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Full-Text Articles in Electrical and Electronics
Extrinsic And Intrinsic Control Of Integrative Processes In Neural Systems, Anirban Nandi
Extrinsic And Intrinsic Control Of Integrative Processes In Neural Systems, Anirban Nandi
McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations
At the simplest dynamical level, neurons can be understood as integrators. That is, neurons accumulate excitation from afferent neurons until, eventually, a threshold is reached and they produce a spike. Here, we consider the control of integrative processes in neural circuits in two contexts. First, we consider the problem of extrinsic neurocontrol, or modulating the spiking activity of neural circuits using stimulation, as is desired in a wide range of neural engineering applications. From a control-theoretic standpoint, such a problem presents several interesting nuances, including discontinuity in the dynamics due to the spiking process, and the technological limitations associated with …
Numerical Methods For Nonlinear Optimal Control Problems And Their Applications In Indoor Climate Control, Runxin He
McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations
Efficiency, comfort, and convenience are three major aspects in the design of control systems for residential Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) units. In this dissertation, we study optimization-based algorithms for HVAC control that minimizes energy consumption while maintaining a desired temperature, or even human comfort in a room. Our algorithm uses a Computer Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model, mathematically formulated using Partial Differential Equations (PDEs), to describe the interactions between temperature, pressure, and air flow. Our model allows us to naturally formulate problems such as controlling the temperature of a small region of interest within a room, or to control …