Iasson Karafyllis

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

The paper provides results for the application of boundary feedback control with Zero-Order-Hold (ZOH) to 1-D linear parabolic systems on bounded domains. It is shown that the continuous-time boundary feedback applied in a sample-and-hold fashion guarantees closed-loop exponential stability, provided that the sampling period is sufficiently small. Two different continuous-time feedback designs are considered: the reduced model design and the backstepping design. The obtained results provide stability estimates for weighted 2-norms of the state and robustness with respect to perturbations of the sampling schedule is guaranteed.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

For 1-D parabolic PDEs with disturbances at both boundaries and distributed disturbances we provide ISS estimates in various norms. Due to the lack of an ISS Lyapunov functional for boundary disturbances, the proof methodology uses (i) an eigenfunction expansion of the solution, and (ii) a finite-difference scheme. The ISS estimate for the sup-norm leads to a refinement of the well-known maximum principle for the heat equation. Finally, the obtained results are applied to quasi-static thermoelasticity models that involve nonlocal boundary conditions. Small-gain conditions that guarantee the global exponential stability of the zero solution for such models are derived.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

Robustness is established for the predictor feedback for linear time-invariant systems with respect to possibly time-varying perturbations of the input delay, with a constant nominal delay. Prior results have addressed qualitatively constant delay perturbations (robustness of stability in L2 norm of actuator state) and delay perturbations with restricted rate of change (robustness of stability in H1 norm of actuator state). The present work provides simple formulae that allow direct and accurate computation of the least upper bound of the magnitude of the delay perturbation for which exponential stability in supremum norm on the actuator state is preserved. While prior work has employed Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals constructed via backstepping, the present work employs a particular form of small-gain analysis. Two cases are considered: the case of measurable (possibly discontinuous) perturbations and the case of constant perturbations.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

This paper establishes the equivalence between systems described by a single first-order hyperbolic partial differential equation and systems described by integral delay equations. System-theoretic results are provided for both classes of systems (among them converse Lyapunov results). The proposed framework can allow the study of discontinuous solutions for nonlinear systems described by a single first-order hyperbolic partial differential equation under the effect of measurable inputs acting on the boundary and/or on the differential equation. An illustrative example shows that the conversion of a system described by a single first-order hyperbolic partial differential equation to an integral delay system can simplify considerably the solution of the corresponding robust feedback stabilization problem.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic, Katerina Chrysafi

For parabolic PDEs, we present a new certainty equivalence-based adaptive boundary control scheme with a least-squares identifier of an event-triggering type, where the triggering is based on the size of the regulation error (as opposed to the identifier updates being triggered by the estimation error, or the control changes being triggered by the regulation error). The scheme guarantees exponential convergence of the state to zero in the L2 norm and a finite-time convergence of the parameter estimates to the true values of the unknown parameters. The scheme is developed for a specific benchmark problem with Dirichlet actuation, where the only unknown parameters are the reaction coefficient and the high-frequency gain. For this specific problem, no existing adaptive scheme can handle the unknown high-frequency gain. An illustrative example allows the comparison with other adaptive control design methodologies.

Iasson Karafyllis, Maria Kontorinaki, Miroslav Krstic

The paper extends a recently proposed indirect, certainty-equivalence, event-triggered adaptive control scheme to the case of non-observable parameters. The extension is achieved by using a novel Batch Least-Squares Identifier (BaLSI), which is activated at the times of the events. The BaLSI guarantees the finite-time asymptotic constancy of the parameter estimates and the fact that the trajectories of the closed-loop system follow the trajectories of the nominal closed-loop system ("nominal" in the sense of the asymptotic parameter estimate, not in the sense of the true unknown parameter). Thus, if the nominal feedback guarantees global asymptotic stability and local exponential stability, then unlike conventional adaptive control, the newly proposed event-triggered adaptive scheme guarantees global asymptotic regulation with a uniform exponential convergence rate. The developed adaptive scheme is tested to a well-known control problem: the state regulation of the wing-rock model. Comparisons with other adaptive schemes are provided for this particular problem.

Markos Papageorgiou, Kyriakos-Simon Mountakis, Iasson Karafyllis et al.

