Robust stability and stabilization of fractional order linear systems with positive real uncertainty

This paper investigates the robust stability and stabilization of fractional order linear systems with positive real uncertainty. Firstly, sufficient conditions for the asymptotical stability of such uncertain fractional order systems are presented. Secondly, the existence conditions and design methods of the state feedback controller, static output feedback controller and observer-based controller for asymptotically stabilizing such uncertain fractional order systems are derived. The results are obtained in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Finally, some numerical examples are given to validate the proposed theoretical results.     

Robust stability analysis of fractional order interval polynomials

The paper deals with the robust stability analysis of a Fractional Order Interval Polynomial (FOIP) family. Some new results are presented for testing the Bounded Input Bounded Output (BIBO) stability of dynamical control systems whose characteristic polynomials are fractional order polynomials with interval uncertainty structure. It is shown that the Kharitonov theorem is not applicable for this type of polynomial. A procedure is given for computation of the value set of FOIP. Based on the value set, an algorithm is presented for testing the stability of FOIP. The results presented in the paper are useful for the analysis and design of Fractional Order Interval Control Systems (FOICS). Examples are given to show how the proposed method can be used to assess the effects of parametric variations on the stability in feedback loops with fractional order interval transfer functions.     

Hurwitz stability analysis of fractional order LTI systems according to principal characteristic equations

With power mapping (conformal mapping), stability analyses of fractional order linear time invariant (LTI) systems are carried out by consideration of the root locus of expanded degree integer order polynomials in the principal Riemann sheet. However, it is essential to show the left half plane (LHP) stability analysis of fractional order characteristic polynomials in the s plane in order to close the gap emerging in stability analyses of fractional order and integer order systems. In this study, after briefly discussing the relation between the characteristic root orientations and the system stability, the author presents a methodology to establish principal characteristic polynomials to perform the LHP stability analysis of fractional order systems. The principal characteristic polynomials are formed by factorizing principal characteristic roots. Then, the LHP stability analysis of fractional order systems can be carried out by using the root equivalency of fractional order principal characteristic polynomials. Illustrative examples are presented to explain how to find equivalent roots of fractional order principal characteristic polynomials in order to carry out the LHP stability analyses of fractional order nominal and interval systems.     

Impulsive stabilization of fractional differential systems

This paper investigates the impulsive stabilization problem of fractional differential systems (FDSs in short). Both the global exponential stability and ultimate boundedness criteria are established using Lyapunov functions, algebraic inequality techniques and boundedness of Mittag-Leffler functions. It is shown that unstable and unbounded FDSs can be stable and bounded respectively under impulsive control. Examples and simulations are also provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the derived theoretical results.     

Author’s reply: A comment on the “Robust stability analysis of fractional order interval polynomials”, by Nusret Tan et al.

This author’s reply addresses the comment given in the note mentioned in the title. Theorem 3 given in Tan et al. (2009) [1] uses zero exclusion principle for the stability analysis of Fractional Order Interval Polynomial (FOIP). We show that the constant degree assumption is exist in the definition of zero exclusion principle. Although it has not been clearly stated in Tan et al. (2009) [1] that FOIP of Eq. (1) is a constant degree polynomial, this condition is implicit in the zero exclusion principle. Therefore, Theorem 3 is true under the constant degree assumption which is a requirement for zero exclusion principle.     

Identifiability of fractional order systems using input output frequency contents

In this paper, issues related to the identifiability of a fractional order system having its input and output frequency contents are discussed. The effects of the commensurate order α in the identifiability of the model structure and model parameters are analytically studied. It is shown that both identifiabilities (model structure and model parameters) are reduced remarkably for smaller values of α. This phenomenon is observed even though the input signals are rich enough and system belongs to the model set. Our understanding is that the problem arises since differences among different members of the model set fall beyond the practically recognizable precision range. The issue is more problematic when α is smaller and measurements are noisy.     

