Collocated actuator placement in structural systems using an analytical bound approach

Abstract

This paper considers the combined output feedback control and actuator placement problems, for structural systems with collocated actuators and sensors. Using a particular solution of the bounded real lemma for an open loop collocated structural system, we obtain an explicit analytical expression to compute an upper bound of the norm of these systems and a parameterization of the corresponding output feedback control gains. The above results are utilized to optimize the actuator placement for such systems using efficient interior point optimization algorithms. Also, we address the integrated design problem that involves the simultaneous selection of actuator location and the computation of feedback control gains leading to improved closed-loop performance. The proposed analytical bounds and actuator placement results have an obvious computational advantage for analysis and control design of large scale systems where the conventional design tools are computationally intractable.