Model predictive tracking control for a head-positioning in a Hard-Disk-Drive

This paper deals with the track-following problem of a Read/Write (R/W) head of a Hard-Disk-Drive (HDD) servo-system, which is resolved through two control algorithms generated from Model Predictive Control (MPC). The first approach consists of a classical linear MPC without constraints. The second method is inspired from the MPC technique but uses a reference trajectory to steer the actuator as close as possible to the set-point trajectory. Numerical simulation results of the proposed controllers are presented and compared with those of a classical Proportional Integral Derivative Controller (PID). Different simulation scenarios are presented including nominal case, external disturbance rejection, and robustness towards parameters uncertainties.