Analytic function methods for nonparametric control

This thesis develops and investigates analytic function methods for nonparametric analysis and design of robust control linear systems. Compared to the parametric approaches, nonparametric approaches may enable the designer to directly use the experimental plant data to design the controller. Nonparametric approaches are potentially more accurate than parametric approaches since they do not need to make significant approximations due to parametric fittings. Moreover, since no parametric identification is required, nonparametric approaches are able to cope with time-delayed and differential difference systems. The design procedure process may also require less human judgement and so may be quicker and more readily automated. In this thesis, nonparametric approaches to control based on H-infinity analytic function theory is presented. It is the main purpose of this thesis to investigate the use of analytic function methods in H-infinity control problems. The implementation of the analytic methods and their applications are both addressed in the thesis

PID controller design and tuning in networked control systems

Networked control systems (NCS) are distributed real-time computing and control systems with sensors, actuators and controllers that communicate over a shared medium. The distributed nature of NCS and issues related to the shared communication medium pose significant challenges for control design, as the control system no longer follows the rules of classical control theory. The main problems that are not well covered by the traditional control theory are varying time-delays due to communication and computation, and packet losses. During recent years, the control design of NCS and varying time-delay systems has been extensively researched. This investment has provided us with new results on stability. Often the proposed methods and solutions are far too complex for industrial use, especially if wireless automation applications are considered. The algorithms are computationally heavy, possibly requiring complete information from say, a network of hundreds or thousands of nodes. In the wireless case this is not feasible. The above justifies the use and research of simple controller structures and algorithms for NCS. Despite the growing interest towards more advanced control algorithms, the Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller still has a dominant status in the industry. Nevertheless, using PID for NCS has not been thoroughly investigated, especially with regard to controller tuning. This thesis proposes several PID tuning methods, which provide robustness against the challenges of NCS, namely varying time-delays (jitter) and packet loss. The doctoral thesis consists of a summary and eight publications that focus on the PID controller design, tuning and experimentation in NCS. The thesis includes a literature review of recent stability and control design results in NCS, a summary of publications and the original publications. The control design methods applied in the publications are also reviewed. In the thesis, several new methods for PID tuning in NCS are proposed. To make the methods usable, a PID tuning tool that implements one of the tuning methods is also developed. In order to verify the results of control design with real processes, the thesis suggests using the MoCoNet platform developed at the Helsinki University of Technology, Finland. The platform provides the tools for remote laboratory experiments in NCS settings. The results of the thesis indicate that the PID controller is well suited for NCS provided that the properties of the integrated communication and control system are taken into account in the tuning phase

Aeronautical engineering: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 279)

This bibliography lists 759 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in May 1992. Subject coverage includes: design, construction, and testing of aircraft and aircraft engines; aircraft components, equipment, and systems; ground support systems; and theoretical and applied aspects of aerodynamics and general fluid dynamics