Stability and Performance Analysis of Model Predictive Control of Uncertain Linear Systems

Abstract: Model mismatch often poses challenges in model-based controller design. This paper investigates model predictive control (MPC) of uncertain linear systems with input constraints, focusing on stability and closed-loop infinite-horizon performance. The uncertainty arises from a parametric mismatch between the true and the estimated system under the matrix Frobenius norm. We examine a simple MPC controller that exclusively uses the estimated system model and establishes sufficient conditions under which the MPC controller can stabilize the true system. Moreover, we derive a theoretical performance bound based on relaxed dynamic programming, elucidating the impact of prediction horizon and modeling errors on the suboptimality gap between the MPC controller and the Oracle infinite-horizon optimal controller with knowledge of the true system. Simulations of a numerical example validate the theoretical results. Our theoretical analysis offers guidelines for obtaining the desired modeling accuracy and choosing a proper prediction horizon to develop certainty-equivalent MPC controllers for uncertain linear systems.