  We present an estimator-based control design procedure for flow control,
using reduced-order models of the governing equations, linearized about a
possibly unstable steady state. The reduced models are obtained using an
approximate balanced truncation method that retains the most controllable and
observable modes of the system. The original method is valid only for stable
linear systems, and we present an extension to unstable linear systems. The
dynamics on the unstable subspace are represented by projecting the original
equations onto the global unstable eigenmodes, assumed to be small in number. A
snapshot-based algorithm is developed, using approximate balanced truncation,
for obtaining a reduced-order model of the dynamics on the stable subspace. The
proposed algorithm is used to study feedback control of 2-D flow over a flat
plate at a low Reynolds number and at large angles of attack, where the natural
flow is vortex shedding, though there also exists an unstable steady state. For
control design, we derive reduced-order models valid in the neighborhood of
this unstable steady state. The actuation is modeled as a localized body force
near the leading edge of the flat plate, and the sensors are two velocity
measurements in the near-wake of the plate. A reduced-order Kalman filter is
developed based on these models and is shown to accurately reconstruct the flow
field from the sensor measurements, and the resulting estimator-based control
is shown to stabilize the unstable steady state. For small perturbations of the
steady state, the model accurately predicts the response of the full
simulation. Furthermore, the resulting controller is even able to suppress the
stable periodic vortex shedding, where the nonlinear effects are strong, thus
implying a large domain of attraction of the stabilized steady state.
