NONLINEAR MODEL-REDUCTION FOR CONTROL OF DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS - A COMPUTER-ASSISTED STUDY

Model reduction methodologies for the partial differential equations m odeling distributed parameter systems constitute an important first st ep in controller design. A systematic computer-assisted study illustra ting the use of two such methodologies (Approximate Inertial Manifolds and the Karhunen-Loeve expansion) in controlling (stabilizing) a nonl inear reaction-diffusion problem is presented. The approximation quali ty of the models, issues of computational implementation of the reduct ion procedure, as well as issues of closed-loop stability are addresse d.