Proceedings of the 2nd IFAC

Workshop on Fractional Differentiation and its Applications

Porto, Portugal, July 19-21, 2006

RECURSIVE DISTRIBUTIONS OF POLES AND ZEROS FOR LINEAR PHASE VARIATIONS

Jocelyn Sabatier, Mathieu Moze, Patrick Lanusse, Alain Oustaloup

LAPS - ENSEIRB - University Bordeaux 1 - Equipe CRONE UMR CNRS 5131

351, Cours de la Libration, 33405 Talence, FRANCE
Tel : +33 (0)540 006 607 Fax : +33 (0)540 006 644
jocelyn.sabatier@laps.u-bordeaux1.fr www.laps.u-bordeaux1.fr

Abstract: This paper discusses two recursive distributions of poles and zeros that permit
the synthesis of a transmittance whose phase variations are linear in respect to
logarithmic variations of the frequency, slope and magnitude being adjusted through
two parameters. One of the resulting transmittances is particularly attractive for the
synthesis of a CRONE controller if constraints on closed loop pole locations or on
sensitivity functions energies are imposed. The resulting transmittance also permits to
obtain a state space description of the open and closed loop systems, representation
required if a Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) system is controlled.

Keywords: Fractional differentiation, CRONE control, complex orders

1. INTRODUCTION
In the last two decades, fractional systems have been
of growing interest in the field of analysis, system
identification and control. Concerning this last field,
several authors have suggested to introduce fractional
controllers (Tenreiro Machado, 1997; Podlubny,
1999; Petras and Dorcak, 1999; Manabe, 1961). In
the case of fractional PID controller extensions, that
leads to a better flexibility in the structure of the
controller. Regarding CRONE control (Oustaloup,
1991; Oustaloup and Mathieu, 1999), fractional
differentiation is used in the design procedure of the
controller to ensure the robustness of the feedback
system.
The real or complex fractional order introduced in
CRONE control, permits parameterization of the
open-loop transfer function with a very small number
of parameters. The optimisation of the control is thus
reduced to the search for the optimal values of these
parameters. The form of uncertainties taken into
account being structured, this optimisation is non-
linear. Limitation of the number of parameters to be
optimised is thus a major problem in this case.
Three generation of CRONE control have been
developed. The third is the most elaborated as it is a
frequency control design method based on complex
fractional differentiation in the definition of the open
loop transfer function for the nominal parametric
state of the plant. Due to fractional differentiation,
Bode phase diagram of the open loop transmittance
exhibits linear variations with logaritmic variations
of the frequency, variations whose slope and
magnitude can be adjusted to ensure the closed loop
stability degree robustness. However, the open loop
transmittance is not rational and a state space
description cannot be obtained. Such a situation is
problematic if constraints on closed loop pole
locations or on sensitivity functions energy are
imposed, or if modern stability analysis methods
(quadratic method based on LMI, ) have to be used
(for instance if a Linear Parameter Varying (LPV)
system is controlled).
To obtain a rational open loop transmittance and thus
to deduce a state space description, two solutions can
be used:
- computation of a rational approximation of the Frequency response of (s) in the Nichols chart is
CRONE open loop transmittance, given by Fig. 1 and exhibits a linear phase variation.
- definition of a new transmittance.
( j ) dB
This paper discusses the two solutions. The first
solution is based on the complex fractional
differentiator synthesis method developed in Locus of (j)
(Oustaloup et al., 2000). The second uses the PWM
f(Im(n))
principle to create linear phase variations. The idea is cg 0 dB
then extended to obtain more complex phase shape. /2 0
The goal is to replace the multi-template based open
Re(n) /2
arg (( j ))
loop transmittance introduced in the third generation
CRONE control strategy, by a simpler transmittance
involving a smaller number of parameters.

