A comparison of descent and continuation algorithms for H2 optimal, reduced-order control design

Reduced-order control is important in control engineering practice due to inevitable limitations on the throughput of the control processors. This paper considers the direct design of H₂ optimal, reduced-order controllers via two parameter optimization approaches: descent methods and continuation (or homotopy) methods. In particular, three standard descent methods are compared with a recently developed continuation algorithm using three examples appearing in the literature. The effect of constraining the controller to a particular basis is also considered