computation of synthetic output maps that induce minimum-phase behavior while being statically equivalent to the original output maps (both vanish on the equilibrium manifold) and (ii) the subsequent integration into the methodological framework of currently available nonminimum-phase compensation schemes for nonlinear discrete-time systems that rely on output redefinition. The mathematical formulation of the zero-dynamics assignment problem is realized via a system of nonlinear functional equations, and a rather general set of necessary and sufficient conditions for solvability is derived. The solution to the above system of functional equations can be proven to be locally analytic, and this enables the development of a solution method that is easily programmable with the aid of a symbolic software package. The synthetic output maps that induce the prescribed zero dynamics for the original nonlinear discrete-time system can be explicitly computed on the basis of the solution to the aforementioned system of functional equations.     

Path following for the PVTOL aircraft

This article presents a solution to the path following problem for the planar vertical take-off and landing aircraft (PVTOL) which is applicable to a class of smooth Jordan curves. Our path following methodology enjoys the two properties of output invariance of the path (i.e., if the PVTOL’s centre of mass is initialized on the path and its initial velocity is tangent to the path, then the PVTOL remains on the path at all future times) and boundedness of the roll dynamics. Further, our controller guarantees that, after a finite time, the time average of the roll angle is zero, and the PVTOL does not perform multiple revolutions about its longitudinal axis.     

具有扰动输入的不确定性非线性系统的输出调节极限性能

本文研究了一类具有扰动输入的不确定性非线性系统的输出调节问题, 给出了该类系统在最差的不确定性参数和扰动输入情况下系统输出调节的极限性能. 所讨论的非线性系统是可镇定非最小相位系统, 并且该系统的零动态由“鲁棒输入对状态稳定(robust input-to-state stable)部分”和“不稳定但可镇定部分”组成. 假设系统的不确定性参数和扰动输入分别以非线性函数和仿射形式同时出现在系统零动态的鲁棒输入对状态稳定部分和系统的可线性化部分, 而且其可线性化部分的不确定性具有下三角形结构形式. 该系统输出调节问题的性能以其输出信号能量作为度量. 对于上述非线性系统, 在最差的不确定性参数和扰动输入情况下, 输出调节问题的极限性能只取决于镇定其零动态“不稳定部分”所需的最小能量.     

Asymptotic tracking of a nonminimum phase nonlinear system withnonhyperbolic zero dynamics

A two-cart with an inverted-pendulum system is a nonlinear, nonminimum phase system with nonhyperbolic zero dynamics. Devasia introduced this system to study the asymptotic tracking problem for nonlinear systems with nonhyperbolic zero dynamics and pointed out that the nonhyperbolicity may be challenging to the application of the standard inversion-based tracking technique. We first show that nonhyperbolicity is not necessary for the applicability of the output regulation theory. In particular, the problem of asymptotic tracking of the two-cart with an inverted-pendulum system to a class of sinusoidal reference inputs is actually solvable by the standard output regulation theory. Moreover, an approximation method for calculating the center manifold equation associated with the output regulation problem for general nonlinear systems is given. This approach does not rely on the hyperbolicity condition and, hence, applies to a large class of nonlinear systems     

The solution of diagonal decoupling problem by dynamic outputfeedback and constant precompensator: the general case

In this paper, the solution to diagonal decoupling problem via dynamic output feedback and constant precompensator is presented in the general case. The literature contains a number of particular solutions for this problem. These solutions are valid, for instance, for square transfer matrices or they employ restricted dynamic output feedback schemes. Here, we start with a nonsquare transfer matrix and consider a dynamic output feedback scheme where there is a proper compensator in the feedback loop accompanied by a constant gain (precompensator) in the feedforward path. In this respect, the problem being considered is the dynamic output feedback version of the well-known Morgan's problem. The approach taken involves the characterization of open-loop diagonalizers which admit a dynamic output feedback realization. The key concepts involved in the solution are the generalized version of diagonal causality degree dominance and the set of attainable infinite zero orders. An example is also included to illustrate the main result     

