Solution of delay fractional optimal control problems using a hybrid of block-pulse functions and orthonormal Taylor polynomials

This paper introduces an efficient direct approach for solving delay fractional optimal control problems. The concepts of the fractional integral and the fractional derivative are considered in the Riemann–Liouville sense and the Caputo sense, respectively. The suggested framework is based on a hybrid of block-pulse functions and orthonormal Taylor polynomials. The convergence of the proposed hybrid functions with respect to the L²-norm is demonstrated. The operational matrix of fractional integration associated with the hybrid functions is constructed by using the Laplace transform method. The problem under consideration is transformed into a mathematical programming one. The method of Lagrange multipliers is then implemented for solving the resulting optimization problem. The performance and computational efficiency of the developed numerical scheme are assessed through various types of delay fractional optimal control problems. Our numerical findings are compared with either exact solutions or the existing results in the literature.     

Direct solution of nonlinear optimal control problems using quasilinearization and Chebyshev polynomials

In this paper, a numerical method to solve nonlinear optimal control problems with terminal state constraints, control inequality constraints and simple bounds on the state variables, is presented. The method converts the optimal control problem into a sequence of quadratic programming problems. To this end, the quasilinearization method is used to replace the nonlinear optimal control problem with a sequence of constrained linear-quadratic optimal control problems, then each of the state variables is approximated by a finite length Chebyshev series with unknown parameters. The method gives the information of the quadratic programming problem explicitly (The Hessian, the gradient of the cost function and the Jacobian of the constraints). To show the effectiveness of the proposed method, the simulation results of two constrained nonlinear optimal control problems are presented.     

Adaptive pseudospectral methods for solving constrained linear and nonlinear time-delay optimal control problems

In this paper, we first develop an adaptive shifted Legendre–Gauss (ShLG) pseudospectral method for solving constrained linear time-delay optimal control problems. The delays in the problems are on the state and/or on the control input. By dividing the domain of the problem into a uniform mesh based on the delay terms, the constrained linear time-delay optimal control problem is reduced to a quadratic programming problem. Next, we extend the application of the adaptive ShLG pseudospectral method to nonlinear problems through quasilinearization. Using this scheme, the constrained nonlinear time-delay optimal control problem is replaced with a sequence of constrained linear-quadratic sub-problems whose solutions converge to the solution of the original nonlinear problem. The method is called the iterative-adaptive ShLG pseudospectral method. One of the most important advantages of the proposed method lies in the case with which nonsmooth optimal controls can be computed when inequality constraints and terminal constraints on the state vector are imposed. Moreover, a comparison is made with optimal solutions obtained analytically and/or other numerical methods in the literature to demonstrate the applicability and accuracy of the proposed methods.     

A new direct method based on the Chebyshev cardinal functions for variable-order fractional optimal control problems

In this paper, a new direct method based on the Chebyshev cardinal functions is proposed to solve a class of variable-order fractional optimal control problems (V-OFOCPs). To this end, a new operational matrix (OM) of variable-order (V-O) fractional derivative in the Caputo sense is derived for these basis functions and is used to obtain an approximate solution for the problem under study. In the proposed method, the state and the control variables are expanded in terms of the Chebyshev cardinal functions with unknown coefficients, at first. Then, the OM of V-O fractional derivative and some properties of the Chebyshev cardinal functions are employed to achieve a nonlinear algebraic equation corresponding to the performance index and a nonlinear system of algebraic equations corresponding to the dynamical system in terms of the unknown coefficients. Finally, the method of constrained extremum is applied, which consists of adjoining the constraint equations derived from the given dynamical system and the initial conditions to the performance index by a set of undetermined Lagrange multipliers. As a result, the necessary conditions of optimality are derived as a system of algebraic equations in the unknown coefficients of the state variable, control variable, and Lagrange multipliers. Furthermore, some numerical examples of different types are demonstrated with their approximate solutions for confirming the high accuracy and applicability of the proposed method.     

Chebyshev series approach to system identification,analysis and optimal control

The problems of identification, analysis and optimal control have been recently studied via orthogonal functions. The particular orthogonal functions used up to now are the Walsh, the block-pulse and the Laguerre functions. In this paper, the Chebyshev functions are introduced and solutions for the aforementioned problems are established. The algorithms proposed are analogous to those already derived for the Walsh, block-pulse and Laguerre functions. The Chebyshev series approach presented here appears to have certain advantages over other orthogonal series, and they may therefore be more suitable for the study of the problems of identification, analysis and optimal control.     

A computational study of optimal control of Markov jump systems

This paper considers a class of optimal control problems governed by Markov jump systems. Our focus is to develop a computational method, based on the control parametrization approach, for solving this class of optimal control problems. Due to the existence of the continuous-time Markov chain, the optimal control problem under consideration is a stochastic optimal control problem, and hence the control parametrization technique cannot be applied directly. For this, a derandomization approach is introduced to obtain a representative deterministic optimal control problem. Then, the control parametrization method is applied to obtain an approximate finite dimensional optimization problem which can be computed numerically using the gradient-based optimization method. For this, the gradient formulas of the cost function and the constraint functions with respect to control variables are derived. Finally, a practical application involving a RLC circuit model is solved using the method proposed.     

