Engineering Commons^™

Design, Control And Protection Of Modular Multilevel Converter (Mmc)-Based Multi-Terminal Hvdc System, Yalong Li

Doctoral Dissertations

Even though today’s transmission grids are predominantly based on the high voltage alternating current (HVAC) scheme, interests on high voltage direct current (HVDC) are growing rapidly during the past decade, due to the increased penetration of remote renewable energy. Voltage source converter (VSC) type is preferred over the traditional line-commutated converter (LCC) for this application, due to the advantages like smaller station footprint and no need for strong interfacing ac grid. As the state-of-the-art VSC topology, modular multilevel converter (MMC) is mostly considered. Most renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, is usually sparsely located. Multi-terminal HVDC (MTDC) provides …

Human-Like Rewards To Train A Reinforcement Learning Controller For Planar Arm Movement, Kathleen M. Jagodnik, Philip S. Thomas, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert, Michael S. Branicky, Robert F. Kirsch

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

High-level spinal cord injury (SCI) in humans causes paralysis below the neck. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) technology applies electrical current to nerves and muscles to restore movement, and controllers for upper extremity FES neuroprostheses calculate stimulation patterns to produce desired arm movement. However, currently available FES controllers have yet to restore natural movements. Reinforcement learning (RL) is a reward-driven control technique; it can employ user-generated rewards, and human preferences can be used in training. To test this concept with FES, we conducted simulation experiments using computer-generated ``pseudohuman{''} rewards. Rewards with varying properties were used with an actor-critic RL controller for …

Data Driven Low-Bandwidth Intelligent Control Of A Jet Engine Combustor, Nathan L. Toner

Open Access Dissertations

This thesis introduces a low-bandwidth control architecture for navigating the input space of an un-modeled combustor system between desired operating conditions while avoiding regions of instability and blow-out. An experimental procedure is discussed for identifying regions of instability and gathering sufficient data to build a data-driven model of the system's operating modes. Regions of instability and blow-out are identified experimentally and a data-driven operating point classifier is designed. This classifier acts as a map of the operating space of the combustor, indicating regions in which the flame is in a "good" or "bad" operating mode. A data-driven predictor is also …

Flight Control And Hardware Design Of Multi-Rotor Systems, Nathan M. Zimmerman

Master's Theses (2009 -)

This thesis overviews crucial concepts involved in achieving quadcopter flight such as orientation estimation and control system implementation. This thesis also presents researchers with comprehensive hardware and software specifications for a quadcopter system. The primary application for this system would be for research with regards to the implementation of advance control techniques as well as data acquisition. Key constructs of this system include hardware software specifications for a flight controller, the radio system, and the sensorless brushless motor controllers. Firstly, the thesis starts by developing a reference frame and a mathematical model for the quadcotper system. Next, flight orientation estimation …

Automatic Water Pump Controller, Alam D. Salguero, Kyle Russell Marquez Weeks

Electrical Engineering

In countries including Indonesia, Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador, a city water authority supplies the clean water and pumps it into large ground-level storage tanks. A resident’s water pump then pumps the water to a water tank on top of his/her house. When the water level in the ground-level storage tank becomes too low, the pump siphons air and shuts down, requiring a resident to manually prime the water pump to get it running again. Residents struggle to monitor the water level of the tanks effectively and keep the pump running properly. To remedy the issue, the Automatic Water Pump …

A Holistic Approach To Facility Protection From Adventitious Agents – A Case Study, Matthew Osborne, Ronan Kelly, Ann Maria Mccrohan, Marie Murphy

Cell Culture Engineering XV

The Eli Lilly biologics manufacturing facility in Kinsale, Ireland has been operational since 2010 with a 100% cell culture contamination control success rate. The presentation will review the holistic approach to facility protection from adventitious agents that underpins this success including:

• The risk assessment approach to points of entry and management via detectability and control measures
• The approach to personnel training that considers human factors, increased vigilance and event simulations following strategies that are used in chemical synthesis process safety

The presentation will then focus on control of adventitious virus. The talk will briefly comment on the early warning measures …

Intentio Ex Machina: Android Intent Access Control Via An Extensible Application Hook, Carter Yagemann

Dissertations - ALL

Android's intent framework facilitates binder based interprocess communication (IPC) and encourages application developers to utilize IPC in their applications with a frequency unseen in traditional desktop environments. The increased volume of IPC present in Android devices, coupled with intent's ability to implicitly find valid receivers for IPC, bring about new security challenges to the computing security landscape.

