Distributed fuzzy control design of nonlinear hyperbolic pde systems with application to nonisothermal plug-flow reactor

This paper considers the problem of fuzzy control design for a class of nonlinear distributed parameter systems that is described by first-order hyperbolic partial differential equations (PDEs), where the control actuators are continuously distributed in space. The goal of this paper is to develop a fuzzy state-feedback control design methodology for these systems by employing a combination of PDE theory and concepts from TakagiSugeno (TS) fuzzy control. First, the TS fuzzy hyperbolic PDE model is proposed to accurately represent the nonlinear first-order hyperbolic PDE system. Subsequently, based on the TS fuzzy-PDE model, a Lyapunov technique is used to analyze the closed-loop exponential stability with a given decay rate. Then, a fuzzy state-feedback control design procedure is developed in terms of a set of spatial differential linear matrix inequalities (SDLMIs) from the resulting stability conditions. Furthermore, utilizing the finite-difference approximation method (with a backward difference for the spatial derivative), a recursive algorithm is presented to solve the SDLMIs via the existing LMI optimization techniques. Finally, the developed design methodology is successfully applied to the control of a nonisothermal plug-flow reactor.