Robust stability analysis using LMIs: Beyond small gain and passivity

Dissipative linear time-invariant (LTI) systems represent a large class of systems, which include bounded real, positive real and sector bounded systems as special cases, In this paper, a sufficient condition is developed for stability of the feedback interconnection of two dissipative LTI systems. The stability result generalizes and unifies previous stability results such as small gain, passivity and sector-boundedness theorems. State-space characterization of dissipative LTI systems is presented in terms of a "dissipativity lemma", which extends the positive realness (Kalman-Yakubovich), bounded realness and sector-boundedness lemmas. These conditions are equivalently expressed as linear matrix inequalities.

A robust stability framework for LTI systems with time-varying sampling

Robust stability analysis of polytopic linear time-invariant (LTI) systems is a basic problem in engineering. This paper analyzes the complexity of three fundamental methods used to address this problem, all of them providing a sufficient and necessary condition (with finite and known sizes) for robust stability. The first method is based on the use of a polynomially parameter-dependent Lyapunov function. The second method is a simplified version of the Routh-Hurwitz stability criterion. Lastly, the third method is based on eigenvalue combinations. It is explained that the robust stability conditions provided by these three methods require to establish positive definiteness of symmetric matrix forms (SMFs) over the simplex. Also, it is explained that a sufficient condition for the latter problem can be given in terms of a linear matrix inequality (LMI) feasibility test. Hence, the complexity of the three methods is analyzed and compared by deriving the number of scalar variables in the LMI feasibility tests. A numerical example is also presented to investigate the computational time of these tests.

Driven by recent telecommunication demand, shared communication channels are more abundant today than ever before. These shared wired/wireless networks for communication are being exploited more and more in control systems to connect sensors, controllers and actuators resulting in so-called networked control systems (NCSs). NCSs replace the more traditional control systems where dedicated point-to-point (wired) connections are being used. The advantages of using NCS technology are inexpensive and easily modifiable communication links which allow control algorithms to be easily implemented in situations where dedicated connections are not possible (either economically or physically). However, the drawback is that the control system is susceptible to undesirable (possibly destabilizing) side-effects such as time-varying transmission intervals, time-varying delays, packet dropouts, quantization and a shared communication medium. These network-induced effects undermine fundamental assumptions on which traditional control theory is built and, therefore, it is essential to develop new techniques and tools that can be used to analyze and/or design control systems which communicate via a shared network. This thesis advances NCS analysis and design methodologies by contributing new theoretical developments, new software tools and new experimental validation results. The first new theoretical development is in the area of analyzing robust stability properties with respect to network-induced effects. A sum of squares (SOS) approach for a class of nonlinear NCSs incorporating bounded time-varying delays, bounded time-varying transmission intervals and a shared communication medium is developed. Mathematical models that describe these nonlinear NCSs are cast into suitable hybrid system formulations. Based on these hybrid system formulations, (families of) Lyapunov functions are constructed using SOS techniques. Amongst other benefits, it is shown that this technique improves the guaranteed robustness margins compared to existing work. The second new theoretical development concerns the design of networkaware decentralized controllers guaranteeing robust stability properties with respect to network-induced effects. We develop one of the first approaches based on semidefinite programming techniques to synthesize stabilizing decentralized observer-based output-feedback controllers for linear plants where the controllers, sensors and actuators are connected via a shared communication network subject to time-varying transmission intervals and delays. To effectively deal with the shared communication medium, a switched observer structure is adopted that switches based on the transmitted measured outputs and a switched controller structure is also adopted that switches based on the transmitted control inputs at each transmission time. By taking a discrete-time switched linear system perspective on modeling these decentralized NCSs, we are able to derive a general model that captures all these networked and decentralized control aspects. We provide linear matrix inequality (LMI)-based synthesis conditions which, if satisfied, provide stabilizing observer-based controllers that are both decentralized and robust to network effects. Regarding new software tools, the first prototype of a toolbox is developed to automate (robust) stability analysis (and controller design) for NCSs. Specifically, it is shown that the toolbox can be employed to efficiently verify if a linear time-invariant (LTI) plant and an LTI controller interconnected with a shared network are robust to certain network imperfections. The main intention of the toolbox is to make the available theory readily accessible to and applicable for the general control community. Additionally, the chosen software structure enables the incorporation of custom models or custom stability/performance analysis conditions in an easy manner, thereby allowing the control community to contribute and to further develop the toolbox. Finally, an experimental case study involving a wirelessly controlled inverted pendulum/cart system is investigated. In particular, the communication network itself is analyzed such that the network-induced effects can be characterized in terms of bounds on the transmission intervals and transmission delays. Based on these bounds, the prototype toolbox is applied to analyze the robustness regions for different performance specifications, which aid in tuning the controller to achieve more closed-loop robustness with respect to the network-induced effects. This leads to a validation of the developed theory in an experimental setting. In addition to the validation of the developed theory, many new insights into the network behavior are obtained and explained, thereby raising new interesting questions for future research on NCSs.

