Robust H∞ dynamic output-feedback control for four-wheel independently actuated electric ground vehicles through integrated AFS/DYC

This paper simultaneously addresses the parameter/state uncertainties, external disturbances, input saturations, and actuator faults in the handling and stability control for four-wheel independently actuated (FWIA) electric ground vehicles (EGVs). Considering the high cost of the available sensors for vehicle lateral velocity measurement, a robust H_∞ dynamic output-feedback controller is designed to control the vehicle motion without using the lateral velocity information. The investigated parameter/state uncertainties include the tire cornering stiffness, vehicle mass, and vehicle longitudinal velocity. The unmodeled terms in the vehicle lateral dynamics model are dealt as the external disturbances. Faults of the active steering system and in-wheel motors can cause dangerous consequences for driving, and are considered in the control design. Input saturation issues for the tire forces can deteriorate the control effects, and are handled by the proposed strategy. Integrated control with active front steering (AFS) and direct yaw moment (DYC) is adopted to control the vehicle yaw rate and sideslip angle simultaneously. Simulation results based on a high-fidelity and full-car model via CarSim-Simulink show the effectiveness of the proposed control approach.     

Data-driven discrete terminal sliding mode decoupling control method with prescribed performance

This paper proposes a data-driven terminal sliding mode decoupling controller with prescribed performance for a class of discrete-time multi-input multi-output systems in the presence of external disturbances and uncertainties. First, utilizing a discrete-time extended state observer and a compact form dynamic linearization data model, we derive a new data-driven mothod and establish the relationship between the input and output signals of controlled plant. Moreover, the disturbances, uncertainties, and couplings are suppressed owing to the application of the terminal sliding mode technique. Combined with the principle of prescribed performance control, the terminal sliding mode law with prescribed performance is derived. With the proposed data-driven method, the tracking error is lower, and the decoupling ability is improved. Furthermore, the stability of the control system is proven. Finally, a simulation is conducted on a three-tank system to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.     

Output feedback robust H∞ control for spacecraft rendezvous system subject to input saturation: A gain scheduled approach

In this paper, the problem of output feedback robust H_∞ control for spacecraft rendezvous system with parameter uncertainties, disturbances and input saturation is investigated. Firstly, a full-order state observer is designed to reconstruct the full state information, whose gain matrix can be obtained by solving the linear matrix inequality (LMI). Subsequently, by combining the parametric Riccati equation approach and gain scheduled technique, an observer-based robust output feedback gain scheduled control scheme is proposed, which can make full use of the limited control capacity and improve the control performance by scheduling the control gain parameter increasingly. Rigorous stability analyses are shown that the designed discrete gain scheduled controller has faster convergence performance and better robustness than static gain controller. Finally, the performance and advantage of the proposed gain scheduled control scheme are demonstrated by numerical simulation.     

Robust cascaded horizontal-plane trajectory tracking for fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles

This paper investigates the problem of horizontal-plane trajectory tracking for fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) subjected to external disturbances and uncertainties including coupling and unmodeled dynamics. Under the assumption there exist ideal inner-loop controllers, the 12-state model is reduced to a 6-state translational motion model, which is described by a group of simplified nonlinear equations with equivalent disturbances via introducing general aerodynamic models. Then a new cascaded control structure consisting of an outer-loop controller for position control and inner-loop controllers for attitude and thrust control is proposed. Based on feedback linearization technology and signal compensation theory, the proposed controller applied for position control incorporates a nominal linear time-invariant controller and a robust compensator, the latter of which is introduced to restrain the effects of uncertainties and disturbances. The robust performance of the closed-loop system is proved. Actual experimental results conducted on a small fixed-wing aircraft demonstrate that the proposed control approach is effective.     

Event-triggered sliding mode tracking control of autonomous surface vehicles

This paper is concerned with an event-triggered sliding mode control (SMC) scheme for trajectory tracking in autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs). First, an event-triggered variable that consists of tracking error, desired trajectory and exogenous input of the reference system is introduced to decrease the magnitude of the robust SMC term. Then, the reaching conditions of the designed event-triggered sliding mode are established. Moreover, the event-triggered induced errors that exist in the rotation matrix of the ASV are analyzed. In the presence of parameter uncertainties and external disturbances, the proposed event-triggered SMC scheme can ensure the control accuracy and low-frequency actuator updates. Then both actuator wear and energy consumption of the actuators can be reduced comparing with the traditional time-triggered controller. The proposed controller not only guarantees uniform ultimate boundedness of the tracking error but also ensures non-accumulation of inter-execution times. The results are illustrated through simulation examples.     

