Global Controller Optimization Using Horowitz Bounds

A procedure for global optimization of PID type controller parameters for SISO plants with model uncertainty is presented. Robustness to the uncertainties is guaranteed by the use of Horowitz bounds, which are used as constraints when low frequency performance is optimized. The basic idea of both the optimization and the parameter tuning is to formulate separate criteria for low, mid and high frequency closed loop properties. The trade-off between stability margins, high frequency robustness and low frequency performance is then elucidated and, hence, the final choice of parameters is facilitated. The optimization problems are non-convex and illconditioned and we use a combination of new global and standard local optimization algorithms available in the TOMLAB optimization environment to solve the problem. The method does not rely on a good initial guess and converges fast and robustly. It is applied to a controller structure comparison for a plant with an uncertain mechanical resonance. For a given control activity and stability margin as well as identical tuning parameters it is shown that a PID controller achieves slightly improved low frequency performance compared to anH∞ controller based on loop-shaping. The reason for this somewhat surprising result is the roll-off in the H∞ controller, which adds additional high frequency robustness compared to the PID controller. Computationally, a factor of 10−20 has been gained compared to an earlier, less general, version of the procedure.