Controls and Control Theory Commons^™

Formally Designing And Implementing Cyber Security Mechanisms In Industrial Control Networks., Mehdi Sabraoui

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation describes progress in the state-of-the-art for developing and deploying formally verified cyber security devices in industrial control networks. It begins by detailing the unique struggles that are faced in industrial control networks and why concepts and technologies developed for securing traditional networks might not be appropriate. It uses these unique struggles and examples of contemporary cyber-attacks targeting control systems to argue that progress in securing control systems is best met with formal verification of systems, their specifications, and their security properties. This dissertation then presents a development process and identifies two technologies, TLA+ and seL4, that can be …

Process/Equipment Design Implications For Control System Cybersecurity, Helen Durand

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

An emerging challenge for process safety is process control system cybersecurity. An attacker could gain control of the process actuators through the control system or communication policies within control loops and potentially drive the process state to unsafe conditions. Cybersecurity has traditionally been handled as an information technology (IT) problem in the process industries. In the literature for cybersecurity specifically of control systems, there has been work aimed at developing control designs that seek to fight cyberattacks by either giving the system appropriate response mechanisms once attacks are detected or seeking to make the attacks difficult to perform. In this …

Autonomous Watercraft Simulation And Programming, Nicholas J. Savino

Student Scholar Showcase

Automation of various modes of transportation is thought to make travel more safe and efficient. Over the past several decades, advances to semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles have led to advanced autopilot systems on planes and boats, and an increasing popularity of self-driving cars. We predicted the motion of an autonomous vehicle using simulations in Python. The simulation models the motion of a small scale watercraft, which can then be built and programmed using an Arduino Microcontroller. We examined different control methods for a simulated rescue craft to reach a target. We also examined the effects of different factors, such as …

Two-On-One Pursuit With A Non-Zero Capture Radius, Patrick J. Wasz

Theses and Dissertations

In this paper, we revisit the "Two Cutters and Fugitive Ship" differential game that was addressed by Isaacs, but move away from point capture. We consider a two-on-one pursuit-evasion differential game with simple motion and pursuers endowed with circular capture sets of radius l > 0. The regions in the state space where only one pursuer effects the capture and the region in the state space where both pursuers cooperatively and isochronously capture the evader are characterized, thus solving the Game of Kind. Concerning the Game of Degree, the algorithm for the synthesis of the optimal state feedback strategies of the …

A Nonlinear Systems Framework For Cyberattack Prevention For Chemical Process Control Systems, Helen Durand

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

Recent cyberattacks against industrial control systems highlight the criticality of preventing future attacks from disrupting plants economically or, more critically, from impacting plant safety. This work develops a nonlinear systems framework for understanding cyberattack-resilience of process and control designs and indicates through an analysis of three control designs how control laws can be inspected for this property. A chemical process example illustrates that control approaches intended for cyberattack prevention which seem intuitive are not cyberattack-resilient unless they meet the requirements of a nonlinear systems description of this property.

State Measurement Spoofing Prevention Through Model Predictive Control Design, Helen Durand

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Faculty Research Publications

Security of chemical process control systems against cyberattacks is critical due to the potential for injuries and loss of life when chemical process systems fail. A potential means by which process control systems may be attacked is through the manipulation of the measurements received by the controller. One approach for addressing this is to design controllers that make manipulating the measurements received by the controller in any meaningful fashion very difficult, making the controllers a less attractive target for a cyberattack of this type. In this work, we develop a model predictive control (MPC) implementation strategy that incorporates Lyapunov-based stability …

Near-Optimal Control Of Switched Systems With Continuous-Time Dynamics Using Approximate Dynamic Programming, Tohid Sardarmehni

Mechanical Engineering Research Theses and Dissertations

Optimal control is a control method which provides inputs that minimize a performance index subject to state or input constraints [58]. The existing solutions for finding the exact optimal control solution such as Pontryagin’s minimum principle and dynamic programming suffer from curse of dimensionality in high order dynamical systems. One remedy for this problem is finding near optimal solution instead of the exact optimal solution to avoid curse of dimensionality [31]. A method for finding the approximate optimal solution is through Approximate Dynamic Programming (ADP) methods which are discussed in the subsequent chapters.

