Observer designs for experimental non-smooth and discontinuous systems

This brief presents the design and implementation of observer design strategies for experimental non-smooth continuous and discontinuous systems. First, a piece-wise linear observer is implemented for an experimental setup consisting of a harmonically excited flexible steel beam with a one-sided support which can be considered as a benchmark for a class of flexible mechanical systems with one-sided restoring characteristics. Second, an observer is developed for an experimental setup that describes a dynamic rotor system which is a benchmark for motion systems with friction and flexibility. In both cases, the implemented observers guarantee global asymptotic stability of the estimation error dynamic in theory. Simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the observers in practice. These results support the use of (switched) observers to achieve state reconstruction for such non-smooth and discontinuous mechanical systems.