On singular nonlinear \(H^\infty\) control: A state-space approach (Q1971591)

The paper considers the following smooth \((C^\infty)\) singular nonlinear affine \(H^\infty\) framework: \[ \begin{aligned} \dot x & = A(x)+ B_1(x)w+ B_2(x)u,\\ z & = C_1(x),\tag{1}\\ y & = C_2(x)+ \breve D(x)w,\end{aligned} \] where \(z(t)\in \mathbb{R}^{p_1}\), \(y(t)\in \mathbb{R}^{p_2}\), \(w(t)\in \mathbb{R}^{m_1}\) and, \(u(t)\in\mathbb{R}^{m_2}\) are the error, observation, disturbance, and control input, respectively. The states \(x= (x_1,x_2,\dots, x_n)\) are local coordinates for a state-space manifold \(M\) defined in a neighborhood \(\Omega\) of the origin in \(\mathbb{R}^n\). It is assumed that \(x= 0\) is an equilibrium point, and also that \(A(0)= 0\), \(C_1(0)= 0\), and \(C_2(0)= 0\). The singular nonlinear affine \(H^\infty\) control problem is then modeled so as to choose a controller \(K\) that connects the observation vector \(y\) to \(u\) such that \(K\) locally, asymptotically stabilizes the closed-loop system in a neighborhood \(\Omega\) of the origin. Furthermore, the closed-loop system has a local \(L_2\)-gain which is less than or equal to a prescribed number \(\gamma\). A simple state-space approach for the four-block singular nonlinear \(H^\infty\) control problem is proposed in this paper. This approach combines a \((J,J')\)-lossless and a class of conjugate \((J,J')\)-expansive systems to yield a family of nonlinear \(H^\infty\) output feedback controllers. The singular nonlinear \(H^\infty\) control problem is thus transformed into a simple lossless network problem that is easy to deal within a network-theory context.