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idnlgrey

Nonlinear grey-box model

Syntax

sys = idnlgrey(FileName,Order,Parameters)
sys = idnlgrey(FileName,Order,Parameters,InitialStates)
sys = idnlgrey(FileName,Order,Parameters,InitialStates,Ts)
sys = idnlgrey(FileName,Order,Parameters,InitialStates,Ts,Name,Value)

Description

sys = idnlgrey(FileName,Order,Parameters) creates a nonlinear grey-box model using the specified model structure in FileName, number of outputs, inputs, and states in Order, and the model parameters.

sys = idnlgrey(FileName,Order,Parameters,InitialStates) specifies the initial states of the model.

sys = idnlgrey(FileName,Order,Parameters,InitialStates,Ts) specifies the sample time of a discrete-time model.

sys = idnlgrey(FileName,Order,Parameters,InitialStates,Ts,Name,Value) specifies additional attributes of the idnlgrey model structure using one or more Name,Value pair arguments.

Object Description

idnlgrey represents a nonlinear grey-box model. For information about the nonlinear grey-box models, see Estimate Nonlinear Grey-Box Models.

Use the idnlgrey constructor to create the nonlinear grey-box model and then estimate the model parameters using nlgreyest.

For idnlgrey object properties, see Properties.

Examples

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Load data.

load(fullfile(matlabroot,'toolbox','ident','iddemos','data','dcmotordata'));
z = iddata(y,u,0.1,'Name','DC-motor');

The data is from a linear DC motor with one input (voltage), and two outputs (angular position and angular velocity). The structure of the model is specified by dcmotor_m.m file.

Create a nonlinear grey-box model.

file_name = 'dcmotor_m';
Order = [2 1 2];
Parameters = [1;0.28];
InitialStates = [0;0];

sys = idnlgrey(file_name,Order,Parameters,InitialStates,0, ...
    'Name','DC-motor');

Load data.

load(fullfile(matlabroot,'toolbox','ident','iddemos','data','twotankdata'));
z = iddata(y,u,0.2,'Name','Two tanks');

The data contains 3000 input-output data samples of a two tank system. The input is the voltage applied to a pump, and the output is the liquid level of the lower tank.

Specify file describing the model structure for a two-tank system. The file specifies the state derivatives and model outputs as a function of time, states, inputs, and model parameters.

FileName = 'twotanks_c';

Specify model orders [ny nu nx].

Order = [1 1 2];

Specify initial parameters (Np = 6).

Parameters = {0.5;0.0035;0.019; ...
    9.81;0.25;0.016};

Specify initial initial states.

InitialStates = [0;0.1];

Specify as continuous system.

Ts = 0;

Create idnlgrey model object.

nlgr = idnlgrey(FileName,Order,Parameters,InitialStates,Ts, ...
    'Name','Two tanks');

Set some parameters as constant.

nlgr.Parameters(1).Fixed = true;
nlgr.Parameters(4).Fixed = true;
nlgr.Parameters(5).Fixed = true;

Estimate the model parameters.

nlgr = nlgreyest(z,nlgr);

Input Arguments

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Name of the function or MEX-file storing the model structure, specified as a character vector (without the file extension) or a function handle for computing the states and the outputs. If FileName is a character vector, for example 'twotanks_c', then it must point to a MATLAB® file, P-code file, or MEX-file. For more information about the file variables, see Specifying the Nonlinear Grey-Box Model Structure.

Number of outputs, inputs, and states of the model, specified as one of the following:

  • Vector [Ny Nu Nx], specifying the number of model outputs Ny, inputs Nu, and states Nx.

  • Structure with fields'Ny', 'Nu', and 'Nx'.

For time series, Nu is set to 0, and for static model structures, Nx is set to 0.

Parameters of the model, specified as one of the following:

  • Np-by-1 structure array, where Np is the number of parameters. The structure contains the following fields:

    FieldDescriptionDefault
    NameName of the parameter, specified as a character vector. For example, 'pressure'.'pi', where i is an integer in [1,Np]
    UnitUnit of the parameter, specified as a character vector. ''
    Value

    Initial value of the parameter, specified as:

    • Finite real scalar

    • Finite real column vector

    • Two-dimensional real matrix

     
    Minimum

    Minimum value of the parameter, specified as a real scalar, column vector, or matrix of the same size as Value.

    Minimum >= Value for all components.

