Decoupling and tracking control using eigenstructure assignment for linear time-varying systems

This work is concerned with the assignment of a desired PD-eigenstructure for linear time-varying systems. Despite its well-known limitations, gain scheduling control appeared to be a focus of the research efforts. Scheduling of frozen-time, frozen-state cont rollers for fast time-varying dynamics is known to be mathematically fallacious, and practically hazardous. Therefore, recent research efforts are being directed towards applying time-varying controllers. In this paper, (a) we introduce a differential algebraic eigenvalue theory for linear time-varying systems, and then (b) a novel decoupling and tracking control scheme is proposed by using the PD-eigenstructure assignment scheme via a differential Sylvester equation and a Command Generator Tracker for linear time-varying systems. The PD-eigenstructure assignment is utilized as a regulator. A feedforward gain for tracking control is computed by using the command generator tracker. The whole design procedure of the proposed PD-eigenstructure assignment scheme is systematic in nature. The scheme could be used to determine stability of linear time-varying systems easily as well as to provide a new horizon of designing controllers for the linear time-varying systems. The presented method is illustrated by numerical examples.