Control Inputs (control + input)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Engineering


Selected Abstracts


The control-theory-based artificial boundary conditions for time-dependent wave guide problems in unbounded domain

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 12 2005
Tianyun Liu
Abstract A method is proposed to obtain the high-performance artificial boundary conditions for solving the time-dependent wave guide problems in an unbounded domain. Using the variable separation method, it is possible to reduce the spatial variables of the wave equation by one. Furthermore, introducing auxiliary functions makes the reduced wave equation a linear first-order ordinary differential system with one control input. Solving the closed-loop control system, a stable and accurate artificial boundary condition is obtained in a rigorous mathematical manner. Numerical examples have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed artificial boundary conditions for the time-dependent wave guide problems in unbounded domain. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


A smooth switching adaptive controller for linearizable systems with improved transient performance

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADAPTIVE CONTROL AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, Issue 9 2006
Jeng Tze Huang
Abstract The certainty equivalent control has achieved asymptotic tracking stability of linearizable systems in the presence of parametric uncertainty. However, two major drawbacks remain to be tackled, namely, the risk of running into singularity for the calculated control input and the poor transient behaviour arising frequently in a general adaptive system. For the first problem, a high gain control is activated in place of the certainty equivalent control until the risk is bypassed. Among others, it requires less control effort by taking advantages of the bounds for the input vector field. Moreover, the switching mechanism is smooth and hence avoids possible chattering behaviour. Next, to solve the second problem, a new type of update algorithm guaranteeing the exponential stability of the overall closed-loop system, on a weaker persistent excitation (PE) condition, is proposed. In particular, it requires no filtering of the regressor and hence is easier to implement. Simulation results demonstrating the validity of the proposed design are given in the final. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Robustness of time-scale learning of robot motions to uncertainty in acquired knowledge

JOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS (FORMERLY JOURNAL OF ROBOTIC SYSTEMS), Issue 10 2001
C.C. Cheah
A disadvantage of present iterative learning control algorithms is that they are generally applicable only in cases where a certain task is performed over and over again. Consequently, if knowledge or control inputs acquired from learning a task can be used on similar tasks, learning will be more efficient. Recently, several methods for constructing the control input of a new motion based on the control inputs acquired from previous learning of similar tasks have been proposed. However, these methods assumed that the perfect control inputs could be obtained from the previous learning. In practice, the control inputs could never be obtained exactly from learning in the presence of certain uncertainties such as disturbance and measurement noises. In addition, it is also not known for sure how the basic motion patterns should be chosen for learning. In this article, the robustness problem of the time-scale learning control to uncertainty in the acquired learning control inputs is formulated and solved. From the analysis, certain new insights such as its implication to choices of basic motion patterns for time-scale learning will be discussed. Simulation results of a 3-link robot are presented to illustrate the analysis. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source]


A bandwidth-compensated transimpedance amplifier for multigigabit optical receivers

MICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 2 2001
F. Centurelli
Abstract In this paper, a transimpedance amplifier with an automatic bandwidth compensation circuit is presented. The proposed topology includes a transimpedance amplifier which features a bandwidth control input, and a replica bias circuit to sense the active device dc parameter variations. A Monte Carlo analysis shows a 140 MHz bandwidth variation around 8.1 GHz when a ±50% variation is considered for the transconductance and threshold voltage of the HEMT devices. The same simulation shows a 490 MHz bandwidth variation if the compensation circuit is removed. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 30: 79,81, 2001. [source]


dsoa: The implementation of a dynamic system optimization algorithm

OPTIMAL CONTROL APPLICATIONS AND METHODS, Issue 3 2010
Brian C. Fabien
Abstract This paper describes the ANSI C/C++ computer program dsoa, which implements an algorithm for the approximate solution of dynamics system optimization problems. The algorithm is a direct method that can be applied to the optimization of dynamic systems described by index-1 differential-algebraic equations (DAEs). The types of problems considered include optimal control problems and parameter identification problems. The numerical techniques are employed to transform the dynamic system optimization problem into a parameter optimization problem by: (i) parameterizing the control input as piecewise constant on a fixed mesh, and (ii) approximating the DAEs using a linearly implicit Runge-Kutta method. The resultant nonlinear programming (NLP) problem is solved via a sequential quadratic programming technique. The program dsoa is evaluated using 83 nontrivial optimal control problems that have appeared in the literature. Here we compare the performance of the algorithm using two different NLP problem solvers, and two techniques for computing the derivatives of the functions that define the problem. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