    -Inf(size(Value))
    Maximum

    Maximum value of the parameter, specified as a real scalar, column vector, or matrix of the same size as Value.

    Value <= Maximum for all components.

    Inf(size(Value))
    FixedSpecifies whether parameter is fixed to their initial values, specified as a boolean scalar, column vector, or matrix of the same size as Value.

    false(size(Value))

    Implies, estimate all parameters

    Use dot notation to access the subfields of the ith parameter. For example, for idnlgrey model M, the ith parameter is accessed through M.Parameters(i) and its subfield Fixed by M.Parameters(i).Fixed.

  • Np-by-1 vector of real finite initial values, InParameters.

    The data is converted into a structure with default values for the fields Name, Unit, Minimum, Maximum, and Fixed.

    Value is assigned the value InParameters(i), where i is an integer in [1,Np]

  • Np-by-1 cell array containing finite real scalars, finite real vectors, or finite real two-dimensional matrices of initial values.

    Default values are used for the fields Name, Unit, Minimum, Maximum, and Fixed.

Initial states of the model parameters specified as one of the following:

  • Nx-by-1 structure array, where Nx is the number of states. The structure contains the following fields:

    FieldDescriptionDefault
    NameName of the states, specified as a character vector.'xi', where i is an integer in [1,Nx]
    UnitUnit of the states, specified as a character vector. ''
    Value

    Initial value of the initial states, specified as:

    • A finite real scalar

    • A finite real 1-by-Ne vector, where Ne is the number of experiments in the data set to be used for estimation

     
    Minimum

    Minimum value of the initial states, specified as a real scalar or 1-by-Ne vector of the same size as Value.

    Minimum >= Value for all components.

    -Inf(size(Value))
    Maximum

    Maximum value of the parameters, specified as a real scalar or 1-by-Ne vector of the same size as Value.

    Value <= Maximum for all components.

    Inf(size(Value))
    FixedSpecifies whether initial states are fixed to their initial values, specified as boolean scalar or 1-by-Ne vector of the same size as Value

    true(size(Value))

    Implies, do not estimate the initial states.

    Use dot notation to access the subfields of the ith initial state. For example, for idnlgrey model M, the ith initial state is accessed through M.InitialStates(i) and its subfield Fixed by M.InitialStates(i).Fixed.

  • [].

    A structure is created with default values for the fields Name, Unit, Minimum, Maximum, and Fixed.

    Value is assigned the value 0.

  • A real finite Nx-by-Ne matrix (InitStates).

    Value of the ith structure array element is InitStates(i,Ne), a row vector with Ne elements. Minimum, Maximum, and Fixed will be -Inf, Inf and true row vectors of the same size as InitStates(i,Ne).

  • Cell array with finite real vectors of size 1-by-Ne or {} (same as []).

Sample time, specified as a positive scalar representing the sampling period. The value is expressed in the unit specified by the TimeUnit property of the model. For a continuous time model Ts is equal to 0 (default).

Name-Value Arguments

Specify optional pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

Before R2021a, use commas to separate each name and value, and enclose Name in quotes.

Use Name,Value arguments to specify additional properties of idnlgrey models during model creation.

Properties

idnlgrey object properties include:

FileName

Name of the function or MEX-file storing the model structure, specified as a character vector (without extension) or a function handle for computing the states and the outputs. If FileName is a character vector, for example 'twotanks_c', then it must point to a MATLAB file, P-code file, or MEX-file. For more information about the file variables, see Specifying the Nonlinear Grey-Box Model Structure.

Order

Number of outputs, inputs, and states of the model, specified as one of the following:

  • Vector [Ny Nu Nx], specifying the number of model outputs Ny, inputs Nu, and states Nx.

  • Structure with fields'Ny', 'Nu', and 'Nx'.

For time series, Nu is set to 0, and for static model structures, Nx is set to 0.

Parameters

Parameters of the model, specified as one of the following:

  • Np-by-1 structure array, where Np is the number of parameters. The structure contains the following fields:

    FieldDescriptionDefault
    NameName of the parameter, specified as a character vector. For example, 'pressure'.'pi', where i is an integer in [1,Np]
    UnitUnit of the parameter, specified as a character vector. ''
    Value

    Initial value of the parameter, specified as:

    • Finite real scalar

    • Finite real column vector

    • Two-dimensional real matrix

     
    Minimum

    Minimum value of the parameter, specified as a real scalar, column vector, or matrix of the same size as Value.

