EPE3302

State Space Analysis and Control

in Power Engineering
Dr. Khalid ABIDI
Objectives
The objective of this lecture are as follows:
• Controllability of State Space Systems
• Observability of State Space Systems
Controllability
A system is said to be controllable at time 𝑡𝑡0 if it is possible by means of an
unconstrained control vector 𝐮𝐮(𝑡𝑡) to transfer the system from any initial
state 𝐱𝐱(𝑡𝑡0 ) to any other state in a finite interval of time, i.e, [𝑡𝑡0 , 𝑡𝑡].
The concepts of controllability and observability were introduced by
Kalman. They play an important role in the design of control systems in
state space. In fact, the conditions of controllability and observability may
govern the existence of a complete solution to the control system design
problem. The solution to this problem may not exist if the system
considered is not controllable. Although most physical systems are
controllable and observable, corresponding mathematical models may not
possess the property of controllability and observability. Then it is
necessary to know the conditions under which a system is controllable and
observable.This section deals with controllability and the next section
discusses observability.
Complete State Controllability
Consider the State Space system given as
𝐱𝐱̇ 𝑡𝑡 = 𝐴𝐴𝐱𝐱 𝑡𝑡 + 𝐵𝐵𝐮𝐮(𝑡𝑡)
For the system to be completely State Controllable then the following
condition must be satisfied
rank 𝑊𝑊c = 𝑛𝑛
where
𝑊𝑊c = 𝐵𝐵 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 ⋯ | 𝐴𝐴𝑛𝑛−1 𝐵𝐵
is called the Controllability Matrix. The dimensions of this matrix are 𝑛𝑛 × 𝑛𝑛 �
𝑚𝑚. The rank of the matrix 𝑊𝑊c is the size of the largest square matrix with a
non-zero determinant that can be fit inside 𝑊𝑊c .
Complete State Controllability
Example: Consider the system
1 1 1
𝐱𝐱̇ 𝑡𝑡 = 𝐱𝐱 𝑡𝑡 + 𝑢𝑢(𝑡𝑡)
0 −1 0
For the system to be completely State Controllable then the following
condition must be satisfied
rank 𝑊𝑊c = 𝑛𝑛 = 2
where
1 1 1 1 1 1
𝑊𝑊c = =
0 0 −1 0 0 0
Clearly the rank is 1 < 𝑛𝑛 = 2, so the system is not Completely State
Controllable.
Output Controllability
In the practical design of a control system, we may want to control the
output rather than the state of the system. Complete state controllability is
neither necessary nor sufficient for controlling the output of the system.
For this reason, it is desirable to define separately complete output
controllability.
Consider the system
𝐱𝐱̇ 𝑡𝑡 = 𝐴𝐴𝐱𝐱 𝑡𝑡 + 𝐵𝐵𝐮𝐮(𝑡𝑡)
The system is said to be completely output controllable if it is possible to
construct an unconstrained control vector 𝐮𝐮(𝑡𝑡) that will transfer any given
initial output 𝐲𝐲(𝑡𝑡0 ) to any final output 𝐲𝐲(𝑡𝑡) in a finite time interval [𝑡𝑡0 , 𝑡𝑡].
Output Controllability
Mathematically speaking for the system to be Output Controllable then the
following condition must be satisfied
rank 𝑊𝑊oc = 𝑝𝑝
where
𝑊𝑊oc = 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 ⋯ 𝐶𝐶𝐴𝐴𝑛𝑛−1 𝐵𝐵 𝐷𝐷
is called the Output Controllability Matrix. The dimensions of this matrix are
𝑝𝑝 × 𝑚𝑚(𝑛𝑛 + 1).
Output Controllability
Example: Consider the system
1 1 1
𝐱𝐱̇ 𝑡𝑡 = 𝐱𝐱 𝑡𝑡 + 𝑢𝑢(𝑡𝑡)
0 −1 0
𝐲𝐲 𝑡𝑡 = 1 0 𝐱𝐱 𝑡𝑡
For the system to be completely Output Controllable then the following
condition must be satisfied
rank 𝑊𝑊oc = 𝑝𝑝 = 1
where
1 1 1 1
𝑊𝑊oc = 1 0 1 0 [0] = 1 1 0
0 0 −1 0
Clearly the rank is 1 = 𝑝𝑝, so the system is Output Controllable.
Stabilizability
For a partially controllable system, if the uncontrollable modes are stable
and the unstable modes are controllable, the system is said to be
stabilizable. For example, the system defined by
1 0 1
̇𝐱𝐱 𝑡𝑡 = 𝐱𝐱 𝑡𝑡 + 𝑢𝑢(𝑡𝑡)
0 −1 0
is not state controllable. The stable mode that corresponds to the
eigenvalue of –1 is not controllable. The unstable mode that corresponds to
the eigenvalue of 1 is controllable. Such a system can be made stable by the
use of a suitable feedback. Thus, this system is stabilizable.
Observability
Consider the system
𝐱𝐱̇ 𝑡𝑡 = 𝐴𝐴𝐱𝐱 𝑡𝑡 + 𝐵𝐵𝐮𝐮(𝑡𝑡)
𝐲𝐲 𝑡𝑡 = 𝐶𝐶𝐱𝐱 𝑡𝑡 + 𝐷𝐷𝐮𝐮(𝑡𝑡)
The system is said to be completely observable if every state 𝐱𝐱(𝑡𝑡0 ) can be
determined from the observation of 𝐲𝐲(𝑡𝑡) over a finite time interval, [𝑡𝑡0 , 𝑡𝑡].
The system is, therefore, completely observable if every transition of the
state eventually affects every element of the output vector. The concept of
observability is useful in solving the problem of reconstructing
unmeasurable state variables from measurable variables in the minimum
possible length of time.
Observability
Mathematically speaking for the system to be Observable then the
following condition must be satisfied
rank 𝑊𝑊o = 𝑛𝑛
where
𝐶𝐶
𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
𝑊𝑊o =
⋮
𝐶𝐶𝐴𝐴𝑛𝑛−1
is called the Observability Matrix. The dimensions of this matrix are p� 𝑛
×n .
Observability
Example: Consider the system
1 1 1
𝐱𝐱̇ 𝑡𝑡 = 𝐱𝐱 𝑡𝑡 + 𝑢𝑢(𝑡𝑡)
0 −1 0
𝐲𝐲 𝑡𝑡 = 1 0 𝐱𝐱 𝑡𝑡
For the system to be completely Observable then the following
condition must be satisfied
rank 𝑊o = 𝑛 = 2
where
1 0
1 0
𝑊𝑊o = 1 1 =
1 0 1 1
0 −1
Clearly the rank is 2 = 𝑛𝑛, so the system is Observable.
Detectability
For a partially observable system, if the unobservable modes are stable and
the observable modes are unstable, the system is said to be detectable.
Note that the concept of detectability is dual to the concept of
stabilizability.
1 0 1
𝐱𝐱̇ 𝑡𝑡 = 𝐱𝐱 𝑡𝑡 + 𝑢𝑢(𝑡𝑡)
0 −1 0
𝐲𝐲 𝑡𝑡 = 1 0 𝐱𝐱 𝑡𝑡
is not fully observable but has a stable mode which is not observable. The
stable mode that corresponds to the eigenvalue of –1 is not observable.
The unstable mode that corresponds to the eigenvalue of 1 is observable.