Global almost disturbance decoupling with stability for non minimum-phase single-input single-output nonlinear systems

The so-called problem of almost disturbance decoupling with internal stability (ADDPS) is the following one. Given a system and an (arbitrarily small) number γ > 0, find a feedback law yielding a closed loop system which is stable and in which the gain (in the L₂ sense) between the exogenous input and the regulated output is less than or equal to γ. The complete solution of this problem has been known since a long time in the case of linear systems. In the case of nonlinear systems, the only global results available so far in the literature were about SISO systems having an asymptotically stable zero dynamics. In this paper, a new set of results are presented, dealing with nonlinear SISO systems having a possibly unstable zero dynamics, which include the (general) class of linear SISO systems as a special case.     

Two results for adaptive output feedback stabilization of nonlinear systems

The problem of (adaptive) stabilization by means of output feedback of a class of nonlinear systems is addressed and solved. The proposed method relies on the asymptotic reconstruction of a stabilizing state feedback control law, does not require stable zero dynamics nor the construction of a Lyapunov function for the closed loop system, and treats in a unified way unknown parameters and unmeasured states. The applicability of the proposed method is discussed via theoretical examples. Finally, it is shown that the proposed method yields a solution to the problem of output feedback regulation for a DC-to-DC power converter and the efficacy of the resulting controller is verified via experiments.     

Stabilization of minimum phase nonlinear systems by dynamic outputfeedback

In this paper, the stabilization problem of minimum phase nonlinear systems by dynamic output feedback is investigated. It is shown that if the zero dynamics of an affine nonlinear system is asymptotically stable according to the kth approximation, then the system is stabilizable by dynamic output feedback. The proof is constructive, which provides a method to design the stabilizer. The result is applied to investigating the stabilization problem of the rotating stall in axial flow compressors     

Transmission zero assignment using semistate descriptions

The problem of finite/infinite transmission zero assignment is examined by squaring a system from the outputs to the inputs. In particular, this problem is studied in two cases: state-accessible systems and partially-state accessible systems. It is shown that the problem of transmission zero assignment for state-accessible state-variable systems is equivalent to a pole-placement problem with state feedback for a generalized system, which always has a solution. In the case of partially-state-accessible systems, it is shown that the transmission zero assignment problem is equivalent to a pole-placement problem with output feedback for a generalized system. In both cases the block Hessenberg form of the system and the extended lower triangular Hessenberg form are exploited to formulate the problem     

Output feedback control of a class of nonminimum‐phase nonlinear systems

The problem of global stabilization by output feedback is investigated in this paper for a class of nonminimum‐phase nonlinear systems. The system under consideration has a cascade configuration that consists of a driven system known as the inverse dynamics and a driving system. It is proved that although the zero dynamics may be unstable, there is an output feedback controller, globally stabilizing the nonminimum‐phase system if both driven and driving systems have a lower‐triangular form and satisfy a Lipschitz‐like condition, and the inverse dynamics satisfy a stronger version of input‐to‐state stabilizability condition. A design procedure is provided for the construction of an n‐dimensional dynamic output feedback compensator. Examples and simulations are also given to validate the effectiveness of the proposed output feedback controller. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sliding mode output‐feedback causal output tracking for a class of discrete‐time nonlinear systems

The output tracking (OT) of arbitrary references in discrete‐time (DT) nonlinear systems is addressed by designing an output‐feedback control. A set of difference‐algebraic equations is proposed as an exact solution of the problem. Using a novel technique of approximating DT functions, the system disturbance and steady states, characterized by tracking error identically zero, for both the system state and the control input, are represented as signals generated by a disturbed dynamic system. Using the mentioned dynamics, the control system is extended. Then, a state observer is proposed to estimate the resulting extended system state. Finally, a DT sliding mode controller is designed to achieve the approximate OT. Simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