An Advanced Physiological Controller Design for a Left Ventricular Assist Device to Prevent Left Ventricular Collapse

ARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 10 2003
Yi Wu
Abstract: A continuous flow left ventricle assist device (LVAD), which is mainly composed of a continuous flow blood pump and a physiological controller, has only one control input, the rotational speed of the pump, but at least three performance criteria to meet. The challenge for the physiological controller of a long-term continuous flow LVAD is the adaptability to different cardiovascular loading situations and the ability to handle systemic and parametric uncertainties with only one control input. The physiological LVAD controller presented in this article exhibits good performance in terms of the three performance criteria in different physiological loading conditions, such as disturbance, resting, and moderate exercise, for a patient with congestive heart failure. The collapse of the left ventricle, which is an inherent problem for a continuous flow LVAD, has been prevented because of the control algorithm design. [source]


Energy Saving Speed and Charge/Discharge Control of a Railway Vehicle with On-board Energy Storage by Means of an Optimization Model

IEEJ TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING, Issue 6 2009
Masafumi Miyatake Member
Abstract The optimal operation of rail vehicle minimizing total energy consumption is discussed in this paper. In recent years, the energy storage devices have enough energy and power density to use in trains as on-board energy storage. The on-board storage can assist the acceleration/deceleration of the train and may decrease energy consumption. Many works on the application of the energy storage devices to trains were reported, however, they did not deal enough with the optimality of the control of the devices. The authors pointed out that the charging/discharging command and vehicle speed profile should be optimized together based on the optimality analysis. The authors have developed the mathematical model based on a general optimization technique, sequential quadratic programming. The proposed method can determine the optimal acceleration/deceleration and current commands at every sampling point under fixed conditions of transfer time and distance. Using the proposed method, simulations were implemented in some cases. The electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) is assumed as an energy storage device in our study, because of its high power density etc. The trend of optimal solutions such as values of control inputs and energy consumption is finally discussed. Copyright © 2009 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source]


Flight control of a rotary wing UAV using backstepping

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROBUST AND NONLINEAR CONTROL, Issue 6 2010
Bilal Ahmed
Abstract This paper presents a novel application of backstepping controller for autonomous landing of a rotary wing UAV (RUAV). This application, which holds good for the full flight envelope control, is an extension of a backstepping algorithm for general rigid body velocity control. The nonlinear RUAV model used in this paper includes the flapping and servo dynamics. The backstepping-based controller takes advantage of the ,decoupling' of the translation and rotation dynamics of the rigid body, resulting in a two-step procedure to obtain the RUAV control inputs. The first step is to compute desired thrusts and flapping angles to achieve the commanded position and the second step is to compute control inputs, which achieve the desired thrusts and flapping angles. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the inclusion of a flapping angle correction term in control. The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested using a high-fidelity RUAV simulation model. The RUAV simulation model is based on miniature rotorcraft parameters. The closed-loop response of the rotorcraft indicates that the desired position is achieved after a short transient. The Eagle RUAV control inputs, obtained using high-fidelity simulation results, clearly demonstrate that this algorithm can be implemented on practical RUAVs. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Control of the Aero-Electric Power Station,an exciting QFT application for the 21st century

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROBUST AND NONLINEAR CONTROL, Issue 7 2003
Per-Olof Gutman
Abstract The Aero-Electric Power Station is the ultimate solar power station, utilizing the dry, hot air of Earth's desert zones. By spraying water at the top of e.g. a 1200 m tall chimney with a diameter of 400 m, the air is cooled by evaporation and flows downwards through turbines at the bottom, generating 380 MW of net electric power. The Aero-Electric Power Station is still in the planning stage, and this paper belongs to a long series of feasibility studies. The current ,truth' model of the Aero-Electric Power Station is a one-dimensional partial differential equation model. The external slowly changing weather, defined as the mean air pressures, temperatures and humidity at the top and bottom of the tower, determines the optimal operating point, i.e. the optimal water spray flow and turbine velocity that give the largest net power. The gross power produced by the turbine is partly delivered to the grid and partly to pump sea water to spray water reservoirs. The reservoirs make it possible to use the pumping power and the spray flow rate as control. Wind changes cause significant deviations from the mean external air pressures, requiring closed loop regulation to keep the rotor velocity constant. The Aero-Electric Power Station may be modelled as an uncertain, unstable irrational transfer function, with two disturbances (external air pressure deviations at top and bottom), two control variables (turbine power and spray flow), and one output (rotor velocity), without a cascaded structure, giving rise to a robust load sharing control problem. A robust linear feedback regulator is designed by QFT, in such a way that the load of regulation is shared between the two control inputs. A closed loop step response simulation for one operating condition, using the ,truth' model, demonstrates the design. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Survey of quantitative feedback theory (QFT),