This work proposes Intentio Ex Machina (IEM), an access control solution for Android intent IPC security. IEM separates the logic for performing access control from where the intents are intercepted by placing an interface in the Android framework. This allows the access control …

Ground Vehicle Platooning Control And Sensing In An Adversarial Environment, Samuel A. Mitchell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the past few years, automated cars have ceased to be part of science fiction, and have instead become a technology that has been implemented, with partially automated systems currently available to customers.

One benefit of automated vehicle technology is the consistent driving patterns due to automation, instead of the inconsistency of distractible humans. Passengers of automated vehicles will be exposed to much less danger than the passengers of human-driven vehicles.

These statements will only be true as automated vehicle systems are scrutinized by experts to find flaws in the system. Security enthusiasts have already hijacked control of an automated …

Modified Trajectory Shaping Guidance For Autonomous Path Following Control Of Platooning Ground Vehicles, Ishmaal T. Erekson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis proposes a modification of trajectory shaping guidance to provide more accurate path convergence in curved paths. The object of this thesis is to apply this simple guidance law to platooning control to ensure all vehicles in the platoon converge to a desired constant radius path at a desired vehicle separation distance. To show the viability of this new guidance law, it is shown mathematically to be exponentially stable. It is also confirmed through simulations and on ground robots.

Anti-Windup Schemes For Nonlinear Active Disturbance Rejection Control In Marine Steam Turbine, Yuan-Qing Wang, Guang Ren, Jun-Dong Zhang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

Nonlinear characteristics are very common in marine steam turbine, such as control input constraints and external disturbances. Based on the active disturbance rejection control (ADRC), an anti-windup scheme is proposed to eliminate the undesired effects of nonlinear characteristics in the control system. In this scheme, firstly, a method of setting parameter is designed for nonlinear active disturbance rejection control (NLADRC). Then, two kinds of anti-windup schemes are proposed in this paper for NLADRC in the presence of control input constraints and external disturbances. Finally, simulation study is carried out for a first order delay object with actuator constraints, simulation results …

Automatización De Una Máquina De Recubrimiento Electrolítico, Mario Alejandro Chaparro Vargas, Román Steven Espinel Vargas

Ingeniería en Automatización

La presente investigación se basó en el estudio y desarrollo del proceso de automatización industrial para la planta de recubrimiento electrolítico de bandejas porta-cable de la empresa Galvano MIJ. Específicamente se desarrolló la automatización de la máquina manual de recubrimiento con baño de zinc, dando inicio a las actividades con la selección de elementos hardware, seguidamente del diseño del modelo para el control del movimiento, diseño del sistema de comunicación, diseño del sistema de apertura y cierre de compuertas en la etapa de secado y finalmente se validó la automatización a través de una serie de pruebas utilizando la máquina …

Solar Photovoltaic System Control Topology Investigation For Power Source Mismatch, Lynette O'Callaghan

Conference papers

An investigation into solar photovoltaic (PV) system control topology selection, when partial shade is anticipated in the solar array, is presented. As available area is maximised in Building Integrated PV (BIPV) systems, shading is an inevitable consequence. The presence of partial shading in a PV array leads to multiple power peaks in the power-voltage curve, due to bypass diode sections being triggered, and an increase in module mismatch losses in the array. A building energy design software, Integrated Environmental Solutions, is used to determine the shadowed area on PV modules throughout the year, incorporating the PV system location and geometrical …

