Boundary Observer for Output-Feedback Stabilization of Thermal-Fluid Convection Loop

In this paper, we consider a 2-D model of thermal fluid convection that exhibits the prototypical Rayleigh-Bernard convective instability. The fluid is enclosed between two cylinders, heated from above, and cooled from below, which makes its motion unstable for a large enough Rayleigh number. We design an stabilizing output feedback boundary control law for a realistic collocated setup, with actuation and measurements located at the outer boundary. Actuation is through rotation (direct velocity actuation) and heat flux (heating or cooling) of the outer cylinder, while measurements of friction and temperature are obtained at the same boundary. Though only a linearized version of the plant is considered in the design, an extensive closed loop simulation study of the nonlinear model shows that our design works for reasonably large initial conditions. A highly accurate approximation to the control kernels and observer output injection gains is found in closed form.