An LMI approach to design robust fault detection filter for uncertain LTI systems

For continuous-time linear time-invariant (LTI) systems with polytopic uncertainties, we develop a robust sampled-data state-feedback control design scheme in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Truncated power series expansions are used to approximate a discretized model of the original continuous-time system. The system matrices obtained by using the power series approximations are then expressed as homogeneous polynomial parameter-dependent (HPPD) matrices of finite degrees, and conditions for designing the controller are formulated as a HPPD matrix inequality, which can be solved by means of a recent LMI relaxation technique to test the positivity of HPPD matrices with variables in the simplex. To take care of the errors induced by the remainder terms of the truncated power series, the terms are considered as norm bounded uncertainties and then incorporated into the proposed LMI conditions. Finally, examples are used to illustrate the approach.

Frequency-domain stability conditions for asynchronously sampled decentralized LTI systems

The use of avionics networks for flight control system has reduced aircraft weight, system installation, integration and maintenance costs as well as introduced time delays and structured uncertainties. This paper studies the robust stability and stabilisation problem of uncertain networked flight control system with random time delays. Some new sufficient criteria with simple mathematical forms for robust stability and stabilisation of networked flight control system are derived by a free weighting matrix approach. A memoryless state feedback robust controller and the maximum bound of time delay are obtained based on the solution of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) which are established by the Lyapunov-Krasovskii stability theory. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of design procedure.

In this paper, we consider robust stability and stabilization of uncertain Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy time-delay systems where uncertainties come into the state and input matrices. Some stability conditions and robust stability conditions for fuzzy time-delay systems have already been obtained in the literature. However, those conditions are rather conservative and do not guarantee the stability of a wide class of fuzzy systems. This is true in case of designing stabilizing controllers for fuzzy time-delay systems and it thus leads to a conservative fuzzy controller design as well. We first consider rather relaxed robust stability conditions of uncertain fuzzy systems. To this end, we introduce an auxiliary system to the original fuzzy time-delay system to obtain generalized delay-dependent stability conditions. Such an auxiliary system has some arbitrary matrices that generalize not only the system representation but also delay-dependent stability conditions. Conditions we obtain here are delay-dependent conditions that depend on the upper bound of time-delay, and are given in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Then, we compare our delay-dependent stability conditions with other conditions in the literature, and show that our conditions guarantee the stability of a wider class of systems than others. Next, we consider the robust stabilization problem with memoryless and delayed state feedback controllers. Based on our generalized robust stability conditions, we obtain delay-dependent sufficient conditions for the closed-loop system to be robustly stable, and give a design method of robustly stabilizing controllers. Finally, we give three examples that illustrate our results.

This study investigates characteristic root equivalency relations between commensurate order and integer order Linear Time Invariant (LTI) systems. Author introduces some useful properties of a special class of commensurate order systems, which is called characteristic root equivalency class of LTI systems. These properties present potential to facilitate design and analysis efforts of this class of commensurate order systems. In this sense, straightforward stability checking procedures and design approaches for commensurate order root equivalent systems of the first and second order LTI systems are demonstrated. Findings of the study are validated by illustrative examples.

