A Robust Controller Design for an Inlet Throttling Speed Control System for a Rotary Actuator

Abstract

In this paper, a novel flow control strategy which is the inlet throttled pump was used to design an angular velocity control system for rotary actuator. Inlet throttled systems have good performance in addition to their high efficiency compared to traditional valve-controlled systems. The flow in the proposed system is adjusted by a valve that is positioned at the pump inlet with the purpose of reducing the energy loses across the valve. This regulated flow is used then to control the actuator angular velocity. The system was modeled and the open loop stability and performance were studied. In order to improve the system performance, proportional-integralderivative (PID) and H-infinity controllers have been designed. The multiplicative uncertainty was analyzed to assess the robustness of the feedback control system where six parameters were considered uncertain within a range of +10%. The robust stability and performance requirements of the closed-loop angular velocity control system were assessed in the frequency domain. The time response of the system showed that the system is stable with both PID and H-infinity controllers. The PID controller have the advantages of simplicity and high response speed while the H∞ controller provides better nominal performance, robustness, and stability. The H∞ controller can handle parametric uncertainty without requiring pure integral term which is a significant advantage over the PID controller. On the other hand, the PID controller falls short of achieving robust performance, making it less suitable for systems that require high levels of performance and robustness. In summary, the H∞ controller is a more comprehensive solution for ensuring the best performance of a system. In contrast, the PID controller may be more suitable for systems with less stringent performance requirements.