Distributed Control of Networked Nonlinear Euler-Lagrange Systems

Distributed Control of Networked Nonlinear Euler-Lagrange Systems Alireza Mehrabian, Ph.D. Concordia University, 2013 Motivated by recent developments in formation and cooperative control of networked multi-agent systems, the main goal of this thesis is development of efficient synchronization and formation control algorithms for distributed control of networked nonlinear systems whose dynamics can be described by Euler-Lagrange (EL) equations. One of the main challenges in the design of the formation control algorithm is its optimality and robustness to parametric uncertainties, external disturbances and ability to reconfigure in presence of component, actuator, or sensor faults. Furthermore, the controller should be capable of handling switchings in the communication network topology. In this work, nonlinear optimal control techniques are studied for developing distributed controllers for networked EL systems. An individual cost function is introduced to design a controller that relies on only local information exchanges among the agents. In the development of the controller, it is assumed that the communication graph is not fixed (in other words the topology is switching). Additionally, parametric uncertainties and faults in the EL systems are considered and two approaches, namely adaptive and robust techniques are introduced to compensate for the effects of uncertainties and actuator faults. Next, a distributed H∞ performance measure is considered to develop distributed robust controllers for uncertain networked EL systems. The developed