Backstepping output-feedback control of moving boundary parabolic PDEs

This paper extends the backstepping-based observer design to the state estimation of parabolic PDEs with time-dependent spatial domain. The design is developed for the stabilization of a collocated boundary measurement and actuation of an unstable 1D heat equation with the application to the temperature distribution regulation in Czochralski crystal growth process. The PDE system that describes the estimation error dynamics is transformed to an exponentially stable target system through invertible transformations to obtain the time-varying kernel PDE defined on the time-varying triangular-shape domain. The exponential stability of the closed-loop system with an observer-based output-feedback controller is established by the use of a Lyapunov function. Finally, numerical solutions to the kernel PDEs and simulations are given to demonstrate successful stabilization of the unstable system. (C) 2014 European Control Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.