H∞ model reduction with application to flexible systems

In this note, H_∞ model reduction of continuous time linear systems is revisited. The main objective is to define a convex programming problem expressed in terms of linear matrix inequalities which provides a good suboptimal solution to the model reduction problem. The quality of the proposed suboptimal solution is assessed through comparisons, performed via simulation, with the already classical balanced truncation method, leading to the conclusion that the proposed method performs significantly better. Finally, the proposed method is applied to the determination of a reduced order model of a flexible bar.