A multilevel sampled‐data approach for resilient navigation and control of autonomous systems

Autonomous systems are rapidly becoming an integrated part of the modern life. Safe and secure navigation and control of these systems present significant challenges in the presence of uncertainties, physical failures, and cyber attacks. In this paper, we formulate a navigation and control problem for autonomous systems using a multilevel control structure, in which the high‐level reference commands are limited by a saturation function, whereas the low‐level controller tracks the reference by compensating for disturbances and uncertainties. For this purpose, we consider a class of nested, uncertain, multiple‐input–multiple‐output systems subject to reference command saturation, possibly with nonminimum phase zeros. A multirate output‐feedback adaptive controller is developed as the low‐level controller. The sampled‐data (SD) design of this controller facilitates the direct implementation on digital computers, where the input/output signals are available at discrete time instances with different sampling rates. In addition, stealthy zero‐dynamics attacks become detectable by considering a multirate SD formulation. Robust stability and performance of the overall closed‐loop system with command saturation and multirate adaptive control are analyzed. Simulation scenarios for navigation and control of a fixed‐wing drone under failures/attacks are provided to validate the theoretical findings.     

Nature inspired 21 branches sneezewort/Achillea ptarmica plant growth pattern–shaped antenna for Ku‐band applications

This reported paper presents the design and analysis of wideband nature inspired planar antenna of 46 × 18 × 1.6 mm³ size, designed using FR4 (Flame Retardant) substrate. The antenna patch is delineated from the growth pattern of sneezewort plant with supplementary notion of golden ratio in branching and branch width. The total number of branches in each stage follows the Fibonacci series and the branch width is calculated from the golden ratio concept. Starting from one feed line and two branches, the maximum numbers of branches are increased to 20. There has been significant enhancement in the radiation performance of proposed geometry by increasing the number of branches to 21 and by modifying ground with T‐shaped slot. The antenna covers wide impedance bandwidth of 8.2 to 16.5 GHz by possessing stable radiation characteristics.     

Potentiality of combined catalyst for high quality bio-oil production from catalytic pyrolysis of pinewood using an analytical Py-GC/MS and fixed bed reactor

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of combined catalyst (ZSM-5 and CaO) for high quality bio-oil production from the catalytic pyrolysis of pinewood sawdust that was performed in Py-GC/MS and fixed bed reactor at 500 °C. In Py-GC/MS, the maximum yield of aromatic hydrocarbon was 36 wt% at biomass to combined catalyst ratio of 1:4 where the mass ratio of ZSM-5 to CaO in the combined catalyst was 4:1. An increasing trend of phenolic compounds was observed with an increasing amount of CaO, whereas the highest yield of phenolic compounds (31 wt%) was recorded at biomass to combined catalyst ratio of 1:4 (ZSM-5: CaO - 4:1). Large molecule compounds could be found to crack into small molecules over CaO and then undergo further reactions over zeolites. The water content, higher heating value, and acidity of bio-oil from the fixed bed reactor were 21%, 24.27 MJkg⁻¹, and 4.1, respectively, which indicates that the quality of obtained bio-oil meets the liquid biofuel standard ASTM D7544-12 for grade G biofuel. This research will provide a significant reference to produce a high-quality bio-oil from the catalytic pyrolysis of woody biomass over the combined catalyst at different mass ratios of biomass to catalyst.     

Effect of high temperature and separated combustion on SO2 release characteristics during coal combustion under O2/CO2 atmosphere

