Incorporation of fractional-order dynamics into an existing PI/PID DC motor control loop

The problem of changing the dynamics of an existing DC motor control system without the need of making internal changes is considered in the paper. In particular, this paper presents a method for incorporating fractional-order dynamics in an existing DC motor control system with internal PI or PID controller, through the addition of an external controller into the system and by tapping its original input and output signals. Experimental results based on the control of a real test plant from MATLAB/Simulink environment are presented, indicating the validity of the proposed approach.This work was partially supported by the following grants under the Slovak Grant Agency, the Slovak Research and Development Agency: VEGA 1/0552/14, VEGA 1/0729/12, VEGA 1/0497/11, VEGA 1/2578/12, and APVV-0482-11, and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, and the Estonian Doctoral School in Information and Communication Technology through the interdisciplinary project FOMCON

Decentralized reliable control for large-scale LTI systems

Reliable control concerns the ability of closed loop system to maintain stability and regulation properties during arbitrary sensor, controller, and actuator failure. Reliable control research has been an active research topic for more than 10 years. Recent approach for reliable control includes the H∞ method, the algebraic factorization design, and the robust servomechanism control. These methods have been surveyed and discussed in this thesis with the robust servomechanism control methodology serving as the basis of the research development of this work. In this thesis, the reliable control for large-scale, multi-input/output linear system is considered. Two concepts of reliable control are introduced in this work: (1) Decentralized Robust Servomechanism Problem with Complete Reliability (DRSPwCR) and (2) Block Decentralized Robust Servo Problem with Complete Reliability (BDRSPwCR). The DRSPwCR solves the reliable control problem by applying strict diagonal decentralized controller configurations. The BDRSPwCR solves the reliable control problem by applying block diagonal decentralized controller configurations. Research results of solving DRSPwCR for the class of minimum phase systems is first developed in this work. The problem is solved by applying strict decentralized PIDr control to an otherwise unreliable plant and thus significantly extending the class of processes that can be controlled reliably. Research results of solving BDRSPwCR is developed for plants which have a pre-imposed block diagonal structure or plants with non-minimum phase minors. The reliable control conditions for an arbitrary linear system is then analyzed, and a general controller synthesis for solving the reliable control problem for arbitrary linear system is given in this work. The DRSPwCR can be applied in many industry areas as well as in the transportation area. In this work, the reliable control results are applied in the urban vehicle traffic network. A traffic queue length model is developed, a control algorithm is synthesized, and simulations are made under different traffic subsystem failure modes such as non-functioning traffic lights, traffic accidents, and intersection blockage, etc. Finally, future research topics such as to relax the constraints of plants to achieve reliable control and to optimize the closed loop system dynamic performances, etc. are proposed

Piezoelectric digital vibration absorbers for vibration mitigation of bladed structures

