Disturbance Attenuation in a Magnetic Levitation System with Acceleration Feedback

The objective of this work is to demonstrate the use of acceleration feedback to improve the performance of a maglev system, especially in disturbance attenuation. In the single degree-of-freedom (DOF) system studied here, acceleration feedback has the effect of virtually increasing inertia, damping and stiffness. It is shown that it can be used to increase disturbance rejection without sacrificing tracking performance. Both analytical and experimental results demonstrate that disturbance rejection can be improved with acceleration feedback

ROBUST CONTROL FOR A SUSPENDED ROTATING SHAFT BY RADIAL ACTIVE MAGNETIC BEARINGS

This paper shows a comparison based on dynamic behaviour of a rotating shaft when it is suspended by 4-axis active magnetic bearings under several control systems. The control systems used are μ-synthesis, loop shaping design procedure and Sub(H∞) robust control with the introduction of uncertainties on position and current gains of the actuators. Each of these controllers is characterized by four input signals and four output signals and the introduction of uncertainties on displacement gain and current gain is due to torn and worn of the components during the time, which can lead the entire system to instability phenomena. The comparison of the performances is obtained through the introduction of same weighting function for all three control systems. All simulations and results are performed by MATLab

A Hybrid Controller for Stability Robustness, Performance Robustness, and Disturbance Attenuation of a Maglev System

Devices using magnetic levitation (maglev) offer the potential for friction-free, high-speed, and high-precision operation. Applications include frictionless bearings, high-speed ground transportation systems, wafer distribution systems, high-precision positioning stages, and vibration isolation tables. Maglev systems rely on feedback controllers to maintain stable levitation. Designing such feedback controllers is challenging since mathematically the electromagnetic force is nonlinear and there is no local minimum point on the levitating force function. As a result, maglev systems are open-loop unstable. Additionally, maglev systems experience disturbances and system parameter variations (uncertainties) during operation. A successful controller design for maglev system guarantees stability during levitating despite system nonlinearity, and desirable system performance despite disturbances and system uncertainties. This research investigates five controllers that can achieve stable levitation: PD, PID, lead, model reference control, and LQR/LQG. It proposes an acceleration feedback controller (AFC) design that attenuates disturbance on a maglev system with a PD controller. This research proposes three robust controllers, QFT, Hinf , and QFT/Hinf , followed by a novel AFC-enhanced QFT/Hinf (AQH) controller. The AQH controller allows system robustness and disturbance attenuation to be achieved in one controller design. The controller designs are validated through simulations and experiments. In this research, the disturbances are represented by force disturbances on the levitated object, and the system uncertainties are represented by parameter variations. The experiments are conducted on a 1 DOF maglev testbed, with system performance including stability, disturbance rejection, and robustness being evaluated. Experiments show that the tested controllers can maintain stable levitation. Disturbance attenuation is achieved with the AFC. The robust controllers, QFT, Hinf , QFT/ Hinf, and AQH successfully guarantee system robustness. In addition, AQH controller provides the maglev system with a disturbance attenuation feature. The contributions of this research are the design and implementation of the acceleration feedback controller, the QFT/ Hinf , and the AQH controller. Disturbance attenuation and system robustness are achieved with these controllers. The controllers developed in this research are applicable to similar maglev systems

HTS levitation and transportation with linear motor control

High temperature superconductor (HTS) bulk can produce strong levitation force and has attracted strong interest of application in maglev transportation systems, to which a linear motion drive has advantages to be incorporated. This paper presents the design and performance analysis of a linear synchronous motor drive for a levitated object by HTS bulks. The analysis results show that the developed linear motor scheme can effectively drive and control the HTS levitated transporter

Magnetic Actuators and Suspension for Space Vibration Control

The research on microgravity vibration isolation performed at the University of Virginia is summarized. This research on microgravity vibration isolation was focused in three areas: (1) the development of new actuators for use in microgravity isolation; (2) the design of controllers for multiple-degree-of-freedom active isolation; and (3) the construction of a single-degree-of-freedom test rig with umbilicals. Described are the design and testing of a large stroke linear actuator; the conceptual design and analysis of a redundant coarse-fine six-degree-of-freedom actuator; an investigation of the control issues of active microgravity isolation; a methodology for the design of multiple-degree-of-freedom isolation control systems using modern control theory; and the design and testing of a single-degree-of-freedom test rig with umbilicals

Culture, Efficacy, and Outcome Expectancy in Teacher Preparation;How Do the Beliefs of Pre-Service Interns, Mentor Teachers, University Supervisors and Teacher Educators Compare?

