Global stabilizing controller design for linear time-varying systems and its application on BTT missiles

A parametric method for the gain-scheduled controller design of a linear time-varying system is given. According to the proposed scheduling method, the performance between adjacent characteristic points is preserved by the invariant eigenvalues and the gradually varying eigenvectors. A sufficient stability criterion is given by constructing a series of Lyapunov functions based on the selected discrete characteristic points. An important contribution is that it provides a simple and feasible approach for the design of gain-scheduled controllers for linear time-varying systems, which can guarantee both the global stability and the desired closed-loop performance of the resulted system. The method is applied to the design of a BTT missile autopilot and the simulation results show that the method is superior to the traditional one in sense of either global stability or system performance.