In this dissertation, optimal switching in switched …

Variable Speed Simulation For Accelerated Industrial Control System Cyber Training, Luke M. Bradford

Theses and Dissertations

It is important for industrial control system operators to receive quality training to defend against cyber attacks. Hands-on training exercises with real-world control systems allow operators to learn various defensive techniques and see the real-world impact of changes made to a control system. Cyber attacks and operator actions can have unforeseen effects that take a significant amount of time to manifest and potentially cause physical harm to the system, making high-fidelity training exercises time-consuming and costly. This thesis presents a method for accelerating training exercises by simulating and predicting the effects of a cyber event on a partially-simulated control system. …

Securing Critical Infrastructure: A Ransomware Study, Blaine M. Jeffries

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reviews traditional ransomware attack trends in order to present a taxonomy for ransomware targeting industrial control systems. After reviewing a critical infrastructure ransomware attack methodology, a corresponding response and recovery plan is described. The plan emphasizes security through redundancy, specifically the incorporation of standby programmable logic controllers. This thesis goes on to describe a set of experiments conducted to test the viability of defending against a specialized ransomware attack with a redundant controller network. Results support that specific redundancy schemes are effective in recovering from a successful attack. Further experimentation is conducted to test the feasibility of industrial …

Dynamic Output Feedback Invariants Of Full Relative Degree Nonlinear Siso Systems, W. Steven Gray, Luis A. Duffaut Espinosa

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The goal of this paper is to explicitly describe invariants of a plant described by a Chen--Fliess series under a class of dynamic output feedback laws using earlier work by the authors on feedback transformation groups. The main result requires the rather strong assumption that the plant has a generating series with both finite Lie rank and full relative degree. In which case, there is no loss of generality in working with state space realizations of the plant. An additional genericness assumption regarding the normal form of the plant is also required, but as shown by the examples, this condition …

Resource Optimization In Wireless Sensor Networks For An Improved Field Coverage And Cooperative Target Tracking, Husam Sweidan

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

There are various challenges that face a wireless sensor network (WSN) that mainly originate from the limited resources a sensor node usually has. A sensor node often relies on a battery as a power supply which, due to its limited capacity, tends to shorten the life-time of the node and the network as a whole. Other challenges arise from the limited capabilities of the sensors/actuators a node is equipped with, leading to complication like a poor coverage of the event, or limited mobility in the environment. This dissertation deals with the coverage problem as well as the limited power and …

A Framework For Categorization Of Industrial Control System Cyber Training Environments, Evan G. Plumley

Theses and Dissertations

First responders and professionals in hazardous occupations undergo training and evaluations for the purpose of mitigating risk and damage. For example, helicopter pilots train with multiple categorized simulations that increase in complexity before flying a real aircraft. However in the industrial control cyber incident response domain, where incident response professionals help detect, respond and recover from cyber incidents, no official categorization of training environments exist. To address this gap, this thesis provides a categorization of industrial control training environments based on realism. Four levels of environments are proposed and mapped to Blooms Taxonomy. This categorization will help organizations determine which …

Signal Flow Graph Approach To Efficient Dst I-Iv Algorithms, Sirani M. Perera

Publications

In this paper, fast and efficient discrete sine transformation (DST) algorithms are presented based on the factorization of sparse, scaled orthogonal, rotation, rotation-reflection, and butterfly matrices. These algorithms are completely recursive and solely based on DST I-IV. The presented algorithms have low arithmetic cost compared to the known fast DST algorithms. Furthermore, the language of signal flow graph representation of digital structures is used to describe these efficient and recursive DST algorithms having (n�1) points signal flow graph for DST-I and n points signal flow graphs for DST II-IV.

Cooperative 3-D Map Generation Using Multiple Uavs, Andrew Erik Lawson

University Scholar Projects

This report aims to demonstrate the feasibility of building a global 3-D map from multiple UAV robots in a GPS-denied, indoor environment. Presented are the design of each robot and the reasoning behind choosing its hardware and software components, the process in which a single robot obtains a individual 3-D map entirely onboard, and lastly how the mapping concept is extended to multiple robotic agents to form a global 3-D map using a centralized server. In the latter section, this report focuses on two algorithms, Online Mapping and Map Fusion, developed to facilitate the cooperative approach. A limited selection …

A Fast Algorithm For The Inversion Of Quasiseparable Vandermonde-Like Matrices, Sirani M. Perera, Grigory Bonik, Vadim Olshevsky