Researchers agree that teachers\u27 attitudes and efficacy beliefs play a significant role in student achievement (Armor et al., 1976 Hoy & Spero, 2005 Szabo & Mokhtari, 2004 Woolfolk & Hoy, 1990). Teachers with high self-efficacy: 1) believe they can positively influence students\u27 learning and achievement despite environmental conditions (Armor et al., 1976 Ashton & Webb, 1986 Gibson & Dembo, 1984) and 2) assume accountability for student learning (Gibson & Dembo, 1984 Ross, 1998 Siwatu, 2007). On the contrary, teachers with low teacher efficacy have minimal expectations for and fewer interactions with minority students. They are also more likely to feel teacher burnout and abandon the profession (Betoret, 2006 Friedman, 2004 Guerra, Attar, & Weissberg, 1997). Various studies have confirmed that even after successfully completing multicultural courses and field experiences, interns\u27 negative beliefs and low outcome expectancies for minority students remained (Garmon, 1996, 2004 Easter, Schultz, Neyhart & Reck, 1999). Although little is known about how teaching efficacy develops, it is possible that programs incorporating efficacy-building opportunities assist to create and maintain a pool of quality teachers in culturally diverse schools (Clark & Wegener, 2009 Garcia, 2004 Milner, 2005 Santoro & Allard, 2005 Tucker et al., 2005 Siwatu, 2007 Swearingen, 2009). The purpose of this study will be to examine patterns in culturally responsive teaching self efficacy and outcome expectancies between interns, mentor teachers, university supervisors, and teacher educators in an urban teacher education progra

Culture, Efficacy, and Outcome Expectancy in Teacher Preparation;How Do the Beliefs of Pre-Service Interns, Mentor Teachers, University Supervisors and Teacher Educators Compare?

Researchers agree that teachers\u27 attitudes and efficacy beliefs play a significant role in student achievement (Armor et al., 1976 Hoy & Spero, 2005 Szabo & Mokhtari, 2004 Woolfolk & Hoy, 1990). Teachers with high self-efficacy: 1) believe they can positively influence students\u27 learning and achievement despite environmental conditions (Armor et al., 1976 Ashton & Webb, 1986 Gibson & Dembo, 1984) and 2) assume accountability for student learning (Gibson & Dembo, 1984 Ross, 1998 Siwatu, 2007). On the contrary, teachers with low teacher efficacy have minimal expectations for and fewer interactions with minority students. They are also more likely to feel teacher burnout and abandon the profession (Betoret, 2006 Friedman, 2004 Guerra, Attar, & Weissberg, 1997). Various studies have confirmed that even after successfully completing multicultural courses and field experiences, interns\u27 negative beliefs and low outcome expectancies for minority students remained (Garmon, 1996, 2004 Easter, Schultz, Neyhart & Reck, 1999). Although little is known about how teaching efficacy develops, it is possible that programs incorporating efficacy-building opportunities assist to create and maintain a pool of quality teachers in culturally diverse schools (Clark & Wegener, 2009 Garcia, 2004 Milner, 2005 Santoro & Allard, 2005 Tucker et al., 2005 Siwatu, 2007 Swearingen, 2009). The purpose of this study will be to examine patterns in culturally responsive teaching self efficacy and outcome expectancies between interns, mentor teachers, university supervisors, and teacher educators in an urban teacher education progra

Magnetic Bearings

The term magnetic bearings refers to devices that provide stable suspension of a rotor. Because of the contact-less motion of the rotor, magnetic bearings offer many advantages for various applications. Commercial applications include compressors, centrifuges, high-speed turbines, energy-storage flywheels, high-precision machine tools, etc. Magnetic bearings are a typical mechatronic product. Thus, a great deal of knowledge is necessary for its design, construction and operation. This book is a collection of writings on magnetic bearings, presented in fragments and divided into six chapters. Hopefully, this book will provide not only an introduction but also a number of key aspects of magnetic bearings theory and applications. Last but not least, the presented content is free, which is of great importance, especially for young researcher and engineers in the field

Robust control of a planar manipulator for flexible and contactless handling

International audienceMany industries require non-contact and flexible manipulation systems, such as magnetic or pneumatic devices. In this paper, we describe a one-degree-of-freedom position control of an induced-air-flow surface. This device allows to convey objects on an air cushion using an original aerodynamic traction principle. A model of the system is established and the parameters are identified experimentally. A H1 robust controller is designed and implemented on the device in order to control the object position. Experiments with objects of various dimensions and materials are conducted and showed the robustness capabilities of the controller

A preliminary study of a cryogenic equivalence principle experiment on Shuttle

The Weak Equivalence Principle is the hypothesis that all test bodies fall with the same acceleration in the same gravitational field. The current limit on violations of the Weak Equivalence Principle, measured by the ratio of the difference in acceleration of two test masses to their average acceleration, is about 3 parts in one-hundred billion. It is anticipated that this can be improved in a shuttle experiment to a part in one quadrillion. Topics covered include: (1) studies of the shuttle environment, including interference with the experiment, interfacing to the experiment, and possible alternatives; (2) numerical simulations of the proposed experiment, including analytic solutions for special cases of the mass motion and preliminary estimates of sensitivity and time required; (3) error analysis of several noise sources such as thermal distortion, gas and radiation pressure effects, and mechanical distortion; and (4) development and performance tests of a laboratory version of the instrument