
NonlinearBook10pt November 20, 2007
438 CHAPTER 6
6.5 Control Lyapunov Functions
In this section, we consider a feedback control problem and introduce the
notion of control Lyapunov functions. Furthermore, using the concept of
control Lyapun ov functions we provide necessary and sufficient conditions
for nonlinear system stabilization.
Consider the nonlinear controlled dynamical system given by
˙x(t) = F (x(t), u(t)), x(t
0
) = x
0
, t ≥ 0, (6.73)
where x(t) ∈ D ⊆ R
n
, t ≥ 0, is the state vector, D is an open set with
0 ∈ D, u(t) ∈ U ⊆ R
m
is the control input, and F : D × U → R
n
satisfies
F (0, 0) = 0. We assume that the control input u(·) in (6.73) is restricted
to the class of admissible controls U consisting of measurable functions u(·)
such that u(t) ∈ U for all t ≥ 0, where the constraint set U is given with
0 ∈ U. A measurable mapping φ : D → U satisfying φ(0) = 0 is called a
control law. Furthermore, if u(t) = φ(x(t)), where φ is a control law and
x(t), t ≥ 0, satisfies (6.73), then u(·) is called a feedback control law. We
assume that the mapping φ : D → U satisfies sufficient regularity conditions
such that the resulting closed-loop system
˙x(t) = F (x(t), φ(x(t)), x(0) = x
0
, t ≥ 0, (6.74)
has a unique solution forward in time. Specifically, we assu me that F (·, ·) is
Lipschitz continuous in a neighborhood of the origin in D × U.
The following two definitions are required for s tating the results of this
section.
Definition 6.5. Let φ : D → U be a mapping on D\{0} with φ(0) = 0.
Then (6.73) is feedback asymptotically stabilizable if the zero solution x(t) ≡
0 of the closed-loop system (6.74) is asymptotically s table.
Definition 6.6. Consider the controlled nonlinear dynamical system
given by (6.73). A continuously d ifferentiable positive-definite function V :
D → R satisfying
inf
u∈U
V
′
(x)F (x, u) < 0, x ∈ D, x 6= 0, (6.75)
is called a control Lyapunov function.
Note that, if (6.75) holds, th en there exists a feedback control law
φ : D → U such that V
′
(x)F (x, φ(x)) < 0, x ∈ D, x 6= 0, and hence,
Theorem 3.1 implies that if there exists a control Lyapunov function for
the nonlinear dyn amical system (6.73), then there exists a feedback control
law φ(x) such that the zero solution x(t) ≡ 0 of the closed-loop nonlinear