International Journal of Control, Vol.84, No.8, 1417-1429, 2011
Distributed feedback design for systems governed by the wave equation
This article deals with the geometric control of a one-dimensional non-autonomous linear wave equation. The idea consists in reducing the wave equation to a set of first-order linear hyperbolic equations. Then, based on geometric control concepts, a distributed control law that enforces the exponential stability and output tracking in the closed-loop system is designed. The presented control approach is applied to obtain a distributed control law that brings a stretched uniform string, modelled by a wave equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions, to rest in infinite time by considering the displacement of the middle point of the string as the controlled output. The controller performances have been evaluated in simulation by considering both tracking and disturbance rejection problems. The robustness of the controller has also been studied when the string tension is subjected to sudden variations.
Keywords:distributed parameter systems;partial differential equation;wave equation;geometric control