Control strategies for the More Electric Aircraft starter-generator electrical power system

The trend towards development of More Electric Aircraft (MEA) has been driven by increased fuel fossil prices and stricter environmental policies. This is supported by breakthroughs in power electronic systems and electrical machines. The application of MEA is expected to reduce the aircraft mass and drag, thereby increasing fuel efficiency and reduced environmental impact. The starter-generator (S/G) scheme is one of the solutions from the MEA concept that brings the most significant improvement to the electrical power generation system. A S/G system is proposed from the possible solutions brought by the MEA concept in the area of electrical power generation and distribution. Due to the wide operating speed range, limited controller stability may be present. This thesis contributes to the control plant analysis and controller design of this MEA S/G system. The general control requirements are outlined based on the S/G system operation and the control structure is presented. The control plants are derived specifically to design the controllers for the S/G control scheme. Detailed small signal analysis is performed on the derived plant while taking into consideration the aircraft operating speed and load range. A safe range for the controller gains can then be determined to ensure stable operation throughout the S/G operation. Adaptive gain and a novel current limit modifier are proposed which improves the controller stability during S/G operation. Model predictive control is considered as an alternative control strategy for potential control performance improvements with the S/G system. The technical results and simulations are supported by Matlab®/Simulink® based models and validated by experimental work on a small scaled drive system

Control strategies for the More Electric Aircraft starter-generator electrical power system

The trend towards development of More Electric Aircraft (MEA) has been driven by increased fuel fossil prices and stricter environmental policies. This is supported by breakthroughs in power electronic systems and electrical machines. The application of MEA is expected to reduce the aircraft mass and drag, thereby increasing fuel efficiency and reduced environmental impact. The starter-generator (S/G) scheme is one of the solutions from the MEA concept that brings the most significant improvement to the electrical power generation system. A S/G system is proposed from the possible solutions brought by the MEA concept in the area of electrical power generation and distribution. Due to the wide operating speed range, limited controller stability may be present. This thesis contributes to the control plant analysis and controller design of this MEA S/G system. The general control requirements are outlined based on the S/G system operation and the control structure is presented. The control plants are derived specifically to design the controllers for the S/G control scheme. Detailed small signal analysis is performed on the derived plant while taking into consideration the aircraft operating speed and load range. A safe range for the controller gains can then be determined to ensure stable operation throughout the S/G operation. Adaptive gain and a novel current limit modifier are proposed which improves the controller stability during S/G operation. Model predictive control is considered as an alternative control strategy for potential control performance improvements with the S/G system. The technical results and simulations are supported by Matlab®/Simulink® based models and validated by experimental work on a small scaled drive system

NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 2: Indexes (supplement 08)

This bibliography is issued in two sections: Section 1 - Abstracts, and Section 2 - Indexes. This issue of the Abstract Section cites 180 patents and applications for patents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1975 through December 1975. Each entry in the Abstract Section consists of a citation, an abstract, and, in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent. This issue of the Index Section contains entries for 2,905 patents and applications for patent citations covering the period May 1969 through December 1975. The Index Section contains five indexes -- subject, inventor, source, number, and accession number

In Silico Strategies for Prospective Drug Repositionings

The discovery of new drugs is one of pharmaceutical research's most exciting and challenging tasks. Unfortunately, the conventional drug discovery procedure is chronophagous and seldom successful; furthermore, new drugs are needed to address our clinical challenges (e.g., new antibiotics, new anticancer drugs, new antivirals).Within this framework, drug repositioning—finding new pharmacodynamic properties for already approved drugs—becomes a worthy drug discovery strategy.Recent drug discovery techniques combine traditional tools with in silico strategies to identify previously unaccounted properties for drugs already in use. Indeed, big data exploration techniques capitalize on the ever-growing knowledge of drugs' structural and physicochemical properties, drug–target and drug–drug interactions, advances in human biochemistry, and the latest molecular and cellular biology discoveries.Following this new and exciting trend, this book is a collection of papers introducing innovative computational methods to identify potential candidates for drug repositioning. Thus, the papers in the Special Issue In Silico Strategies for Prospective Drug Repositionings introduce a wide array of in silico strategies such as complex network analysis, big data, machine learning, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, and QSAR; these strategies target diverse diseases and medical conditions: COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis, non-small lung cancer, multiple sclerosis, toxoplasmosis, psychiatric disorders, or skin conditions

