Nonlinear control for magnetic levitation of automotive engine vales

Position regulation of a magnetic levitation device is achieved through a control Lyapunov function (CLF) feedback design. It is shown experimentally that by selecting the CLF based on the solution to an algebraic Riccati equation it is possible to tune the performance of the controller using intuition from classical LQR control. The CLF is used with Sontag's universal stabilizing feedback to provide enhanced transient performance farther away from the origin than was achieved with the LQR controller.