Fixed time prescribed performance dynamic positioning control design for surface vessels

• Published in: Ocean engineering 2023-11, Vol.287, p.115615, Article 115615
• Main Authors: Gong, Chenglong, Su, Yixin, Jia, Fujin, Zhang, Danhong, Hu, Xin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Disturbance observer; Dynamic positioning; Fixed time control; Prescribed performance; Saturation constraint
• ISSN: 0029-8018; 1873-5258
• DOI: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2023.115615

This paper addresses the problem of fixed time dynamic positioning (DP) control for surface vessels under the influence of external disturbances, while considering input and output constraints. Using the hyperbolic tangent function, a saturation handling method with an auxiliary control system is constructed, which can handle the saturation constraints of both the control input and its rate of change within a same control framework. By incorporating an auxiliary sliding mode variable, a fixed time disturbance observer (FTDO) is developed to estimate external disturbances. This FTDO ensures that the estimation error converges within a fixed time and provides users with the flexibility to determine the desired convergence time. Moreover, a nonlinear function is introduced in the FTDO to reduce the possibility of singular problems in the control system. Combining the developed FTDO, prescribed performance control strategy and backstepping control technique, a novel DP control strategy is proposed, which not only ensures that the positioning error satisfies the output constraint requirements within a fixed time but also guarantees the fixed time stability of the closed-loop system. Finally, to validate the effectiveness of the proposed DP control law, numerical simulation analysis is carried out on a supply vessel. •A fixed time disturbance observer (FTDO) is developed to estimate the external disturbance.•The developed FTDO provides users with the flexibility to determine the desired convergence time.•A fixed time DP control strategy is proposed to ensure that the vessel’s positioning errors satisfy preseted requirements.•A saturation processing method is constructed to constrain both the control input and its rate of change.