Overview

This research monograph summarizes solutions to reconfigurable fault-tolerant control problems for nonlinear dynamical systems that are based on the fault-hiding principle. It emphasizes but is not limited to complete actuator and sensor failures. In the first part, the monograph starts with a broad introduction of the control reconfiguration problems and objectives as well as summaries and explanations of solutions for linear dynamical systems. The solution is always a reconfiguration block, which consists of linear virtual actuators in the case of actuator faults and linear virtual sensors in the case of sensor faults. The main advantage of the fault-hiding concept is the reusability of the nominal controller, which remains in the loop as an active system while the virtual actuator and sensor adapt the control input and the measured output to the fault scenario. The second and third parts extend virtual actuators and virtual sensors towards the classes of Hammerstein-Wiener systems and piecewise affine systems. The main analyses concern stability recovery, setpoint tracking recovery, and performance recovery as reconfiguration objectives. The fourth part concludes the monograph with descriptions of practical implementations and case studies. The book is primarily intended for active researchers and practicing engineers in the field of fault-tolerant control. Due to many running examples it is also suitable for interested graduate students.