Model reference adaptive control design for nonlinear systems using linear time varying approximations

This paper presents a model reference adaptive control design approach for a class of nonlinear systems. A nonlinear reference model is considered in the design of adaptive control for the nonlinear system. The design approach is based on successive linear time varying (LTV) approximations of the nonlinear reference model and the system. The convergence proof of the responses of successive approximations to the response of nonlinear system is given. Provided that there exists an adaptive control for the approximated system, the model reference adaptive control is then designed for LTV systems whose responses converge to the response of the nonlinear system. The proposed model reference adaptive control approach is illustrated with an example which shows the effectiveness of the method.