Relationship between poles and zeros of input–output and chain-scattering systems

A system is frequently represented by transfer functions in an input–output characterization. However, such a system (under mild assumptions) can also be represented by transfer functions in a port characterization, frequently referred to as a chain-scattering representation. Due to its cascade properties, the chain-scattering representation is used throughout many fields of engineering. This paper studies the relationship between poles and zeros of input–output and chain-scattering representations of the same system.     

A test for stability robustness of linear time‐varying systems utilizing the linear time‐invariant ν‐gap metric

A stability robustness test is developed for internally stable, nominal, linear time‐invariant (LTI) feedback systems subject to structured, linear time‐varying uncertainty. There exists (in the literature) a necessary and sufficient structured small gain condition that determines robust stability in such cases. In this paper, the structured small gain theorem is utilized to formulate a (sufficient) stability robustness condition in a scaled LTI ν‐gap metric framework. The scaled LTI ν‐gap metric stability condition is shown to be computable via linear matrix inequality techniques, similar to the structured small gain condition. Apart from a comparison with a generalized robust stability margin as the final part of the stability test, however, the solution algorithm implemented to test the scaled LTI ν‐gap metric stability robustness condition is shown to be independent of knowledge about the controller transfer function (as opposed to the LMI feasibility problem associated with the scaled small gain condition which is dependent on knowledge about the controller). Thus, given a nominal plant and a structured uncertainty set, the stability robustness condition presented in this paper provides a single constraint on a controller (in terms of a large enough generalized robust stability margin) that (sufficiently) guarantees to stabilize all plants in the uncertainty set. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Factorization of multipliers in passivity and IQC analysis

Multipliers are often used to find conditions for the absolute stability of Lur’e systems. They can be used either in conjunction with passivity theory or within the more recent framework of integral quadratic constraints (IQCs). We compare the use of multipliers in both approaches. Passivity theory requires that the multipliers have a canonical factorization and it has been suggested in the literature that this represents an advantage of the IQC theory. We consider sufficient conditions on the nonlinearity class for the associated multipliers to have a canonical factorization.     

Robust performance analysis for uncertain negative‐imaginary systems

Negative‐imaginary systems are important in engineering practice as this class of systems appears quite often in practical problems, for example, lightly damped flexible structures with collocated position sensors and force actuators. In this paper, an analytical framework for robust performance of uncertain negative‐imaginary systems is proposed. The results are obtained by transforming negative‐imaginary systems into a bounded‐real framework via the positive‐real property. This paper deals with all the significant technical difficulties that appear due to the transformation and the punctured j ω‐axis frequency condition of negative‐imaginary systems. The problem is equivalently cast into a structured singular value condition that gives a quantitative performance test for this class of systems. This result also gives an analytical framework for robust stability when the perturbations are mixture of bounded‐real and negative‐imaginary uncertainties. A numerical example is presented to show the usefulness of the proposed methods. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A “mixed” small gain and passivity theorem in the frequency domain

We show that the negative feedback interconnection of two causal, stable, linear time-invariant systems, with a “mixed” small gain and passivity property, is guaranteed to be finite-gain stable. This “mixed” small gain and passivity property refers to the characteristic that, at a particular frequency, systems in the feedback interconnection are either both “input and output strictly passive”; or both have “gain less than one”; or are both “input and output strictly passive” and simultaneously both have “gain less than one”. The “mixed” small gain and passivity property is described mathematically using the notion of dissipativity of systems, and finite-gain stability of the interconnection is proven via a stability result for dissipative interconnected systems.     

Simultaneous optimization of performance weights and a controller in mixed-μ synthesis

In this paper, we investigate the problem of synthesizing performance weights and a controller that maximize the level of robust performance for a plant subject to both complex and real uncertainties. In particular, in this work the formulation proposed in Lanzon (2005a) and Lanzon and Cantoni (2003) is manipulated in order to include the possibility to handle both real and complex uncertainties. Additionally, we introduce a novel solution algorithm that presents performance and computational advantages with respect to those described in Lanzon (2005a) and Lanzon and Cantoni (2003).     

Robust stability and performance analysis for uncertain linear systems—The distance measure approach

This paper presents readily applicable distance measures, robust stability margins and associated robust stability and robust performance theorems for three commonly used uncertainty structures (additive, input/output multiplicative, output/input inverse multiplicative). Besides providing robust stability results for a larger uncertainty class than previously reported (???_∞ instead of ???_∞), this paper also states robust performance theorems for the above uncertainty structures. In contrast to previous methods for robust performance analysis, they only require the computation of two infinity norms for every uncertain plant considered. The theorems in this paper enable practising engineers to choose the most suitable uncertainty structure for a family of uncertain plants, as illustrated through a physically motivated numerical example. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distributed robust stabilization of networked multiagent systems with strict negative imaginary uncertainties

This paper deals with the distributed robust stabilization problem for networked multiagent systems with strict negative imaginary (SNI) uncertainties. Communication among agents in the network is modelled by an undirected graph with at least one self‐loop. A protocol based on relative state measurements of neighbouring agents and absolute state measurements of a subset of agents is considered. This paper shows how to design the protocol parameters such that the uncertain closed‐loop networked multiagent system is robustly stable against any SNI uncertainty within a certain set for various different network topologies. Tools from negative imaginary (NI) theory are used as an aid to simplify the problem and synthesise the protocol parameters. We show that a state, input, and output transformation preserves the NI property of the network. Consequently, a necessary and sufficient condition for the transfer function matrix of the nominal closed‐loop networked system to be NI and satisfy a DC gain condition is that multiple reduced‐order equivalent systems be NI and satisfy a DC gain condition simultaneously. Based on the reduced‐order systems, we derive sufficient conditions in an LMI framework which ensure the existence of a protocol satisfying the desired objectives. A numerical example is given to confirm the effectivenesses of the proposed results.     

An iterative algorithm for maximizing robust performance in loop‐shaping design

In this paper, an algorithm that gives the best achievable performance bound on a given control problem is proposed using the loop‐shaping design framework. In view of standard design requirements, the robust performance is maximized at low and high frequencies while keeping the robust stability margin above a specified level, and the robust stability margin is directly improved at mid frequencies (around crossover). The proposed frequency‐dependent optimization problem is cast in an LMI framework. The resulting solution algorithm simultaneously synthesizes loop‐shaping weights and a stabilizing controller that achieve the maximum performance for a given level of robust stability margin corresponding to sufficient gain and phase margins of the closed‐loop system. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On lossless negative imaginary systems

The paper is concerned with the notion of lossless negative imaginary systems and their stabilization using strictly negative imaginary controllers through positive feedback. Firstly, the concept of lossless negative imaginary transfer functions is introduced and some properties of such transfer functions are studied. Secondly, a Lossless Negative Imaginary Lemma is given which establishes conditions on matrices appearing in a minimal state-space realization that are necessary and sufficient for a transfer function to be lossless negative imaginary. Thirdly, a necessary and sufficient condition is provided for the stabilization of a lossless negative imaginary system by a strictly negative imaginary controller. Finally, a flexible structure example is presented to illustrate the theory.