RISE-Based Integrated Motion Control of Autonomous Ground Vehicles With Asymptotic Prescribed Performance

This article investigates the integrated lane-keeping and roll control for autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs) considering the transient performance and system disturbances. The robust integral of the sign of error (RISE) control strategy is proposed to achieve the lane-keeping control purpose with rollover prevention, by guaranteeing the asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system, attenuating systematic disturbances, and maintaining the controlled states within the prescribed performance boundaries. Three contributions have been made in this article: 1) a new prescribed performance function (PPF) that does not require accurate initial errors is proposed to guarantee the tracking errors restricted within the predefined asymptotic boundaries; 2) a modified neural network (NN) estimator which requires fewer adaptively updated parameters is proposed to approximate the unknown vertical dynamics; and 3) the improved RISE control based on PPF is proposed to achieve the integrated control objective, which analytically guarantees both the controller continuity and closed-loop system asymptotic stability by integrating the signum error function. The overall system stability is proved with the Lyapunov function. The controller effectiveness and robustness are finally verified by comparative simulations using two representative driving maneuvers, based on the high-fidelity CarSim-Simulink simulation

Oxidation behavior of two-phase (γ’+β) Ni-Al coatings doped with Dy and Hf

Dy/Hf co-doped two-phase (γ’+β) Ni-Al coatings were prepared by electron beam physical vapour deposition (EB-PVD). Cyclic oxidation behaviour of the coatings were investigated at 1100℃. The addition of 0.1at% Dy or 0.05at% Dy +0.3at% Hf to two-phase (γ’+β) Ni-Al coating significantly improved cyclic oxidation resistance, while addition of 0.5at% Hf to (γ’+β) Ni-Al coating no obvious effect on scale adhesion. The 0.1at% Dy doped and 0.05at% Dy +0.3at% Hf co-doped two-phase (γ’+β) Ni-Al coatings yielded mass gain of 1.24 mg/cm2 and 1.04 mg/cm2 after 100h cyclic oxidation. The Dy/Hf co-doped coating showed even further lower oxidation rate as compared to the corresponding Dy doped. In order to sufficiently exert reactive element effect (REE), extremely low solubility of the reactive element in each phase of the coatings should be guaranteed

Optimism Based Exploration in Large-Scale Recommender Systems

Bandit learning algorithms have been an increasingly popular design choice for recommender systems. Despite the strong interest in bandit learning from the community, there remains multiple bottlenecks that prevent many bandit learning approaches from productionalization. Two of the most important bottlenecks are scaling to multi-task and A/B testing. Classic bandit algorithms, especially those leveraging contextual information, often requires reward for uncertainty estimation, which hinders their adoptions in multi-task recommender systems. Moreover, different from supervised learning algorithms, bandit learning algorithms emphasize greatly on the data collection process through their explorative nature. Such explorative behavior induces unfair evaluation for bandit learning agents in a classic A/B test setting. In this work, we present a novel design of production bandit learning life-cycle for recommender systems, along with a novel set of metrics to measure their efficiency in user exploration. We show through large-scale production recommender system experiments and in-depth analysis that our bandit agent design improves personalization for the production recommender system and our experiment design fairly evaluates the performance of bandit learning algorithms

Influence of Gd2O3 and Yb2O3 Co-doping on Phase Stability, Thermo-physical Properties and Sintering of 8YSZ

AbstractThe role of multicomponent rare earth oxides in phase stability, thermo-physical properties and sintering for ZrO2-based thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) materials is investigated. 8YSZ co-doped with 3 mol(Gd2O3 and 3 mol% Yb2O3 (GYb-YSZ) powders are synthesized by solid state reaction for 24 h at various temperatures. As temperature increases, stabilizers are dissolved into zirconia matrix gradually. Synthesized at 1 500 °C, GYb-YSZ is basically composed of cubic phase. GYb-YSZ exhibits excellent phase stability and sinters lower than 8YSZ by nearly three times. The thermal conductivity of GYb-YSZ is much lower than that of 8YSZ, and the thermal expansion coefficient of GYb-YSZ is comparable to that of 8YSZ. The influence of Gd2O3 and Yb2O3 co-doping on phase stability, thermal conductivity and sintering of 8YSZ is discussed

CMAS-resistance of a yttria graded thermal barrier coating fabricated by plasma activated EB-PVD

EB-PVD yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are susceptible to calcia-magnesia-aluminum-silicate (CMAS) corrosion. The service lifetime of typical 8YSZ TBCs can be significantly reduced by CMAS attack. Currently, composition and microstructure modifications are the most commonly used methods for CMAS infiltration resistance. It has been reported by previous researchers that reactive elements, including Y, Gd, La, and etc., doped in TBCs can promote the formation of a dense protective layer by a sacrificing reaction with CMAS. It is therefore that the CMAS infiltration can be retarded. Besides, tailored columnar grains of TBCs are are also proved to be effective for CMAS mitigation. In this work, TBCs specimens with graded microstructure were fabricated by EB-PVD. The upper region of the TBC was doped with a higher Y2O3 content up to 25 wt.%, compared with the conventional 8YSZ composition. Besides, plasma activation was also introduced in the EB-PVD process to yield a tailored coating morphology and prosity. The coating specimens were tested at 1250 oC for evaluating CMAS resistance. Conventional YSZ coatings and graded coatings without plasma activation were also investigated for comparison

