| Reliable Computations | |
When working with low-order SISO models (less than five states), computers are usually quite forgiving and insensitive to numerical problems. You generally won't encounter any numerical difficulties and MATLAB will give you accurate answers regardless of the model or conversion method you choose. For high order SISO models and MIMO models, however, the finite-precision arithmetic of a computer is not so forgiving and you must exercise caution.
In general, to get a numerically accurate answer from a computer, you need:
A problem is said to be well-conditioned if small changes in the data cause only small corresponding changes in the solution. If small changes in the data have the potential to induce large changes in the solution, the problem is said to be ill-conditioned. An algorithm is numerically stable if it does not introduce any more sensitivity to perturbation than is already inherent in the problem. Many numerical linear algebra algorithms can be shown to be backward stable; i.e., the computed solution can be shown to be (near) the exact solution of a slightly perturbed original problem. The solution of a slightly perturbed original problem will be close to the true solution if the problem is well-conditioned.
Thus, a stable algorithm cannot be expected to solve an ill-conditioned problem any more accurately than the data warrant, but an unstable algorithm can produce poor solutions even to well-conditioned problems. For further details and references to the literature see [5].
While most of the tools in the Control System Toolbox use reliable algorithms, some of the tools do not use stable algorithms and some solve ill-conditioned problems. These unreliable tools work quite well on some problems (low-order systems) but can encounter numerical difficulties, often severe, when pushed on higher-order problems. These tools are provided because:
At the same time, it is important to appreciate the limitations of computer analyses. By following a few guidelines, you can avoid certain tools and models when they are likely to get you into trouble. The following sections try to illustrate, through examples, some of the numerical pitfalls to be avoided. We also encourage you to get the most out of the good algorithms by ensuring, if possible, that your models give rise to problems that are well-conditioned.
| Conditioning and Numerical Stability | |