Robust path tracking using flatness for fractional linear MIMO systems: A thermal application

This paper deals with robust path tracking using flatness principles extended to fractional linear MIMO systems. As soon as the path has been obtained by means of the fractional flatness, a robust path tracking based on CRONE control is presented. Flatness in path planning is used to determine the controls to apply without integrating any differential equations when the trajectory is fixed (in space and in time). Several developments have been made for fractional linear SISO systems using a transfer function approach. For fractional systems, especially in MIMO, developments are still to be made. Throughout this paper, flatness principles are applied using polynomial matrices for fractional linear MIMO systems. To illustrate the robustness performances, a third-generation multi-scalar CRONE controller is compared to a PID one. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.