MSc Advanced Control and Systems Engineering / Course details

Year of entry: 2025

Course unit details:
Optimal & Robust Control

Course unit fact file
Unit code EEEN60262
Credit rating 15
Unit level FHEQ level 7 – master's degree or fourth year of an integrated master's degree
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

Optimal Control

  • Quadratic Lyapunov functions for linear systems
  • LQR (optimal state feedback) control
  • Robustness of LQR control
  • Kalman filter (optimal observers)
  • LQG control (combining LQR state feedback and optimal observer)
  • Loop transfer recovery
  • Adding integral action
  • H2 norms and H2 optimal control

Robust Control

Underpinning concepts:

  • Singular value decomposition, the H-infinity norm and the H-infinity function space
  • Well-posedness and internal stability of feedback interconnections
  • Small-gain theorem

Uncertainty representations and robust stability analysis:

  • Additive, multiplicative and inverse multiplicative uncertainty representations
  • Linear Fractional Transformations (LFT) and LFT uncertainty representation
  • Robust stability tests

Robust controller synthesis and robust control design methodology:

  • Riccati based H-infinity control synthesis
  • H-infinity loopshaping control design methodology

Pre/co-requisites

Unit title Unit code Requirement type Description
EEEN64401 Pre-Requisite Compulsory
EEEN60109 Pre-Requisite Compulsory

Aims

To introduce students to the fundamentals of LQG control

To introduce students to the fundamentals of robustness analysis, robust control law synthesis and robust control design

Learning outcomes

ILO1 - Define optimal behaviour for control systems.

ILO2 - Design of control systems based on optimal performance criteria.

ILO3 - Apply optimal control methods to systems from a variety of technological areas.

ILO4 - Design optimal estimators and use Kalman filters in fields outside control engineering. 

ILO5 - Define optimal estimation of a stochastic system.

ILO6 - Analyse the robustness of a feedback control system. 

ILO7 - Design of control systems based on robustness criteria. 

ILO8 - Define the robustness of a control system using h-infinite norm.

ILO9 - Design controllers for systems when accurate mathematical models are unavailable. 

Assessment methods

Method Weight
Other 20%
Written exam 80%

Feedback methods

.

Recommended reading

Optimal Control. Lewis, Frank L. John Wiley & Sons 2012
Multivariable feedback control : analysis and design. Skogestad, Sigurd. John Wiley, 2005
Linear optimal control Anderson, Brian D. O. Prentice-Hall, 1971
Design of feedback control systems. Stefani, Raymond T. Oxford University Press, 2002
Modern Control Engineering Ogata, K ; Brewer, J. W Journal of dynamic systems, measurement, and control, 1971
Multivariable feedback design Maciejowski, J. M. Addison-Wesley, 1989 
Essentials of robust control Zhou, Kemin. Prentice Hall 1998
Robust and optimal control Zhou, Kemin. Prentice Hall 1996
Control theory and design : an RH₂ and RH [infinity] viewpoint Colaneri, Patrizio. Academic Press, 1997
Linear robust control Green, Michael. Prentice Hall 1995

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 30
Practical classes & workshops 8
Tutorials 3
Independent study hours
Independent study 109

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Zhengtao Ding Unit coordinator
Guido Herrmann Unit coordinator

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