Fault-tolerant synchronization of complex networks with inner coupling faults

The inner coupling faults may occur in a complex network so that the synchronization deteriorates even is destroyed in a complex network. How to synchronize a complex network under the circumstances? Here the inner coupling faults are transformed into the uncertainties of a network. Because the inner coupling faults occur among partial nodes, the inner coupling matrices of fault nodes are different from normal nodes. Therefore the additional controllers are needed to synchronize the network with inner coupling faults. A fault-tolerant synchronization scheme is proposed against the inner coupling faults. And a synchronization criterion is derived based on the Lyapunov stability theory and the matrix inequality. A numerical simulation is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed synchronization scheme.