Model Predictive Control Structures in Non-Minimal State Space.

This thesis is concerned with constraint handling for systems described by a Non-Minimal State Space (NMSS) form. Such NMSS models are formulated directly from the measured input and output signals of the controlled process, without resort to the design and implementation of an observer. The thesis largely focuses on the application of Model Predictive Control (MPC) methods, a very common technique for dealing with system constraints. It is motivated by earlier research into both NMSS and MPC systems, with features of both combined in this thesis to yield improved control. The main contribution lies in the development of new methods for constraint handling of NMSS/MPC systems that contrasts with the ad hoc approach previously used for NMSS design based on the Proportional-Integral-Plus (PIP) algorithm. Structural aspects of NMSS/MPC design are considered, that result from mathematical manipulation of the closed-loop block diagram or from the definition of the state space description. The properties of these structures are investigated to provide an insight on features of the proposed strategies. More specifically, a Reference Governor scheme is utilised as a supervisory controller to account for constraints. This can lead to constraint handling in cases where a controller is already available. Furthermore, the use of an internal model is considered in the case of the 'Forward Path' NMSS/MPC controller that is shown to have improved robustness properties in comparison to the conventional 'Feedback' structure. In contrast to existing internal model approaches, this technique utilises the NMSS structure of the state vector and estimates only the elements of the state vector that are related to past values of the output. In addition, an optimal tuning technique is presented for MPC controllers. This approach allows for multiple objectives to be specified, whilst satisfying any system constraints. It is also shown that a specific NMSS/MPC structure that is proposed in this thesis, namely the NMSS/MPC controller with an integral-of-error state, provides the designer with additional freedom when using this tuning method. New NMSS/MPC methods are presented for both linear and non-linear systems, with the latter case being described by State Dependent Parameter (SDP) models. The development and analysis of MPC/SDP control in this thesis represents the first constraint handling control system and associated stability results for this class of non-linear models. Simulation examples are used to illustrate the advantages and potential limitations of the various control structures in comparison to existing solutions

Chapter Automatic Identification and Interpretation of Animal Sounds, Application to Livestock Production Optimisation

Industrial chemistr

Automatic Identification and Interpretation of Animal Sounds, Application to Livestock Production Optimisation

status: publishe

Nursing Home Social Worker Preparedness for Serving BGL&T Residents

Current census data indicates that there are over 38 million Americans over the age of 65 at this time. (U.S. Census, 2010). It is estimated that as many as 3.8 million older adults in the United States identify as bisexual, gay, lesbian, or transgender. Though there is a growing body of literature on the needs and concerns of BGL&T older adults with regards to accessing health care services as they age, there is very little literature on how prepared providers feel to provide culturally competent care to BGL&T people. In an attempt to address this gap, this researcher conducted a survey with nursing home social workers in the state of Minnesota. Items on the survey addressed issues including: comfort working with bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender residents, feelings about the importance of targeted outreach, and any outreach that was being done by the facility. The data collected indicated that though nursing home social workers feel comfortable working with BGL&T residents and feel that awareness of the unique needs and concerns of BGL&T older adults is important, there is a lack of consensus on the importance of targeted services and outreach. Key findings and recommendations for future research are also discussed

Model Predictive Control Structures in the Non-Minimal State Space

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Model Predictive Control in the Non-Minimal State Space

nrpages: 197status: publishe

Multi-objective performance optimisation for model predictive control by goal attainment

This paper proposes an approach for performance tuning of Model Predictive Control (MPC) using goal-attainment optimisation of the cost function weighting matrices. The approach is developed for three formulations of the control problem: (i) minimal and (ii) non-minimal design based on the same cost function; and (iii) a non-minimal MPC approach with an explicit integral-of-error state variable and modified cost function. This approach is based on earlier research into multi-objective optimisation for Proportional-Integral-Plus (PIP) control systems. Simulation experiments for a 3-input, 3-output Shell Heavy Oil Fractionator model illustrate the feasibility of MPC goal-attainment for multivariable decoupling and attainment of a specific output response. For this example, the integral-of-error state variable offers improved design flexibility and hence, when it is combined with the proposed tuning method, yields an improved closed loop response in comparison to minimal MPC

Automated stress monitoring and suitability assessment in candidate police horses

The mounted police in Brussels, Belgium, are interested in finding an objective tool that can help them decide if a candidate horse is suitable for the mounted police. In the search for such a tool, 4 protocols were designed to evaluate the reaction of police horses to mounted police tasks. These included ridden and non-ridden situations: a ‘going to work’ test, an obstacle test, a flexibility test and a ‘coming from work’ test. For the experiments 9 horses (3 mares and 6 geldings, aged 4-15 years) were divided into 4 categories by mounted police riders, based on their experience and suitability: good beginner, bad beginner, good experienced and bad experienced. The horses were ridden by 9 riders (4 female and 5 male, aged 24-50 years) of the mounted police. All measurements were performed twice with all but one horse, making sure that no horse was ridden twice by the same rider to take into account the effect of the rider. During the measurements the heart rate and activity of the horses and riders were measured. Based on their measured activity, a modelled heart rate which captures the heart rate component that is related to activity was computed using a linear ARX model of order [2, 2, 1]. By taking the difference between this modelled heart rate and the measured heart rate which contains a mental component and an activity component, a measure for mental state was obtained in an automated way for horses and riders in the form a relative stress graph. Based on this relative stress graph, the number of times each horse exceeded the 10% relative stress level and the length of time it stayed in that stress were stored for each horse. A Tukey-Kramer test (α=0,05) showed that good beginner horses spend significantly less time in the 10% relative stress zone compared to bad beginner horses in the ‘coming from work’ test (p-value=0,0277). The correlation between the relative stress graph of the rider and the horse during the obstacle test was calculated as a measure for the interaction between horse and rider. This correlation was compared between the 4 horse categories using the Tukey-Kramer test (α=0,05). A significant difference was observed between good beginner horses that showed a higher correlation in relative stress with their rider, and bad beginner horses that showed a lower correlation (p-value=0,0040). Summarised, this study demonstrates the usability of automated mental state detection in horses and their riders for suitability assessment of candidate police horses and sets a basis for further research into this field. LP: Using the measured activity of horses and their riders, their heart rate’s activity component is calculated. Comparing this to the measured heart rate which contains an activity and a mental component, the mental component of the horse’s and rider’s heart rate is extracted. Based on the horse’s and the rider’s mental state, it is possible to assess the suitability of the horse as a mounted police horse.status: publishe