A novel paradigm for vehicular traffic in the era of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) is proposed, which includes two combined principles: lane-free traffic and vehicle nudging, whereby vehicles are "pushing" (from a distance, using communication or sensors) other vehicles in front of them. This traffic paradigm features several advantages, including: smoother and safer driving; increase of roadway capacity; and no need for the anisotropy restriction. The proposed concept provides, for the first time since the automobile invention, the possibility to actively design (rather than describe) the traffic flow characteristics in an optimal way, i.e. to engineer the future CAV traffic flow as an efficient artificial fluid. Options, features, application domains and required research topics are discussed. Preliminary simulation results illustrate some basic features of the concept.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

Implementation is a common problem with feedback laws with distributed delays. This paper focuses on a specific aspect of the implementation problem for predictor-based feedback laws: the problem of the approximation of the predictor mapping. It is shown that the numerical approximation of the predictor mapping by means of a numerical scheme in conjunction with a hybrid feedback law that uses sampled measurements, can be used for the global stabilization of all forward complete nonlinear systems that are globally asymptotically stabilizable and locally exponentially stabilizable in the delay-free case. Special results are provided for the linear time invariant case. Explicit formulae are provided for the estimation of the parameters of the resulting hybrid control scheme.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

We present bounded dynamic (but observer-free) output feedback laws that achieve global stabilization of equilibrium profiles of the partial differential equation (PDE) model of a simplified, age-structured chemostat model. The chemostat PDE state is positive-valued, which means that our global stabilization is established in the positive orthant of a particular function space-a rather non-standard situation, for which we develop non-standard tools. Our feedback laws do not employ any of the (distributed) parametric knowledge of the model. Moreover, we provide a family of highly unconventional Control Lyapunov Functionals (CLFs) for the age-structured chemostat PDE model. Two kinds of feedback stabilizers are provided: stabilizers with continuously adjusted input and sampled-data stabilizers. The results are based on the transformation of the first-order hyperbolic partial differential equation to an ordinary differential equation (one-dimensional) and an integral delay equation (infinite-dimensional). Novel stability results for integral delay equations are also provided; the results are of independent interest and allow the explicit construction of the CLF for the age-structured chemostat model.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

For nonlinear systems that are known to be globally asymptotically stabilizable, control over networks introduces a major challenge because of the asynchrony in the transmission schedule. Maintaining global asymptotic stabilization in sampled-data implementations with zero-order hold and with perturbations in the sampling schedule is not achievable in general but we show in this paper that it is achievable for the class of feedforward systems. We develop sampled-data feedback stabilizers which are not approximations of continuous-time designs but are discontinuous feedback laws that are specifically developed for maintaining global asymptotic stabilizability under any sequence of sampling periods that is uniformly bounded by a certain "maximum allowable sampling period".

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

This work studies the design problem of feedback stabilizers for discrete-time systems with input delays. A backstepping procedure is proposed for disturbance-free discrete-time systems. The feedback law designed by using backstepping coincides with the predictor-based feedback law used in continuous-time systems with input delays. However, simple examples demonstrate that the sensitivity of the closed-loop system with respect to modeling errors increases as the value of the delay increases. The paper proposes a Lyapunov redesign procedure which can minimize the effect of the uncertainty. Specific results are provided for linear single-input discrete-time systems with multiplicative uncertainty. The feedback law that guarantees robust global exponential stability is a nonlinear, homogeneous of degree 1 feedback law.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

We provide two solutions to the heretofore open problem of stabilization of systems with arbitrarily long delays at the input and output of a nonlinear system using output feedback only. Both of our solutions are global, employ the predictor approach over the period that combines the input and output delays, address nonlinear systems with sampled measurements and with control applied using a zero-order hold, and require that the sampling/holding periods be sufficiently short, though not necessarily constant. Our first approach considers general nonlinear systems for which the solution map is available explicitly and whose one-sample-period predictor-based discrete-time model allows state reconstruction, in a finite number of steps, from the past values of inputs and output measurements. Our second approach considers a class of globally Lipschitz strict-feedback systems with disturbances and employs an appropriately constructed successive approximation of the predictor map, a high-gain sampled-data observer, and a linear stabilizing feedback for the delay-free system. We specialize the second approach to linear systems, where the predictor is available explicitly. We provide two illustrative examples-one analytical for the first approach and one numerical for the second approach.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

We present a methodology for the global sampled-data stabilization of systems with a compact absorbing set and input/measurement delays. The methodology is based on the Inter-Sample-Predictor, Observer, Predictor, Delay-Free Controller (ISP-O-P-DFC) scheme and the stabilization is robust to perturbations of the sampling schedule. The obtained results are novel even for the delay-free case.

