A synthesis theory for the externally excited adaptive system (EEAS)

The externally excited adaptive system (EEAS) is a two-degree-of-freedom feedback system with a nonlinearity which is saturated hard by an external periodic signal. Under certain conditions, the EEAS responds quasilinearly to command and plant disturbance signals, permitting the development of a quantitative synthesis theory for satisfying system tolerances despite large plant uncertainty. The great advantage of the EEAS is its zero sensitivity to plant gain variations, a property it shares with the self-oscillating adaptive system (SOAS). The EEAS is, however, more flexible than the SOAS in satisfying the quasilinearity constraints. The essential difference is that in the EEAS the loop transmission bandwidth is not rigorously tied to the "carrier" signal, as it is in the SOAS. There is a class of problems for which the EEAS is superior to the purely linear system, which in turn is superior to the SOAS. The superiority of the EEAS over the SOAS is especially marked in the case of significant plant disturbances, which generally vitiate a SOAS design.