Pedro Ascencio

Pedro Ascencio, Alessandro Astolfi, Thomas Parisini

Backstepping design for boundary linear PDE is formulated as a convex optimization problem. Some classes of parabolic PDEs and a first-order hyperbolic PDE are studied, with particular attention to non-strict feedback structures. Based on the compactness of the Volterra and Fredholm type operators involved, their Kernels are approximated via polynomial functions. The resulting Kernel-PDEs are optimized using Sum-of-Squares(SOS) decomposition and solved via semidefinite programming, with sufficient precision to guarantee the stability of the system in the L2-norm. The effectiveness and limitations of the approach proposed are illustrated by numerical solutions of some Kernel-PDEs.

Pedro Ascencio, Kirk Smith, David Howey et al.

This paper presents an augmented state observer design for the simultaneous estimation of charge state and crossover flux in disproportionation redox flow batteries, which exhibits exponential estimation error convergence to a bounded residual set. The crossover flux of vanadium through the porous separator is considered as an unknown function of the battery states, model-approximated as the output of a persistently excited linear system. This parametric model and the simple isothermal lumped parameter model of the battery are combined to form an augmented space state representation suitable for the observer design, which is carried out via Lyapunov stability theory including the error-uncertainty involved in the approximation of the crossover flux. The observer gain is calculated by solving a polytopic linear matrix inequality problem via convex optimization. The performance of this design is evaluated with a laboratory flow battery prototype undergoing self-discharge.