Control of LTI systems subject to unanticipated extreme perturbations using self-tuning 3-term switching controllers

In the design of conventional control systems for a multivariable system, using robust/adaptive control techniques, the motivation is to design a controller which "works satisfactorily" in the presence of plant uncertainty. Unfortunately, however, if large unanticipated structural changes subsequently occur in the system, severe limitations in practical performance may occur, since such conventional control schemes usually do not have the ability to control systems which are subject to unplanned extreme changes. Moreover, for the realistic situation when control input constraints exist, few results for continuous time multivariable systems are available. In this paper, a new class of self-tuning proportional-integral-derivative switching controllers, which is an extension of the self-tuning integral controller of Miller and Davison, is described, and has the property that it is robust to unplanned extreme changes in the plant and satisfies any feasible control signal input constraints. Results of this self-tuning controller when applied to an experimental multivariable system also are described.