Controller switching strategy for constrained systems and its application to hard disk drives

We propose a switching control strategy for systems with state and control constraints. Prior studies have proven that switching control strategies have the ability to meet performance objectives, such as fast response and good disturbance rejections, while avoiding constraint violations. The controller is selected on-line from a given set of controllers by supervisory rules based on the concept of a maximal output admissible set. The selected controller needs to be appropriately initialized during switching, but how to decide the controller's initial state is still a problem. This paper proposes a method that utilizes an initial value compensation (IVC) technique for determining the initial state of the controller. The IVC technique has the following features. First, the controller's initial state is chosen according to the plant's initial state. Therefore, the number of variables that the supervisory rules need to consider is reduced. Second, smooth and fast transient responses can be obtained after switching, therefore the region of the closed-loop initial state variables that satisfy the desired response specifications under the given constraints can be expanded. Experimental evaluations of the proposed switching control strategy were performed with a 2.5-inch form-factor hard disk drive