Limiting controls in vector state space systems

This thesis concerns the control of networked systems under actuation constraints. Focusing mostly on linear vector state space systems, we investigate how limits on the frequency of system actuation affect control policies. Two types of actuation constraints are considered. The first places a limit on the total number of actuations, while the second places a cost on the average number of actuations. We investigate three types of networked control systems (NCS) that differ in their method of actuation. The first NCS contains multiple actuators but only one is allowed to be utilized during any time step. An optimal control policy is found, and the trade-off between utilizing each actuator is analyzed. In the second NCS either all actuators are utilized or none are. A suboptimal control policy is investigated. The final NCS introduces actuation noise where noise is injected into the system if the controller decides to actuate the system. An optimal control policy is determined. The theoretical results obtained in this thesis are supported by numerical simulations performed in MATLAB