Iasson Karafyllis, Markos Papageorgiou

The paper provides results for the stabilization of a spatially uniform equilibrium profile for a scalar conservation law that arises in the study of traffic dynamics under variable speed limit control. Two different control problems are studied: the problem with free speed limits at the inlet and the problem with no speed limits at the inlet. Explicit formulas are provided for respective feedback laws that guarantee stabilization of the desired equilibrium profile. For the first problem, global asymptotic stabilization is achieved; while for the second problem, regional exponential stabilization is achieved. Moreover, the solutions for the corresponding closed-loop systems are guaranteed to be classical solutions, i.e., there are no shocks. The obtained results are illustrated by means of a numerical example.

Kevin Schmidt, Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

For population systems modeled by age-structured hyperbolic partial differential equations (PDEs) that are bilinear in the input and evolve with a positive-valued infinite-dimensional state, global stabilization of constant yield set points was achieved in prior work. Seasonal demands in biotechnological production processes give rise to time-varying yield references. For the proposed control objective aiming at a global attractivity of desired yield trajectories, multiple non-standard features have to be considered: a non-local boundary condition, a PDE state restricted to the positive orthant of the function space and arbitrary restrictive but physically meaningful input constraints. Moreover, we provide Control Lyapunov Functionals ensuring an exponentially fast attraction of adequate reference trajectories. To achieve this goal, we make use of the relation between first-order hyperbolic PDEs and integral delay equations leading to a decoupling of the input-dependent dynamics and the infinite-dimensional internal one. Furthermore, the dynamic control structure does not necessitate exact knowledge of the model parameters or online measurements of the age-profile. With a Galerkin-based numerical simulation scheme using the key ideas of the Karhunen-Loève-decomposition, we demonstrate the controller's performance.

Iasson Karafyllis, Zhong-Ping Jiang

This paper studies the use of vector Lyapunov functions for the design of globally stabilizing feedback laws for nonlinear systems. Recent results on vector Lyapunov functions are utilized. The main result of the paper shows that the existence of a vector control Lyapunov function is a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a smooth globally stabilizing feedback. Applications to nonlinear systems are provided: simple and easily checkable sufficient conditions are proposed to guarantee the existence of a smooth globally stabilizing feedback law. The obtained results are applied to the problem of the stabilization of an equilibrium point of a reaction network taking place in a continuous stirred tank reactor.

Tarek Ahmed-Ali, Iasson Karafyllis, Francoise Lamnabhi-Lagarrigue

This paper presents new results concerning the observer design for wide classes of nonlinear systems with both sampled and delayed measurements. By using a small gain approach we provide sufficient conditions, which involve both the delay and the sampling period, ensuring exponential convergence of the observer system error. The proposed observer is robust with respect to measurement errors and perturbations of the sampling schedule. Moreover, new results on the robust global exponential state predictor design problem are provided, for wide classes of nonlinear systems.

Iasson Karafyllis, Maria Kontorinaki, Miroslav Krstic

We provide estimates for the asymptotic gains of the displacement of a vibrating string with endpoint forcing, modeled by the wave equation with Kelvin-Voigt and viscous damping and a boundary disturbance. Two asymptotic gains are studied: the gain in the L2 spatial norm and the gain in the spatial sup norm. It is shown that the asymptotic gain property holds in the L2 norm of the displacement without any assumption for the damping coefficients. The derivation of the upper bounds for the asymptotic gains is performed by either employing an eigenfunction expansion methodology or by means of a small-gain argument, whereas a novel frequency analysis methodology is employed for the derivation of the lower bounds for the asymptotic gains. The graphical illustration of the upper and lower bounds for the gains shows that that the asymptotic gain in the L2 norm is estimated much more accurately than the asymptotic gain in the sup norm.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