Application of a parametrization method to problem of optimal control

A new approach to the problem of optimal control of linear dynamic systems is proposed that makes use of a method of input and state parametrization to transform the original problem into a problem of the Calculus of Variations. In contrast to the standard approaches for this class of problems, two salient features of the new approach are that no Lagrange multiplier functions need to be invoked and that the class of inputs can be restricted to the - relatively small - class of continuous functions, even for problems with fixed end-states. The resulting necessary conditions of optimality, i.e., the Euler-Lagrange equation and the boundary conditions for the transformed problem, are proved to be equivalent to those resulting from the standard method of First Variations. In case of quadratic cost functionals, the new approach provides a simpler alternative to the well known, but equally difficult, Riccati differential equation approach and results in a simple dynamic state-feedback implementation of the optimal control.     

Adaptive dynamic programing design for the neural control of hypersonic flight vehicles

An adaptive dynamic programming controller based on backstepping method is designed for the optimal tracking control of hypersonic flight vehicles. The control input is divided into two parts namely stable control and optimal control. First, the back-stepping method is exploited via neural networks (NNs) to estimate unknown functions. Then, the computational load is reduced by the minimal-learning-parameter (MLP) scheme. To avoid the problem of “explosion of terms”, a first-order filter is adopted. Next, the optimal controller is designed based on the adaptive dynamic programming. In order to solve the Hamiltonian equation, NNs estimators are introduced to approximate performance indicators, achieving the approximate optimal control of hypersonic flight vehicles. Finally, the effectiveness and advantages of the control method are verified by simulation results.     

Quadcopter formation flight control combining MPC and robust feedback linearization

This paper presents an integrated and practical control strategy to solve the leader–follower quadcopter formation flight control problem. To be specific, this control strategy is designed for the follower quadcopter to keep the specified formation shape and avoid the obstacles during flight. The proposed control scheme uses a hierarchical approach consisting of model predictive controller (MPC) in the upper layer with a robust feedback linearization controller in the bottom layer. The MPC controller generates the optimized collision-free state reference trajectory which satisfies all relevant constraints and robust to the input disturbances, while the robust feedback linearization controller tracks the optimal state reference and suppresses any tracking errors during the MPC update interval. In the top-layer MPC, two modifications, i.e. the control input hold and variable prediction horizon, are made and combined to allow for the practical online formation flight implementation. Furthermore, the existing MPC obstacle avoidance scheme has been extended to account for small non-apriorily known obstacles. The whole system is proved to be stable, computationally feasible and able to reach the desired formation configuration in finite time. Formation flight experiments are set up in Vicon motion-capture environment and the flight results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed formation flight architecture.     

Numerical solutions of optimal control for linear time-varying systems with delays via hybrid functions

By applying hybrid functions of general block-pulse functions and Legendre polynomials, the linear-quadratic problem of linear time-varying systems with delays are transformed into the optimization problem of multivariate functions. The approximate solutions of the optimal control and state as well as the optimal value of the objective functional are derived. The numerical examples illustrate that the algorithms are valid.     

Global exact tracking for uncertain MIMO linear systems by output feedback sliding mode control

This paper presents a solution to the problem of global exact output tracking for uncertain MIMO (multiple-input–multiple-output) linear plants with non-uniform arbitrary relative degree using output feedback sliding mode control. The key idea to overcome the relative degree obstacle is to generalize our previous hybrid estimation scheme to a multivariable version by combining, through switching, a standard linear lead filter with a non-linear one based on robust exact differentiators, achieving uniform global exponential practical stability and exact tracking.     

A composite pseudospectral method for solving multi-delay optimal control problems involving piecewise constant delay functions

An adaptive numerical method for solving multi-delay optimal control problems with piecewise constant delay functions is introduced. The proposed method is based on composite pseudospectral method using the well-known Legendre–Gauss–Lobatto points. In this approach, the main problem converts to a mathematical optimization problem whose solution is much more easier than the original one. The necessary conditions of optimality associated to nonlinear piecewise constant delay systems are derived. The method is easy to implement and provides very accurate results.     

Robust suboptimal feedback control for a fed-batch nonlinear time-delayed switched system

The optimal control strategy constructed in the form of a state feedback is effective for small state perturbations caused by changes in modeling uncertainty. In this paper, we investigate a robust suboptimal feedback control (RSPFC) problem governed by a nonlinear time-delayed switched system with uncertain time delay arising in a 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) microbial fed-batch process. The feedback control strategy is designed based on the radial basis function to balance the two (possibly competing) objectives: (i) the system performance (concentration of 1,3-PD at the terminal time of the fermentation) is to be optimal; and (ii) the system sensitivity (the system performance with respect to the uncertainty of the time-delay) is to be minimized. The RSPFC problem is subject to the continuous state inequality constraints. An exact penalty method and a novel time scaling transformation approach are used to transform the RSPFC problem into the one subject only to box constraints. The resulting problem is solved by a hybrid optimization algorithm based on a filled function method and a gradient-based algorithm. Numerical results are given to verify the effectiveness of the developed hybrid optimization algorithm.     

