Efficient method for time-domain simulation of the linear feedback systems containing fractional order controllers

One main approach for time-domain simulation of the linear output-feedback systems containing fractional-order controllers is to approximate the transfer function of the controller with an integer-order transfer function and then perform the simulation. In general, this approach suffers from two main disadvantages: first, the internal stability of the resulting feedback system is not guaranteed, and second, the amount of error caused by this approximation is not exactly known. The aim of this paper is to propose an efficient method for time-domain simulation of such systems without facing the above mentioned drawbacks. For this purpose, the fractional-order controller is approximated with an integer-order transfer function (possibly in combination with the delay term) such that the internal stability of the closed-loop system is guaranteed, and then the simulation is performed. It is also shown that the resulting approximate controller can effectively be realized by using the proposed method. Some formulas for estimating and correcting the simulation error, when the feedback system under consideration is subjected to the unit step command or the unit step disturbance, are also presented. Finally, three numerical examples are studied and the results are compared with the Oustaloup continuous approximation method.