We construct a family of globally defined dynamical systems for a nonlinear programming problem, such that: (a) the equilibrium points are the unknown (and sought) critical points of the problem, (b) for every initial condition, the solution of the corresponding initial value problem converges to the set of critical points, (c) every strict local minimum is locally asymptotically stable, (d) the feasible set is a positively invariant set, and (e) the dynamical system is given explicitly and does not involve the unknown critical points of the problem. No convexity assumption is employed. The construction of the family of dynamical systems is based on an extension of the Control Lyapunov Function methodology, which employs extensions of LaSalle's theorem and are of independent interest. Examples illustrate the obtained results.

Iasson Karafyllis, Maria Kontorinaki, Markos Papageorgiou

This work is devoted to the construction of feedback laws which guarantee the robust global exponential stability of the uncongested equilibrium point for general discrete-time freeway models. The feedback construction is based on a control Lyapunov function approach and exploits certain important properties of freeway models. The developed feedback laws are tested in simulation and a detailed comparison is made with existing feedback laws in the literature. The robustness properties of the corresponding closed-loop system with respect to measurement errors are also studied.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

This paper provides global exponential stabilization results by means of boundary feedback control for 1-D nonlinear unstable reaction-diffusion Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) with nonlinearities of superlinear growth. The class of systems studied are parabolic PDEs with nonlinear reaction terms that provide "damping" when the norm of the state is large (the class includes reaction-diffusion PDEs with polynomial nonlinearities). The case of Dirichlet actuation at one end of the domain is considered and a Control-Lypunov Functional construction is applied in conjunction with Stampacchia's truncation method. The paper also provides several important auxiliary results; among which is an extension of Wirtinger's inequality, used here for the construction of the Control Lyapunov functional.

Iasson Karafyllis, Michael Malisoff, Miroslav Krstic

We study a feedback stabilization problem for a first-order hyperbolic partial differential equation. The problem is inspired by the stabilization of equilibrium age profiles for an age-structured chemostat, using the dilution rate as the control. Two distinguishing features of the problem are that (a) the PDE has a multiplicative (instead of an additive) input and (b) the state is fed back to the inlet boundary. We provide a sampled-data feedback that ensures stabilization under arbitrarily sparse sampling and that satisfies input constraints. Our chemostat feedback does not require measurement of the age profile, nor does it require exact knowledge of the model.

Iasson Karafyllis, Costas Kravaris

This paper develops sufficient conditions for the existence of global exponential observers for two classes of nonlinear systems: (i) the class of systems with a globally asymptotically stable compact set, and (ii) the class of systems that evolve on an open set. In the first class, the derived continuous-time observer also leads to the construction of a robust global sampled-data exponential observer, under additional conditions. Two illustrative examples of applications of the general results are presented, one is a system with monotone nonlinearities and the other is the chemostat system.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

The paper provides results for the application of boundary feedback control with Zero-Order-Hold (ZOH) to 1-D linear, first-order, hyperbolic systems with non-local terms on bounded domains. It is shown that the emulation design based on the recently proposed continuous-time, boundary feedback, designed by means of backstepping, guarantees closed-loop exponential stability, provided that the sampling period is sufficiently small. It is also shown that, contrary to the parabolic case, a smaller sampling period implies a faster convergence rate with no upper bound for the achieved convergence rate. The obtained results provide stability estimates for the sup-norm of the state and robustness with respect to perturbations of the sampling schedule is guaranteed.

Iasson Karafyllis, Lars Grune

In this work we study the problem of step size selection for numerical schemes, which guarantees that the numerical solution presents the same qualitative behavior as the original system of ordinary differential equations, by means of tools from nonlinear control theory. Lyapunov-based and Small-Gain feedback stabilization methods are exploited and numerous illustrating applications are presented for systems with a globally asymptotically stable equilibrium point. The obtained results can be used for the control of the global discretization error as well.

