Unmanned aerial systems have been widely used for variety of civilian applications over the past few years. Some of these applications require accurate guidance and control. Consequently, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) guidance and control attracted many researchers in both control theory and aerospace engineering. Flying wings, as a particular type of UAV, are considered to have one of the most efficient aerodynamic structures. It is however difficult to design robust controller for such systems. This is due to the fact that flying wings are highly sensitive to control inputs. The focus of this thesis is on modeling and control design for a UAV system. The platform understudy is a flying wing developed by SmartPlanes Co. located in Skellefteå, Sweden. This UAV is particularly used for topological mapping and aerial photography. The novel approach suggested in this thesis is to use two controllers in sequence. More precisely, Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) is suggested to provide robust stability, and Proportional, Integral, Derivative (PID) controller is suggested to provide reference signal regulation. The idea behind this approach is that with LQR in the loop, the system becomes more stable and less sensitive to control signals. Thus, PID controller has an easier task to do, and is only used to provide the required transient response. The closed-loop system containing the developed controller and a UAV non-linear dynamic model was simulated in Simulink. Simulated controller was then tested for stability and robustness with respect to some parametric uncertainty. Obtained results revealed that the LQR successfully managed to provide robust stability, and PID provided reference signal regulation.

The popularity of distributed generating (DG) sources have been increasing over the past few years. With the increasing penetration of these DGs, the concept of micro grid is becoming popular. A micro grid is a small power system network with distributed generating sources which can operate seamlessly irrespective of the presence of the utility grid. Operating the micro grid in this manner increases system reliability and reduces power interruptions. However, it introduces several control challenges. This thesis aims at analysing the behaviour of a micro grid system during the transition between grid connected mode and islanded mode of operation and address the control challenges through novel schemes. With the presence of grid, the micro grid system variables, such as voltage and frequency, are strictly regulated by the grid. The local sources follow the voltage and frequency reference set by the grid and supply constant power. With the loss of grid, that is when the system is islanded, the network variables need to be regulated by the local sources. The control structures for the inverter-based sources during the two operating modes are detailed in the present work. With the loss of grid, the system should be able to transfer seamlessly to islanded mode without any transients. Similarly, when the grid supply is restored, the micro grid should seamlessly resynchronize to the grid without any transients. This thesis proposes two novel controller schemes for achieving seamless transfer between grid-connected and islanded mode in micro grids. The rst scheme uses an output feedback topology to reduce the transitions during mode transfer. The second scheme uses a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) theory based compensator to achieve seamless transfer. The performance of the proposed schemes have been validated through simulations on a benchmark micro grid network for various operating conditions. An experimental micro grid set-up is developed with a single inverter based DG source. The droop control scheme for islanded mode of operation has been validated on hardware.

Stop-and-Go Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC+) is an extension of Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) that works at low speed as well as normal highway speeds to regulate the speed of the vehicle relative to the vehicle it is following. In this thesis, we design an ACC+ controller for a scale model electric vehicle that ensures the robust performance of the system under various models of uncertainty. We capture the operation of the hybrid system via a state-chart model that performs mode switching between different digital controllers with additional decision logic to guarantee the collision freedom of the system under normal operation. We apply different controller design methods such as Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) and H-infinity and perform multiple simulation runs in MATLAB/Simulink to validate the performance of the proposed designs. We compare the practicality of our design with existing formally verified ACC designs from the literature. The comparisons show that the other formally verified designs exhibit unacceptable behaviour in the form of mode thrashing that produces excessive acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle. While simulations provide some assurance of safe operation of the system design, they do not guarantee system safety under all possible cases. To increase confidence in the system, we use Differential Dynamic Logic (dL) to formally state environmental assumptions and prove safety goals, including collision freedom. The verification is done in two stages. First, we identify the invariant required to ensure the safe operation of the system and we formally verify that the invariant preserves the safety property of any system with similar dynamics. This procedure provides a high level abstraction of a class of safe solutions for ACC+ system designs. Second, we show that our ACC+ system design is a refinement of the abstract model. The safety of the closed loop ACC+ system is proven by verifying bounds on the system variables using the KeYmaera verification tool for hybrid systems. The thesis demonstrates how practical ACC+ controller designs optimized for fuel economy, passenger comfort, etc., can be verified by showing that they are a refinement of the abstract high level design. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Orientador: Edvaldo Assunção / Resumo: Neste trabalho é proposta a resolução do problema do regulador linear quadrático (Linear Quadratic Regulator - LQR) via desigualdades matriciais lineares (Linear Matrix Inequalities - LMIs) para sistemas lineares e invariantes no tempo sujeitos a incertezas politópicas, bem como para sistemas lineares sujeitos a parâmetros variantes no tempo (Linear Parameter Varying - LPV). O projeto dos controladores é baseado na realimentação derivativa. A escolha da realimentação derivativa se dá devido à sua fácil implementação em certas aplicações como, por exemplo, no controle de vibrações. Os sinais usados na realimentação são aceleração e velocidade, sendo obtidos por meio de acelerômetros. Por meio do método proposto é possível obter condições LMIs para a síntese de controladores que garantam a estabilização do sistema em malha fechada, sendo que os controladores possuem desempenho otimizado. Para a formulação das condições LMIs, uma função de Lyapunov do tipo quadrática é utilizada. Exemplos teóricos e simulações são utilizados como forma de validação dos métodos propostos, além de mostrar que os novos resultados apresentam condições menos conservadoras. Além disso, ao final é apresentada uma implementação prática em um sistema de suspensão ativa, produzida pela Quanser®. / Abstract: The resolution of linear quadratic regulator (LQR) problem via linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) for linear time-invariant systems subject to polytopic uncertainties, as linear systems subjects to linear parameter varying (LPV), is proposed in this work. The controllers' designs are based on the state derivative feedback. The aim to the choice of the state derivative feedback is your easy implementation in a class of mechanical systems, such as in vibration control, for example. The signals used for feedback are acceleration and velocity, it is obtained by means of accelerometers. Through the proposed method it is possible to obtain LMIs conditions for the synthesis of controllers that guarantee the stabilisation of the closed-loop system, being that the controllers have optimised performance. For the LMIs conditions formulations, a Lyapunov function of type quadratic is used. As a form of validation, theoretical examples and simulations are performed, besides to show that the new results are less conservative. Furthermore, a practical implementation in an active suspension system, produced by Quanser®, is performed. / Mestre