Recently, dynamic models of marine ships are often required to design advanced control systems. In practice, the dynamics of marine ships are highly nonlinear and are affected by highly nonlinear, uncertain external disturbances. This results in parametric and structural uncertainties in the dynamic model, and requires the need for advanced robust control techniques. There are two fundamental control approaches to consider the uncertainty in the dynamic model: robust control and adaptive control. The robust control approach consists of designing a controller with a fixed structure that yields an acceptable performance over the full range of process variations. On the other hand, the adaptive control approach is to design a controller that can adapt itself to the process uncertainties in such a way that adequate control performance is guaranteed.
In adaptive control, one of the common assumptions is that the dynamic model is linearly parameterizable with a fixed dynamic structure. Based on this assumption, unknown or slowly varying parameters are found adaptively. However, structural uncertainty is not considered in the existing control techniques. To cope with the nonlinear and uncertain natures of the controlled ships, an adaptive neural network (NN) control technique is developed in this thesis. The developed neural network controller (NNC) is based on the adaptive neural network by adaptive interaction (ANNAI). To enhance the adaptability of the NNC, an algorithm for automatic selection of its parameters at every control cycle is introduced. The proposed ANNAI controller is then modified and applied to some ship control problems.
Firstly, an ANNAI-based heading control system for ship is proposed. The performance of the ANNAI-based heading control system in course-keeping and turning control is simulated on a mathematical ship model using computer. For comparison, a NN heading control system using conventional backpropagation (BP) training methods is also designed and simulated in similar situations. The improvements of ANNAI-based heading control system compared to the conventional BP one are discussed.
Secondly, an adaptive ANNAI-based track control system for ship is developed by upgrading the proposed ANNAI controller and combining with Line-of-Sight (LOS) guidance algorithm. The off-track distance from ship position to the intended track is included in learning process of the ANNAI controller. This modification results in an adaptive NN track control system which can adapt with the unpredictable change of external disturbances. The performance of the ANNAI-based track control system is then demonstrated by computer simulations under the influence of external disturbances.
Thirdly, another application of the ANNAI controller is presented. The ANNAI controller is modified to control ship heading and speed in low-speed maneuvering of ship. Being combined with a proposed berthing guidance algorithm, the ANNAI controller becomes an automatic berthing control system. The computer simulations using model of a container ship are carried out and shows good performance.
Lastly, a hybrid neural adaptive controller which is independent of the exact mathematical model of ship is designed for dynamic positioning (DP) control. The ANNAI controllers are used in parallel with a conventional proportional-derivative (PD) controller to adaptively compensate for the environmental effects and minimize positioning as well as tracking error. The control law is simulated on a multi-purpose supply ship. The results are found to be encouraging and show the potential advantages of the neural-control scheme.1. Introduction = 1
1.1 Background and Motivations = 1
1.1.1 The History of Automatic Ship Control = 1
1.1.2 The Intelligent Control Systems = 2
1.2 Objectives and Summaries = 6
1.3 Original Distributions and Major Achievements = 7
1.4 Thesis Organization = 8
2. Adaptive Neural Network by Adaptive Interaction = 9
2.1 Introduction = 9
2.2 Adaptive Neural Network by Adaptive Interaction = 11
2.2.1 Direct Neural Network Control Applications = 11
2.2.2 Description of the ANNAI Controller = 13
2.3 Training Method of the ANNAI Controller = 17
2.3.1 Intensive BP Training = 17
2.3.2 Moderate BP Training = 17
2.3.3 Training Method of the ANNAI Controller = 18
3. ANNAI-based Heading Control System = 21
3.1 Introduction = 21
3.2 Heading Control System = 22
3.3 Simulation Results = 26
3.3.1 Fixed Values of n and = 28
3.3.2 With adaptation of n and r = 33
3.4 Conclusion = 39
4. ANNAI-based Track Control System = 41
4.1 Introduction = 41
4.2 Track Control System = 42
4.3 Simulation Results = 48
4.3.1 Modules for Guidance using MATLAB = 48
4.3.2 M-Maps Toolbox for MATLAB = 49
4.3.3 Ship Model = 50
4.3.4 External Disturbances and Noise = 50
4.3.5 Simulation Results = 51
4.4 Conclusion = 55
5. ANNAI-based Berthing Control System = 57
5.1 Introduction = 57
5.2 Berthing Control System = 58
5.2.1 Control of Ship Heading = 59
5.2.2 Control of Ship Speed = 61
5.2.3 Berthing Guidance Algorithm = 63
5.3 Simulation Results = 66
5.3.1 Simulation Setup = 66
5.3.2 Simulation Results and Discussions = 67
5.4 Conclusion = 79
6. ANNAI-based Dynamic Positioning System = 80
6.1 Introduction = 80
6.2 Dynamic Positioning System = 81
6.2.1 Station-keeping Control = 82
6.2.2 Low-speed Maneuvering Control = 86
6.3 Simulation Results = 88
6.3.1 Station-keeping = 89
6.3.2 Low-speed Maneuvering = 92
6.4 Conclusion = 98
7. Conclusions and Recommendations = 100
7.1 Conclusion = 100
7.1.1 ANNAI Controller = 100
7.1.2 Heading Control System = 101
7.1.3 Track Control System = 101
7.1.4 Berthing Control System = 102
7.1.5 Dynamic Positioning System = 102
7.2 Recommendations for Future Research = 103
References = 104
Appendixes A = 112
Appendixes B = 11