In this paper a brief description of CRONE control is

proposed in section 2. Two recursive distributions of Fig.1. Frequency response of (s) in the Nichols
poles and zeros that permit the synthesis of a chart, a = Re(n), determines the phase location at
transmittance whose phase variations are linear are frequency cg of the segment obtained, namely
studied in section 3. New open loop transmittances a/2; imaginary part, b = Im (n), determines its
are then proposed. They can be used for the synthesis
angle to the vertical
of a third generation CRONE controller. A method
that permits to obtain more complex phase shape is
It needs to be specified that the imaginary unity i,
developed in section 4.
which is in the integration order n = a + ib, is
independent of the imaginary unity j which is in the
2. A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CRONE
operational variable s = + j.
CONTROL
From the derivatives of the (j) modulus and
The bases of CRONE control (CRONE is the French argument at frequency cg, it is possible to express
acronym of Commande Robuste dOrdre Non the angle of the Nichols locus to the vertical as a
Entier) were given in the second half of 1970s, function of a and b:
when Oustaloup used fractional order controllers for
robust control of continuous colorant lasers
(
d ( j ) dB ) 20asign (b )
= . (3)
d (arg ( j )) b
(Oustaloup, 1975; Oustaloup, 1983). log(10 )b tanh
2
Some authors had previously suggested such a
control strategy to ensure the robustness of control In practice and in order to take into account the
loops with gain variations (Bode, 1945) or had behaviour of the plant to control at low and high
already proposed to introduce fractional frequency, this transmittance is replaced by (for
differentiation in feedback systems (Manabe, 1961). stable and minimum phase plants):
However, the originality of most elaborated strategies
of CRONE control lies in the use of fractional (s) = Kl(s) (s ) h(s) , (4)
differentiation (real or complex) in the description of
the open-loop transfer function (and not only on the where:
controller) which leads to its parameterization with
only few parameters. - transfer function (s ) is given by
The third CRONE control generation defines an open sign (b )
loop transfer function for the nominal parametric a ib

s s
state of the plant, based on the real part of a complex 1+ 1 +
C (5)
fractional integrator: (s ) = C sign(b ) C0 h h
s 0 s
sign (b ) 1+ 1 +
sign (b ) a ib l l
cg , (1) Cj
(s ) = cosh b cg
2 s s
C j
and has the same frequency behaviour as has
transmittance (s) between corner frequencies l
where cg denotes the crossover gain frequency.
and h;
Developing the term restricted to the operational
- transfer function l(s) is an order nl proportional
plane j, leads to:
integrator defined by :
sign(b)
sign(b ) a
cg
cos b log s (2) n
(s ) = cosh b s / l l
2 s


cg



l (s ) = Cl ; (6)

1 + s / l
- transfer function h(s) is a low-pass filter of order nh into account frequency performance specifications.
defined by : However, it can also be interesting:
- to impose constraints on closed loop poles
Ch
h (s ) = ; (7) location (a circle, a sector, ),
nh - to minimise the energy of one or several
s

+ 1 sensitivity functions impulse responses (to
h ensure a satisfactory disturbance rejection).

- and K is a gain used to impose a specified Moreover, most of the modern analysis methods for
resonance frequency r. closed loop systems are based on a state space
description of the loop. In the case of CRONE
control, as previously mentioned, the state space
Parameters nh and nl can be computed through an description cannot be obtained.
analysis of the plant to control asymptotic frequency
behaviour at low and high frequency. Thus, only five 3.2. Limited frequency band complex fractional
parameters must be tuned to ensure the robustness of
integrator synthesis
the closed loop. These parameters are the real
integration order a, the imaginary integration order
A solution to obtain the required rational form of the
b, the corner frequencies l and h and the gain K. open loop transmittance consists in a synthesis of the
Given that it is imposed to the frequency response of limited frequency band complex fractional
transmittance (s) to tangent an iso-overshoot differentiator D(s). As for the real case, synthesis of
contour of the Nichols chart of specified magnitude D(s) is based on a recursive distribution of pole and
(to ensure specified performance for the nominal zeros (Oustaloup et al, 2000):
parametric state of the plant), only three of these
parameters are independent. n
s
Optimal values of these parameters are computed n1+
b b
thought the minimisation of a criterion based on the D( s ) = = lim DN ( s ) , (8)
u 1 + s
N
variations of resonance peak magnitude in tracking
(variations due to plant uncertainties). As shown in h
Fig. 2, minimisation of such a criterion positions the
uncertainty domains associated to the nominal open with n=a+ib i and
loop frequency response, so that they overlap as little
s
as possible the low stability degree area. n N 1+
'k
Given that the minimisation of such a criterion DN ( s ) = b . (9)
sometimes produces undesirable closed loop u k =N 1 + s
behaviours, constraints on the frequency responses of k
the four sensitivity functions of the closed loop are
also imposed. However, in comparison with the real case, zeros and
For more details on CRONE control, the interested poles k and k are complex and are given in the
reader should have a look on (Oustaloup, 1991; Ci plane by:
Oustaloup and Mathieu, 1999) and references here in.
' k = ' k e i and k = k .e i , (10)
O1 O1
where
1 a 1 a
k+N+ k+N + +
2 2 2 2
h 2 N +1 h 2 N +1
(- , 0 dB) (- , 0 dB)

'k =
b , k =

b (11)
cg cg b b

and
(a) (b)
b
= ln h . (12)
Fig. 2. The optimal approach ensures optimal 2(2 N + 1) b

placement of the uncertainty domains : (a) open
loop before optimization; (b) optimal one Relation (11) shows that the modulus of corner
frequencies k and k are recursively linked while
3. RATIONAL APPROXIMATION OF THE OPEN their arguments given by relation (12) are
LOOP TRANSFER FUNCTION independent of rank k.

