Global asymptotic stability of a PID control system with Coulomb friction

Abstract

We propose a model for representing a point mass subject to Coulomb friction in feedback with a PID controller, based on a differential inclusion comprising all the possible magnitudes of static friction during the stick phase. For this model we study the set of all equilibria and we establish its global asymptotic stability using a discontinuous Lyapunov-like function, and a suitable LaSalle's invariance principle. We finally use well-posedness of the proposed model to establish useful robustness results, including an ISS property from a suitable input in a perturbed context. Simulation results are also given to illustrate our statements.