Lean backstepping design for a jet engine compressor model

Backstepping offers flexibilities not present in other nonlinear design procedures. One of them is the possibility to avoid cancellation of useful nonlinearities. Such cancellations, which are common in feedback linearization designs, require large control effort and cause nonrobustness. As an illustration of a design that avoids cancellations we develop controllers for the Moore-Greitzer model of a jet engine compressor system. The resulting backstepping controllers use less control effort than feedback linearizing controllers.