3.1. Needs for a rational open loop transmittance Natural logarithm of corner frequencies k and k
are respectively given by :
Due to the irrational form of the open loop
transmittance, the CRONE synthesis method ln ' k = ln ' k i and ln k = ln k + i . (13)
described in the previous section only permits to take
If parameters and such that which is similar to relation (8).
Given the previous comments, transmittance (24) can
k ' k +1 be approximated by a transmittance based on a
= > 0 ; = > 0 (14)
'k k recursive distribution of pole and zeros given by:

are introduced, corner frequencies k and k are ' k = ' k e i and k = k e i , (25)
thus linked by the relations
where
ln k = ln + ln ' k and ln ' k +1 = ln + ln k .
1 a 1 a
(15) k+N+ k+N + +
2 2 2 2
b 2 N +1 b 2 N +1
Given relations (11) and (12),
'k = h , k =
h (26)
h h
= e i2 and = e -i2 (16)
and
with
b
= ln b . (27)
a 1 a
2(2 N + 1) h
h 2 N +1 h 2 N +1
= et = , (17)
Recursive factors and are then given by:
b b
a 1 a
or using the natural logarithm :
2 N +1 i2 2 N +1 -i2
= b e and = b e . (28)
ln = ln + i 2 and ln = ln i 2 . (18) h h

For the real case, recursive factors and are linked

to the fractional order n by the relation
log
n= . (19)
log( )

For a complex order n, if relation (18) is introduced

in relation (19), a generalisation of relation (19) is
obtained:
ln + i 2
n= , (20)
ln + ln

given that n = a + ib , where real and imaginary

differentiation orders, a and b, are given by: Fig. 3. Comparison of the Nichols diagram of ( j )
~
and of ( j )
ln 2
a= and b= . (21)
ln + ln ln + ln
As an example, it is imposed to the transmittance
This recursive distribution can now be used to obtain (s) to tangent an isovershoot contour of magnitude
an approximation of transmittance (5). Prior to its 1dB at the ordinate Y0 = 9dB. Crossover Gain
synthesis, it however must be reformulated: frequency cg is chosen equal to 1 rd/s. Others
parameters of (s) are given by :
a q'sign(b' )
ib'
s q'sign(b') 1+ s n b = 1 , n h = 1 , b = 0.032rd/s , h = 100rd/s .
1+
h
. (22)
a
(s) = Co Co h Re/ i Co (29)
s s
1+
1+
Fig. 3 presents a comparison of the Nichols diagram
b b
~ ~

of ( j ) and of ( j ) , ( j ) being the
Then, using: approximation of ( j ) using a recursive
a distribution of poles and zeros. This comparison
n' = + ib' , (23) highlights that the proposed approximation method
q ' sign (b' )
gives excellent results. However, in such an example,
~
relation (22) becomes : dimension of transmittance ( j ) is 54 over 56.
q'sign(b' ) Worst example can also be found. Due to the size of
n ' the resulting state space description, this synthesis
p
1+ method thus cannot be used to compute an optimal

(s ) = KCo a Re /i Co n' h

, (24)
open loop behaviour through a criterion based on
p
1+ closed loop pole location or closed loop transfer
b
function energy.
 where
3.3. A new open loop transfer function
s
a Na
s
1+

1 + '
To overcome the problem described in the previous I a (s ) = C I a , k =1 a k , (34)
a (s ) = Ca
h
section, a new open loop transmittance is proposed. s Na
1 + s
To obtain linear phase variations around crossover b 1 +
k =1 ak
gain frequency, a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
analogy is used. This analogy is described by Fig. 4 and
which shows that the linear phase variations can be
obtained through a pole and zero distribution given ' ak = b ( )k 1 , ak = b ( )k 1 . (35)
by:
To demonstrate that such a recursive distribution
2Nb
s permits to create a linear phase variation, it is
1 + '
supposed that the integral of a crenel over a
k =1 bk
b (s ) = Cb (30) frequency band of width log() and centred on this
2Nb
s crenel is equal to the surface of the hatched area on
1 +
the same frequency band. That thus imposes to this
k =1 bk
hatched area to be defined by:
where
k log( )
Xk = . (36)
'bk = b ( ) k 1
N b +1 k
log( )
k 1
for i N b , (31)
bk = b N b +1 k
( ) The slope of the smoothing line of Fig. 4.b is thus:
log( ) . (37)
and

