This paper focuses on proposing novel conditions for stability analysis and stabilization of the class of nonlinear fractional-order systems. First, by considering the class of nonlinear fractional-order systems as a feedback interconnection system and applying small-gain theorem, a condition is proposed for L 2 -norm boundedness of the solutions of these systems. Then, by using the Mittag-Leffler function properties, we show that satisfaction of the proposed condition proves the global asymptotic stability of the class of nonlinear fractional-order systems with fractional order lying in (0.5, 1) or (1.5, 2). Unlike the Lyapunov-based methods for stability analysis of fractional-order systems, the new condition depends on the fractional order of the system. Moreover, it is related to the H ∞ -norm of the linear part of the system and it can be transformed to linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) using fractional-order bounded-real lemma. Furthermore, the proposed stability analysis method is extended to the state-feedback and observer-based controller design for the class of nonlinear fractional-order systems based on solving some LMIs. In the observer-based stabilization problem, we prove that the separation principle holds using our method and one can find the observer gain and pseudostate-feedback gain in two separate steps. Finally, three numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the advantage of the novel proposed conditions with the previous results.
KEYWORDSH ∞ -norm, nonlinear control, nonlinear fractional-order system, observer-based stabilization, pseudostate feedback Int J Robust Nonlinear Control. 2018;28:4549-4564. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/rnc