The monograph deals with control of sandwiched nonlinear dynamic systems. Nonsmooth nonlinearities such as dead-zone, hysteresis, backlash, and friction are considered. The book consists of a Preface, Acknowledgements, 11 Chapters, References, and an Index. Chapter 1 introduces the principal design methodologies. Chapter 2 presents several sandwich nonlinear systems examples and states the research objectives. Chapter 3 deals with continuous-time control design. Three different schemes are considered along with an exact nonlinearity inverse. Chapter 4 presents two hybrid control schemes to overcome some difficulties in the control of general known sandwiched nonlinearities that cannot be solved by the approach proposed in the previous Chapter 3. In Chapter 5, an adaptive version of the hybrid control scheme presented in Chapter 4 is developed for systems with unknown parameters of the dead-zone nonlinearity, and the study includes the analysis of stability and tracking properties. In Chapter 6, a neural-hybrid control scheme using a neural network based adaptive inverse is proposed for a dead-zone nonlinearity with unknown parameters including a simulation study. In Chapter 7, a state feedback controller is designed for a system with nonlinear friction sandwiched in between two linear dynamic blocks. It is illustrated on a two-body system with load friction plus joint flexibility and damping presented as a benchmark system. In Chapter 8, a feedback linearization based adaptive friction compensating controller is developed for a system having friction sandwiched between linear and nonlinear dynamics. In Chapter 9, adaptive control schemes for state and output tracking of systems with unknown actuator nonlinearities as well as unknown actuator failures are developed. The adaptive designs ensure stability and tracking for this class of problems. In Chapter 10, a complete solution is given for the control of multi-body, multi-input, and multi-output nonlinear systems with joint backlash, flexibility, and damping including a simulation example. Chapter 11 summarizes conclusions which are stated along with the scope of future research.
The book is a self-contained text assuming only a basic mathematical knowledge of modern control theory. It is an excellent up-to-date authoritative reference covering original results with illustrative examples. The monograph is intended both for researchers and advanced postgraduate students as well as practitioners working in the areas of control engineering, mechanical engineering, and applied mathematics who are interested in the practically important field of control of sandwiched nonlinear systems.