4 research outputs found
A control system design technique for nonlinear discrete time systems
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution February 1988A new control methodology is proposed for use with a class of nonlinear, single-input
discrete time systems. The technique is based on a discrete time approach that parallels
existing continuous time sliding surface concepts. Modifications to the basic algorithm
allow for system models with time-variant or uncertain parameters, time delays in
the control input, and external disturbances. A major feature of the method is its
straightforward extension to an adaptive control form which can be used to improve
performance and maintain stability in the presence of large parametric uncertainty
or time-variant behavior. Techniques are proposed for overcoming instabilities that
frequently arise when using adaptive control schemes based on reduced order system
models or in the presence of disturbances.
A framework is provided for the practical application of the methodology to continuous
time systems. The discrete time nature of the development makes it especially
well suited to applications where sensor data is infrequently available or computational
power is limited. An experimental study is performed using an underwater remotely
operated vehicle to verify the validity of the approach. The ability of the method to
use a nonlinear model and adapt to large parametric uncertainty is shown to result in
improved performance over the use of a linear or time-invariant model.Finally, the United States Navy and the National Science Foundation are gratefully
acknowledged for their financial support of my graduate education. This research was
also sponsored in part by ONR Contract N00014-36-C-0038, ONR Grant N00014-87-
J-1111 (formerly N00014-87-G-0111), NSF Grant 8611640-ECS, and NRL Contract
N00014-88-K-2022
The correlation of acoustic emission with fracture mechanics parameters in structural steels
Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1981.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING.Includes bibliographical references.by David Matthew DeLonga; Ensign, USN.M.S