Stability and time delay tolerance analysis approach for networked control systems

Abstract

Networked control system is a research area where the theory is behind practice. Closing the feedback loop through shared network induces time delay and some of the data could be lost. So the network induced time delay and data loss are inevitable in networked control Systems. The time delay may degrade the performance of control systems or even worse lead to system instability. Once the structure of a networked control system is confirmed, it is essential to identify the maximum time delay allowed for maintaining the system stability which, in turn, is also associated with the process of controller design. Some studies reported methods for estimating the maximum time delay allowed for maintaining system stability; however, most of the reported methods are normally overcomplicated for practical applications. A method based on the finite difference approximation is proposed in this paper for estimating the maximum time delay tolerance, which has a simple structure and is easy to apply.