Linear Parameter-varying State-space Model Research Articles

Model-based control strategy with linear parameter-varying state-space model for rack-based cooling data centers

Cooling system energy consumption occupies approximately 40% of the total energy consumption in data centers, and efficient control is crucial for improving cooling efficiency and reducing the operational costs of data centers. This paper introduced a novel economic model predictive control (EMPC) strategy based on a linear parameter-varying state-space model. The primary objective was to maintain the thermal environment of data centers while minimizing the energy consumption of the cooling system. Therein, a linear parameter-varying state-space model was developed based on the parameter identification method to precisely predict the temperature field of the rack-based cooling data center in real-time. The energy management and thermal regulation performance of the EMPC and the proportion integration differentiation (PID) controller were comparatively analyzed through simulation experiments. Moreover, the impacts of the server workload level and optimization time domain on the performance of EMPC were comprehensively investigated. The results show that, the proposed EMPC was able to minimize the energy consumption by optimizing the supplied cold air temperature and airflow rate simultaneously. In comparison with the PID controller, EMPC not only achieves a 9.7% energy saving by preventing server over-cooling but also diminishes server temperature fluctuations, promoting the safe and stable operation of the server. The research shows that the EMPC reveals excellent performance along with all server workload levels. In addition, the length of the prediction horizon has a notable impact and three minutes is suggested for the rack-based cooling system.

Direct identification of continuous-time LPV state-space models via an integral architecture

In this paper, we present a block-structured architecture for direct identification of continuous-time Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) state-space models. The proposed architecture consists of an LPV model followed by an integral block. This structure is used to approximate the continuous-time LPV system dynamics. The unknown LPV model matrices are estimated along with the state sequence by minimizing a properly constructed dual-objective criterion. A coordinate-descent algorithm is employed to optimize the desired objective, which alternates between computing the unknown LPV matrices and estimating the state sequence. Thanks to the linear parametric structure induced by the LPV model, the optimization variables within each coordinate-descent step can be updated analytically via ordinary least squares. Furthermore, in order to handle large-size datasets, we discuss how to perform optimization based on short-size subsequences. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is demonstrated via an academic example and two case studies. The first case study consists of identifying an LPV model describing the behaviour of an electronic bandpass filter from benchmark experimental data. The second case study involves identification of the plasma safety factor from a tokamak plasma simulator.

Affine linear parameter‐varying embedding of non‐linear models with improved accuracy and minimal overbounding

In this study, automated generation of linear parameter-varying (LPV) state-space models to embed the dynamical behaviour of non-linear systems is considered, focusing on the trade-off between scheduling complexity and model accuracy and the minimisation of the conservativeness of the resulting embedding. The LPV state-space model is synthesised with affine scheduling dependency, while the scheduling variables themselves are non-linear functions of the state and input variables of the original system. The method allows to generate complete or approximative embedding of the non-linear system model and also it can be used to minimise the complexity of existing LPV embeddings. The capabilities of the method are demonstrated on simulation examples and also in an empirical case study where the first-principle motion model of a three degrees of freedom (3DOF) control moment gyroscope is converted by the proposed method to an LPV model with low scheduling complexity. Using the resulting model, a gain-scheduled controller is designed and applied on the gyroscope, demonstrating the efficiency of the developed approach.

LPV modeling and controller design for body freedom flutter suppression subject to actuator saturation

In recent years, the Active Flutter Suppression (AFS) employing Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) framework has become a hot spot in the research field. Nevertheless, the flutter suppression technique is facing two severe challenges. On the one hand, due to the fatal risk of flight test near critical airspeed, it is hard to obtain the accurate mathematical model of the aeroelastic system from the testing data. On the other hand, saturation of the actuator may degrade the closed-loop performance, which was often neglected in the past work. To tackle these two problems, a new active controller design procedure is proposed to suppress flutter in this paper. Firstly, with the aid of LPV model order reduction method and State-space Model Interpolation of Local Estimates (SMILE) technique, a set of high-fidelity Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) models which are usually derived from flight tests at different subcritical airspeeds are reduced and interpolated to construct an LPV model of an aeroelastic system. And then, the unstable aeroelastic dynamics beyond critical airspeed are ‘predicted’ by extrapolating the resulting LPV model. Secondly, based on the control-oriented LPV model, an AFS controller in LPV framework which is composed of a nominal LPV controller and an LPV anti-windup compensator is designed to suppress the aeroelastic vibration and overcome the performance degradation caused by actuator saturation. Although the nominal LPV controller may have superior performance in linear simulation in which the saturation effect is ignored, the results of the numerical simulations show that the nominal LPV controller fails to suppress the Body Freedom Flutter (BFF) when encountering the actuator saturation. However, the LPV anti-windup compensator not only enhances the nominal controller’s performance but also helps the nominal controller to stabilize the unstable aeroelastic system when encountering serious actuator saturation.

