Decentralized output feedback stabilization for a class of large-scale feedforward nonlinear time-delay systems

This paper is concerned with the decentralized stabilization problem for a class of large-scale feedforward nonlinear time-delay systems. The uncertain nonlinearities involved in the systems are assumed to be bounded by continuous functions of the inputs and delayed inputs multiplied by unmeasured states and delayed states. An observer-based decentralized output feedback control scheme is proposed by using the dynamic gain control design approach. On the basis of the Lyapunov-Krasovskii stability theory, the global asymptotic stability of the closed-loop control system is proved. Contrary to many existing control designs for feedforward nonlinear systems, the celebrated forwarding design and saturation design are not utilized here. An example is finally given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design procedure. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.