Iasson Karafyllis

In this work we show that given a nonlinear programming problem, it is possible to construct a family of dynamical systems defined on the feasible set of the given problem, so that: (a) the equilibrium points are the unknown critical points of the problem, (b) each dynamical system admits the objective function of the problem as a Lyapunov function, and (c) explicit formulae are available without involving the unknown critical points of the problem. The construction of the family of dynamical systems is based on the Control Lyapunov Function methodology, which is used in mathematical control theory for the construction of stabilizing feedback. The knowledge of a dynamical system with the previously mentioned properties allows the construction of algorithms which guarantee global convergence to the set of the critical points.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

This work provides stability results in the spatial sup norm for hyperbolic-parabolic loops in one spatial dimension. The results are obtained by an application of the small-gain stability analysis. Two particular cases are selected for the study because they contain challenges typical of more general systems (to which the results are easily generalizable but at the expense of less pedagogical clarity and more notational clutter): (i) the feedback interconnection of a parabolic PDE with a first-order zero-speed hyperbolic PDE with boundary disturbances, and (ii) the feedback interconnection, by means of a combination of boundary and in-domain terms, of a parabolic PDE with a first-order hyperbolic PDE. The first case arises in the study of the movement of chemicals underground and includes the wave equation with Kelvin-Voigt damping as a subcase. The second case arises when we apply backstepping to a pair of hyperbolic PDEs that is obtained by ignoring diffusion phenomena. Moreover, the second case arises in the study of parabolic PDEs with distributed delays. In the first case, we provide sufficient conditions for ISS in the spatial sup norm with respect to boundary disturbances. In the second case, we provide (delay-independent) sufficient conditions for exponential stability in the spatial sup norm.

Maria Kontorinaki, Iasson Karafyllis, Markos Papageorgiou

This work is devoted to the construction of explicit feedback control laws for the robust, global, exponential stabilization of general, uncertain, discrete-time, acyclic traffic networks. We consider discrete-time, uncertain network models which satisfy very weak assumptions. The construction of the controllers and the rigorous proof of the robust, global, exponential stability for the closed-loop system are based on recently proposed vector-Lyapunov function criteria, as well as the fact that the network is acyclic. It is shown, in this study, that the latter requirement is necessary for the existence of a robust, global, exponential stabilizer of the desired uncongested equilibrium point of the network. An illustrative example demonstrates the applicability of the obtained results to realistic traffic flow networks.

Miroslav Krstic, Iasson Karafyllis, Luke Bhan et al.

Age-structured predator-prey integro-partial differential equations provide models of interacting populations in ecology, epidemiology, and biotechnology. A key challenge in feedback design for these systems is the scalar $ζ$, defined implicitly by the Lotka-Sharpe nonlinear integral condition, as a mapping from fertility and mortality rates to $ζ$. To solve this challenge with operator learning, we first prove that the Lotka-Sharpe operator is Lipschitz continuous, guaranteeing the existence of arbitrarily accurate neural operator approximations over a compact set of fertility and mortality functions. We then show that the resulting approximate feedback law preserves semi-global practical asymptotic stability under propagation of the operator approximation error through various other nonlinear operators, all the way through to the control input. In the numerical results, not only do we learn ``once-and-for-all'' the canonical Lotka-Sharpe (LS) operator, and thus make it available for future uses in control of other age-structured population interconnections, but we demonstrate the online usage of the neural LS operator under estimation of the fertility and mortality functions.

Iasson Karafyllis, Dionysios Theodosis, Miroslav Krstic

In this paper we study the stability properties of the equilibrium point for an age-structured chemostat model with renewal boundary condition and coupled substrate dynamics under constant dilution rate. This is a complex infinite-dimensional feedback system. It has two feedback loops, both nonlinear. A positive static loop due to reproduction at the age-zero boundary of the PDE, counteracted and dominated by a negative dynamic loop with the substrate dynamics. The derivation of explicit sufficient conditions that guarantee global stability estimates is carried out by using an appropriate Lyapunov functional. The constructed Lyapunov functional guarantees global exponential decay estimates and uniform global asymptotic stability with respect to a measure related to the Lyapunov functional. From a biological perspective, stability arises because reproduction is constrained by substrate availability, while dilution, mortality, and substrate depletion suppress transient increases in biomass before age-structure effects can amplify them. The obtained results are applied to a chemostat model from the literature, where the derived stability condition is compared with existing results that are based on (necessarily local) linearization methods.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

