Zero dynamics and funnel control of linear differential-algebraic systems

We study the class of linear differential-algebraic m-input m-output systems which have a transfer function with proper inverse. A sufficient condition for the transfer function to have proper inverse it that the system has ‘strict and non-positive relative degree’. We present two main results: First, a so called ‘zero dynamics form’ is derived: this form is – within the class of system equivalence – a simple form of the DAE; it is a counterpart to the well-known Byrnes-Isidori form for ODE systems with strictly proper transfer function. The ‘zero dynamics form’ is exploited to characterize structural properties such as asymptotically stable zero dynamics, minimum phase, and high-gain stabilizability. The zero dynamics are characterized by (A,E,B)-invariant subspaces. Secondly, it is shown that the ‘funnel controller’ (that is a static nonlinear output error feedback) achieves, for all DAE systems with asymptotically stable zero dynamics and transfer function with proper inverse, tracking of a reference signal by the output signal within a pre-specified funnel. This funnel determines the transient behaviour.