Climate change and resource scarcity pose increasingly difficult challenges for the aviation industry requiring a reduction in fossil fuel consumption. To address these problems and increase the efficiency of aircraft engines, some of their parts are now manufactured in one piece. For example, a rotor of the compressor stage of an airplane engine consist of a drum with a large number of blades and is called BluM. These structures are lightweight and feature low structural damping and high modal density. Their particular dynamic characteristics require sophisticated solutions for vibration mitigation of these structures. This is precisely the starting point of this thesis. Based on a digital realization of piezoelectric shunt circuits, we provide a damping concept that is able to tackle the complex dynamics of bladed structures and to mitigate their vibrations. To this end, multiple digital vibration absorbers (DVAs) are used simultaneously. Two new strategies to tune these DVAs are proposed in the thesis, namely the isolated mode and mean shunt strategies. These strategies not only take advantage of the fact that multiple absorbers act simultaneously on the structure, but they also address the problem of closely-spaced modes. In order to target multiple families of BluM modes, these strategies are incorporated in a multi-stage shunt circuit. The concepts are demonstrated experimentally using two bladed structures with increasing complexity, namely a bladed rail and a BluM. Both methods exhibit excellent damping performances on multiple groups of modes. In addition, they prove robust to changes in the host structure which could, e.g., be due to mistuning. Thanks to their digital realization, DVAs are also easily adjustable. Finally, this thesis reveals the parallel that exists between resonant piezoelectric shunts with a negative capacitance and active positive position feedback (PPF) controllers. Based on this comparison, a new H∞ norm-based tuning rule is found for a PPF controller. It is demonstrated using both numerical and experimental cantilever beams. To this end, a method that accounts for the influence of modes higher in frequency than the targeted one is developed.Le changement climatique et la raréfaction des ressources posent des défis de plus en plus complexes à relever pour l'industrie aéronautique. Un de ces défis est la réduction de la consommation en énergies fossiles. Pour accroître l'efficacité des moteurs d'avion, certains de leurs composants sont désormais fabriqués en une seule pièce. Dans le cas des compresseurs, ces pièces monoblocs sont appelées BluMs et sont constituées d’un tambour avec un grand nombre d'aubes. Ce type de structures bénéficie d'un allègement significatif, ce qui conduit à un faible amortissement structurel. De plus, ces pièces monoblocs présentent une densité modale élevée en raison du nombre important de diamètres nodaux. Ces caractéristiques dynamiques particulières nécessitent des solutions d'amortissement sophistiquées. Cette thèse de doctorat aborde cette problématique. En exploitant le concept d'absorbeur de vibration digital (DVA), nous proposons une nouvelle technique d'amortissement des structures aubagées. Deux nouvelles stratégies d'accordage de ces DVA sont développées dans cette thèse, à savoir la stratégie du mode isolé et la stratégie du shunt moyen. Ces méthodes tirent non seulement parti du fait que plusieurs absorbeurs agissent simultanément sur la structure, mais elles s'attaquent aussi au problème des modes proches en fréquence. Afin de cibler plusieurs familles de modes, ces stratégies ont été incorporées dans un circuit de shunt à plusieurs étages. Les concepts sont testés expérimentalement sur deux structures aubagées de complexité croissante, à savoir un rail à aubes et un BluM comme application finale. Ces méthodes permettent d'obtenir d'excellentes performances d'amortissement sur plusieurs groupes de modes. Elles s'avèrent également robustes face à des variations de la structure, dues par exemple à un désaccordage de celle-ci. Il est à noter que, grâce à leur caractère digital, ces méthodes sont facilement adaptables. Finalement, nous révélons le parallèle qui existe entre les shunts piézoélectriques résonants avec une capacitance négative et le contrôleur actif à rétroaction positive de position (PPF). Sur base de cette comparaison, de nouvelles règles d'accordage basées sur la norme H∞ sont développées pour le contrôleur PPF. Leur efficacité est démontrée à la fois numériquement et expérimentalement sur une poutre encastrée-libre. Dans ce but, une méthode prenant en compte l'influence des modes dont la fréquence est supérieure au mode ciblé a été mise sur pied au moyen de facteurs de correction

New Approaches in Automation and Robotics

The book New Approaches in Automation and Robotics offers in 22 chapters a collection of recent developments in automation, robotics as well as control theory. It is dedicated to researchers in science and industry, students, and practicing engineers, who wish to update and enhance their knowledge on modern methods and innovative applications. The authors and editor of this book wish to motivate people, especially under-graduate students, to get involved with the interesting field of robotics and mechatronics. We hope that the ideas and concepts presented in this book are useful for your own work and could contribute to problem solving in similar applications as well. It is clear, however, that the wide area of automation and robotics can only be highlighted at several spots but not completely covered by a single book

Design, Implementation and Testing of Advanced Control Laws for Fixed-wing UAVs

The present PhD thesis addresses the problem of the control of small fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). In the scientific community much research is dedicated to the study of suitable control laws for this category of aircraft. This interest is motivated by the several applications that these platforms can perform and by their peculiarities as dynamical systems. In fact, small UAVs are characterized by highly nonlinear behavior, strong coupling between longitudinal and latero-directional planes, and high sensitivity to external disturbances and to parametric uncertainties. Furthermore, the challenge is increased by the limited space and weight available for the onboard electronics. The aim of this PhD thesis is to provide a valid confrontation among three different control techniques and to introduce an innovative autopilot configuration suitable for the unmanned aircraft field. Three advanced controllers for fixed-wing unmanned aircraft vehicles are designed and implemented: PID with H1 robust approach, L1 adaptive controller and nonlinear backstepping controller. All of them are analyzed from the theoretical point of view and validated through numerical simulations with a mathematical UAV model. One is implemented on a microcontroller board, validated through hardware simulations and tested in flight. The PID with H1 robust approach is used for the definition of the gains of a commercial autopilot. The proposed technique combines traditional PID control with an H1 loop shaping method to assess the robustness characteristics achievable with simple PID gains. It is demonstrated that this hybrid approach provides a promising solution to the problem of tuning commercial autopilots for UAVs. Nevertheless, it is clear that a tradeoff between robustness and performance is necessary when dealing with this standard control technique. The robustness problem is effectively solved by the adoption of an L1 adaptive controller for complete aircraft control. In particular, the L1 logic here adopted is based on piecewise constant adaptive laws with an adaptation rate compatible with the sampling rate of an autopilot board CPU. The control scheme includes an L1 adaptive controller for the inner loop, while PID gains take care of the outer loop. The global controller is tuned on a linear decoupled aircraft model. It is demonstrated that the achieved configuration guarantees satisfying performance also when applied to a complete nonlinear model affected by uncertainties and parametric perturbations. The third controller implemented is based on an existing nonlinear backstepping technique. A scheme for longitudinal and latero-directional control based on the combination of PID for the outer loop and backstepping for the inner loop is proposed. Satisfying results are achieved also when the nonlinear aircraft model is perturbed by parametric uncertainties. A confrontation among the three controllers shows that L1 and backstepping are comparable in terms of nominal and robust performance, with an advantage for L1, while the PID is always inferior. The backstepping controller is chosen for being implemented and tested on a real fixed-wing RC aircraft. Hardware-in-the-loop simulations validate its real-time control capability on the complete nonlinear model of the aircraft adopted for the tests, inclusive of sensors noise. An innovative microcontroller technology is employed as core of the autopilot system, it interfaces with sensors and servos in order to handle input/output operations and it performs the control law computation. Preliminary ground tests validate the suitability of the autopilot configuration. A limited number of flight tests is performed. Promising results are obtained for the control of longitudinal states, while latero-directional control still needs major improvements