    Minimum >= Value for all components.

    -Inf(size(Value))
    Maximum

    Maximum value of the parameter, specified as a real scalar, column vector, or matrix of the same size as Value.

    Value <= Maximum for all components.

    Inf(size(Value))
    FixedSpecifies whether parameter is fixed to their initial values, specified as a boolean scalar, column vector, or matrix of the same size as Value.

    false(size(Value))

    Implies, estimate all parameters

  • Np-by-1 vector of real finite initial values, InParameters.

    The data is converted into a structure with default values for the fields Name, Unit, Minimum, Maximum, and Fixed.

    Value is assigned the value InParameters(i), where i is an integer in [1,Np]

  • Np-by-1 cell array containing finite real scalars, finite real vectors, or finite real two-dimensional matrices of initial values.

    A structure is created with default values for the fields Name, Unit, Minimum, Maximum, and Fixed.

Use dot notation to access the subfields of the ith parameter. For example, for idnlgrey model M, the ith parameter is accessed through M.Parameters(i) and its subfield Fixed by M.Parameters(i).Fixed.

InitialStates

Initial states of the model parameters specified as one of the following:

  • Nx-by-1 structure array, where Nx is the number of states. The structure contains the following fields:

    FieldDescriptionDefault
    NameName of the states, specified as a character vector.'xi', where i is an integer in [1,Nx]
    UnitUnit of the states, specified as a character vector. ''
    Value

    Initial value of the initial states, specified as:

    • A finite real scalar

    • A finite real 1-by-Ne vector, where Ne is the number of experiments in the data set to be used for estimation

     
    Minimum

    Minimum value of the initial states, specified as a real scalar or 1-by-Ne vector of the same size as Value.

    Minimum >= Value for all components.

    -Inf(size(Value))
    Maximum

    Maximum value of the parameters, specified as a real scalar or 1-by-Ne vector of the same size as Value.

    Value <= Maximum for all components.

    Inf(size(Value))
    FixedSpecifies whether initial states are fixed to their initial values, specified as boolean scalar or 1-by-Ne vector of the same size as Value

    true(size(Value))

    Implies, do not estimate the initial states.

  • [].

    A structure is created with default values for the fields Name, Unit, Minimum, Maximum, and Fixed.

    Value is assigned the value 0.

  • A real finite Nx-by-Ne matrix (InitStates).

    Value of the ith structure array element is InitStates(i,Ne), a row vector with Ne elements. Minimum, Maximum, and Fixed will be -Inf, Inf and true row vectors of the same size as InitStates(i,Ne).

  • Cell array with finite real vectors of size 1-by-Ne or {} (same as []).

    A structure is created with default values for the fields Name, Unit, Minimum, Maximum, and Fixed.

Use dot notation to access the subfields of the ith initial state. For example, for idnlgrey model M, the ith initial state is accessed through M.InitialStates(i) and its subfield Fixed by M.InitialStates(i).Fixed.

FileArgument

Contains auxiliary variables passed to the ODE file (function or MEX-file) specified in FileName, specified as a cell array. These variables are used as extra inputs for specifying the state and/or output equations.
Default: {}.

SimulationOptions

A structure that specifies the simulation method and related options, containing the following fields:

FieldDescriptionDefault
AbsTol

Absolute error tolerance. This scalar applies to all components of the state vector.

Applicable to: Variable step solvers.

Assignable value: A positive real value.

1e-6
FixedStep

Step size used by the solver.

Applicable to: Fixed-step time-continuous solvers.

Assignable values:

  • 'Auto' — Automatically chooses the initial step.

  • A real value such that 0<FixedStep<=1.

'Auto'

Automatically chooses the initial step.

InitialStep

Specifies the initial step at which the ODE solver starts.

Applicable to: Variable-step, time-continuous solvers.

Assignable values:

  • 'Auto' — Automatically chooses the initial step.

  • A positive real value such that MinStep<=InitialStep<=MaxStep.

'Auto'

Automatically chooses the initial step.

MaxOrder

Specifies the order of the Numerical Differentiation Formulas (NDF).

Applicable to: ode15s.

Assignable values: 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.

5
MaxStep

Specifies the largest time step of the ODE solver.

Applicable to: Variable-step, time-continuous solvers.