Optimal control of linear delay systems via hybrid of block-pulse and Legendre polynomials

A method for finding the optimal control of a linear time varying delay system with quadratic performance index is discussed. The properties of the hybrid functions which consists of block-pulse functions plus Legendre polynomials are presented. The operational matrices of integration, delay and product are utilized to reduce the solution of optimal control to the solution of algebraic equations. Illustrative examples are included to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the technique.     

A direct approach using the finite element method for the solution of the linear optimal control problem with a quadratic criterion

The present paper proposes a numerical approach to a linear optimal control problem with a quadratic performance index. In this technique, the time interval is divided into a number of time segments and all of the unknown functions which appear in the performance index are either interpolated linearly with respect to time or assumed to be constant in each time segment. The augmented performance index is discretized within each time element through the ordinary finite element technique.The main advantage of the present method is as follows: all of the necessary conditions for the performance index to be stationary can be expressed in the form of algebraic equations and the performance sequence of the state variables can be eliminated. As a result, the optimal control problem is reduced to the simple one of finding the sequence of control variables alone, which minimizes the quadratic performance index.A general formulation of the method is given and simple numerical examples are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technique.     

Iterative algorithms for optimal design of columns subject to a stress constraint

Two algorithms based on an integral equation formulation of the buckling optimization problem are formulated and implemented. The objective of the optimization is to maximize the buckling load of an elastically restrained column by optimally designing the cross-sectional area subject to a minimum cross-section or maximum stress constraint. The first approach involves solving the resulting integral equations iteratively taking into account the boundary conditions, the optimality criterion and the imposed constraints. In the second approach an iterative finite difference approximation scheme is developed.The column is elastically restrained at both ends which produce the simple support and clamped end conditions for the limiting cases leading to the optimal design of columns under general boundary conditions. The above problems do not have analytical solutions due to the complexity of the boundary conditions, constraints and the optimality conditions necessitating the formulation of computational schemes for their solution. Several numerical results are given and compared with available results in the literature. Moreover the accuracy of the methods is studied by comparing the iterative solutions with finite element ones and with exact results when available.     

Decentralized control for multi-sensors networked systems with different transmission delays and packet dropouts

In this paper, the linear quadratic (LQ) optimal decentralized control and stabilization problems are investigated for multi-sensors networked control systems (MSNCSs) with multiple controllers of different information structure. Specifically, for a MSNCS, in view of the packet dropouts and the transmission delays, each controller may access different information sets. To begin with, the sufficient and necessary solvability conditions for the LQ decentralized control problems are developed. Consequently, for the purpose of deriving the optimal decentralized control strategy, an innovative orthogonal decomposition method is proposed to decouple the forward and backward stochastic difference equations (FBSDEs) from the maximum principle. In the following, we show that the optimal decentralized controller can be calculated according to a set of Riccati-type equations. Finally, a stabilizing controller is derived for the stabilization problem.     

Adaptive optimal tracking controls of unknown multi-input systems based on nonzero-sum game theory

This paper focuses on the optimal tracking control problem (OTCP) for the unknown multi-input system by using a reinforcement learning (RL) scheme and nonzero-sum (NZS) game theory. First, a generic method for the OTCP of multi-input systems is formulated with steady-state controls and optimal feedback controls based on the NZS game theory. Then a three-layer neural network (NN) identifier is introduced to approximate the unknown system, and the input dynamics are obtained by using the derivative of the identifier. To transform the OTCP into a regulation optimal problem, an augmentation of the multi-input system is constructed by using the tracking error and the commanded trajectory. Moreover, we use an NN-based RL method to online learn the optimal value functions of all the inputs, which are then directly used to calculate the optimal tracking controls. All the NN weights are tuned synchronously online with a newly introduced adaptation based on the estimation error. The convergence of the NN weights and the stability of the closed-loop system are analyzed. Finally, a two-motor driven servo system and another nonlinear system are presented to illustrate the feasibility of the algorithm for both linear and nonlinear multi-input systems.     

Optimal finite-time passive controller design for uncertain nonlinear Markovian jumping systems

This paper studies the optimal finite-time passive control problem for a class of uncertain nonlinear Markovian jumping systems (MJSs). The Takagi and Sugeno (T–S) fuzzy model is employed to represent the nonlinear system with Markovian jump parameters and norm-bounded uncertainties. By selecting an appropriate Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, it gives a sufficient condition for the existence of finite-time passive controller such that the uncertain nonlinear MJSs is stochastically finite-time bounded for all admissible uncertainties and satisfies the given passive control index in a finite time-interval. The sufficient condition on the existence of optimal finite-time fuzzy passive controller is formulated in the form of linear matrix inequalities and the designed algorithm is described as an optimization one. A numerical example is given at last to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design approach.