Lyapunov theory based robust control of complicated nonlinear mechanical systems with uncertainty

This paper presents a robust control approach for nonlinear uncertain crane systems with a three DOF framework. We deal with an overhead crane in which a trolley located on the top is moved to x- and y-axes independently. We first approximate the nonlinear system model through feedback linearization transformation to simply construct a PD control and then design a robust control system for compensating control deviation feasibly occurring due to modeling error or system perturbation in practice. An adaptive control rule is analytically derived by using Lyapunov stability theory given bounds of system perturbation. We accomplish numerical simulation for evaluating the proposed methodology and demonstrate its superiority by comparing with the traditional control strategy. This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Dong Hwan Kim Hyun Cheol Cho received a B.S. from the Pukyong National University in 1997, a M.S. from the Dong-A University, Korea in 1999, and a Ph.D. from University of Nevada-Reno, USA in 2006. He is currently a post-doc researcher in the Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Dong-A University. His research interests are in the areas of control systems, neural networks, stochastic process, and signal processing.     

Stability analysis of a class of fractional order nonlinear systems with order lying in (0, 2)

This paper investigates the stability of n-dimensional fractional order nonlinear systems with commensurate order 0 <α<2. By using the Mittag-Leffler function, Laplace transform and the Gronwall–Bellman lemma, one sufficient condition is attained for the local asymptotical stability of a class of fractional order nonlinear systems with order lying in (0, 2). According to this theory, stabilizing a class of fractional order nonlinear systems only need a linear state feedback controller. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed theory.     

On robust stability of linear time invariant fractional-order systems with real parametric uncertainties

In this paper, the robust bounded-input bounded-output stability of a large class of linear time invariant fractional order families of systems with real parametric uncertainties is analyzed. The transfer functions contain polynomials in fractional powers of the Laplace variable s, possibly in combination with exponentials of fractional powers of s. Using the concept of the value set and a generalization of the zero exclusion condition theorem, a theorem to check the robust bounded-input bounded-output stability of these families of systems is presented. An upper cutoff frequency for drawing the value sets is provided as well. Finally, two numerical examples are given to illustrate results obtained by the lemma and theorems presented in the paper.     

Controllability of fractional higher order stochastic integrodifferential systems with fractional Brownian motion

This paper presents a new set of sufficient conditions for controllability of fractional higher order stochastic integrodifferential systems with fractional Brownian motion (fBm) in finite dimensional space using fractional calculus, fixed point technique and stochastic analysis approach. In particular, we discuss the complete controllability for nonlinear fractional stochastic integrodifferential systems under the proved result of the corresponding linear fractional system is controllable. Finally, an example is presented to illustrate the efficiency of the obtained theoretical results.     

A comment on the “Robust stability analysis of fractional order interval polynomials”, by Nusret Tan et al.

It is shown that Theorem 3 in the article mentioned in the title is not true and some modification is suggested to eliminate the mistake.     

Robust Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy control for fractional order hydro-turbine governing system

A robust fuzzy control method for fractional order hydro-turbine governing system (FOHGS) in the presence of random disturbances is investigated in this paper. Firstly, the mathematical model of FOHGS is introduced, and based on Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy rules, the generalized T-S fuzzy model of FOHGS is presented. Secondly, based on fractional order Lyapunov stability theory, a novel T-S fuzzy control method is designed for the stability control of FOHGS. Thirdly, the relatively loose sufficient stability condition is acquired, which could be transformed into a group of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) via Schur complement as well as the strict mathematical derivation is given. Furthermore, the control method could resist random disturbances, which shows the good robustness. Simulation results indicate the designed fractional order T-S fuzzy control scheme works well compared with the existing method.     

