13,012 research outputs found
Optimal regulation in systems with stochastic time sampling
An optimal control theory that accounts for stochastic variable time sampling in a distributed microprocessor based flight control system is presented. The theory is developed by using a linear process model for the airplane dynamics and the information distribution process is modeled as a variable time increment process where, at the time that information is supplied to the control effectors, the control effectors know the time of the next information update only in a stochastic sense. An optimal control problem is formulated and solved for the control law that minimizes the expected value of a quadratic cost function. The optimal cost obtained with a variable time increment Markov information update process where the control effectors know only the past information update intervals and the Markov transition mechanism is almost identical to that obtained with a known and uniform information update interval
Apparent suppression of turbulent magnetic dynamo action by a dc magnetic field
Numerical studies of the effect of a dc magnetic field on dynamo action
(development of magnetic fields with large spatial scales), due to
helically-driven magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, are reported. The apparent
effect of the dc magnetic field is to suppress the dynamo action, above a
relatively low threshold. However, the possibility that the suppression results
from an improper combination of rectangular triply spatially-periodic boundary
conditions and a uniform dc magnetic field is addressed: heretofore a common
and convenient computational convention in turbulence investigations. Physical
reasons for the observed suppression are suggested. Other geometries and
boundary conditions are offered for which the dynamo action is expected not to
be suppressed by the presence of a dc magnetic field component.Comment: To appear in Physics of Plasma
Adaptive identification and control of structural dynamics systems using recursive lattice filters
A new approach for adaptive identification and control of structural dynamic systems by using least squares lattice filters thar are widely used in the signal processing area is presented. Testing procedures for interfacing the lattice filter identification methods and modal control method for stable closed loop adaptive control are presented. The methods are illustrated for a free-free beam and for a complex flexible grid, with the basic control objective being vibration suppression. The approach is validated by using both simulations and experimental facilities available at the Langley Research Center
Evaluation of inertial devices for the control of large, flexible, space-based telerobotic arms
Inertial devices, including sensors and actuators, offer the potential of improving the tracking of telerobotic commands for space-based robots by smoothing payload motions and suppressing vibrations. In this paper, inertial actuators (specifically, torque-wheels and reaction-masses) are studied for that potential application. Batch simulation studies are presented which show that torque-wheels can reduce the overshoot in abrupt stop commands by 82 percent for a two-link arm. For man-in-the-loop evaluation, a real-time simulator has been developed which samples a hand-controller, solves the nonlinear equations of motion, and graphically displays the resulting motion on a computer workstation. Currently, two manipulator models, a two-link, rigid arm and a single-link, flexible arm, have been studied. Results are presented which show that, for a single-link arm, a reaction-mass/torque-wheel combination at the payload end can yield a settling time of 3 s for disturbances in the first flexible mode as opposed to 10 s using only a hub motor. A hardware apparatus, which consists of a single-link, highly flexible arm with a hub motor and a torque-wheel, has been assembled to evaluate the concept and is described herein
A numerical study of the alpha model for two-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulent flows
We explore some consequences of the ``alpha model,'' also called the
``Lagrangian-averaged'' model, for two-dimensional incompressible
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence. This model is an extension of the
smoothing procedure in fluid dynamics which filters velocity fields locally
while leaving their associated vorticities unsmoothed, and has proved useful
for high Reynolds number turbulence computations. We consider several known
effects (selective decay, dynamic alignment, inverse cascades, and the
probability distribution functions of fluctuating turbulent quantities) in
magnetofluid turbulence and compare the results of numerical solutions of the
primitive MHD equations with their alpha-model counterparts' performance for
the same flows, in regimes where available resolution is adequate to explore
both. The hope is to justify the use of the alpha model in regimes that lie
outside currently available resolution, as will be the case in particular in
three-dimensional geometry or for magnetic Prandtl numbers differing
significantly from unity. We focus our investigation, using direct numerical
simulations with a standard and fully parallelized pseudo-spectral method and
periodic boundary conditions in two space dimensions, on the role that such a
modeling of the small scales using the Lagrangian-averaged framework plays in
the large-scale dynamics of MHD turbulence. Several flows are examined, and for
all of them one can conclude that the statistical properties of the large-scale
spectra are recovered, whereas small-scale detailed phase information (such as
e.g. the location of structures) is lost.Comment: 22 pages, 20 figure
Small scale structures in three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic turbulence
We investigate using direct numerical simulations with grids up to 1536^3
points, the rate at which small scales develop in a decaying three-dimensional
MHD flow both for deterministic and random initial conditions. Parallel current
and vorticity sheets form at the same spatial locations, and further
destabilize and fold or roll-up after an initial exponential phase. At high
Reynolds numbers, a self-similar evolution of the current and vorticity maxima
is found, in which they grow as a cubic power of time; the flow then reaches a
finite dissipation rate independent of Reynolds number.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Numerical study of dynamo action at low magnetic Prandtl numbers
We present a three--pronged numerical approach to the dynamo problem at low
magnetic Prandtl numbers . The difficulty of resolving a large range of
scales is circumvented by combining Direct Numerical Simulations, a
Lagrangian-averaged model, and Large-Eddy Simulations (LES). The flow is
generated by the Taylor-Green forcing; it combines a well defined structure at
large scales and turbulent fluctuations at small scales. Our main findings are:
(i) dynamos are observed from down to ; (ii) the critical
magnetic Reynolds number increases sharply with as turbulence sets
in and then saturates; (iii) in the linear growth phase, the most unstable
magnetic modes move to small scales as is decreased and a Kazantsev
spectrum develops; then the dynamo grows at large scales and modifies
the turbulent velocity fluctuations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Continuity of Optimal Control Costs and its application to Weak KAM Theory
We prove continuity of certain cost functions arising from optimal control of
affine control systems. We give sharp sufficient conditions for this
continuity. As an application, we prove a version of weak KAM theorem and
consider the Aubry-Mather problems corresponding to these systems.Comment: 23 pages, 1 figures, added explanations in the proofs of the main
theorem and the exampl
Asymptotic defectiveness of manufacturing plants: an estimate based on process learning curves
The paper describes a method for a preliminary estimation of asymptotic defectiveness of a manufacturing plant based on the prediction of its learning curve estimated during a p-chart setting up. The proposed approach provides process managers with the possibility of estimating the asymptotic variability of the process and the period of revision of p-chart control limits. An application of the method is also provided
The oxygen isotope effect in the ab-plane reflectance of underdoped YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-delta}
We have measured the effect of oxygen isotope substitution on the ab-plane
reflectance of underdoped YBCO. The frequency shift of the transverse optic
phonons due to the substitution of O-16 by O-18 yields an isotope effect of the
expected magnitude for copper-oxygen stretching modes with alpha=0.5 +- 0.1.
The reflectance shoulder at 400 - 500 cm^-1 shows a much smaller exponent of
alpha=0.1 +- 0.1 in the normal state and alpha=0.23+- 0.1 in the
superconducting state. These observations suggest that the shoulder is of
electronic origin and not due to a phonon mode as has been suggested recently.Comment: 4 pages 2 figure
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