Port-Hamiltonian Modeling and Energy-Based Control of Ocean and Atmospheric Vehicles

The dynamics of a wide variety of vehicles can be represented using noncanonical Hamiltonian system models with dissipation and exogenous inputs. The Hamiltonian structure captures energy exchange among subsystem elements, the noncanonical form accommodates rotating reference frames, and the exogenous inputs allow for control commands and for disturbances that are not readily incorporated into the Hamiltonian form. Because these models typically describe a system’s behavior within a large region of state space, and because the system structure provides a natural starting point for Lyapunov-based control design, noncanonical Hamiltonian models are especially well-suited to developing large-envelope nonlinear control laws. The presentation will include several examples from the speaker’s experience, such as space vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and uncrewed air vehicles (UAVs). A particular emphasis will be recent theoretical results, supported by experimental demonstrations of passivity-based control laws for fixed-wing aircraft. In considering these examples, a unifying theme will emerge recognizing and exploiting the nonlinear mechanical system structure of the governing equations to obtain provably effective control strategies.