Stability analysis of networked control systems

TLDR

An NCS comprises independent sensors and actuators competing for network access without a universal clock, leading to asynchronous operation. The paper introduces the try‑once‑discard (TOD) protocol for MIMO NCSs and aims to prove its global exponential stability while addressing network‑induced communication constraints. Controllers are designed using established techniques with network transparency, then the network’s asynchronous, deadline‑bounded, single‑node access is modeled and its impact on closed‑loop performance is analyzed through simulations of an automotive gas turbine and an unstable batch reactor. Analytic proof confirms global exponential stability for both TOD and statically scheduled protocols, and simulations demonstrate their performance on the gas turbine and batch reactor.

Abstract

We introduce a novel control network protocol, try-once-discard (TOD), for multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) networked control systems (NCSs), and provide an analytic proof of global exponential stability for both the new protocol and the more commonly used (statically scheduled) access methods. Our approach is to first design the controller using established techniques and considering the network transparency, and then analyze the effect of the network on closed-loop system performance. When implemented, an NCS consists of multiple independent sensors and actuators competing for an access to the network, with no universal clock available to synchronize their actions. Since the nodes act asynchronously, we allow access to the network at anytime, but assume each access occurs before a prescribed deadline, known as the maximum allowable transfer interval. Only one node may access the network at a time. This communication constraint imposed by the network is the main focus of the paper. The performance of the new TOD protocol and the statically scheduled protocols are examined in simulations of an automotive gas turbine and an unstable batch reactor.