Robust Feedback Control of Nonlinear PDEs by Numerical Approximation of High-Dimensional Hamilton--Jacobi--Isaacs Equations

We propose an approach for the synthesis of robust and optimal feedback controllers for nonlinear PDEs. Our approach considers the approximation of infinite-dimensional control systems by a pseudospectral collocation method, leading to high-dimensional nonlinear dynamics. For the reduced-order model, we construct a robust feedback control based on the $\mathcal{H}_{\infty}$ control method, which requires the solution of an associated high-dimensional Hamilton--Jacobi--Isaacs nonlinear PDE. The dimensionality of the Isaacs PDE is tackled by means of a separable representation of the control system, and a polynomial approximation ansatz for the corresponding value function. Our method proves to be effective for the robust stabilization of nonlinear dynamics up to dimension $d\approx 12$. We assess the robustness and optimality features of our design over a class of nonlinear parabolic PDEs, including nonlinear advection and reaction terms. The proposed design yields a feedback controller achieving optimal stabilization and disturbance rejection properties, along with providing a modeling framework for the robust control of PDEs under parametric uncertainties.