A Distributed User-Centered Approach For Control In Ambient Robotic, Nicolas R. Verstaevel, Christine Regis, Marie-Pierre Gleizes, Fabrice Robert

SMART Infrastructure Facility - Papers

Designing a controller to supervise an ambient application is a complex task. Any change in the system composition or end-users needs involves re-performing the whole design process. Giving to each device the ability to self-adapt to both end-users and system dynamic is then an interesting challenge. This article contributes to this challenge by proposing an approach named Extreme Sensitive Robotic where the design is not guided by finality but by the functionalities provided. One functionality is then seen as an autonomous system, which can self-adapt to what it perceives from its environment (including human activity). We present ALEX, the first …

Fault-Tolerant Control Of Electric Vehicles With In-Wheel Motors Using Actuator-Grouping Sliding Mode Controllers, Boyuan Li, Haiping Du, Weihua Li

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Although electric vehicles with in-wheel motors have been regarded as one of the promising vehicle architectures in recent years, the probability of in-wheel motor fault is still a crucial issue due to the system complexity and large number of control actuators. In this study, a modified sliding mode control (SMC) is applied to achieve fault-tolerant control of electric vehicles with four-wheel-independent-steering (4WIS) and four-wheel-independent-driving (4WID). Unlike in traditional SMC, in this approach the steering geometry is re-arranged according to the location of faulty wheels in the modified SMC. Three SMC control laws for longitudinal velocity control, lateral velocity control and …

Online Coordinated Voltage Control In Distribution Systems Subjected To Structural Changes And Dg Availability, Dothinka Ranamuka Rallage, Ashish P. Agalgaonkar, Kashem M. Muttaqi

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The responses of multiple DG units and voltage regulating devices such as tap changers and capacitor banks for correcting the voltage may lead to operational conflicts and oscillatory transients, where distribution systems are subjected to network reconfiguration and changes in availability of the DG units. Therefore, coordinated voltage control is required to minimize control interactions while accounting for the impact of structural changes associated with the network. This paper proposes a strategy for coordinating the operation of multiple voltage regulating devices and DG units in medium voltage (MV) distribution systems, under structural changes and DG availability, for effective voltage control. …

State Of The Art Of Control Schemes For Smart Systems Featuring Magneto-Rheological Materials, Seung-Bok Choi, Weihua Li, Miao Yu, Haiping Du, Jie Fu, Phu Xuan Do

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This review presents various control strategies for application systems utilizing smart magneto-rheological fluid (MRF) and magneto-rheological elastomers (MRE). It is well known that both MRF and MRE are actively studied and applied to many practical systems such as vehicle dampers. The mandatory requirements for successful applications of MRF and MRE include several factors: advanced material properties, optimal mechanisms, suitable modeling, and appropriate control schemes. Among these requirements, the use of an appropriate control scheme is a crucial factor since it is the final action stage of the application systems to achieve the desired output responses. There are numerous different control …

Stability Control Of Force-Reflected Nonlinear Multilateral Teleoperation System Under Time-Varying Delays, Da Sun, Fazel Naghdy, Haiping Du

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

A novel control algorithm based on the modified wave-variable controllers is proposed to achieve accurate position synchronization and reasonable force tracking of the nonlinear single-master-multiple-slave teleoperation system and simultaneously guarantee overall system's stability in the presence of large time-varying delays. The system stability in different scenarios of human and environment situations has been analyzed. The proposed method is validated through experimental work based on the 3-DOF trilateral teleoperation system consisting of three different manipulators. The experimental results clearly demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed algorithm to achieve high transparency and robust stability in nonlinear single-master-multiple-slave teleoperation system in the presence …

Development Of Intermediate Cooling Technology And Its Control For Two-Stand Plate Rolling, Fei Zhang, Wei Yu, Tao Liu

