Improved infinite horizon LQ tracking control for injection molding process against partial actuator failures

• Infinite horizon LQ design using expanded state space model is derived.
• The design is applied to injection velocity control.
• Improved performance is achieved with both state and output error weighting.

Focusing on injection molding processes with partial actuator failures, a new design of infinite horizon linear quadratic control is introduced. A new state space process model is first derived through input–output process data. Furthermore, an improved infinite horizon linear quadratic control scheme, whereby the process state variables and tracking error can both be regulated separately, is proposed to show enhanced control performance against partial actuator failures and unknown disturbances. Under the circumstances of actuator faults, the closed-loop system is indeed a process with uncertain parameters. Hence, a sufficient condition is proposed to guarantee robust stability is presented using Lyapunov theory. The proposed concepts are illustrated in an injection velocity control case study to show the effectiveness.