Robust Control of Semi-Rigid/Flexible Structures

This paper addresses the robustness issue of controlling semi-rigid/flexible structures. Conditions are derived that guarantee the robust stability of semi-rigid/flexible structures controlled by a single actuator under parametric uncertainty. These conditions provide simple constraints on the feedback gains of the controller. The freedom in choosing feedback gains that satisfy these constraints can be used to achieve other performance requirements such as pole assignment. As an application, the conditions are used to design controllers for a simple semi-rigid mechanical system.