The role of reactive elements in improving the cyclic oxidation performance of Β- NiAl coatings

the bond coat in thermal barrier coating (TBC) system. However, the oxide scale grown on NiAl spalls readily during high-temperature cyclic oxidation. Reactive elements (REs) as well as their oxides dispersions were investigated to improve the cyclic oxidation performance. In this work, the effects of several REs on the adherence of Al2O3/NiAl interface were investigated by first principles theory calculations and experiments. We find that the solubility of the REs in NiAl alloy arrive at an order of Hf \u3eZr\u3eDy\u3eY\u3eLa, all the REs exhibit an affinity for sulfur, with an order of La\u3eDy\u3eY\u3eZr\u3eHf, and direct effects of the REs on the Al2O3/NiAl interface exhibit an order of Hf\u3eY\u3eHf\u3eZr\u3eclean interface\u3eLa. Combined with experimental results, we provide some suggestions on how to choose an appropriate RE. Co-doping of appropriate REs exhibits promising potential in improving the oxide scale adherence but also in reducing the growth rate of the oxides formed on the NiAl alloy or coating as compared to the single RE doping

Microstructure evolution and elemental diffusion behavior near the interface of Cr2AlC and single crystal superalloy DD5 at elevated temperatures

As one of the promising MAX phase materials for high-temperature applications, Cr2AlC is considered as a potential substitution bond coat material in thermal barrier coating systems. In this paper, the microstructure evolution and elemental diffusion behavior near the interface of the diffusion couple composed of Cr2AlC and single crystal superalloy DD5 were investigated at 1100 °C, 1150 °C, and 1200 °C. Elemental interdiffusion between Cr2AlC and DD5 occurs significantly, resulting in the formation of a thick layer of Kirkendall holes after 20 h heat treatment at 1100 °C and higher temperatures. The outward diffusion of Ni into Cr2AlC and the inward diffusion of Al into DD5 alloy causes the formation of β-NiAl matrix embedded with dispersed Cr7C3 phase. Simultaneously, the precipitation of σ-TCP phase and degradation of the γ/γ′ matrix occurs in the alloy. Additionally, TaC, M2C (where M = Ta, W, Cr), and M23C6 (M = Cr, Re, W) compounds are formed near the interface along with the dissolution of σ-TCP phases. It is further found that Al in Cr2AlC exhibits the highest average effective diffusion coefficient among the four dominant diffusing elements. It also displays the lowest diffusion activation energy which is due to its relatively weak Cr-Al and Al-Al bonds

Electron-electron interaction effects on optical excitations in semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes

We report correlated-electron calculations of optically excited states in ten semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes with a wide range of diameters. Optical excitation occurs to excitons whose binding energies decrease with the increasing nanotube diameter, and are smaller than the binding energy of an isolated strand of poly-(paraphenylene vinylene). The ratio of the energy of the second optical exciton polarized along the nanotube axis to that of the lowest exciton is smaller than the value predicted within single-particle theory. The experimentally observed weak photoluminescence is an intrinsic feature of semiconducting nanotubes, and is consequence of dipole-forbidden excitons occurring below the optical exciton.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, To appear in PR

Gradient damage spreading of molten volcanic ash on thermal barrier coatings

Aviation safety and aero engine life are always threatened by dust or ash suspending in the air route which derive from inevitable natural phenomena (volcanic eruption and sand storm) and human productive activity (run way debris, industrial fumes, and coal ash emission). Those floating silicate ash with the low melt temperature (lower than 1100 ºC) will be easily ingested into jet engine and quickly melted due to the fact that the turbine inlet temperature of the current advanced jet engine at cruising altitude (1200-1450 ºC) far exceed the melting point of those silicate ash. Subsequently, these molten ash are deposited on the surface of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). TBCs is a refractory ceramic layer deposited on the surface of super alloy and can protect these metal at the hot parts (such as combustion chamber, blade and nozzle) from high temperature. However, these silicate deposits will lead to serious spallation and even failure of TBCs. Once the TBCs exfoliate under stress or chemical corrosion because of ash deposition, the engine may stop running during the flight and cause air disaster. Therefore, silicate ash deposition undoubtedly pose a huge obstacle in the development of jet engine. Here, to comprehensively understand the effect of silicate deposits on TBCs, we investigated the subsurface-transverse spreading ring of re-melted volcanic ash (obtained from Tungurahua Volcano, Ecuador, 2014) with various droplet size on the APS TBCs and EB-PVD TBCs respectively at the temperature from 1200 ºC to 1600 ºC over a wide range of duration (Figs. 1a and b). Our results demonstrate that the gradient change of concentration of volcanic ash melt onto TBCs directly leads to the formation of spreading ring in the subsurface-transverse of molten volcanic ash located in the edge of main spreading area (Fig. 1c). These observations imply that the interaction process of molten silicate ash with TBCs is driven not only by vertical infiltration due to gravitation but also by horizontal spreading owing to capillary force. Notably, the infiltration depth of the ring area was deeper than that of the main liquid area, which closely resembles previously observed in ceramic plate (Figs. 1d and e). Overall, we summaries the influence of temperature, holding time and size of droplet on spreading radius and conclude the mechanism of vertical infiltration. Those work is the first step to improving the TBCs and serve as the basic of developing the new generation of aeroengines. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract