Many important industrial problems in the control of rotating machinery with active magnetic bearings concern the minimization of the rotor vibration response to poorly characterized disturbances at a single or several shaft locations, these typically not corresponding to those of a sensor or actuator. Herein, we examine experimental results of a multivariable controller obtained via μ synthesis with a laboratory test rig. These indicate that a significant improvement in performance can be obtained with a multivariable μ controller over that achieved with an optimal decentralized PD controller.
