Applied Mathematics Commons^™

Stable Motions Of Vehicle Formations, Anca Williams, Gerardo Lafferriere, J. J. P. Veerman

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We investigate stable maneuvers for a group of autonomous vehicles while moving in formation. The allowed decentralized feeback laws are factored through the Laplacian matrix of the communication graph. We show that such laws allow for stable circular or elliptical motions for certain vehicle dynamics. We find necessary and sufficient conditions on the feedback gains and the dynamic parameters for convergence to formation. In particular, we prove that for undirected graphs there exist feedback gains that stabilize rotational (or elliptical) motions of arbitrary radius (or eceentricity). In the directed graph case we provide necessary and sufficient conditions on the curvature …

Strict Feedforward Form And Symmetries Of Nonlinear Control Systems, Witold Respondek, Issa Amadou Tall

Miscellaneous (presentations, translations, interviews, etc)

We establish a relation between strict feedforward form and symmetries of nonlinear control systems. We prove that a system is feedback equivalent to the strict feedforward form if and only if it gives rise to a sequence of systems, such that each element of the sequence, firstly, possesses an infinitesimal symmetry and, secondly, it is the factor system of the preceding one, i.e., is reduced from the preceding one by its symmetry. We also propose a strict feedforward normal form and prove that a smooth strict feedforward system can be smoothly brought to that form.

Weighted Canonical Forms Of Nonlinear Single-Input Control Systems With Noncontrollable Linearization, Issa Amadou Tall, Witold Respondek

Miscellaneous (presentations, translations, interviews, etc)

We propose a weighted canonical form for single-input systems with noncontrollable first order approximation under the action of formal feedback transformations. This weighted canonical form is based on associating different weights to the linearly controllable and linearly noncontrollable parts of the system. We prove that two systems are formally feedback equivalent if and only if their weighted canonical forms coincide up to a diffeomorphism whose restriction to the linearly controllable part is identity.

Of Parts And Wholes: Self-Similarity And Synecdoche In Science, Culture And Literature, Dirk Vanderbeke

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[Editors' Introduction]

The discussion here centers on how self-similarity, or parts resembling a whole, has been a recurring aspect in the most diverse fields of human thinking from antiquity to the present. Primary examples are drawn from physics, biology, cybernetics, alchemy, philosophy, myth and, of course, language and literature. The author argues that self-similar patterns are one of the persistent ways in which the human mind structures its experience and knowledge of the world, and then examines some of the questions that arise when an almost ubiquitous concept, structure or linguistic and literary phenomenon resurfaces in a new guise in …

Is Chaos Theory Postmodern Science?, J. Linn Mackey

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[Editors' Introduction]

Based on a comparison between the theories of N. Katherine Hayles (Chaos Bound: Orderly Disorder in Contemporary Literature and Science) and Vladimir Tasic (Mathematics and the Roots of Postmodern Thought), J. Linn Mackey asks the question Is Chaos Theory Postmodern Science and looks at parallels between the literature dubbed as postmodern and the scientific branch more properly termed complex dynamics. His conclusions are surprising: both Hayles and Tasic miss important connective elements of both the science and the practice of postmodernism. Postmodern science does, in fact, exist, and literature just may be it.

Optimal Control Of Delay Systems With Differential And Algebraic Dynamic Constraints, Boris S. Mordukhovich, Lianwen Wang

Mathematics Research Reports

This paper concerns constrained dynamic optimization problems governed by delay control systems whose dynamic constraints are described by both delay-differential inclusions and linear algebraic equations. This is a new class of optimal control systems that, on one hand, may be treated as a specific type of variational problems for neutral functional-differential inclusions while, on the other hand, is related to a special class of differential-algebraic systems with a general delay-differential inclusion and a linear constraint link between "slow" and "fast" variables. We pursue a two-hold goal: to study variational stability for this class of control systems with respect to discrete …

On The Empirical Balanced Truncation For Nonlinear Systems, Marissa Condon, Rossen Ivanov

Articles

Novel constructions of empirical controllability and observability gramians for nonlinear systems for subsequent use in a balanced truncation style of model reduction are proposed. The new gramians are based on a generalisation of the fundamental solution for a Linear Time-Varying system. Relationships between the given gramians for nonlinear systems and the standard gramians for both Linear Time-Invariant and Linear Time-Varying systems are established as well as relationships to prior constructions proposed for empirical gramians. Application of the new gramians is illustrated through a sample test-system.