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROBUST AND NONLINEAR CONTROL, Issue 10 2001
Isaac Horowitz
QFT is an engineering design theory devoted to the practical design of feedback control systems. The foundation of QFT is that feedback is needed in control only when plant (P), parameter and/or disturbance (D) uncertainties (sets ,,={P}, ,,={D}) exceed the acceptable (A) system performance uncertainty (set ,,={A}). The principal properties of QFT are as follows. (1) The amount of feedback needed is tuned to the (,,, ,,, ,,) sets. If ,, ,exceeds' (,,, ,,), feedback is not needed at all. (2) The simplest modelling is used: (a) command, disturbance and sensor noise inputs, and (b) the available sensing points and the defined outputs. No special controllability test is needed in either linear or non-linear plants. It is inherent in the design procedure. There is no observability problem because uncertainty is included. The number of independent sensors determines the number of independent loop transmissions (Li), the functions which provide the benefits of feedback. (3) The simplest mathematical tools have been found most use ful,primarily frequency response. The uncertainties are expressed as sets in the complex plane. The need for the larger ,,, ,, sets to be squeezed into the smaller ,, set results in bounds on the Li(j,) in the complex plane. In the more complex systems a key problem is the division of the ,feedback burden' among the available Li(j,). Point-by-point frequency synthesis tremendously simplifies this problem. This is also true for highly uncertain non-linear and time-varying plants which are converted into rigorously equivalent linear time invariant plant sets and/or disturbance sets with respect to the acceptable output set ,,. Fixed point theory justifies the equivalence. (4) Design trade-offs are highly transparent in the frequency domain: between design complexity and cost of feedback (primarily bandwidth), sensor noise levels, plant saturation levels, number of sensors needed, relative sizes of ,,, ,, and cost of feedback. The designer sees the trade-offs between these factors as he proceeds and can decide according to their relative importance in his particular situation. QFT design techniques with these properties have been developed step by step for: (i) highly uncertain linear time invariant (LTI) SISO single- and multiple-loop systems, MIMO single-loop matrix and multiple-loop matrix systems; and (ii) non-linear and time-varying SISO and MIMO plants, and to a more limited extent for plants with distributed control inputs and sensors. QFT has also been developed for single- and multiple-loop dithered non-linear (adaptive) systems with LTI plants, and for a special class (FORE) of non-linear compensation. New techniques have been found for handling non-minimum-phase (NMP) MIMO plants, plants with both zeros and poles in the right half-plane and LTI plants with incidental hard non-linearities such as saturation. [source]


Rider's net moment estimation using control force of motion system for bicycle simulator

JOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS (FORMERLY JOURNAL OF ROBOTIC SYSTEMS), Issue 11 2004
Jae-Cheol Shin
One of the challenging problems with bicycle simulators is to deal with the virtual bicycle dynamics that is coupled with rider's motion. For the virtual bicycle dynamics calculation and the real time simulation, it is necessary to identify the control inputs from the rider as well as the virtual environments. The steering, pedaling, and braking torques can be easily measured by using torque sensors and the virtual environments can be generated and provided by a visual system. However, direct measurement of the rider's net moment that significantly affects the bicycle motion is not practical. In this work, it is shown that six control forces of the Stewart platform-based motion system can be used for effective estimation of the rider's net moment, incorporated with the sliding mode controller with perturbation estimation. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Robustness of time-scale learning of robot motions to uncertainty in acquired knowledge

JOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS (FORMERLY JOURNAL OF ROBOTIC SYSTEMS), Issue 10 2001
C.C. Cheah
A disadvantage of present iterative learning control algorithms is that they are generally applicable only in cases where a certain task is performed over and over again. Consequently, if knowledge or control inputs acquired from learning a task can be used on similar tasks, learning will be more efficient. Recently, several methods for constructing the control input of a new motion based on the control inputs acquired from previous learning of similar tasks have been proposed. However, these methods assumed that the perfect control inputs could be obtained from the previous learning. In practice, the control inputs could never be obtained exactly from learning in the presence of certain uncertainties such as disturbance and measurement noises. In addition, it is also not known for sure how the basic motion patterns should be chosen for learning. In this article, the robustness problem of the time-scale learning control to uncertainty in the acquired learning control inputs is formulated and solved. From the analysis, certain new insights such as its implication to choices of basic motion patterns for time-scale learning will be discussed. Simulation results of a 3-link robot are presented to illustrate the analysis. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source]