Discrete-time output feedback quasi-sliding mode control for robust tracking and model following of uncertain systems

A discrete-time output feedback quasi-sliding mode control scheme is proposed to realize the problem of robust tracking and model following for a class of uncertain linear systems in which states are unavailable and estimated states are not required. The proposed scheme guarantees the stability of the closed-loop system and achieves a very small ultimate boundedness of the tracking error in the presence of matched uncertain parameters and external slow disturbances. This scheme ensures the robustness to matched parametric uncertainties and disturbances. Since the proposed controller is designed without any switching element, the chattering phenomenon is eliminated. Furthermore, the knowledge of upper bound of uncertainties is not required. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.     

Output feedback adaptive robust control of hydraulic actuator with friction and model uncertainty compensation

This paper studies output feedback control of hydraulic actuators with modified continuous LuGre model based friction compensation and model uncertainty compensation. An output feedback adaptive robust controller is constructed which combines the adaptive control part and the robust control part seamlessly. The adaptive part is constructed to handle the parametric uncertainties existed in the model. The residuals coming from parameter adaption and the unmodeled dynamics are taken into consideration by the robust part. Since only the position signal is available, the velocity, pressure, and internal friction states are obtained by observation or estimation. The errors coming from observation and estimation are also dealt with the robust part. Furthermore, the convergence of the closed-loop controller–observer scheme is achieved by the Lyapunov method in the presence of parametric uncertainties only. Extensive comparative experiments performed on a hydraulic actuator demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller–observer scheme.     

Funnel-based adaptive fuzzy finite-time control for non-affine nonlinear systems preceded by unknown actuators

In this paper, an adaptive finite-time funnel control for non-affine strict-feedback nonlinear systems preceded by unknown non-smooth input nonlinearities is proposed. The input nonlinearities include backlash-like hysteresis and dead-zone. Unknown nonlinear functions are handled using fuzzy logic systems (FLS), based on the universal approximation theorem. An improved funnel error surface is utilized to guarantee the steady-state and transient predetermined performances while the differentiability problem in the controller design is averted. Using the Lyapunov approach, all the adaptive laws are extracted. In addition, an adaptive continuous robust term is added to the control input to relax the assumption of knowing the bounds of uncertainties. All the signals in the closed-loop system are shown to be semi-globally practically finite-time bounded with predetermined performance for output tracking error. Finally, comparative numerical and practical examples are provided to authenticate the efficacy and applicability of the proposed scheme.     

Robust input shaping control for multi-mode flexible structures using neuro-sliding mode output feedback control

Input shaping provides an effective method for suppressing residual vibration of flexible structure systems. However, it is not very robust to parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. In this paper, a closed-loop input shaping method is developed for suppressing residual vibration of multi-mode flexible structure systems with parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. The proposed scheme integrates both input shaping control and discrete-time neuro-sliding mode output feedback control (NSMOFC). The input shaper is designed for the reference model and implemented outside of the feedback loop to achieve the exact elimination of residual vibration. In the feedback loop, the discrete-time NSMOFC technique is employed to make the closed-loop system behave like the reference model with input shaper, where the residual vibration is suppressed. The selection of switching surface and the existence of sliding mode have been addressed. The knowledge of upper bound of uncertainties is not required. Furthermore, it is shown that increasing the robustness to parameter uncertainties does not lengthen the duration of the impulse sequence. Simulation results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed closed-loop input shaping control scheme.     

Robust motion control of quadrotors

In this paper, the robust motion control problem is investigated for quadrotors. The proposed controller includes two parts: an attitude controller and a position controller. Both the attitude and position controllers include a nominal controller and a robust compensator. The robust compensators are introduced to restrain the influence of uncertainties such as nonlinear dynamics, coupling, parametric uncertainties, and external disturbances in the rotational and translational dynamics. It is proven that the position tracking errors are ultimately bounded and the boundaries can be specified by choosing controller parameters. Experimental results on the quadrotor demonstrate the effectiveness of the robust control method.     