Assignable values:

  • 'Auto' — Automatically chooses the time step.

  • A positive real value > MinStep.

'Auto'

Automatically chooses the time step.

MinStep

Specifies the smallest time step of the ODE solver.

Applicable to: Variable-step, time-continuous solvers.

Assignable values:

  • 'Auto' — Automatically chooses the time step.

  • A positive real value < MaxStep.

'Auto'

Automatically chooses the time step.

RelTol

Relative error tolerance that applies to all components of the state vector. The estimated error in each integration step satisfies |e(i)| <= max(RelTol*abs(x(i)), AbsTol(i)).

Applicable to: Variable-step, time-continuous solvers.

Assignable value: A positive real value.

1e-3

(0.1% accuracy).

Solver

ODE (Ordinary Differential/Difference Equation) solver for solving state space equations.

  • Variable-step solvers for time-continuous idnlgrey models:

    • 'ode45' — Runge-Kutta (4,5) solver for nonstiff problems.

    • 'ode23' — Runge-Kutta (2,3) solver for nonstiff problems.

    • 'ode113' — Adams-Bashforth-Moulton solver for nonstiff problems.

    • 'ode15s' — Numerical Differential Formula solver for stiff problems.

    • 'ode23s' — Modified Rosenbrock solver for stiff problems.

    • 'ode23t' — Trapezoidal solver for moderately stiff problems.

    • 'ode23tb' — Implicit Runge-Kutta solver for stiff problems.

  • Fixed-step solvers for time-continuous idnlgrey models:

    • 'ode5' — Dormand-Prince solver.

    • 'ode4' — Fourth-order Runge-Kutta solver.

    • 'ode3' — Bogacki-Shampine solver.

    • 'ode2' — Heun or improved Euler solver.

    • 'ode1' — Euler solver.

  • Fixed-step solvers for time-discrete idnlgrey models: 'FixedStepDiscrete'

  • General: 'Auto' — Automatically chooses one of the previous solvers.

'Auto'

Automatically chooses one of the solvers.

Report

Summary report that contains information about the estimation options and results when the model is estimated using the nlgreyest command. Use Report to query a model for how it was estimated, including:

  • Estimation method

  • Estimation options

  • Search termination conditions

  • Estimation data fit

The contents of Report are irrelevant if the model was created by construction.

nlgr = idnlgrey('dcmotor_m',[2,1,2],[1;0.28],[0;0],0,'Name','DC-motor');
nlgr.Report.OptionsUsed
ans =

     []

If you use nlgreyest to estimate the model, the fields of Report contain information on the estimation data, options, and results.

load(fullfile(matlabroot,'toolbox','ident','iddemos','data','dcmotordata'));
z = iddata(y,u,0.1,'Name','DC-motor');
nlgr = idnlgrey('dcmotor_m',[2,1,2],[1;0.28],[0;0],0,'Name','DC-motor');
nlgr = nlgreyest(z,nlgr);
nlgr.Report.OptionsUsed
Option set for the nlgreyest command:

    GradientOptions: [1x1 struct]
 EstimateCovariance: 1
            Display: 'off'
     Regularization: [1x1 struct]
       SearchMethod: 'auto'
      SearchOptions: [1x1 idoptions.search.lsqnonlin]
       OutputWeight: []
           Advanced: [1x1 struct]

Report is a read-only property.

For more information on this property and how to use it, see Output Arguments in the nlgreyest reference page and Estimation Report.

TimeVariable

Independent variable for the inputs, outputs, and—when available—internal states, specified as a character vector.

Default: 't'

NoiseVariance

Noise variance (covariance matrix) of the model innovations e.
Assignable value is an ny-by-ny matrix.
Typically set automatically by the estimation algorithm.

Ts

Sample time. Ts is a positive scalar representing the sampling period. This value is expressed in the unit specified by the TimeUnit property of the model. For a continuous time model, Ts is equal to 0 (default).

Changing this property does not discretize or resample the model.

Default: 0

TimeUnit

Units for the time variable, the sample time Ts, and any time delays in the model, specified as one of the following values:

  • 'nanoseconds'

  • 'microseconds'

  • 'milliseconds'

  • 'seconds'

  • 'minutes'

  • 'hours'

  • 'days'

  • 'weeks'

  • 'months'

  • 'years'

Changing this property has no effect on other properties, and therefore changes the overall system behavior. Use chgTimeUnit (Control System Toolbox) to convert between time units without modifying system behavior.