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

In a plate rolling production line, thermomechanically controlled processing is critical for plate quality. In this paper, a set of intermediate cooling equipment of a two-stand plate mill with super density nozzles, medium pressure, and small flow is developed. Based on a simplified dynamic model, a cooling control scheme with combined feedforward, feedback, and adaptive algorithms is put forward. The new controlled rolling process and the highly efficient control system improve the controlled rolling efficiency by an average of 17.66%. The proposed intermediate cooling system can also effectively inhibit the growth of austenite grain, improve the impact toughness and yield …

Evaluation Methodology And Implementation For Natural Ventilation Control Strategies, Massimo Fiorentini, Georgios Kokogiannakis, Warwick Jackson, Zhenjun Ma, Paul Cooper

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper describes a methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of various control strategies for the operation of window actuators to control the indoor climate, and their implementation in a full scale case study building. In this study, the effectiveness of a control strategy is considered in terms of the capability of the controller for maintaining the indoor thermal comfort in a prescribed variable range, and its effect on the minimisation of the operational energy consumption of the building, due to a lower thermal energy demand to be met by the heating and cooling system. A model of the case study …

Three-Level Hysteresis Current Control Strategy For Three-Phase Four-Switch Shunt Active Filters, Samet Biricik, Hasan Komurcugil

Articles

In this study, a three-level hysteresis current-control (HCC) strategy is proposed for three-phase four-switch shunt active power filters. The four-switch topology which utilises four switching devices together with two series connected capacitors is able to reduce the cost, switching losses and improve the reliability of system. In this topology, when the current control of phases A and B is achieved successfully, the current control of phase C which is connected to the midpoint of the series connected capacitors is achieved automatically. The current control is achieved by using a three-level HCC strategy. An important consequence of using this control strategy …

Investigations Into The Identification And Control Of Outburst In Australian Underground Coal Mines, Dennis J. Black

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Australian coal mines currently use gas content to assess outburst risk. The gas content threshold values for each mine are indirectly determined from measurement of gas volume liberated from 150 g coal samples during Q3 residual gas content testing. It has been more than twenty (20) years since this method, known as DRI900, was presented to the Australian coal industry, and in that time there have been significant changes in mining conditions and the outburst threshold limits used at the benchmark Bulli seam mines.Current coal mining legislation in both Queensland [7] and New South Wales [6] provide little guidance in …

A Novel Fuzzy Sliding-Mode Control For Discrete-Time Uncertain System, T H. Yan, B Wu, B He, Weihua Li, R B. Wang

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

This paper considers the sliding-mode control problem for discrete-time uncertain systems. It begins by presenting a discrete variable speed reaching law and a discrete-time sliding-mode controller (DSMC) designed using the proposed reaching law, followed by an analysis of their stability and dynamic performance. A sliding-mode controller with simple fuzzy logic is then proposed to further strengthen the dynamic performance of the proposed sliding-mode controller. Finally, the presented DSMC and the DSMC with fuzzy control for adjusting the parameters in this paper are compared with one of the previous proposed classic DSMC systems. The results of this simulation show that the …

Design And Evaluation Of The Impact Of A Multi-Agent Control System (Framework) Applied To A Social Setting, Perez Antonio Perez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this research is to design and analyze the performance of a new mechanism to improve the advising of students in a nontraditional environment. This nontraditional environment includes: a minority serving, commuter campus with a high percentage of transfer students. Specifically, these demographics are unable to keep a tightly controlled cohort of students flowing through to the completion of the curriculum. Students in these circumstances usually have varied course loads and competing priorities due to family and financial needs or other societal responsibilities. Therefore, there is a need for an individualized approach to advising.

University administrations face challenges …

Titan Wireless Camera Control System, Matthew J. Trowbridge, Ian Drake, Samuel Davis, Ognjen Krco

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Titan Camera Control System is an eletromechanical device that allows the user to wirelessly control a camera’s digital operations as well as physical orientation through the use of a mobile device application. The Titan system accepts input in the form of virtual user commands on the mobile app and performs system output in the form of sending photos/video from the camera back to the app as well as changing the orientation of the camera in accordance with the user’s commands.

