Improving Stability Margins via Time Delay Control

While time delays typically lead to poor control performance, and even instability, previous research has shown that introduction of time delays in controlling a dynamic system can, in some cases, be beneficial. This paper presents a new benefit of time delay control for single-input single-output linear time invariant systems: it can be used to improve robustness, as measured by increased stability margins. The proposed method utilizes time delays to approximate state-derivative feedback, which can be used, together with state feedback, to reduce sensitivity and improve robustness. Additional sensors are not required since the state-derivatives are approximated using available measurements and time delays. The method is introduced using a scalar example, then applied to a single degree-of-freedom mechanical vibration control problem in simulations to demonstrate excellent performance with improved stability margins.