Abstract:

The tight description of many physical phenomena relies on mathematical models in which variables that depend simultaneously on space and time are related each other through differential relationships. This leads to systems modeled via partial differential equations (PDEs). Systems modeled via PDEs are omnipresent in physical sciences and this has a dramatic impact on the relevance of PDE models in engineering applications.

In this talk, we will consider a special class of hyperbolic PDEs, i.e., the class of 1-D linear hyperbolic conservation laws. The main interest in linear hyperbolic conservation laws is that such equations are ubiquitous in physical applications. Transport of electrical energy, the flow of fluids in open channels, the motion of chemicals in flow reactors; just to mention some, are typical examples of processes that can be mathematically described by 1-D linear conservation laws.

The main focus of this talk is on boundary feedback control design for 1-D linear hyperbolic conservation laws. Sufficient conditions in the form of Lyapunov-like functional inequalities are given to certify the existence of a bound on the $\mathcal{L}_2$ (spatial) norm of the state with respect to energy bounded measurement noise. Semidefinite programming techniques are adopted to devise a systematic design algorithm. The effectiveness of the approach is shown in a numerical example.  

Bio:

Francesco Ferrante is an assistant professor of Automatic Control (maître de conférences) at the University of Grenoble Alpes and member of the Grenoble Images Speech Signal and Control Laboratory.

He received in 2010 a “Laurea degree” (BSc) in Control Engineering from University “Sapienza” in Rome, Italy and in 2012 a “Laurea Magistrale” degree (MSc) cum laude in Control Engineering from University “Tor Vergata” in Rome, Italy. During 2014, he held a visiting scholar position at the Department of Computer Engineering, University of California Santa Cruz. In 2015, he received a PhD degree in control theory from “Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l’espace” (SUPAERO) Toulouse, France. From November 2015 to August 2016, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Clemson University. From August 2015 to September 2016, he held a position as postdoctoral scientist at the Hybrid Systems Laboratory (HSL) at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

His research interests are in the general area of systems and control with a special focus on hybrid systems, observer design, application of convex optimization in systems and control.