A novel linear time-invariant (LTI) system model with fractional degree generalized frequency variables (FDGFVs) is proposed in this paper. This model can provide a unified form for many complex systems, including fractional-order systems, distributed-order systems, multi-agent systems and so on. This study mainly investigates the stability and robust stability problems of LTI systems with FDGFVs. By characterizing the relationship between generalized frequency variable and system matrix, a necessary and sufficient stability condition is firstly presented for such systems. Then for LTI systems with uncertain FDGFVs, we present a robust stability method in virtue of zero exclusion principle. Finally, the effectiveness of the method proposed in this paper is demonstrated by analyzing the robust stability of gene regulatory networks.

In this paper, we consider generalized delay-dependent stability conditions of Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy systems with discrete and distributed time-delays. For fuzzy systems with discrete time-delays, both delay-independent stability conditions and delay-dependent stability conditions have already been obtained. However, no stability condition for fuzzy systems with distributed time-delays has appeared in the literature. This is also true in case of the robust stability for uncertain fuzzy systems with distributed time-delays. With the aid of the stability theorems of linear systems with distributed time-delays, we employ a similar Lyapunov functional for the stability of fuzzy time-delay systems. Then we introduce many free matrices to such a Lyapunov functional, in order to obtain delay-dependent stability conditions. These techniques lead to generalized and less conservative stability conditions. In fact, delay-dependent stability conditions thus obtained are given in linear matrix inequalities(LMIs) and guarantee a wide stability region. We also consider the robust stability of fuzzy time-delay systems with uncertain parameters. Applying the same techniques made on the stability conditions, we obtain delay-dependent sufficient conditions for the robust stability of uncertain fuzzy systems with discrete and distributed time-delays. Moreover, we consider the state feedback stabilization. Based on stability and robust stability conditions, we obtain conditions for the state feedback controller to stabilize the fuzzy time-delay systems. Finally, we take some examples to illustrate our results.

This paper reviews robust feedback control applications in power system. Robust control concept in power system control area evolves by the way of uncertainty modeling. Uncertainties can be caused by variation of loading, load parameters, network topology and machine parameters. One direct way to take into consideration of uncertainties is to enumerate various system operating conditions and use a set of linear time invariant systems to model the power systems. Enumeration method is used in robust control signal selection and robust controller design. Another way is to model uncertainties as structured or unstructured uncertainties. Controllers are designed based on nominal system condition to tolerate uncertainty as much as possible. The controller synthesis problem is solved by either Algebraic Ricatti Equation (ARE) or Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI). LMI is shown to be more flexible in controller design since it provides a way to specify system dynamic performance. Most recently, linear parameter varying (LPV) concept expands the use of enumeration method to express a set of linear time invariant (LTI) systems with state space dependent on linear parameters. LPV based control methods extend gain scheduling to design linear control for each operating conditions and overall a nonlinear controller for the varying parameter system.

<para xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> This paper addresses robust performance analysis problems of linear time-invariant (LTI) systems affected by real parametric uncertainties. These problems, known also as a special class of structured singular value computation problems, are inherently intractable (NP-hard problems). As such intensive research effort has been made to obtain computationally tractable and less conservative analysis conditions, where linear matrix inequality (LMI) plays an important. Nevertheless, since LMI-based conditions are expected to be conservative in general, it is often the case that we cannot conclude anything if the LMI at hand turns out to be infeasible. This motivates us to consider the dual of the LMI and examine the structure of the dual solution. By pursuing this direction, in this paper, we provide rank conditions on the dual solution matrix under which we can conclude that the underlying robust performance is never attained. In particular, a set of uncertain parameters that violates the specified performance can be computed. These results come from block-moment matrix structure of the dual variable, which is consistent with the recent results on polynomial optimization. This particular structure enables us to make good use of simultaneous diagonalizability property of commuting diagonalizable matrices so that the sound rank conditions for the exactness verification can be obtained. </para>

On a Small Phase Theorem with Necessity over Phase Bounded Nonlinear Uncertainties⋆