An integer order approximation method based on stability boundary locus for fractional order derivative/integrator operators

This paper introduces an integer order approximation method for numerical implementation of fractional order derivative/integrator operators in control systems. The proposed method is based on fitting the stability boundary locus (SBL) of fractional order derivative/integrator operators and SBL of integer order transfer functions. SBL defines a boundary in the parametric design plane of controller, which separates stable and unstable regions of a feedback control system and SBL analysis is mainly employed to graphically indicate the choice of controller parameters which result in stable operation of the feedback systems. This study reveals that the SBL curves of fractional order operators can be matched with integer order models in a limited frequency range. SBL fitting method provides straightforward solutions to obtain an integer order model approximation of fractional order operators and systems according to matching points from SBL of fractional order systems in desired frequency ranges. Thus, the proposed method can effectively deal with stability preservation problems of approximate models. Illustrative examples are given to show performance of the proposed method and results are compared with the well-known approximation methods developed for fractional order systems. The integer-order approximate modeling of fractional order PID controllers is also illustrated for control applications.     

Formal modeling and verification of fractional order linear systems

This paper presents a formalization of a fractional order linear system in a higher-order logic (HOL) theorem proving system. Based on the formalization of the Grünwald–Letnikov (GL) definition, we formally specify and verify the linear and superposition properties of fractional order systems. The proof provides a rigor and solid underpinnings for verifying concrete fractional order linear control systems. Our implementation in HOL demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach in practical applications.     

IMC-PID-fractional-order-filter controllers design for integer order systems

One of the reasons of the great success of standard PID controllers is the presence of simple tuning rules, of the automatic tuning feature and of tables that simplify significantly their design. For the fractional order case, some tuning rules have been proposed in the literature. However, they are not general because they are valid only for some model cases. In this paper, a new approach is investigated. The fractional property is not especially imposed by the controller structure but by the closed loop reference model. The resulting controller is fractional but it has a very interesting structure for its implementation. Indeed, the controller can be decomposed into two transfer functions: an integer transfer function which is generally an integer PID controller and a simple fractional filter.     

Estimation and disturbance rejection performance for fractional order fuzzy systems

This paper gives attention to the issues of output tracking and disturbance rejection performance for a class of fractional order Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy systems in the presence of time-varying delay and unknown external disturbances. More specifically, a new configuration of a fractional order modified repetitive controller that incorporates an improved equivalent-input-disturbance estimator and gain fluctuations in its design is proposed to perform disturbance rejection for the addressed system. By introducing a continuous frequency distributed equivalent model and using the Lyapunov–Krasovskii stability theory, a new set of sufficient conditions ensuring robust asymptotic stability of the resulting closed-loop system is obtained in the framework of linear matrix inequalities. Finally, a numerical example is presented to validate the developed theoretical results, where it is shown that the obtained conditions could force the considered system output to exactly track the given any kind of reference signal by compensating the unknown external disturbance.     

An innovative fixed-pole numerical approximation for fractional order systems

A novel numerical approximation scheme is proposed for fractional order systems by the concept of identification. An identical equation is derived firstly, from which one can obtain the exact state space model of fractional order systems. It reveals the nature of the approximation problem, and then provides an effective scheme to obtain the desired model. This research project also focuses on solving a knotty but crucial issue, i.e., the initial value problem of fractional order systems. The results generated by the study prove that it can reduce to the Caputo case by selecting some specific initial values. A careful simulation study is reported to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. To exhibit the superiority clearly, the results are compared with that of the published fixed-pole finite model method.     

Generalized characteristic ratios assignment for commensurate fractional order systems with one zero

In this paper, a new method for determination of the desired characteristic equation and zero location of commensurate fractional order systems is presented. The concept of the characteristic ratio is extended for zero-including commensurate fractional order systems. The generalized version of characteristic ratios is defined such that the time-scaling property of characteristic ratios is also preserved. The monotonicity of the magnitude frequency response is employed to assign the generalized characteristic ratios for commensurate fractional order transfer functions with one zero. A simple pattern for characteristic ratios is proposed to reach a non-overshooting step response. Then, the proposed pattern is revisited to reach a low overshoot (say for example 2%) step response. Finally, zero-including controllers such as fractional order PI or lag (lead) controllers are designed using generalized characteristic ratios assignment method. Numerical simulations are provided to show the efficiency of the so designed controllers.