Dynamics and Control of an Electric Power Assist Steering System

In this thesis an Active Disturbance Rejection Controller (ADRC) is applied to Electrical Power Assist Steering (EPAS) system which assists the driver in steering the steering wheel of an automobile. Our control objective is to reduce the steering torque exerted by a driver, so that good steering feel of the driver will be achieved in the presence of external disturbances and system uncertainties which are very common in the EPAS system. The robustness and stability of ADRC controlled EPAS system is investigated through frequency-domain analyses. The Bode diagrams and stability margins demonstrate that the control system is stable during the operation and it is robust against external disturbances and structural uncertainties. In addition, the ADRC is simulated on a column-type EPAS system. The simulation results show that using the proposed ADRC, the driver can turn the steering wheel with the desired steering torque, which is independent of load torques that tend to vary with the change of driving condition

NASA space station automation: AI-based technology review

Research and Development projects in automation for the Space Station are discussed. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based automation technologies are planned to enhance crew safety through reduced need for EVA, increase crew productivity through the reduction of routine operations, increase space station autonomy, and augment space station capability through the use of teleoperation and robotics. AI technology will also be developed for the servicing of satellites at the Space Station, system monitoring and diagnosis, space manufacturing, and the assembly of large space structures

Fault detection and tolerance of electrical machines in automotive applications

This project explores the drive for further electrification in the automotive industry and the challenges that this brings. Specifically this thesis focuses on the demands of safety and reliability; highlighting the subtle difference between the two concepts, explaining how legislation is forcing designers to consider the ways in which a system could fail and requiring them to create methods to detect and safely handle these failures, many of which can never be completely eliminated by design. With this motive in mind, the research within this thesis is focused on fault detection and condition monitoring. A novel method of rotor magnet condition monitoring is developed, an investigation into the effects of stator impedance variation is carried out to identify opportunities to develop diagnostic algorithms and sensorless control is considered as a back-up control method should a traditional position sensor fail. This thesis shows how current research and new techniques could be applied in the modern automotive industry; highlighting the demand for ever safer electronic systems as the world strives for greater levels of autonomy on the roads

Service-based Fault Tolerance for Cyber-Physical Systems: A Systems Engineering Approach

Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) comprise networked computing units that monitor and control physical processes in feedback loops. CPSs have potential to change the ways people and computers interact with the physical world by enabling new ways to control and optimize systems through improved connectivity and computing capabilities. Compared to classical control theory, these systems involve greater unpredictability which may affect the stability and dynamics of the physical subsystems. Further uncertainty is introduced by the dynamic and open computing environments with rapidly changing connections and system configurations. However, due to interactions with the physical world, the dependable operation and tolerance of failures in both cyber and physical components are essential requirements for these systems.The problem of achieving dependable operations for open and networked control systems is approached using a systems engineering process to gain an understanding of the problem domain, since fault tolerance cannot be solved only as a software problem due to the nature of CPSs, which includes close coordination among hardware, software and physical objects. The research methodology consists of developing a concept design, implementing prototypes, and empirically testing the prototypes. Even though modularity has been acknowledged as a key element of fault tolerance, the fault tolerance of highly modular service-oriented architectures (SOAs) has been sparsely researched, especially in distributed real-time systems. This thesis proposes and implements an approach based on using loosely coupled real-time SOA to implement fault tolerance for a teleoperation system.Based on empirical experiments, modularity on a service level can be used to support fault tolerance (i.e., the isolation and recovery of faults). Fault recovery can be achieved for certain categories of faults (i.e., non-deterministic and aging-related) based on loose coupling and diverse operation modes. The proposed architecture also supports the straightforward integration of fault tolerance patterns, such as FAIL-SAFE, HEARTBEAT, ESCALATION and SERVICE MANAGER, which are used in the prototype systems to support dependability requirements. For service failures, systems rely on fail-safe behaviours, diverse modes of operation and fault escalation to backup services. Instead of using time-bounded reconfiguration, services operate in best-effort capabilities, providing resilience for the system. This enables, for example, on-the-fly service changes, smooth recoveries from service failures and adaptations to new computing environments, which are essential requirements for CPSs.The results are combined into a systems engineering approach to dependability, which includes an analysis of the role of safety-critical requirements for control system software architecture design, architectural design, a dependability-case development approach for CPSs and domain-specific fault taxonomies, which support dependability case development and system reliability analyses. Other contributions of this work include three new patterns for fault tolerance in CPSs: DATA-CENTRIC ARCHITECTURE, LET IT CRASH and SERVICE MANAGER. These are presented together with a pattern language that shows how they relate to other patterns available for the domain