Eduardo Sontag and coauthors studied Input-to-Output Stability (IOS) and the output asymptotic gain property. These notions changed control theory and recently had an impact on robust adaptive control through the Deadzone-Adapted Disturbance Suppression (DADS) control scheme. Moreover, recently the notion of IOS was extended to systems described by Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). In this work, we celebrate Eduardo Sontag by combining DADS and IOS for PDEs: we study the partial-state regulation problem for a scalar Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE) which is interconnected with a possibly infinite-dimensional system. In such a case the DADS control scheme can allow an escape from the requirements of the small-gain theorem that is mainly used for partial-state feedback. We show the design procedure of partial-state DADS controllers and we prove robust regulation even in the presence of external inputs (disturbances) without assuming knowledge of any disturbance/parameter bounds. The DADS controller is applied to three different cases of the interconnection of an ODE with an almost completely unknown: (a) heat PDE, (b) transport PDE, and (c) wave PDE with viscous damping. We show that the same DADS controller can achieve robust regulation in all three cases.

Luke Bhan, Yuanyuan Shi, Iasson Karafyllis et al.

Observers for PDEs are themselves PDEs. Therefore, producing real time estimates with such observers is computationally burdensome. For both finite-dimensional and ODE systems, moving-horizon estimators (MHE) are operators whose output is the state estimate, while their inputs are the initial state estimate at the beginning of the horizon as well as the measured output and input signals over the moving time horizon. In this paper we introduce MHEs for PDEs which remove the need for a numerical solution of an observer PDE in real time. We accomplish this using the PDE backstepping method which, for certain classes of both hyperbolic and parabolic PDEs, produces moving-horizon state estimates explicitly. Precisely, to explicitly produce the state estimates, we employ a backstepping transformation of a hard-to-solve observer PDE into a target observer PDE, which is explicitly solvable. The MHEs we propose are not new observer designs but simply the explicit MHE realizations, over a moving horizon of arbitrary length, of the existing backstepping observers. Our PDE MHEs lack the optimality of the MHEs that arose as duals of MPC, but they are given explicitly, even for PDEs. In the paper we provide explicit formulae for MHEs for both hyperbolic and parabolic PDEs, as well as simulation results that illustrate theoretically guaranteed convergence of the MHEs.

Iasson Karafyllis

This paper presents a methodology for the construction of simple Control Lyapunov Functionals (CLFs) for boundary controlled parabolic Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). The proposed methodology provides functionals that contain only simple (and not double or triple) integrals of the state. Moreover, the constructed CLF is "almost diagonal" in the sense that it contains only a finite number of cross-products of the (generalized) Fourier coefficients of the state. The methodology for the construction of a CLF is combined with a novel methodology for boundary feedback design in parabolic PDEs. The proposed feedback design methodology is Lyapunov-based and the feedback controller is an "integral" controller with internal dynamics. It is also shown that the obtained simple CLFs can provide nonlinear boundary feedback laws which achieve global exponential stabilization of semilinear parabolic PDEs with nonlinearities that satisfy a linear growth condition.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

This paper presents a novel methodology for the design of boundary feedback stabilizers for 1-D, semilinear, parabolic PDEs. The methodology is based on the use of small-gain arguments and can be applied to parabolic PDEs with nonlinearities that satisfy a linear growth condition. The nonlinearities may contain nonlocal terms. Two different types of boundary feedback stabilizers are constructed: a linear static boundary feedback and a nonlinear dynamic boundary feedback. It is also shown that there are fundamental limitations for feedback design in the parabolic case: arbitrary gain assignment is not possible by means of boundary feedback. An example with a nonlocal nonlinear term illustrates the applicability of the proposed methodology.

