Wave-based control of under-actuated flexible structures with strong external disturbing forces

Wave-based control of under-actuated, flexible systems has many advantages over other methods. It considers actuator motion as launching a mechanical wave into the flexible system which it absorbs on its return to the actuator. The launching and absorbing proceed simultaneously. This simple, intuitive idea leads to robust, generic, highly efficient, precise, adaptable controllers, allowing rapid and almost vibrationless re-positioning of the system, using only sensors collocated at the actuator-system interface. It has been very successfully applied to simple systems such as mass-spring strings, systems of Euler-Bernoulli beams, planar mass-spring arrays, and flexible three-dimensional space structures undergoing slewing motion. In common with most other approaches, this work also assumed that, during a change of position, the forces from the environment were negligible in comparison with internal forces and torques. This assumption is not always valid. Strong external forces considerably complicate the flexible control problem, especially when unknown, unexpected or unmodelled. The current work extends the wave-based strategy to systems experiencing significant external disturbing forces, whether enduring or transient. The work also provides further robustness to sensor errors. The strategy has the controller learn about the disturbances and compensate for them, yet without needing new sensors, measurements or models beyond those of standard wave-based control

Assessment of energy storage systems as a reserve provider in stochastic network constrained unit commitment

Recently, the provision of the reserve from energy storage systems (ESSs) is introduced as a source for ancillary services to address the uncertainties of renewable power generations. The performance of ESSs is analysed while they are applied as a provider of regulation reserves. It has been revealed that previous stochastic models neglect the impact of corrective dispatches, related to the provision of regulation reserves, on the energy level stored in the ESSs, which can lead to large deviations. This study coordinates the stored energy of ESSs to be feasible regarding the dispatches in the base schedule and rescheduling within scenarios. Also, the wind speed fluctuations are considered as the source of uncertainty, and scenarios of wind energy are generated using the Weibull distribution function. The IEEE 24-Bus standard test system is applied for the examination of the proposed model. The results show that the proposed model can manage the performance of ESSs in rescheduling within scenarios, while the coordinated reserve provision of ESSs can remove the concerns about insufficient stored energy of ESSs

The Post-Pericenter Evolution of the Galactic Center Source G2

In early 2014 the fast-moving near-infrared source G2 reached its closest approach to the supermassive black hole Sgr A* in the Galactic Center. We report on the evolution of the ionized gaseous component and the dusty component of G2 immediately after this event, revealed by new observations obtained in 2015 and 2016 with the SINFONI integral field spectrograph and the NACO imager at the ESO VLT. The spatially resolved dynamics of the Br$\gamma$ line emission can be accounted for by the ballistic motion and tidal shearing of a test-particle cloud that has followed a highly eccentric Keplerian orbit around the black hole for the last 12 years. The non-detection of a drag force or any strong hydrodynamic interaction with the hot gas in the inner accretion zone limits the ambient density to less than a few 10$^3$ cm$^{-3}$ at the distance of closest approach (1500 $R_s$), assuming G2 is a spherical cloud moving through a stationary and homogeneous atmosphere. The dust continuum emission is unresolved in L'-band, but stays consistent with the location of the Br$\gamma$ emission. The total luminosity of the Br$\gamma$ and L' emission has remained constant to within the measurement uncertainty. The nature and origin of G2 are likely related to that of the precursor source G1, since their orbital evolution is similar, though not identical. Both object are also likely related to a trailing tail structure, which is continuously connected to G2 over a large range in position and radial velocity.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures; accepted for publication in Ap

Lingulodinium machaerophorum expansion over the last centuries in the Caspian Sea reflects global warming

This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Copyright @ Author(s) 2012. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.We analysed dinoflagellate cyst assemblages in four short sediment cores, two of them dated by radionuclides, taken in the south basin of the Caspian Sea. The interpretation of the four sequences is supported by a collection of 27 lagoonal or marine surface sediment samples. A sharp increase in the biomass of the dinocyst occurs after 1967, especially owing to Lingulodinium machaerophorum. Considering nine other cores covering parts or the whole of Holocene, this species started to develop in the Caspian Sea only during the last three millennia. By analysing instrumental data and collating existing reconstructions of sea level changes over the last few millennia, we show that the main forcing of the increase of L. machaerophorum percentages and of the recent dinocyst abundance is global climate change, especially sea surface temperature increase. Sea level fluctuations likely have a minor impact. We argue that the Caspian Sea has entered the Anthropocene

Evaluation of some methods in control of alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Col.: Curculionidae)

Integrated pest management as a way in reduction of pesticide application, environmental pollution and protection of natural enemies of pests, is very important. A 3-year investigation was conducted in 1999â2001 in the Grizeh Agricultural Research Station in Sanandaj to study the effect of microbial pesticides (including Novodor and Bt-Col) and traded pesticides of neem, comparing with Ekamet, using of fire (in the beginning and end of winter and early April) and grazing of farm by sheep, and reciprocal effects of these treatments on population reduction and yield increases were evaluated. The experiment was conducted in the form of factorial with completely randomized design in 4 replicates. The results indicated that grazing of farm caused significant reduction in larvae population but the wet and dry yield had no significant difference with the control. Also, differences were significant (P = 0.01) between levels of the factor B (burning treatment), and field burning in late winter was the best. Differences between the applied insecticides were significant: Novodor and Bt-Col (based on Bt), and Neem plus and Neem azal-F (based on neem) had no significant differences with the control, but Ekamet reduced the pest population and increased the yield significantly

Model for coiling and meandering instability of viscous threads

A numerical model is presented to describe both the transient and steady-state dynamics of viscous threads falling onto a plane. The steady-state coiling frequency w is calculated as a function of fall height H. In the case of weak gravity, w ~ H^{-1} and w ~ H are obtained for lower and higher fall heights respectively. When the effect of gravity is significant, the relation w ~ H^2 is observed. These results agree with the scaling laws previously predicted. The critical Reynolds number for coil-uncoil transition is discussed. When the gravity is weak, the transition occurs with hysteresis effects. If the plane moves horizontally at a constant speed, a variety of meandering oscillation modes can be observed experimentally. The present model also can describe this phenomenon. The numerically obtained state diagram for the meandering modes qualitatively agrees with the experiment.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure