This is a textbook and reference for readers interested in quasilinear control (QLC). QLC is a set of methods for performance analysis and design of linear plant or nonlinear instrumentation (LPNI) systems. The approach of QLC is based on the method of stochastic linearization, which reduces the nonlinearities of actuators and sensors to quasilinear gains. Unlike the usual - Jacobian linearization - stochastic linearization is global. Using this approximation, QLC extends most of the linear control theory techniques to LPNI systems. A bisection algorithm for solving these equations is provided. In addition, QLC includes new problems, specific for the LPNI scenario. Examples include Instrumented LQR/LQG, in which the controller is designed simultaneously with the actuator and sensor, and partial and complete performance recovery, in which the degradation of linear performance is either contained by selecting the right instrumentation or completely eliminated by the controller boosting.

The thesis presents different control design approaches for stabilizing networks of quasi-linear hyperbolic partial differential equations. These equations are usually conservative, which gives them interesting properties to design stabilizing control laws. Two main design approaches are developed: a methodology based on entropies and Lyapunov functions and a methodology based on the Riemann invariants. The stability theorems are illustrated using numerical simulations. Two practical applications of these methodologies are presented. Network of navigation channels are modelled using the Saint-Venant equation (also known as the Shallow Water Equations). The stabilization problem of such system has an industrial importance in order to satisfy the navigation constraints and to optimize the production of electricity in hydroelectric plants, usually located at each hydraulic gate. A second application deals with the regulation of water waves in moving tanks. This problem is also modelled by a modified version of the shallow water equations and appears in a number industrial fields which deal with liquid moving parts.

Modeling and Control in Vibrational and Structural Dynamics: A Differential Geometric Approach describes the control behavior of mechanical objects, such as wave equations, plates, and shells. It shows how the differential geometric approach is used when the coefficients of partial differential equations (PDEs) are variable in space (waves/plates), when the PDEs themselves are defined on curved surfaces (shells), and when the systems have quasilinear principal parts. To make the book self-contained, the author starts with the necessary background on Riemannian geometry. He then describes differential geometric energy methods that are generalizations of the classical energy methods of the 1980s. He illustrates how a basic computational technique can enable multiplier schemes for controls and provide mathematical models for shells in the form of free coordinates. The author also examines the quasilinearity of models for nonlinear materials, the dependence of controllability/stabilization on variable coefficients and equilibria, and the use of curvature theory to check assumptions. With numerous examples and exercises throughout, this book presents a complete and up-to-date account of many important advances in the modeling and control of vibrational and structural dynamics.

From the point of view of grid integration and operation, this monograph advances the subject of wind energy control from the individual-unit to the wind-farm level. The basic objectives and requirements for successful integration of wind energy with existing power grids are discussed, followed by an overview of the state of the art, proposed solutions and challenges yet to be resolved. At the individual-turbine level, a nonlinear controller based on feedback linearization, uncertainty estimation and gradient-based optimization is shown robustly to control both active and reactive power outputs of variable-speed turbines with doubly-fed induction generators. Heuristic coordination of the output of a wind farm, represented by a single equivalent turbine with energy storage to optimize and smooth the active power output is presented. A generic approximate model of wind turbine control developed using system identification techniques is proposed to advance research and facilitate the treatment of control issues at the wind-farm level. A supervisory wind-farm controller is then introduced with a view to maximizing and regulating active power output under normal operating conditions and unusual contingencies. This helps to make the individual turbines cooperate in such as way that the overall output of the farm accurately tracks a reference and/or is statistically as smooth as possible to improve grid reliability. The text concludes with an overall discussion of the promise of advanced wind-farm control techniques in making wind an economic energy source and beneficial influence on grid performance. The challenges that warrant further research are succinctly enumerated. Control and Operation of Grid-Connected Wind Farms is primarily intended for researchers from a systems and control background wishing to apply their expertise to the area of wind-energy generation. At the same time, coverage of contemporary solutions to fundamental operational problems will benefit power/energy engineers endeavoring to promote wind as a reliable and clean source of electrical power.

The numerous applications of optimal control theory have given an incentive to the development of approximate techniques aimed at the construction of control laws and the optimization of dynamical systems. These constructive approaches rely on small parameter methods (averaging, regular and singular perturbations), which are well-known and have been proven to be efficient in nonlinear mechanics and optimal control theory (maximum principle, variational calculus and dynamic programming). An essential feature of the procedures for solving optimal control problems consists in the necessity for dealing with two-point boundary-value problems for nonlinear and, as a rule, nonsmooth multi-dimensional sets of differential equations. This circumstance complicates direct applications of the above-mentioned perturbation methods which have been developed mostly for investigating initial-value (Cauchy) problems. There is now a need for a systematic presentation of constructive analytical per turbation methods relevant to optimal control problems for nonlinear systems. The purpose of this book is to meet this need in the English language scientific literature and to present consistently small parameter techniques relating to the constructive investigation of some classes of optimal control problems which often arise in prac tice. This book is based on a revised and modified version of the monograph: L. D. Akulenko "Asymptotic methods in optimal control". Moscow: Nauka, 366 p. (in Russian).

The book gives a novel treatment of recent advances on constrained control problems with emphasis on the controllability, reachability of dynamical discrete-time systems. The new proposed approach provides the right setting for the study of qualitative properties of general types of dynamical systems in both discrete-time and continuous-time systems with possible applications to some control engineering models. Most of the material appears for the first time in a book form. The book is addressed to advanced students, postgraduate students and researchers interested in control system theory and optimal control.

Stability and Time-Optimal Control of Hereditary Systems is the mathematical foundation and theory required for studying in depth the stability and optimal control of systems whose history is taken into account. In this edition, the economic application is enlarged, and explored in some depth. The application holds out the hope that full employment and high income growth will be compatible with low prices and low inflation, provided that the control matrix has full rank, i.e., the existing controls are fully effectively used. The book concludes with a new appendix containing complete programs, data, graphs and quantitative results for the US economy.