Control of oscillatory distributed parameter systems: An overview

The following gives an overview of the session on Control of Oscillatory Distributed Parameter Systems. It defines the unifying theme of the session and indicates the principal issues to be covered. The topic of this session is feedback control of highly oscillatory distributed parameter systems (DPS). These dynamical systems, sometimes loosely called "hyperbolic", are described by systems of partial differential equations whose solutions are oscillatory and have very low damping, i.e. the system are energy conserving or at best very mildly dissipative. Practical examples of these systems occur in application areas such as plasma dynamics and mechanically flexible structures, e.g. bridges, tall buildings, and large aerospace structures among others. As society demands of its engineering systems higher performance levels and more stringent constraints, feedback control becomes a necessity for the satisfaction of these requirements.