Optimal Control Of Delayed Differential-Algebraic Inclusions, Boris S. Mordukhovich, Lianwen Wang

Mathematics Research Reports

This paper concerns constrained dynamic optimization problems governed by delayed differential-algebraic systems. Dynamic constraints in such systems, which are particularly important for engineering applications, are described by interconnected delay-differential inclusions and algebraic equations. We pursue a two-hold goal: to study variational stability of such control systems with respect to discrete approximations and to derive necessary optimality conditions for both delayed differential-algebraic systems and their finite-difference counterparts using modern tools of variational analysis and generalized differentiation. We are not familiar with any results in these directions for differential-algebraic inclusions even in the delay-free case. In the first part of the paper …

The Approximate Maxium Principle In Constrained Optimal Control, Boris S. Mordukhovich, Ilya Shvartsman

Mathematics Research Reports

The paper concerns optimal control problems for dynamic systems governed by a parametric family of discrete approximations of control systems with continuous time. Discrete approximations play an important role in both qualitative and numerical aspects of optimal control and occupy an intermediate position between discrete-time and continuous-time control systems. The central result in optimal control of discrete approximations is the Approximate Maximum Principle (AMP), which is justified for smooth control problems with endpoint constraints under certain assumptions without imposing any convexity, in contrast to discrete systems with a fixed step. We show that these assumptions are essential for the validity …

Normal Forms For Nonlinear Discrete Time Control Systems, Boumediene Hamzi, Issa Amadou Tall

Miscellaneous (presentations, translations, interviews, etc)

We study the feedback classification of discrete-time control systems whose linear approximation around an equilibrium is controllable. We provide a normal form for systems under investigation.

Neumann Boundary Control Of Hyperbolic Equations With Pointwise State Constraints, Boris S. Mordukhovich, Jean-Pierre Raymond

Mathematics Research Reports

We consider optimal control problems for hyperbolic systems with controls in Neumann boundary conditions with pointwise (hard) constraints on control and state functions. Focusing on hyperbolic dynamics governed by the multidimensional wave equation with a nonlinear term, we derive new necessary optimality conditions in the pointwise form of the Pontryagin Maximum Principle for the state-constrained problem under consideration. Our approach is based on modern methods of variational analysis that allows us to obtain refined necessary optimality conditions with no convexity assumptions on integrands in the minimizing cost functional.

Controllability And Local Accessibility—A Normal Form Approach, Wei Kang, Mingqing Xiao, Issa Amadou Tall

Articles and Preprints

Given a system with an uncontrollable linearization at the origin, we study the controllability of the system at equilibria around the origin. If the uncontrollable mode is nonzero, we prove that the system always has other equilibria around the origin. We also prove that these equilibria are linearly controllable provided a coefficient in the normal form is nonzero. Thus, the system is qualitatively changed from being linearly uncontrollable to linearly controllable when the equilibrium point is moved from the origin to a different one. This is called a bifurcation of controllability. As an application of the bifurcation, systems with a …

Dirichlet Boundary Control Of Hyperbolic Equations In The Presence Of State Constraints, Boris S. Mordukhovich, Jean-Pierre Raymond

Mathematics Research Reports

We study optimal control problems for hyperbolic equations (focusing on the multidimensional wave equation) with control functions in the Dirichlet boundary conditions under hard/pointwise control and state constraints. Imposing appropriate convexity assumptions on the cost integral functional, we establish the existence of optimal control and derive new necessary optimality conditions in the integral form of the Pontryagin Maximum Principle for hyperbolic state-constrained systems.

Feedback Classification Of Nonlinear Single-Input Control Systems With Controllable Linearization: Normal Forms, Canonical Forms, And Invariants, Issa Amadou Tall, Witold Respondek

Articles and Preprints

We study the feedback group action on single-input nonlinear control systems. We follow an approach of Kang and Krener based on analyzing, step by step, the action of homogeneous transformations on the homogeneous part of the same degree of the system. We construct a dual normal form and dual invariants with respect to those obtained by Kang. We also propose a canonical form and a dual canonical form and show that two systems are equivalent via a formal feedback if and only if their canonical forms (resp., their dual canonical forms) coincide. We give an explicit construction of transformations bringing …

Normal Forms For Two-Inputs Nonlinear Control Systems, Issa Amadou Tall, Witold Respondek

Miscellaneous (presentations, translations, interviews, etc)

We study the feedback group action on two-inputs non-linear control systems. We follow an approach proposed by Kang and Krener which consists of analyzing the system and the feedback group step by step. We construct a normal form which generalizes that obtained in the single-input case. We also give homogeneous m-invariants of the action of the group of homogeneous transformations on the homogeneous systems of the same degree. We illustrate our results by analyzing the normal form and invariants of homogeneous systems of degree two.

On A Conjecture Of Furstenberg, Grzegorz Świçatek, J. J. P. Veerman

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Hausdorff dimension of the set of numbers which can be written using digits 0, 1,t in base 3 is estimated. For everyt irrational a lower bound 0.767 … is found.