Modeling And Control Of Fuel Cell-Battery Hybrid Energy Sources, Nima Lotfi

Doctoral Dissertations

"Environmental, political, and availability concerns regarding fossil fuels in recent decades have garnered substantial research and development in the area of alternative energy systems. Among various alternative energy systems, fuel cells and batteries have attracted significant attention both in academia and industry considering their superior performances and numerous advantages. In this dissertation, the modeling and control of these two electrochemical sources as the main constituents of fuel cell-battery hybrid energy sources are studied with ultimate goals of improving their performance, reducing their development and operational costs and consequently, easing their widespread commercialization. More specifically, Paper I provides a comprehensive background …

Motion Planning And Control Of Differential Drive Robot, Kaamesh Kothandaraman

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Motion planning and control of a differential drive robot in a supervised environment is presented in this thesis. Differential drive robot is a mobile robot with two driving wheels in which the overall velocity is split between left and right wheels. Kinematic equations are derived and implemented in Simulink to observe the theoretical working principle of the robot. A proportional controller is designed to control the motion of the robot, which is later implemented on a physical robot. Combination of linear velocity and orientation generates individual wheel velocities which are sent to the robot by wireless communication for its motion. …

Fuzzy Control Of A Hyperloop Mass Transit System, Joseph D. Plantz

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Fuzzy logic control of a Hyperloop is carried out in this thesis. Hyperloop is being described hypothetically as a fifth mode of mass transportation and is a registered trademark of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX). To inspire others to help in its development and make it a reality, the Hyperloop is being explored as open-source technology by SpaceX. In this thesis a near friction-less track is constructed and is fixed inside a tunnel. External fans are used to produce air pressure inside the tunnel to propel the vehicle down the track. Fuzzy Logic Control is used to stop the vehicle …

A Closed Loop Research Platform That Enables Dynamic Control Of Wing Gait Patterns In A Vertically Constrained Flapping Wing - Micro Air Vehicle, Hermanus Van Botha

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Research in Flapping Wing - Micro Air Vehicles(FW-MAVs) has been growing in recent years. Work ranging from mechanical designs to adaptive control algorithms are being developed in pursuit of mimicking natural flight. FW-MAV technology can be applied in a variety of use cases such a military application and surveillance, studying natural ecological systems, and hobbyist commercialization. Recent work has produced small scale FW-MAVs that are capable of hovering and maneuvering. Researchers control maneuvering in various ways, some of which involve making small adjustments to the core wing motion patterns (wing gaits) which determine how the wings flap. Adaptive control algorithms …

Distributed Optimization And Control Of Islanded Microgrids, Md Rishad Hossain

Theses and Dissertations

A microgrid may have numerous multi-functional power electronic converters connecting sources, loads, and storage to the system. Systems where converters are the interface between many of the main sources of energy and load centers have the ability to direct the flow of energy if the control of the converters is coordinated. The influence of energy flow in a microgrid by coordinated action of converters is referred to here as ‘energy routing’. Energy routing allows for reduction of systems losses by optimizing source operating points and reducing transmission and distribution path losses. Energy ramp rates at various points in the system …

Applications Of Impedance Identification To Electric Ship System Control And Power Hardware-In-The-Loop Simulation, Jonathan Siegers

Theses and Dissertations

Recent advances in semiconductor technology, controls, and switching converter topologies have resulted in the increasing application of power electronics in power distribution systems. Power electronic enabled distribution systems have inspired a renewed interest in DC distribution architectures as an appealing alternative to traditional AC methods due to the significant performance and efficiency gains they offer. However, the notional power electronic based DC distribution system is a complex and extensively interconnected system consisting of multiple power converters. As a result, a number of system-level challenges related to stability arise due to interaction among multiple power converters. In addition, the power distribution …