Default: 'seconds'

InputName

Input channel names, specified as one of the following:

  • Character vector — For single-input models, for example, 'controls'.

  • Cell array of character vectors — For multi-input models.

Alternatively, use automatic vector expansion to assign input names for multi-input models. For example, if sys is a two-input model, enter:

sys.InputName = 'controls';

The input names automatically expand to {'controls(1)';'controls(2)'}.

When you estimate a model using an iddata object, data, the software automatically sets InputName to data.InputName.

You can use the shorthand notation u to refer to the InputName property. For example, sys.u is equivalent to sys.InputName.

Input channel names have several uses, including:

  • Identifying channels on model display and plots

  • Extracting subsystems of MIMO systems

  • Specifying connection points when interconnecting models

Default: '' for all input channels

InputUnit

Input channel units, specified as one of the following:

  • Character vector — For single-input models, for example, 'seconds'.

  • Cell array of character vectors — For multi-input models.

Use InputUnit to keep track of input signal units. InputUnit has no effect on system behavior.

Default: '' for all input channels

InputGroup

Input channel groups. The InputGroup property lets you assign the input channels of MIMO systems into groups and refer to each group by name. Specify input groups as a structure. In this structure, field names are the group names, and field values are the input channels belonging to each group. For example:

sys.InputGroup.controls = [1 2];
sys.InputGroup.noise = [3 5];

creates input groups named controls and noise that include input channels 1, 2 and 3, 5, respectively. You can then extract the subsystem from the controls inputs to all outputs using:

sys(:,'controls')

Default: Struct with no fields

OutputName

Output channel names, specified as one of the following:

  • Character vector — For single-output models. For example, 'measurements'.

  • Cell array of character vectors — For multi-output models.

Alternatively, use automatic vector expansion to assign output names for multi-output models. For example, if sys is a two-output model, enter:

sys.OutputName = 'measurements';

The output names automatically expand to {'measurements(1)';'measurements(2)'}.

When you estimate a model using an iddata object, data, the software automatically sets OutputName to data.OutputName.

You can use the shorthand notation y to refer to the OutputName property. For example, sys.y is equivalent to sys.OutputName.

Output channel names have several uses, including:

  • Identifying channels on model display and plots

  • Extracting subsystems of MIMO systems

  • Specifying connection points when interconnecting models

Default: '' for all output channels

OutputUnit

Output channel units, specified as one of the following:

  • Character vector — For single-output models. For example, 'seconds'.

  • Cell array of character vectors — For multi-output models.

Use OutputUnit to keep track of output signal units. OutputUnit has no effect on system behavior.

Default: '' for all output channels

OutputGroup

Output channel groups. The OutputGroup property lets you assign the output channels of MIMO systems into groups and refer to each group by name. Specify output groups as a structure. In this structure, field names are the group names, and field values are the output channels belonging to each group. For example:

sys.OutputGroup.temperature = [1];
sys.OutputGroup.measurement = [3 5];

creates output groups named temperature and measurement that include output channels 1, and 3, 5, respectively. You can then extract the subsystem from all inputs to the measurement outputs using:

sys('measurement',:)

Default: Struct with no fields

Name

System name, specified as a character vector. For example, 'system_1'.

Default: ''

Notes

Any text that you want to associate with the system, stored as a string or a cell array of character vectors. The property stores whichever data type you provide. For instance, if sys1 and sys2 are dynamic system models, you can set their Notes properties as follows:

sys1.Notes = "sys1 has a string.";
sys2.Notes = 'sys2 has a character vector.';
sys1.Notes
sys2.Notes
ans = 

    "sys1 has a string."


ans =

    'sys2 has a character vector.'

Default: [0×1 string]

UserData

Any type of data you want to associate with system, specified as any MATLAB data type.

Default: []

Output Arguments

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Nonlinear grey-box model, returned as an idnlgrey object.

More About

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Definition of idnlgrey States

The states of an idnlgrey model are defined explicitly in the function or MEX-file storing the model structure. States are required for simulation and prediction of nonlinear grey-box models. Use findstates to search for state values for simulation and prediction with sim, predict, and compare.

Note

The initial values of the states are configured by the InitialStates property of the idnlgrey model.

Version History

Introduced in R2007a