Dynamics Of A Granular Particle On A Rough Surface With A Staircase Profile, J. J. P. Veerman, F. V. Cunha Jr., G. L. Vasconcelos

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

A simple model is presented for the motion of a grain down a rough inclined surface with a staircase profile. The model is an extension of an earlier model of ours where we now allow for bouncing, i.e., we consider a non-vanishing normal coefficient of restitution. It is shown that in parameter space there are three regions of interest: (i) a region of smaller inclinations where the orbits are always bounded (and we argue that the particle always stops); (ii) a transition region where halting, periodic and unbounded orbits co-exist; and (iii) a region of large inclinations where no halting …

How Many Symmetries Does Admit A Nonlinear Single-Input Control System Around An Equilibrium?, Witold Respondek, Issa Amadou Tall

Miscellaneous (presentations, translations, interviews, etc)

We describe all symmetries of a single-input nonlinear control system, that is not feedback linearizable and whose first order approximation is controllable, around an equilibrium point. For a system such that a feedback transformation, bringing it to the canonical form, is analytic we prove that the set of all local symmetries of the system is exhausted by exactly two 1-parameter families of symmetries, if the system is odd, and by exactly one 1-parameter family otherwise. We also prove that the form of the set of symmetries is completely described by the canonical form of the system: possessing a nonstationary symmetry, …

Overview Of Fuzzy Logic, Mohamed Trabia

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Presentations

The presentation includes a brief introduction to fuzzy logic and fuzzy logic controllers. These concepts are illustrated by an example of an autonomous vehicle controller.

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.

Normal Forms, Canonical Forms, And Invariants Of Single Input Nonlinear Systems Under Feedback, Issa Amadou Tall, Witold Respondek

Miscellaneous (presentations, translations, interviews, etc)

We study the feedback group action on single-input nonlinear control systems. We follow an approach of Kang and Krener based on analysing, step by step, the action of homogeneous transformations on the homogeneous part of the system. We construct a dual normal form and dual invariants with respect to those obtained by Kang. We also propose a canonical form and show that two systems are equivalent via a formal feedback if and only if their canonical forms coincide. We give an explicit construction of transformations bringing the system to its normal, dual normal, and canonical form.

Marketing Strategy And Game Theory, Nagasimha Balakrishna Kanagal

IIMB Management Review

Management Update establishes the links between Management Strategy and Game Theory and develops the theme with apt illustrations.

Flight Test And Handling Qualities Analysis Of A Longitudinal Flight Control System Using Multiobjective Techniques, John R. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses the application of optimal, multiobjective control theory control theory to flight control design for the approach and landing phase of flight. Five flight control systems were designed using classical, H2, H infinity, and Mixed H2/H infinity methods. The MATLAB™ MUTOOLS™ and AFIT MXTOOLS toolboxes were used to produce the optimal, multiobjective designs. These designs were implemented for flight test on the Calspan VSS I Learjet, simulating the unstable longitudinal dynamics of an F-16 type aircraft. A limited handling qualities investigation was performed. Model following was used in the design phase to meet handling qualities specifications. The designs …

Intersecting Self-Similar Cantor Sets, J. J. P. Veerman

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We define a self-similar set as the (unique) invariant set of an iterated function system of certain contracting affine functions. A topology on them is obtained (essentially) by inducing the C ¹- topology of the function space. We prove that the measure function is upper semi-continuous and give examples of discontinuities. We also show that the dimension is not upper semicontinuous. We exhibit a class of examples of self-similar sets of positive measure containing an open set. If C ₁ and C ₂ are two self-similar sets C ₁ and C ₂ such that the sum of their dimensions …

Integrated Computer Controlled Sensor Monitor, Tariq Hafeez Malik

Theses : Honours

This research has developed an Integrated Computer Controlled Sensor Monitor (ICCSM) environment, to monitor and analyse alarm events associated with sensors, including an interface between a PC and a number of detectors. Such an environment will help the security industry analyse the factors causing false alarms at particular locations. The ICCSM environment monitors, and records, alarm data. Knowing exactly which sensor has been activated, and its location, is of paramount importance to the effective deployment of response forces and making the identification of causes of spurious alarms easier. The lCCSM environment is a combination of software and general purpose hardware, …

A Mathematical Model And Simulation Of Natural Circulation Loop Thermalhydraulics, Nihad E. Daidzic

Aviation Department Publications

In this work, a simple, nonlinear, seventh-order mathematical model with lumped parameter analysis of the thermalhydraulic processes in a natural circulation steam boiler loop is presented. Digital simulation has been performed in order to predict open loop transients in severe accidental situations. Parts of the circulation loop such as the steam drum, downcomer, and riser were modelled separately on the basis of the integral balance equations. The two-phase flow in the steam drum and in the riser was modelled with the aid of a homogeneous-equilibrium, two-phase flow model. Special care was taken to ensure the stability of the numerical scheme, …

A Generalization Of Linear Multistep Methods, Leon Arriola

Mathematics & Statistics Theses & Dissertations

A generalization of the methods that are currently available to solve systems of ordinary differential equations is made. This generalization is made by constructing linear multistep methods from an arbitrary set of monotone interpolating and approximating functions. Local truncation error estimates as well as stability analysis is given. Specifically, the class of linear multistep methods of the Adams and BDF type are discussed.