Feedback Control Strategies for Diesel Engine Emissions Compliance

Modern diesel engines are equipped with aftertreatment systems which are effective at reducing tailpipe hydrocarbon and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions when the system’s catalysts are lit-off, meaning they are warmed-up to temperatures near 200 degrees Celsius. During engine cold-starts, combustion phasing retard is typically used to provide additional heat to the aftertreatment system to achieve faster light-off. Analysis of emissions cycle data has shown that improved heating during cold-starts could achieve further emission reductions, however combustion phasing retard heating strategies can be limited by combustion variability issues. Aftertreatment temperature issues can also occur after the engine is warmed-up, as real-world driving behaviors like extended idling and low-load operation can result in exhaust temperatures that are insufficient for maintaining catalyst light-off, resulting in emission increases. This thesis presents novel control solutions to achieve emissions reductions during cold-starts and real-world driving. For cold-start emissions, the concept of closed-loop variance control was analyzed and applied to combustion control, which enables more aggressive combustion phasing retard exhaust heating to achieve faster aftertreatment light-off while avoiding excessive combustion variability issues. Diesel combustion variability was characterized experimentally, and the data was used to identify feedback metrics. Conventional linear controls analysis and statistical theory were used to develop a better understanding of variance feedback control, and the understanding was applied to the engine problem. Closed-loop combustion variability control was performed during both steady-state and transient operation and enabled higher exhaust temperatures while avoiding excessive degradation of engine combustion. For real-world driving emissions, a model predictive control (MPC) framework was developed that uses long horizon engine speed and load preview along with onboard NOx measurements to control the engine for good fuel economy subject to emission constraints. To reduce computational complexity the controller output is a decision variable selecting between two engine calibrations, one with low brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC) but high brake-specific NOx (or BSNOx), and one with high BSFC, low BSNOx, and increased exhaust heat to aid aftertreatment conversion efficiencies.The onboard NOx measurements are used to inform the optimization problem formulations, which include constraining NOx. based on windowed limits. Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) experimental results show that the controller has the ability to track a windowed emissions target, and appropriately responds to noise factors such as aftertreatment temperatures and emission rate errors.PHDMechanical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/169791/1/bieniekm_1.pd

Cascaded Control for Improved Building HVAC Performance

As of 2011 buildings consumed 41% of all primary energy in the U.S. and can represent more than 70% of peak demand on the electrical grid. Usage by this sector has grown almost 50% since the 1980s and projections foresee an additional growth of 17% by 2035 due to increases in population, new home construction, and commercial development. Three-quarters of building energy is derived from fossil fuels making it a large contributor of the country’s CO2 and NOx output both of which greatly affect the environment and local air quality. Up to half of energy used by the building sector is related to Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Condition systems. Focusing on improving building HVAC control therefore has a large aggregate effect on US energy usage with economic and environmental benefits for end users. This dissertation develops cascaded loop architectures as a solution to common HVAC control issues. These systems display strong load-dependent nonlinearities and coupling behaviors that can lead to actuator hunting (sustained input oscillations) from standard PI controllers that waste energy and cost money. Cascaded loops offer a simple way to eliminate hunting and decouple complex HVAC systems with minimal a priori knowledge of system dynamics. As cascaded loops are easily implementable in building automation systems they can be readily and widely adopted in the field. An examination of the current state of PI control in HVAC and discussion of coordinated, optimal control strategies being developed for reduced energy usage are discussed in Chapter 1. The following two chapters outline the structure and benefits of the cascaded architecture and demonstrate the same using a series of simulation case studies. Implementation approaches and parameterizations of the architecture are explored in Chapter 4 with a derivation showing that the addition of an additional feedback path (i.e., inner loop control) provides more design freedom and ultimately allows for improved control. Finally, Chapter 5 details results from initial cascaded loop implementation at three campus buildings. Results showed improved control performance and an elimination of identified hunting behavior

