Observer Design for Mechanical Systems described by Semilinear Partial Differential Equations

Abstract

This doctoral thesis presents new analysis tool for observer design of flexible mechanical systems described by partial differential equations (PDEs). This work focuses especially on designing of natural observers. Particularly, observer design for flexible mechanical systems described by the beam equation and the string equation are extensively studied.

Observer design and contraction analysis for a class of distributed-parameter systems are considered.

Observer design for a motorized Euler-Bernoulli beam is studied. Based on measurements at the boundaries, exponential stable observers are designed.

Observer design for towed seismic streamer cables is studied. Utilizing the properties of the hydrodynamic dragforces, an exponential stable observer is designed.

Most of the results in this thesis have been presented at international conferences.