Parallel Distributed Compensation-PID Controller Design for Maximum Power Point Tracking of Dynamic Loaded Photovoltaic System

Control issues come from the output voltage of PV installations and systems operating in a range of irradiance and temperature. By using a DC converter, such systems are able to maintain a constant output voltage despite fluctuations in the generated voltage and load. The design of a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) on DC converter controller is presented in this article for a system. Fractional Order-Proportional Integral Derivative (FO-PID) and Parallel Distributed Compensation-Proportional Integral Derivative (PDC-PID) controllers have been implemented to the system converter as a proposed control approach. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is used as optimization technique for determining the optimal parameters of (FO-PID) and (PDC-PID) controllers for tracking the output voltage from trained Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) that is corresponding to maximum power generated from (PV) module. The PV system with the dynamic load is modeled and simulated by using the MATLAB/Simulink environment. The system performance is displayed in the form of a family of curves under different operating conditions

The Development of an assistive chair for elderly with sit to stand problems

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyStanding up from a seated position, known as sit-to-stand (STS) movement, is one of the most frequently performed activities of daily living (ADLs). However, the aging generation are often encountered with STS issues owning to their declined motor functions and sensory capacity for postural control. The motivated is rooted from the contemporary market available STS assistive devices that are lack of genuine interaction with elderly users. Prior to the software implementation, the robot chair platform with integrated sensing footmat is developed with STS biomechanical concerns for the elderly. The work has its main emphasis on recognising the personalised behavioural patterns from the elderly users’ STS movements, namely the STS intentions and personalised STS feature prediction. The former is known as intention recognition while the latter is defined as assistance prediction, both achieved by innovative machine learning techniques. The proposed intention recognition performs well in multiple subjects scenarios with different postures involved thanks to its competence of handling these uncertainties. To the provision of providing the assistance needed by the elderly user, a time series prediction model is presented, aiming to configure the personalised ground reaction force (GRF) curve over time which suggests successful movement. This enables the computation of deficits between the predicted oncoming GRF curve and the personalised one. A multiple steps ahead prediction into the future is also implemented so that the completion time of actuation in reality is taken into account

Intelligent strategies for mobile robotics in laboratory automation

In this thesis a new intelligent framework is presented for the mobile robots in laboratory automation, which includes: a new multi-floor indoor navigation method is presented and an intelligent multi-floor path planning is proposed; a new signal filtering method is presented for the robots to forecast their indoor coordinates; a new human feature based strategy is proposed for the robot-human smart collision avoidance; a new robot power forecasting method is proposed to decide a distributed transportation task; a new blind approach is presented for the arm manipulations for the robots

DESIGN OF REAL-TIME FUZZY LOGIC PSS BASED ON PMUs FOR DAMPING LOW FREQUENCY OSCILLATIONS

Poorly damped low frequency oscillations is one of the main problems threatening safe and stable operation of the interconnected power systems and reducing the capability of transmission the power. The generator's excitation system has been supplemented with the Power System Stabilizer (PSS) in order to improve the damping of these low oscillations. In the latest smart power grids, the Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) become a fundamental element in the monitoring, protection and control applications as PMU signals are more accurate than the conventional measurement units and real time GPS stamped. In this study, Fuzzy Power System Stabilizer (FPSS) has been designed and its performance in damping inter-are oscillations compared with the conventional PSS (CPSS) based on the simulation with MATLAB/Simulink model. The results of the simulation with the Simulink model proved that the performance of the designed FPSS in damping inter-area oscillation is better than the CPSS. One of the main features of fuzzy controller is that it doesn't require mathematical modeling as it is designed based on the time-domain and the operator experience while, in contrast, the conventional PSS requires to be designed in the frequency domain. Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) has been used to develop the real-time models of the test systems. The time-domain simulations with the RTDS model when the system subjected to the large disturbance (three-phase to ground fault) have been performed to show that the designed FPSS improved the damping of the oscillations effectively. The simulation results have been verified by modal analysis

Robotics 2010

Without a doubt, robotics has made an incredible progress over the last decades. The vision of developing, designing and creating technical systems that help humans to achieve hard and complex tasks, has intelligently led to an incredible variety of solutions. There are barely technical fields that could exhibit more interdisciplinary interconnections like robotics. This fact is generated by highly complex challenges imposed by robotic systems, especially the requirement on intelligent and autonomous operation. This book tries to give an insight into the evolutionary process that takes place in robotics. It provides articles covering a wide range of this exciting area. The progress of technical challenges and concepts may illuminate the relationship between developments that seem to be completely different at first sight. The robotics remains an exciting scientific and engineering field. The community looks optimistically ahead and also looks forward for the future challenges and new development