Dynamical Systems

Complex systems are pervasive in many areas of science integrated in our daily lives. Examples include financial markets, highway transportation networks, telecommunication networks, world and country economies, social networks, immunological systems, living organisms, computational systems and electrical and mechanical structures. Complex systems are often composed of a large number of interconnected and interacting entities, exhibiting much richer global scale dynamics than the properties and behavior of individual entities. Complex systems are studied in many areas of natural sciences, social sciences, engineering and mathematical sciences. This special issue therefore intends to contribute towards the dissemination of the multifaceted concepts in accepted use by the scientific community. We hope readers enjoy this pertinent selection of papers which represents relevant examples of the state of the art in present day research. [...

Adaptive Control

Adaptive control has been a remarkable field for industrial and academic research since 1950s. Since more and more adaptive algorithms are applied in various control applications, it is becoming very important for practical implementation. As it can be confirmed from the increasing number of conferences and journals on adaptive control topics, it is certain that the adaptive control is a significant guidance for technology development.The authors the chapters in this book are professionals in their areas and their recent research results are presented in this book which will also provide new ideas for improved performance of various control application problems

Fixed-structure Control of LTI Systems with Polytopic-type Uncertainty:Application to Inverter-interfaced Microgrids

This thesis focuses on the development of robust control solutions for linear time-invariant interconnected systems affected by polytopic-type uncertainty. The main issues involved in the control of such systems, e.g. sensor and actuator placement, control configuration selection, and robust fixed-structure control design are included. The problem of fixed-structure control is intrinsically nonconvex and hence computationally intractable. Nevertheless, the problem has attracted considerable attention due to the great importance of fixed-structure controllers in practice. In this thesis, necessary and sufficient conditions for fixed-structure H_inf control of polytopic systems with a single uncertain parameter in terms of a finite number of bilinear matrix inequalities (BMIs) are developed. Increasing the number of uncertain parameters leads to sufficient BMI conditions, where the number of decision variables grows polynomially. Convex approximations of robust fixed-order and fixed-structure controller design which rely on the concept of strictly positive realness (SPRness) of transfer functions in state space setting are presented. Such approximations are based on the use of slack matrices whose duty is to decouple the product of unknown matrices. Several algorithms for determination and update of the slack matrices are given. It is shown that the problem of sensor and actuator placement in the polytopic interconnected systems can be formulated as an optimization problem by minimizing cardinality of some pattern matrices, while satisfying a guaranteed level of H_inf performance. The control configuration design is achieved by solving a convex optimization problem whose solution delivers a trade-off curve that starts with a centralized controller and ends with a decentralized or a distributed controller. The proposed approaches are applied to inverter-interfaced microgrids which consist of distributed generation (DG) units. To this end, two important control problems associated with the microgrids are considered: (i) Current control of grid-connected voltage-source converters with L/LCL filters and (ii) Voltage control of islanded microgrids. The proposed control strategies are able to independently regulate the direct and quadrature (dq) components of the converter currents and voltages at the point of common couplings (PCC) in a fully decoupled manner and provide satisfactory dynamic responses. The important problem of plug-and-play (PnP) capability of DGs in the microgrids is also studied. It is shown that an inverter-interfaced microgrid consisting of multi DGs under PnP functionality can be cast as a system with polytopic-type uncertainty. By virtue of this novel description and use of the results from theory of robust control, the stability of the microgrid system under PnP operation of DGs is preserved. Extensive case studies, based on time-domain simulations in MATLAB/SimPowerSystems Toolbox, are carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed controllers under various test scenarios, e.g., load change, voltage and current tracking. Real-time hardware-in-the-loop case studies, using RT-LAB real-time platform of OPAL-RT Technologies, are also conducted to validate the performance of the designed controllers and demonstrate their insensitivity to hardware implementation issues, e.g., noise and PWM non-idealities. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate satisfactory performance of the designed controllers