Reduced-order compensator design for a flexible structure

A low-order controller is designed for an experimental truss structure. The objective is to achieve good disturbance attenuation, while at the same time preserving good stability margin and other robustness properties. The method used is linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) with frequency dependent weights and colored noises for shaping singular-value Bode plots. Controller reduction is accomplished through the open-loop balancing scheme applied to the full-order compensator. A typical design result shows that it is possible to obtain a very low-order design that meets the preceding specification. (Author)