Robust Predictive Control Algorithm Based on Parameter Variation Rate Information of Functional-Coefficient ARX Model

Considering the conservativeness caused by the polytopic linear parameter varying (LPV) model, which is constructed using only the upper and lower bound information of the state-dependent auto-regressive model with eXogenous input and radial basis function network type coefficients (RBF-ARX model). In this paper, a robust predictive control (RPC) algorithm based on the parameter variation rate information of the RBF-ARX model is proposed. By using the information, the size of the convex polytopic sets used to wrap the system's polytopic LPV model is compressed greatly. Thus, it improves greatly the control performance and reduces the conservativeness of the subsequent RPC algorithm. The conversion from the RBF-ARX model to the polytopic LPV state space model just uses the RBF-ARX model itself, and the derived LPV model is a special quasi-LPV autoregressive model. So, it is not necessary to assume that the time varying parameters and/or the bounds of the parameter variation rate in the polytopic LPV model must be known or measured. An example of a widely used continuous stirred-tank reactor process control is studied to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in terms of using parameter variation rate information of the RBF-ARX model to improve step response control performance and anti-jamming performance.

From Nonlinear Identification to Linear Parameter Varying Models: Benchmark Examples

Linear parameter-varying (LPV) models form a powerful model class to analyze and control a (nonlinear) system of interest. Identifying a LPV model of a nonlinear system can be challenging due to the difficulty of selecting the scheduling variable(s) a priori, which is quite challenging in case a first principles based understanding of the system is unavailable. This paper presents a systematic LPV embedding approach starting from nonlinear fractional representation models. A nonlinear system is identified first using a nonlinear block-oriented linear fractional representation (LFR) model. This nonlinear LFR model class is embedded into the LPV model class by factorization of the static nonlinear block present in the model. As a result of the factorization a LPV-LFR or a LPV state-space model with an affine dependency results. This approach facilitates the selection of the scheduling variable from a data-driven perspective. Furthermore the estimation is not affected by measurement noise on the scheduling variables, which is often left untreated by LPV model identification methods. The proposed approach is illustrated on two well-established nonlinear modeling benchmark examples.

Linear Parameter Varying Representation of a class of MIMO Nonlinear Systems

Linear parameter-varying (LPV) models form a powerful model class to analyze and control a (nonlinear) system of interest. Identifying an LPV model of a nonlinear system can be challenging due to the difficulty of selecting the scheduling variable(s) a priori, especially if a first principles based understanding of the system is unavailable. Converting a nonlinear model to an LPV form is also non-trivial and requires systematic methods to automate the process. Inspired by these challenges, a systematic LPV embedding approach starting from multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) linear fractional representations with a nonlinear feedback block (NLFR) is proposed. This NLFR model class is embedded into the LPV model class by an automated factorization of the (possibly MIMO) static nonlinear block present in the model. As a result of the factorization, an LPV-LFR or an LPV state-space model with affine dependency on the scheduling is obtained. This approach facilitates the selection of the scheduling variable and the connected mapping of system variables. Such a conversion method enables to use nonlinear identification tools to estimate LPV models. The potential of the proposed approach is illustrated on a 2-DOF nonlinear mass-spring-damper example.

Continuous-time identification of periodically parameter-varying state space models

This paper presents a new frequency domain identification technique to estimate multivariate Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) continuous-time state space models, where a periodic variation of the parameters is assumed or imposed. The main goal is to obtain an LPV state space model suitable for control, from a single parameter-varying experiment. Although most LPV controller synthesis tools require continuous time state space models, the identification of such models is new. The proposed identification method designs a periodic input signal, taking the periodicity of the parameter variation into account. We show that when an integer number of periods is observed for both the input and the scheduling, the state space model representation has a specific, sparse structure in the frequency domain, which is exploited to speed up the estimation procedure. A weighted non-linear least squares algorithm then minimizes the output error. Two initialization methods are explored to generate starting values. The first approach uses a Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) approximation. The second estimates a Linear Time-Variant (LTV) input–output differential equation, from which a corresponding state space realization is computed.

Discretisation of linear parameter-varying state-space representations

Discretisation of linear parameter-varying (LPV) systems is a relevant, but insufficiently investigated problem of both LPV control design and system identification. In this contribution, existing results on the discretisation of LPV state-space models with static dependence (without memory) on the scheduling signal are surveyed and new methods are introduced. These approaches are analysed in terms of approximation error, considering ideal zero-order hold actuation and sampling of the input–output signals and scheduling variables of the system. Criteria to choose appropriate sampling periods with respect to the investigated methods are also presented. The application of the considered approaches on state-space representations with dynamic dependence (with memory) on the scheduling is investigated in a higher-order hold sense.

Identification of linear parameter-varying state-space models with application to helicopter rotor dynamics

A considerable amount of work has been dedicated in the past to the problem of the system identification of helicopter flight dynamics, while much less activity has been oriented to the goal of developing suitable identification procedures for rotor dynamics, mainly because of the difficulties associated with the task. This paper shows that subspace and optimization based identification techniques can be used to determine discrete-time linear parameter-varying models that have the potential to provide accurate descriptions for the (intrinsically time-varying) dynamics of a rotor blade. The identification techniques are presented and applied to simulated data generated by a physical model that describes the out-of-plane bending dynamics of a helicopter rotor blade.