Output feedback Cross-Coupled Nonlinear PID based MIMO control scheme for Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor

The dynamics of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) are complex and open-loop unstable in nature. In such systems, parametric and input disturbances may cause instability if the control system fails to reject these disturbances. For such a large, unstable and uncertain process, designing a control scheme with the ability to reject disturbances along with good reference tracking capabilities is a challenging problem. The control scheme should not only be robust but also deterministic and easier to implement. In order to fulfill all these control scheme requirements for nuclear industries, in this work, a Cross-Coupled Nonlinear Proportional Integral Derivative (CCN-PID) scheme is suggested for a 70th order Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) PHWR. It is also shown in this work that the proposed CCN-PID is a simple Cross-Coupled Proportional, Nonlinear Integrator and Derivative (CC-PNID) sliding surface based Sliding Mode Control (SMC). Furthermore, for the output feedback design, a High Gain Observer (HGO) is constructed for the PHWR process. In order to assure robust stability of the closed loop system, a Lyapunov based analysis of the state feedback CCN-PID control scheme is firstly presented. Then, in a similar way, robust stability analysis of HGO is carried out and finally, the stability analysis of the HGO and CCN-PID based output feedback control scheme is evaluated. In order to investigate the performance of the designed HGO based output feedback CCN-PID control scheme, four different scenarios are simulated. The results of these simulations show that the suggested control scheme efficiently rejects parametric uncertainties and input disturbances and corrects the power tilts while keeping the reactor stable and within safe limits of operation. The results also show that the scheme controls the reactor in an effective manner such that the reactor power closely follows the reference signal. The results of the control scheme presented in this work are also compared with earlier works.     

Event-triggered dynamic output feedback tracking control for large-scale interconnected systems with disturbances

This paper is concerned with the event-triggered dynamic output feedback tracking control for large-scale interconnected systems with disturbances. For each node, a novel event-triggered mechanism is driven by local relative output tracking error to determine whether the signal will be transmitted. A two-step optimization is applied for dynamic output feedback controller design which guarantees robust stability of the system with an optimal H_∞ disturbance attenuation level. Finally, a simulation example of master-slave multiple vehicles is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.     

Robust output feedback attitude tracking control for rigid-flexible coupling spacecraft

This paper investigates the robust attitude tracking control problem for a rigid-flexible coupling spacecraft. First, the dynamic model for a rigid-flexible coupling spacecraft is established based on the first-order approximation method to fully reveal the coupling effect between rigid movement and flexible displacement when the spacecraft is in rapid maneuver. In the condition that flexible vibration measurements are not available, an robust output feedback controller which is independent of model is presented using Lyapunov method with considering state-independent disturbances. To resolve the chattering problem caused by the discontinuous sign function, a modified continuous output feedback controller is proposed by introducing functions with continuous property. Rigorous proof is achieved showing that the proposed control law ensures asymptotic stability and guarantees the attitude of a rigid-flexible spacecraft to track a time-varying reference attitude based on angle and angular velocity measurements only. Finally, simulations are carried out to verify the simplicity and effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

Sum-of-squares-based robust H∞ controller design for discrete-time polynomial fuzzy systems

This paper investigates a robust H_∞ controller design for discrete-time polynomial fuzzy systems based on the sum-of-squares (SOS) approach when model uncertainties and external disturbances are simultaneously considered. At the beginning of the controller design procedure, a general discrete-time polynomial fuzzy control system proposed in this paper is used to represent a nonlinear system containing model uncertainties and external disturbances. Subsequently, through use of a nonquadratic Lyapunov function and the H_∞ performance index, the novel SOS-based robust H_∞ stability conditions are derived to guarantee the stability of the entire control system. By solving those stability conditions, control gains of the robust H_∞ polynomial fuzzy controller are obtained. Because the model uncertainties and external disturbances are considered simultaneously in the controller design procedure, the closed-loop control system achieves greater robustness and H_∞ performance against model uncertainties and external disturbances. Moreover, the novel operating-domain-based robust H_∞ stability conditions are derived by considering the operating domain constraint to relax the conservativeness of solving the stability conditions. Finally, simulation results demonstrated the availability and effectiveness of the proposed stability conditions, which are more general than those used in existing approaches.     

Real time observer and control scheme for a wind turbine system based on a high order sliding modes

The introduction of advanced control algorithms may improve considerably the efficiency of wind turbine systems. This work proposes a high order sliding mode (HOSM) control scheme based on the super twisting algorithm for regulating the wind turbine speed in order to obtain the maximum power from the wind. A robust aerodynamic torque observer, also based on the super twisting algorithm, is included in the control scheme in order to avoid the use of wind speed sensors. The presented robust control scheme ensures good performance under system uncertainties avoiding the chattering problem, which may appear in traditional sliding mode control schemes. The stability analysis of the proposed HOSM observer is provided by means of the Lyapunov stability theory. Experimental results show that the proposed control scheme, based on HOSM controller and observer, provides good performance and that this scheme is robust with respect to system uncertainties and external disturbances.     

