Complexity reduction of piecewise affine linear parameter varying controllers

This work analyzes the design and implementation of piecewise affine (PWA) Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) controllers. PWA-LPV models can be employed to describe complex nonlinear or time-varying systems with the aim of control design. The complexity of a PWA-LPV controller depends on the number of local models used to describe the plant. Here we propose a methodology to reduce this number and thus simplify the design and implementation complexity of the resulting controller without a significant performance degradation. The methodology is illustrated by an academic example and a more realistic wind turbine control application.