Improved robust model predictive control with structured uncertainty

In this paper, a dilation of the LMI characterization is presented to address constrained robust model predictive control (MPC) for a class of uncertain linear systems with structured time-varying uncertainties. The uncertainty is described in linear fractional transformation (LFT) form. By introducing slack variables and using parameter dependent Lyapunov functions, the design conservativeness is reduced compared with other existing MPC approaches. The proposed approach is applied to an industrial CSTR benchmark system to demonstrate the merits of our proposed solution. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.