Control of non-self-adjoint distributed-parameter systems

Systems involving viscous damping forces, circulatory forces and aerodynamic forces are non-self-adjoint. A method capable of controlling non-self-adjoint distributed systems is the independent modalspace control method, whereby the problem of controlling a distributed-parameter system is reduced to that of controlling an infinite set of independent complex second-order ordinary differential equations. In the case of optimal control, one must solve independent complex scalar Riccati equations. The transient solution of the Riccati equations can be found with relative ease and the steady-state solution can be found in closed-form. A numerical example demonstrates the effectiveness of the method.