Publications

The results on Vandermonde-like matrices were introduced as a generalization of polynomial Vandermonde matrices, and the displacement structure of these matrices was used to derive an inversion formula. In this paper we first present a fast Gaussian elimination algorithm for the polynomial Vandermonde-like matrices. Later we use the said algorithm to derive fast inversion algorithms for quasiseparable, semiseparable and well-free Vandermonde-like matrices having O(n2) complexity. To do so we identify structures of displacement operators in terms of generators and the recurrence relations(2-term and 3-term) between the columns of the basis transformation matrices for quasiseparable, semiseparable and well-free polynomials. Finally we …

Multi-Objective Constraint Satisfaction For Mobile Robot Area Defense, Kenneth W. Mayo

Theses and Dissertations

In developing multi-robot cooperative systems, there are often competing objectives that need to be met. For example in automating area defense systems, multiple robots must work together to explore the entire area, and maintain consistent communications to alert the other agents and ensure trust in the system. This research presents an algorithm that tasks robots to meet the two specific goals of exploration and communication maintenance in an uncoordinated environment reducing the need for a user to pre-balance the objectives. This multi-objective problem is defined as a constraint satisfaction problem solved using the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II). Both …

A Robust Method To Detect Concealed Weapons, Anand Gone

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Concealed weapons detection is a large problem that is faced by the Police Department nowadays. There are many disasters caused by poor detection of the weapons. Since public safety is at risk there is a need to design an efficient detector that can detect the weapons hidden under the clothing. This thesis presents a novel method for detecting concealed weapons under clothing using image processing techniques. In this thesis IR imagery is used to capture an image which works on the principle of law of black body radiation. Image thresholding is performed on the captured data using Sauvola's adaptive thresholding …

Towards A Metric For The Assessment Of Safety Critical Control Systems, Oscar R. Gonzalez, Jorge R. Chavez-Fuentes, W. Steven Gray

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

There is a need for better integration of the fault tolerant and the control designs for safety critical systems such as aircraft. The dependability of current designs is assessed primarily with measures of the interconnection of fault tolerant components: the reliability function and the mean time to failure. These measures do not directly take into account the interaction of the fault tolerant components with the dynamics of the aircraft. In this paper, a first step to better integrate these designs is made. It is based on the observation that unstable systems are intrinsically unreliable and that a necessary condition for …

Stochastic Estimation And Control Of Queues Within A Computer Network, Nathan C. Stuckey

Theses and Dissertations

An extended Kalman filter is used to estimate size and packet arrival rate of network queues. These estimates are used by a LQG steady state linear perturbation PI controller to regulate queue size within a computer network. This paper presents the derivation of the transient queue behavior for a system with Poisson traffic and exponential service times. This result is then validated for ideal traffic using a network simulated in OPNET. A more complex OPNET model is then used to test the adequacy of the transient queue size model when non-Poisson traffic is combined. The extended Kalman filter theory is …

A Fuzzy Logic Controller For Autonomous Wheeled Vehicles, Mohamed Trabia, Linda Z. Shi, Neil Eugene Hodge

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Autonomous vehicles have potential applications in many fields, such as replacing humans in hazardous environments, conducting military missions, and performing routine tasks for industry. Driving ground vehicles is an area where human performance has proven to be reliable. Drivers typically respond quickly to sudden changes in their environment. While other control techniques may be used to control a vehicle, fuzzy logic has certain advantages in this area; one of them is its ability to incorporate human knowledge and experience, via language, into relationships among the given quantities. Fuzzy logic controllers for autonomous vehicles have been successfully applied to address various …

Socio-Economic Impacts Of Computer Viruses In Tanzania, M Victor

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This paper reports on a research project conducted with an objective of identifying and assessing various approaches used by different computer users (Management, System Administrators and end users) in Tanzania to combat computer viruses (CVs), and to assess users' awareness level on CVs. Specifically, the study aimed at assessing the awareness level on CVs to the Tanzanian business community; analyze the socio -economic impact caused by CVs in Tanzania and; assess existing methods, capacity and limitations on controlling CVs in Tanzania. Data was collected using both questionnaires and interview from financial institutions such as NBC and BOT, and telecommunications sector …

Mobius: An Omnidirectional Robotic Platform And Software Architecture For Network Teleoperation, Samuel Aaron Miller

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The following thesis presents the results of a project to develop and test an omnidirectional robotic system (hardware and software) at NASA Langley Research Center's Robotics and Intelligent Machines Lab. The impetus for the project was the unique capabilities of omnidirectional systems. Some of the many potential benefits these systems have include improved material-handling capabilities in constrained environments (such as might be found in extraterrestrial manned habitats), efficient camera-based vehicle teleoperation, and simplified route planning for autonomous robot operations.