Quadrotor vehicle control via sliding mode controller driven by sliding mode disturbance observer

Over the last decade, considerable interest has been shown from industry, government and academia to the design of Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) autonomous aerial vehicles. This paper uses the recently developed sliding mode control driven by sliding mode disturbance observer (SMC-SMDO) approach to design a robust flight controller for a small quadrotor vehicle. This technique allows for a continuous control robust to external disturbance and model uncertainties to be computed without the use of high control gain or extensive computational power. The robustness of the control to unknown external disturbances also leads to a reduction of the design cost as less pre-flight analyses are required. The multiple-loop, multiple time-scale SMC-SMDO flight controller is designed to provide robust position and attitude control of the vehicle while relying only on knowledge of the limits of the disturbances. Extensive simulations of a 6 DOF computer model demonstrate the robustness of the control when faced with external disturbances (including wind, collision and actuator failure) as well as model uncertainties.     

Synchronization for chaotic systems via mixed-objective dynamic output feedback robust model predictive control

This paper focuses on mixed-objective dynamic output feedback robust model predictive control (OFRMPC) for the synchronization of two identical discrete-time chaotic systems with polytopic uncertainties, energy bounded disturbances, and input constraint. Using active control strategy, the chaos synchronization is transformed into standard dynamic OFRMPC scenarios tractable through receding horizon min–max optimization. Utilizing the notion of quadratic boundedness, the augmented closed-loop stability is further characterized. Then, the concepts of mixed performance criteria are firstly incorporated into the dynamic OFRMPC scheme to guarantee both the robust stability and the disturbance attenuation ability while preserving better dynamical behaviors. Necessary and/or sufficient conditions for desired mixed-objective dynamic OFRMPC are formulated involving linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Finally, two numerical examples are given to demonstrate the theoretical results.     

Quantized asynchronous extended dissipative observer-based sliding mode control for Markovian jump TS fuzzy systems

This article is dedicated to the issue of asynchronous adaptive observer-based sliding mode control for a class of nonlinear stochastic switching systems with Markovian switching. The system under examination is subject to matched uncertainties, external disturbances, and quantized outputs and is described by a TS fuzzy stochastic switching model with a Markovian process. A quantized sliding mode observer is designed, as are two modes-dependent fuzzy switching surfaces for the error and estimated systems, based on a mode dependent logarithmic quantizer. The Lyapunov approach is employed to establish sufficient conditions for sliding mode dynamics to be robust mean square stable with extended dissipativity. Moreover, with the decoupling matrix procedure, a new linear matrix inequality-based criterion is investigated to synthesize the controller and observer gains. The adaptive control technique is used to synthesize asynchronous sliding mode controllers for error and SMO systems, respectively, so as to ensure that the pre-designed sliding surfaces can be reached, and the closed-loop system can perform robustly despite uncertainties and signal quantization error.Finally, simulation results on a one-link arm robot system are provided to show potential applications as well as validate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.     

Robust input/output model matching of asynchronous sequential machines under intermittent actuator faults

A robust model matching control scheme for input/output asynchronous sequential machines (ASMs) with intermittent actuator faults is presented in the framework of corrective control. In our problem setting, certain actuator outputs are not transmitted to the machine temporarily owing to random faults. We first present a state observer that predicts the current stable state of the machine based on the output burst and control input, as well as diagnoses actuator faults. We then address the existence condition and design procedure for an output-feedback corrective controller that matches the input/output behavior of the closed-loop system to that of a reference model against intermittent loss of actuator outputs. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed control method, we implement a practical asynchronous digital system with the developed corrective controller on the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) circuit. Experimental verifications using the FPGA circuit are also provided.     

Synchronization of second-order chaotic systems via adaptive terminal sliding mode control with input nonlinearity

In the presence of system uncertainties, external disturbances and input nonlinearity, this paper is concerned with the adaptive terminal sliding mode controller to achieve synchronization between two identical attractors which belong to a class of second-order chaotic system. The proposed controller with adaptive feedback gains can compensate nonlinear dynamics of the synchronous error system without calculating the magnitudes of them. Meanwhile, these feedback gains are updated by the novel adaptive rules without required that the bounds of system uncertainties and external disturbances have to be known in advance. Some sufficient conditions for stability are provided based on the Lyapunov theorem and numerical studies are performed to verify the effectiveness of presented scheme.