Active control of a flexible cantilever plate with multiple time delays is investigated using the discrete optimal control method. A controller with multiple time delays is presented. In this controller, time delay effect is incorporated in the mathematical model of the dynamic system throughout the control design and no approximations and assumptions are made in the controller derivation, so the system stability is easily guaranteed. Furthermore, this controller is available for both small time delays and large time delays. The feasibility and efficiency of the proposed controller are verified through numerical simulations in the end of this paper.
An optimal control method for seismic-excited building structures with multiple time delays is investigated in this paper. The system state equation with multiple time delays is discretized and transformed into a standard discrete form without any explicit time delay by a particular augmenting for state variables. A time-delay controller is then designed based on this standard equation using the discrete optimal control method. Effectiveness of the proposed controller is demonstrated by numerical simulations. Simulation results indicate that a very small time delay may result in the instability of the control system if it is not compensated in the control design. Time delay may be compensated effectively by the proposed controller, in the mean time, an effective control may be obtained. The proposed controller is valid for both small and large time delays.