Fuzzy Decision Making and Soft Computing Applications

This Special Issue collects original research articles discussing cutting-edge work as well as perspectives on future directions in the whole range of theoretical and practical aspects in these research areas: i) Theory of fuzzy systems and soft computing; ii) Learning procedures; iii) Decision-making applications employing fuzzy logic and soft computing

Optimized state feedback regulation of 3DOF helicopter system via extremum seeking

In this paper, an optimized state feedback regulation of a 3 degree of freedom (DOF) helicopter is designed via extremum seeking (ES) technique. Multi-parameter ES is applied to optimize the tracking performance via tuning State Vector Feedback with Integration of the Control Error (SVFBICE). Discrete multivariable version of ES is developed to minimize a cost function that measures the performance of the controller. The cost function is a function of the error between the actual and desired axis positions. The controller parameters are updated online as the optimization takes place. This method significantly decreases the time in obtaining optimal controller parameters. Simulations were conducted for the online optimization under both fixed and varying operating conditions. The results demonstrate the usefulness of using ES for preserving the maximum attainable performance

An Approach to Fuzzy Modeling of Electromagnetic Actuated Clutch Systems

This paper proposes an approach to fuzzy modeling of a nonlinear servo system application represented by an electromagnetic actuated clutch system. The nonlinear model of the process is simplified and linearized around several operating points of the input-output static map of the process. Discrete-time Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy models of the processes are derived on the basis of the modal equivalence principle; the rule consequents of these T-S fuzzy models contain the state-space models of the process. Three discrete-time T-S fuzzy models are suggested and compared. The simulation results validate the new fuzzy models of the electromagnetic actuated clutch system

Rehabilitation Engineering

Population ageing has major consequences and implications in all areas of our daily life as well as other important aspects, such as economic growth, savings, investment and consumption, labour markets, pensions, property and care from one generation to another. Additionally, health and related care, family composition and life-style, housing and migration are also affected. Given the rapid increase in the aging of the population and the further increase that is expected in the coming years, an important problem that has to be faced is the corresponding increase in chronic illness, disabilities, and loss of functional independence endemic to the elderly (WHO 2008). For this reason, novel methods of rehabilitation and care management are urgently needed. This book covers many rehabilitation support systems and robots developed for upper limbs, lower limbs as well as visually impaired condition. Other than upper limbs, the lower limb research works are also discussed like motorized foot rest for electric powered wheelchair and standing assistance device

Evolutionary swarm algorithm for modelling and control of horizontal flexible plate structures

Numerous advantages offered by the horizontal flexible structure have attracted increasing industrial applications in many engineering fields particularly in the airport baggage conveyor system, micro hand surgery and semiconductor manufacturing industry. Nevertheless, the horizontal flexible structure is often subjected to disturbance forces as vibration is easily induced in the system. The vibration reduces the performance of the system, thus leading to the structure failure when excessive stress and noise prevail. Following this, it is crucial to minimize unwanted vibration so that the effectiveness and the lifetime of the structure can be preserved. In this thesis, an intelligent proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller has been developed for vibration suppression of a horizontal flexible plate structure. Initially, a flexible plate experimental rig was designed and fabricated with all clamped edges boundary conditions at horizontal position. Then, the data acquisition and instrumentation systems were integrated into the experimental rig. Several experimental procedures were conducted to acquire the input-output vibration data of the system. Next, the dynamics of the system was modeled using linear auto regressive with exogenous, which is optimized with three types of evolutionary swarm algorithm, namely, the particle swarm optimization (PSO), artificial bee colony (ABC) and bat algorithm (BAT) model structure. Their effectiveness was then validated using mean squared error, correlation tests and pole zero diagram stability. Results showed that the PSO algorithm has superior performance compared to the other algorithms in modeling the system by achieving lowest mean squared error of 6103947.4 , correlation of up to 95 % confidence level and good stability. Next, five types of PID based controllers were chosen to suppress the unwanted vibration, namely, PID-Ziegler Nichols (ZN), PID-PSO, PID-ABC, Fuzzy-PID and PID-Iterative Learning Algorithm (ILA). The robustness of the controllers was validated by exerting different types of disturbances on the system. Amongst all controllers, the simulation results showed that PID tuned by ABC outperformed other controllers with 47.60 dB of attenuation level at the first mode (the dominant mode) of vibration, which is equivalent to 45.99 % of reduction in vibration amplitude. By implementing the controllers experimentally, the superiority of PID-ABC based controller was further verified by achieving an attenuation of 23.83 dB at the first mode of vibration and 21.62 % of reduction in vibration amplitude. This research proved that the PID controller tuned by ABC is superior compared to other tuning algorithms for vibration suppression of the horizontal flexible plate structure