This equation thus demonstrates that the slope is only

'bk = b ( )k 1 k N b
for i > N b . (32) imposed by parameter . Parameter along with
bk = b ( )k 1 k N b parameter Nb can thus be used to control phase
undulations around the phase smoothing line.
Transmittance (4) can thus be replaced by
transmittance
~
~
(s ) = l (s ) I a (s ) a (s ) b (s ) h (s ) , (33)

Arg
3 3 2 2 2

/2
log() log()
(a)
h
0 log()
b
log() log()

/2

X3
X2
X1
(b) log()

Phase smoothing line

Fig. 4. PWM principle applied to the open loop transfer definition

Tangency conditions of the open loop transmittance
Nichols Plane
frequency response to an iso-overshoot contour are
now obtained numerically. As an example, it is
~
~
imposed to the transmittance (s ) to tangent an
isovershoot contour of magnitude 1dB at the ordinate -180 0 dB
Y0 = 9dB. Crossover Gain frequency cg is chosen
~
~ cg
equal to 1 rd/s. Others parameters of (s ) are given
by :
nl = 1 , n h = 1 , b = 0.032rd/s h = 100rd/s . (38) Fig. 6. Schematic frequency response representation
of transmittance m(s)
Fig. 5, presents the obtained frequency response. A
comparison with Fig. 3 reveals a really similar An alternative solution is to define a new recursive
frequency response. distribution of pole and zeros such that the frequency
behaviour of the resulting open loop system is really
similar to that of transmittance (39). This solution
can be obtained using the recursive distribution
represented by Fig. 7. This figure highlights that with
only one more parameter, thus with four independent
parameters, a large number of shape can be obtained
if transmittance b(s) becomes
2Nb
s
1 + '

k =1 bk
b (s ) = Cb , (41)
2Nb
s
1 +
k =1 bk
~
~
Fig. 5. Frequency response of transmittance (s ) where, for shapes 1 and 2:

4. BEYOND LINEAR PHASE VARIATIONS 'bk = b ( )k 1
Nb +1 k

for i N b , (42)
For some complex control problems, linear phase
variations around crossover gain frequency are not
bk = b (
N b +1 k
) k 1
( )
enough to ensure simultaneously the robustness of
the control loop stability degree and a good shaping
of the various sensitivity functions. To solve this (
'bk = b ( )k 1 k N b ) for i > N b , (43)
problem with CRONE control, a more complex open
loop transmittance is used:
(
bk = b ( )k 1 k N b )
( s) = b ( s) m ( s) h ( s) , (39) and with, for shapes 3 and 4:

'bk = b ( )k 1
Nb k

where
for i N b , (44)
N +
(
)
bk = b N b +1 k ( )k 1
m (s) = k (s) , (40)
k = N

the idea being to model the open loop frequency (

bk = b ( )k 1 k N b )
response shape by adding several transmittances with
linear phase variations as shows in Fig. 6.
(
'bk = b ( )k 1 k N b ) for i > N b . (45)

However, with this solution two parameters are

added for each introduced transmittance k ( s ) .
Interest of fractional integration in relation to the
number of parameters to tune is thus somewhat lost.
 Arg
4
log 6 log

log 2



/2
log() log()

h
0 log()
b
log() log()

/2

X3

X2
>1 X1
log()

X3
X2
<1
X1 log()

log()

log()

Fig. 7. Beyond linear phase variations

5. CONCLUSION interesting solution for the definition of a new open

In this paper, recursive distributions of poles and
zeros for the synthesis of transmittances whose phase
variations are linear are compared. The first one is
based on the approximation of a complex fractional
differentiator and the second one uses the PWM
principle. This distribution turns out to provide lower
dimensional transmittances. It is thus a really
loop transmittance in the CRONE approach. Low
dimensional state space description of this loop is
now permitted. Such a state space description will be
used in a future work for CRONE control of Linear
Parameter Varying (LPV) systems.
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