Solving a nonlinear output regulation problem: zero miss distanceof pure PNG

Presents a solution to the output regulation problem of a nonlinear system with time-varying disturbance: the system represents the well-known missile-target pursuit situation where the missile is guided by the pure proportional navigation guidance (PPNG) law while the target maneuvers with time-varying normal acceleration, and the problem is to prove the zero miss distance property of PPNG, which has been studied for decades without satisfactory success. To solve this problem, we construct a function by which a time sequence of the missile-to-target range is upper-bounded, and prove that the function is strictly decreasing, which is also proven to guarantee that there is always a sub-sequence that asymptotically converges to zero. The solution is given in the form of a necessary and sufficient condition guaranteeing the zero miss distance of PPNG     

离散时间非线性最小相位系统的动态输出反馈镇定

研究了离散时间非线性最小相位系统的动态输出反馈镇定.首先对离散时间非线性系 统引入了逼近渐近稳定性的概念.基于此概念,提出了一种动态补偿器设计的新方法.主要结果 是,如果一非线性系统的零动态是逼近渐近稳定的,则能用动态输出反馈镇定.动态补偿器的设 计是构造性的.     

On semi-global stabilization of minimum phase nonlinear systems without vector relative degrees

Recently, we developed a structural decomposition for multiple input multiple output nonlinear systems that are affine in control but otherwise general. This structural decomposition simplifies the conventional backstepping design and allows a new backstepping design procedure that is able to stabilize some systems on which the conventional backstepping is not applicable. In this paper we further exploit the properties of such a decomposition for the purpose of solving the semi-global stabilization problem for minimum phase nonlinear systems without vector relative degrees. By taking advantage of special structure of the decomposed system, we first apply the low gain design to the part of system that possesses a linear dynamics. The low gain design results in an augmented zero dynamics that is locally stable at the origin with a domain of attraction that can be made arbitrarily large by lowering the gain. With this augmented zero dynamics, backstepping design is then applied to achieve semi-global stabilization of the overall system.     

New results on robust output regulation of nonlinear systems with a nonlinear exosystem

The global robust output regulation problem for nonlinear plants subject to nonlinear exosystems has been a challenging problem and has not been well addressed. The main difficulty lies in finding a suitable internal model. The existing internal model for handling the nonlinear exosystem is not zero input globally asymptotically stable, and can only guarantee a local solution for the output regulation problem. In this paper, we first propose a new class of internal models, which is guaranteed to exist under the generalized immersion condition. An advantage of this internal model is that it is zero input globally asymptotically stable. This fact will greatly facilitate the global stabilization of the augmented system associated with the given plant and the internal model. Then we will further utilize this class of internal models to solve the global robust output regulation problem for output feedback systems with a nonlinear exosystem. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semi‐Global Output Feedback Tracking to Reference System with Input for a Benchmark Nonlinear System

In this paper, we solve the output feedback semi‐global tracking problem of the nonlinear benchmark RTAC system, in which the reference signals are output trajectories of a simple control systems subject to some input. The introduction of the input enlarges the class of the reference signals that can be tracked. And the proposed solution covers the previous results of output feedback global tracking, namely the solution is still global when the input is zero. Finally, a simulation illustrates the effectiveness of our approach.     

Asymptotic output tracking for a class of semilinear parabolic equations: A semianalytical approach

This paper addresses the problem of asymptotic output tracking of a class of semilinear parabolic equations with pointwise in‐domain actuation. First, the assessment of the well‐posedness of the considered systems is performed, and then, the stability of boundary controlled systems is analyzed via Chaffee‐Infante equation and Fisher's equation. The application of the zero dynamics inverse design results in a dynamic control scheme that is implemented by using the technique of trajectory planning for flat systems and the Adomian decomposition method. The convergence of the solution of the original systems to that of the corresponding zero dynamics and the convergence of the solution expressed by an Adomian series are also analyzed. Numerical simulations are carried out to illustrate the effectiveness of the developed approach.