Output feedback control of large-scale nonlinear time-delay systems in lower triangular form

This paper is concerned with the stabilization problem for a class of large-scale nonlinear time-delay systems in lower triangular form. The uncertain nonlinearities are assumed to be bounded by continuous functions of the outputs or delayed outputs multiplied by unmeasured states or delayed states. An observer based output feedback control scheme is proposed using the dynamic gain control design approach. Based on Lyapunov stability theory, global asymptotic stability of the closed-loop control system is proved. Contrary to many existing control designs for lower triangular nonlinear systems, the celebrated backstepping method is not utilized here. An example is finally given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design procedure. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.