Demystifying Internet of Things Security

Break down the misconceptions of the Internet of Things by examining the different security building blocks available in Intel Architecture (IA) based IoT platforms. This open access book reviews the threat pyramid, secure boot, chain of trust, and the SW stack leading up to defense-in-depth. The IoT presents unique challenges in implementing security and Intel has both CPU and Isolated Security Engine capabilities to simplify it. This book explores the challenges to secure these devices to make them immune to different threats originating from within and outside the network. The requirements and robustness rules to protect the assets vary greatly and there is no single blanket solution approach to implement security. Demystifying Internet of Things Security provides clarity to industry professionals and provides and overview of different security solutions What You'll Learn Secure devices, immunizing them against different threats originating from inside and outside the network Gather an overview of the different security building blocks available in Intel Architecture (IA) based IoT platforms Understand the threat pyramid, secure boot, chain of trust, and the software stack leading up to defense-in-depth Who This Book Is For Strategists, developers, architects, and managers in the embedded and Internet of Things (IoT) space trying to understand and implement the security in the IoT devices/platforms

Towards a software framework for reconfigurable and adaptive fixturing systems

There is an ongoing trend towards advanced fixturing systems that can be automatically reconfigured for different workpieces and dynamically adapt the clamping forces during the manufacturing process. However, the increased utilisation of computer technology and sensor feedback currently requires a significant amount of programming effort during the development phase and deployment of such fixtures which impairs their successful industrial realisation. This research addresses the issue by developing the core concepts of a novel software framework that facilitates the deployment and operation of reconfigurable and adaptive fixturing systems. This includes a new data model for the representation of the fixturing system, using object-oriented modelling techniques. Secondly, a generic methodology for the automatic reconfiguration of fixturing systems has been developed that can be applied to a plethora of different fixture layouts. Thirdly, a flexible communication infrastructure is proposed which supports the platform-independent communication between the various parts of the fixturing system through the adoption of a publish/subscribe approach. The integration of these core knowledge contributions into a software framework significantly reduces the programming effort by providing a ready-to-use infrastructure that can be configured according a given fixture layout. In order to manage the complexity of the research, a structured research methodology has been followed. Based on an extensive literature review, a number of knowledge gaps have been identified which were the basis for the definition of clear research objectives. A use case analysis has been conducted to identify the requirements of the software framework and several potential middleware technologies have been assessed for the communication infrastructure. This was followed by the development of the three core knowledge contributions. Finally, the research results have been demonstrated and initially verified with a prototype of a reconfigurable fixturing system, indicating that the utilisation of the software framework can eliminate the need for programming, thereby drastically reducing deployment effort and lead time

ESARDA 37th Annual Meeting Proceedings

The 37th ESARDA symposium on Safeguards and Nuclear Non-Proliferation was held in Manchester, United Kingdom from 19-21 May, 2015. The Symposium has been preceded by meetings of the ESARDA Working Groups on 18 May 2015. The event has once again been an opportunity for research organisations, safeguards authorities and nuclear plant operators to exchange information on new aspects of international safeguards and non-proliferation, as well as recent developments in nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation related research activities and their implications for the safeguards community. The Proceedings contains the papers (118) submitted according to deadlines.JRC.E.8-Nuclear securit

Towards a software framework for reconfigurable and adaptive fixturing systems

There is an ongoing trend towards advanced fixturing systems that can be automatically reconfigured for different workpieces and dynamically adapt the clamping forces during the manufacturing process. However, the increased utilisation of computer technology and sensor feedback currently requires a significant amount of programming effort during the development phase and deployment of such fixtures which impairs their successful industrial realisation. This research addresses the issue by developing the core concepts of a novel software framework that facilitates the deployment and operation of reconfigurable and adaptive fixturing systems. This includes a new data model for the representation of the fixturing system, using object-oriented modelling techniques. Secondly, a generic methodology for the automatic reconfiguration of fixturing systems has been developed that can be applied to a plethora of different fixture layouts. Thirdly, a flexible communication infrastructure is proposed which supports the platform-independent communication between the various parts of the fixturing system through the adoption of a publish/subscribe approach. The integration of these core knowledge contributions into a software framework significantly reduces the programming effort by providing a ready-to-use infrastructure that can be configured according a given fixture layout. In order to manage the complexity of the research, a structured research methodology has been followed. Based on an extensive literature review, a number of knowledge gaps have been identified which were the basis for the definition of clear research objectives. A use case analysis has been conducted to identify the requirements of the software framework and several potential middleware technologies have been assessed for the communication infrastructure. This was followed by the development of the three core knowledge contributions. Finally, the research results have been demonstrated and initially verified with a prototype of a reconfigurable fixturing system, indicating that the utilisation of the software framework can eliminate the need for programming, thereby drastically reducing deployment effort and lead time