The project's focus was to design, build, and test a system that used Mecanum wheels to achieve omnidirectional motion. In addition …

Performance Analysis And Validation Of A Recoverable Flight Control System In A Simulated Neutron Environment, Hong Zhang, W. Steven Gray, Oscar R. Gonzalez

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper introduces a class of stochastic hybrid models for the analysis of closed-loop control systems implemented with NASA's Recoverable Computer System. Such Recoverable Computer Systems have been proposed to insure reliable control performance in harsh environments. The stochastic hybrid models consist of either a stochastic finite-state automaton or a finite-state machine driven by a Markov input, which in turn drives a switched linear discrete-time dynamical system. Their stability and output tracking performance are analyzed using an extension of the existing theory for Markov jump-linear systems. For illustration, a stochastic hybrid model is used to calculate the tracking error performance …

A Fast And Simple Algorithm For Computing M Shortest Paths In Stage Graph, M. Sherwood, Laxmi P. Gewali, Henry Selvaraj, Venkatesan Muthukumar

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

We consider the problem of computing m shortest paths between a source node s and a target node t in a stage graph. Polynomial time algorithms known to solve this problem use complicated data structures. This paper proposes a very simple algorithm for computing all m shortest paths in a stage graph efficiently. The proposed algorithm does not use any complicated data structure and can be implemented in a straightforward way by using only array data structure. This problem appears as a sub-problem for planning risk reduced multiple k-legged trajectories for aerial vehicles.

Review Of The Product Development Process And Information Flow In The Manufacturing Industry: Problems And A Possible Wav Forward, E Opiyo

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

No abstract provided.

Swarm Based Implementation Of A Virtual Distributed Database System In A Sensor Network, Wen C. Lee

Theses and Dissertations

The deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in recent military operations has had success in carrying out surveillance and combat missions in sensitive areas. An area of intense research on UAVs has been on controlling a group of small-sized UAVs to carry out reconnaissance missions normally undertaken by large UAVs such as Predator or Global Hawk. A control strategy for coordinating the UAV movements of such a group of UAVs adopts the bio-inspired swarm model to produce autonomous group behavior. This research proposes establishing a distributed database system on a group of swarming UAVs, providing for data storage during a …

Embedded Software Programming To Develop A Command Line User Interface For Monitoring And Debugging A Manually Driven Gas Regulator Control System, Syed N. Hyder

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This thesis presents a complete embedded programming model and software codes for a command-line user interface for CONCOA's gas regulator control system. Control Corporation of America (CONCOA) manufactures high-pressure gas regulators, which mechanically control the pressure at their outlets. Since the control system is based on mechanical regulators, adding or stopping gas flow from the system can cause manifold fluctuation that could further cause the pressure to rise or fall with time. The main motivation for developing a command line user interface is to provide a centralized computer control to monitor and debug the gas regulator control system electronically by …

Comparison Of Two Distributed Fuzzy Logic Controllers For Flexible-Link Manipulators, Linda Z. Shi, Mohamed Trabia

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Presentations

The paper suggests that fuzzy logic controllers present a computationally efficient and robust alternative to conventional controllers. The paper presents two possible structures for the distributed fuzzy logic controller of a single-link flexible manipulator. A linear quadratic regulator method is used to prove the effectiveness of fuzzy logic controllers.

Isolated Ramp Metering Feedback Control Utilizing Mixed Sensitivity For Desired Mainline Density And The Ramp Queues, Pushkin Kachroo, Kaan Ozbay, Donald E. Grove

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

This paper presents a feedback control design for isolated ramp metering control. This feedback control design, unlike the existing isolated feedback ramp controllers, also takes into account the ramp queue length. Using a nonlinear H∞ control design methodology, we formulate the problem in the desired setting to be able to utilize the results of the methodology.

Studies Related To The Design And Implementation Of A Magnetic Suspension And Balance System, Syed Adeel Akhtar Jafri

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This thesis presents studies related to the magnetic suspension and balance system (MSBS) of the Princeton/ONR High Reynolds Number Testing Facility (HRTF). The main motivation for developing the MSBS is to provide interference free aero/hydrodynamic testing of submersible models, which will lead to more accurate measurements. From the controls point of view, the main specification of the MSBS is to robustly control the position of a submersible model in five degrees of freedom (DOF), including three translational as well as pitching and yawing positions. The MSBS should not only regulate the submersible model's position but should also allow for small …