4,294 research outputs found
Reducing model uncertainty effects in flexible manipulators through the addition of passive damping
An important issue in the control of practical systems is the effect of model uncertainty on closed loop performance. This is of particular concern when flexible structures are to be controlled, due to the fact that states associated with higher frequency vibration modes are truncated in order to make the control problem tractable. Digital simulations of a single-link manipulator system are employed to demonstrate that passive damping added to the flexible member reduces adverse effects associated with model uncertainty. A controller was designed based on a model including only one flexible mode. This controller was applied to larger order systems to evaluate the effects of modal truncation. Simulations using a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) design assuming full state feedback illustrate the effect of control spillover. Simulations of a system using output feedback illustrate the destabilizing effect of observation spillover. The simulations reveal that the system with passive damping is less susceptible to these effects than the untreated case
Unifying model of driven polymer translocation
We present a Brownian dynamics model of driven polymer translocation, in
which non-equilibrium memory effects arising from tension propagation (TP)
along the cis side subchain are incorporated as a time-dependent friction. To
solve the effective friction, we develop a finite chain length TP formalism,
expanding on the work of Sakaue [Sakaue, PRE 76, 021803 (2007)]. The model,
solved numerically, yields results in excellent agreement with molecular
dynamics simulations in a wide range of parameters. Our results show that
non-equilibrium TP along the cis side subchain dominates the dynamics of driven
translocation. In addition, the model explains the different scaling of
translocation time w.r.t chain length observed both in experiments and
simulations as a combined effect of finite chain length and pore-polymer
interactions.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Time scale of entropic segregation of flexible polymers in confinement: Implications for chromosome segregation in filamentous bacteria
We report molecular dynamics simulations of the segregation of two
overlapping chains in cylindrical confinement. We find that the entropic
repulsion between the chains can be sufficiently strong to cause segregation on
a time scale that is short compared to the one for diffusion. This result
implies that entropic driving forces are sufficiently strong to cause rapid
bacterial chromosome segregation.Comment: Minor changes. Added some references, corrected the labels in figure
6 and reformatted in two columns. Also added reference to published version
in PR
Model for the unidirectional motion of a dynein molecule
Cytoplasmic dyneins transport cellular organelles by moving on a microtubule
filament. It has been found recently that depending on the applied force and
the concentration of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules, dynein's step
size varies. Based on these studies, we propose a simple model for dynein's
unidirectional motion taking into account the variations in its step size. We
study how the average velocity and the relative dispersion in the displacement
vary with the applied load. The model is amenable to further extensions by
inclusion of details associated with the structure and the processivity of the
molecule.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Competition and norms: a self-defeating combination?
This paper investigates the effects of information feedback mechanisms on electricity and heating usage at a student hall of residence in London. In a randomised control trial, we formulate different treatments such as feedback information and norms, as well as prize competition among subjects. We show that information and norms lead to a sharp – more than 20% - reduction in overall energy consumption. Because participants do not pay for their energy consumption this response cannot be driven by cost saving incentives. Interestingly, when combining feedback and norms with a prize competition for achieving low energy consumption, the reduction effect – while present initially – disappears in the long run. This could suggest that external rewards reduce and even destroy intrinsic motivation to change behaviour
Optimal integral controller with sensor failure accommodation
An Optimal Integral Controller that readily accommodates Sensor Failure - without resorting to (Kalman) filter or observer generation - has been designed. The system is based on Navy-sponsored research for the control of high performance aircraft. In conjunction with a NASA developed Numerical Optimization Code, the Integral Feedback Controller will provide optimal system response even in the case of incomplete state feedback. Hence, the need for costly replication of plant sensors is avoided since failure accommodation is effected by system software reconfiguration. The control design has been applied to a particularly ill-behaved, third-order system. Dominant-root design in the classical sense produced an almost 100 percent overshoot for the third-order system response. An application of the newly-developed Optimal Integral Controller - assuming all state information available - produces a response with no overshoot. A further application of the controller design - assuming a one-third sensor failure scenario - produced a slight overshoot response that still preserved the steady state time-point of the full-state feedback response. The control design should have wide application in space systems
Lateral phase separation of confined membranes
We consider membranes interacting via short, intermediate and long stickers.
The effects of the intermediate stickers on the lateral phase separation of the
membranes are studied via mean-field approximation. The critical potential
depth of the stickers increases in the presence of the intermediate sticker.
The lateral phase separation of the membrane thus suppressed by the
intermediate stickers. Considering membranes interacting with short and long
stickers, the effect of confinement on the phase behavior of the membranes is
also investigated analytically
Effective Medium Theory of Filamentous Triangular Lattice
We present an effective medium theory that includes bending as well as
stretching forces, and we use it to calculate mechanical response of a diluted
filamentous triangular lattice. In this lattice, bonds are central-force
springs, and there are bending forces between neighboring bonds on the same
filament. We investigate the diluted lattice in which each bond is present with
a probability . We find a rigidity threshold which has the same value
for all positive bending rigidity and a crossover characterizing bending-,
stretching-, and bend-stretch coupled elastic regimes controlled by the
central-force rigidity percolation point at of the
lattice when fiber bending rigidity vanishes.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure
Bridge Decomposition of Restriction Measures
Motivated by Kesten's bridge decomposition for two-dimensional self-avoiding
walks in the upper half plane, we show that the conjectured scaling limit of
the half-plane SAW, the SLE(8/3) process, also has an appropriately defined
bridge decomposition. This continuum decomposition turns out to entirely be a
consequence of the restriction property of SLE(8/3), and as a result can be
generalized to the wider class of restriction measures. Specifically we show
that the restriction hulls with index less than one can be decomposed into a
Poisson Point Process of irreducible bridges in a way that is similar to Ito's
excursion decomposition of a Brownian motion according to its zeros.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figures. Final version incorporates minor revisions
suggested by the referee, to appear in Jour. Stat. Phy
Fluctuation-Driven Molecular Transport in an Asymmetric Membrane Channel
Channel proteins, that selectively conduct molecules across cell membranes,
often exhibit an asymmetric structure. By means of a stochastic model, we argue
that channel asymmetry in the presence of non-equilibrium fluctuations, fueled
by the cell's metabolism as observed recently, can dramatically influence the
transport through such channels by a ratchet-like mechanism. For an
aquaglyceroporin that conducts water and glycerol we show that a previously
determined asymmetric glycerol potential leads to enhanced inward transport of
glycerol, but for unfavorably high glycerol concentrations also to enhanced
outward transport that protects a cell against poisoning.Comment: REVTeX4, 4 pages, 3 figures; Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
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