Robust control of multivariable two-time-scale nonlinear systems

This paper focuses on the synthesis of well-conditioned multivariable robust controllers for a broad class of multi-input multi-output two-time-scale nonlinear systems with time-varying uncertain variables, modeled within the framework of singular perturbations. The proposed controller stabilizes the fast dynamics, guarantees boundedness of trajectories, and ensures that the ultimate discrepancy between the outputs and the external reference inputs in the closed-loop system can be made arbitrarily small by an appropriate choice of controller parameters, provided that the singular perturbation parameter is sufficiently small. The developed control method is tested, through simulations, on a fluidized catalytic cracking reactor.