Fractional Order Systems in Industrial Automation—A Survey

This paper describes an emerging tool for industry: fractional order systems. Conventional understanding of the notion of derivative and integral uses integer orders and our sense is mature in their physical interpretations. Derivatives or integrals of fractional orders are generalizations of the concept containing the classical cases and solutions based on fractional order operators utilize the full flexibility offered by the mathematical definitions. The interest of the industry to fractional order systems lie in the fact that complicated modules can be simplified significantly and practical applications can be diverse. This paper describes linear and nonlinear cases with necessary stability and performance considerations for the benefit of a practicing engineer exploiting informatics in industry.