Iasson Karafyllis, Nikolaos Bekiaris-Liberis, Markos Papageorgiou

The paper provides results for a non-standard, hyperbolic, 1-D, nonlinear traffic flow model on a bounded domain. The model consists of two first-order PDEs with a dynamic boundary condition that involves the time derivative of the velocity. The proposed model has features that are important from a traffic-theoretic point of view: is completely anisotropic and information travels forward exactly at the same speed as traffic. It is shown that, for all physically meaningful initial conditions, the model admits a globally defined, unique, classical solution that remains positive and bounded for all times. Moreover, it is shown that global stabilization can be achieved for arbitrary equilibria by means of an explicit boundary feedback law. The stabilizing feedback law depends only on the inlet velocity and consequently, the measurement requirements for the implementation of the proposed boundary feedback law are minimal. The efficiency of the proposed boundary feedback law is demonstrated by means of a numerical example.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

In this work decay estimates are derived for the solutions of 1-D linear parabolic PDEs with disturbances at both boundaries and distributed disturbances. The decay estimates are given in the L2 and H1 norms of the solution and discontinuous disturbances are allowed. Although an eigenfunction expansion for the solution is exploited for the proof of the decay estimates, the estimates do not require knowledge of the eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions of the corresponding Sturm-Liouville operator. Examples show that the obtained results can be applied for the stability analysis of parabolic PDEs with nonlocal terms.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

For general nonlinear control systems we present a novel approach to adaptive control, which employs a certainty equivalence (indirect) control law and an identifier with event-triggered updates of the plant parameter estimates, where the triggers are based on the size of the plant's state and the updates are conducted using a non-recursive least-squares estimation over certain finite time intervals, with updates employing delayed measurements of the state. With a suitable non-restrictive parameter-observability assumption, our adaptive controller guarantees global stability, regulation of the plant state, and our identifier achieves parameter convergence, in finite time, even in the absence of persistent excitation, for all initial conditions other than those where the initial plant state is zero. The robustness of our event-triggered adaptive control scheme to vanishing and non-vanishing disturbances is verified in simulations with the assistance of a dead zone-like modification of the update law. The major distinctions of our approach from supervisory adaptive schemes is that our approach is indirect and our triggering is related to the control objective (the regulation error). The major distinction from the classical indirect Lyapunov adaptive schemes based on tuning related to the regulation error is that our approach does not involve a complex redesign of the controller to compensate for the detrimental effects of rapid tuning on the transients by incorporating the update law into the control law. Instead, our approach allows for the first time to use a simple certainty equivalence adaptive controller for general nonlinear systems. All proofs are given in a companion paper.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

We present the stability analysis for the new regulation-triggered approach to adaptive control introduced in a companion paper. Due to the fact that the closed-loop system is hybrid, our proofs have essential differences from the conventional adaptive control proofs, where the Lyapunov analysis either encompasses the complete closed-loop state or is done in multiple steps through comparison or Gronwall-Bellman lemmas. In addition, we present a convenient algorithm for checking our parameter-observability assumption, which involves repeated Lie derivatives of appropriate vector fields and can be applied to the class of nonlinear control systems for which at most one unknown parameter appears in each differential equation.

Iasson Karafyllis, Maria Kontorinaki, Markos Papageorgiou

This paper is devoted to the development of adaptive control schemes for uncertain discrete-time systems, which guarantee robust, global, exponential convergence to the desired equilibrium point of the system. The proposed control scheme consists of a nominal feedback law, which achieves robust, global, exponential stability properties when the vector of the parameters is known, in conjunction with a nonlinear, dead-beat observer. The obtained results are applicable to highly nonlinear, uncertain discrete-time systems with unknown constant parameters. The applicability of the obtained results to real control problems is demonstrated by the rigorous application of the proposed adaptive control scheme to uncertain freeway models.

Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic

Due to unbounded input operators in partial differential equations (PDEs) with boundary inputs, there has been a long-held intuition that input-to-state stability (ISS) properties and finite gains cannot be established with respect to disturbances at the boundary. This intuition has been reinforced by many unsuccessful attempts, as well as by the success in establishing ISS only with respect to the derivative of the disturbance. Contrary to this intuition, we establish such a result for parabolic PDEs. Our methodology does not rely on the transformation of the boundary disturbance to a distributed input and the stability analysis is performed in time-varying subsets of the state space. The obtained results are used for the comparison of the gain coefficients of transport PDEs with respect to inlet disturbances and for the establishment of the ISS property with respect to control actuator errors for parabolic systems under boundary feedback control.