Online estimation and control of polymer quality in a copolymerization reactor

AICHE JOURNAL, Issue 5 2002
Myung-June Park
The validity of an online state estimator for a semi-batch MMA/MA solution copolymerization reactor was established using online densitometer and viscometer. Using the conventional extended Kalman filter (EKF) as the state estimator, the experiment was conducted under both isothermal and nonisothermal conditions for application to the control of copolymer properties. Further analysis was made by using ofline measurement data for the mol fraction of MMA in the remaining monomers and the solid content. The EKF was found to provide a good estimate for the state of the copolymerization system. A model predictive controller was designed and implemented to obtain copolymers with uniform copolymer composition and the desired weight average molecular weight by adopting the feed flow rate of MMA and the reaction temperature as control inputs. The controller was proven effective with a satisfactory performance for the control of polymer properties in the semi-batch copolymerization reactor. [source]


Dynamics and control of underactuated mechanical systems: analysis and simple experimental verification

PROCEEDINGS IN APPLIED MATHEMATICS & MECHANICS, Issue 1 2009
Wojciech Blajer
Underactuated mechanical systems are systems with fewer control inputs than the degrees of freedom, m < n, the relevant technical examples being e.g. cranes, aircrafts and flexible manipulators. The determination of an input control strategy that forces an underactuated system to complete a set of m specified motion tasks (servo-constraints) is a demanding problem. The solution is conditioned to differential flatness of the problem, denoted that all 2n state variables and m control inputs can algebraically be expressed, at least theoretically, in terms of the desired m outputs and their time derivatives up to a certain order. A more practical formulation, motivated hereafter, is to pose the problem as a set of differential-algebraic equations, and then obtain the solution numerically. The theoretical considerations are illustrated by a simple two-degree-of-freedom underactuated system composed of two rotating discs connected by a flexible rod (torsional spring), in which the pre-specified motion of the first disc is actuated by the torque applied to the second disc, n = 2 and m = 1. The determined control strategy is then verified experimentally on a laboratory stand representing the two-disc system. (© 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Design of nonlinear terminal guidance/autopilot controller for missiles with pulse type input devices,

ASIAN JOURNAL OF CONTROL, Issue 3 2010
Fu-Kuang Yeh
Abstract This investigation addresses a nonlinear terminal guidance/autopilot controller with pulse-type control inputs for intercepting a theater ballistic missile in the exoatmospheric region. Appropriate initial conditions on the terminal phase are assumed to apply after the end of the midcourse operation. Accordingly, the terminal controller seeks to minimize the distance between the commanded missile and the target missile to ensure a hit-to-kill interception. In particular, a 3D terminal guidance law is initially developed to eliminate the so-called "sliding velocity, " thus, constraining the relative motion between the missile and the target along the line of sight. Sliding mode control is adopted to design stable pulse-type control systems. Then, a quaternion-based attitude controller is used to orient appropriately the commanded missile, taking into account the fact that the missile is a rigid body, to realize interceptability. The stability of the overall integrated terminal guidance/autopilot system is then analyzed thoroughly, based on Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, extensive simulations are conducted to verify the validity and effectiveness of the integrated controller with the pulse type inputs developed herein. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society [source]


Delay-dependent H, control of parameter-varying delayed systems via parameter-dependent Lyapunov function approach,

ASIAN JOURNAL OF CONTROL, Issue 2 2009
Shaosheng Zhou
Abstract The H, control problem of parameter-varying delayed systems is investigated in this paper. The state-space matrices of the systems are assumed to be dependent on a vector of time-varying real parameters which are assumed to be real-time measurable. The delays related to the parameter-varying systems are assumed to be unknown but with known upper bounds and to be in the states and control inputs. A delay-dependent H, performance condition of the system under consideration is derived by using a new parameter-dependent Lyapunov function. Based on the H, performance condition, a linear matrix inequality (LMI) based H, control strategy is proposed by using auxiliary variable technique. The combined parameter-dependent and delay-dependent results are less conservative due to the generality of the parameter-dependent and delay-dependent Lyapunov function used, which includes the parameter-independent one as a special case. It is shown that the underling H, control problem can be solved as LMI optimization problems that can be numerically computed very efficiently. A numerical example is also given to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society [source]