\(H_\infty\) control and its applications (Q1271327)

In a typical analytical design of control systems, the given specifications are first transformed into a performance criterion, and then control laws which would minimize the performance criterion are sought. Two important and well-known criteria are the \(H_2\) norm and the \(H_\infty\) norm of a transfer matrix from an exogenous disturbance to a pertinent controlled output of a given linear time-invariant plant. This book aims to study the \(H_\infty\) control wherein the control design problem is modelled as a problem of minimizing the \(H_\infty\) norm of a certain closed-loop transfer matrix under appropriate feedback control laws. The goal is to examine both the theoretical and practical aspects of \(H_\infty\) control from the point of view of structural properties of linear systems. The objectives are to provide constructive algorithms for finding solutions to general singular \(H_\infty\) control problems, and to general \(H_\infty\) almost disturbance decoupling problems, as well as to apply these techniques to solve some real life problems. Two practical problems are presented in the book. The first one is about a piezoelectric bimorph actuator system, which has a potential application in forming a dual actuator system for the hard disk drives of the next generation. The second problem is about a gyro-stabilized mirror targeting system. The problem treated in this book is general, i.e., it does not necessarily satisfy the regularity assumptions. The main focus of the book is to concentrate on: 1) the computation of the infimum in an \(H_\infty\) optimization problem, which must be known before one can carry out any meaningful design, 2) solutions to the general \(H_\infty\) optimization problem, 3) solutions to the general \(H_\infty\) disturbance decompling problem, which itself is a very important subject, 4) the practical applications of \(H_\infty\) control. The book contains 13 chapters and refers both to continuous-time time-invariant linear systems and discrete-time time-invariant linear systems. The intended audience of this book may include practicing control engineers and researchers in areas related to control engineering. An appropriate background for this monograph would be some first year graduate courses in linear systems and multivariable control.