This paper studied the effect of high temperature (up to 1873K) and separated combustion mode (volatile combustion and char combustion are separated) on SO₂ release characteristics during pulverized coal combustion under O₂/CO₂ atmosphere. Coal combustion experiments were conducted at different combustion environment temperatures utilizing a high temperature fixed-bed setup. The results show that as temperature rises, the SO₂ release curve is transformed from a single-peak process to a double-peak process. In separated combustion, temperature has little effect on the volatile-SO₂ (SO₂ released during volatile combustion) but brings about a significant effect on char-SO₂ (SO₂ released during char combustion). Char-SO₂ release amount and the ratio of it to fuel-SO₂ release amount (total SO₂ released during coal combustion) increase with temperature rising. The increase of temperature leads to a dramatic decreasing of sulphur mass fixed in the ash and causes SO₂ release amount to rise when temperature is lower than 1573 K. Separated combustion causes a higher SO₂ release amount than coupled combustion (the same as conventional combustion, volatile combustion and char combustion are simultaneous). Thermochemistry equilibrium composition calculation results show that alkali metals and alkaline-earth metals are significant in sulphur retention. CaSO₄ and Na₂SO₄ are the main sulphates at high temperatures.     

Cf/C复合材料与纯铜的胶接辅助钎焊连接

采用胶接辅助钎焊方法,以TiH_2粉为活性元素源,环氧树脂为粘性载体,Ag-Cu共晶合金为钎料,Cu箔为应力缓冲层材料,实现了C_f/C复合材料与纯铜的钎焊连接,结果表明,接头界面处产生TiC,TiCu,Ag(s,s),Cu(s,s)等反应产物,其结构可表示为(C_f/C)/TiC+Ag(s,s)+Cu(s,s)+TiCu/Cu。通过钎焊工艺试验得出,在930℃保温25 min钎焊条件下接头的抗剪强度达到最大值30 MPa。     

Isolation and identification of two major acylated anthocyanins from purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L. cultivar Eshu No. 8) by UPLC‐QTOF‐MS/MS and NMR

In recent years, researches on the isolation and preparation of monomeric anthocyanins have intensified because of the requirements of quantitative and structure–bioactivity relationship analyses. However, simple and effective methods about the scale of monomeric anthocyanins from the natural purple sweet potato powder are rarely reported. In this study, high molecular weight acylated monomeric anthocyanins were isolated from purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L. cultivar Eshu No. 8) via the combination of column chromatography and semi‐preparative HPLC technology and identified mainly by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight tandem mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (UPLC‐QTOF‐MS/MS) and ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Two major acylated anthocyanins were unambiguously determined as peonidin 3‐O‐(6‐O‐(E)‐caffeoyl‐(2‐O‐(6‐O‐p‐hydroxybenzoyl)‐β‐D‐glucopyranosyl)‐β‐D‐glucopyranoside)‐5‐O‐(β‐D‐glucopyranoside) and peonidin 3‐O‐(6‐O‐(E)‐caffeoyl‐(2‐O‐(6‐O‐(E)‐feruloyl)‐β‐D‐ glucopyranosyl)‐β‐D‐glucopyranoside)‐5‐O‐(β‐D‐glucopyranoside). The results of this study may help promote the purification of high molecular weight acylated anthocyanins from purple sweet potato as well as from other plant materials in nature.     

Mathematical formulation and heuristic algorithms for optimisation of auto-part milk-run logistics network considering forward and reverse flow of pallets

The operational planning of distribution network for automotive industry is complex with many conditions to consider, including heterogeneous fleet, enforcing the feasibility of 3D-packing of pallets into vehicles to address the vehicle's capacity in terms of weight and volume, compatibility of orders in a vehicle, returning empty pallets from assembly-plants backwards to suppliers, and delivery time windows. A mathematical model (MILP) is proposed that takes account of these conditions to minimise total transportation costs. The network structure can be a combination of direct shipment and milk-run for both forward and reverse flow of pallets. The model is solved optimally for small-size problems. For solving larger problems, a heuristic algorithm (in two versions) is proposed that uses a similarity measure to generate a reasonable list of orders. Best/first-fit strategies are employed to generate a feasible solution with the aid of a relaxed version of the proposed MILP. Improvement heuristics are also designed. Unlike most of existing constructive heuristics, our aim for developing the heuristic approach is to force routing decision, with all of its considerations, being made optimal. We also use the proposed best-fit strategy in the body of grouping evolution strategy (GES) algorithm to attain an effective meta-heuristic approach. The effectiveness of heuristics is tested on generated instances which demonstrates they are optimal for small-size problems. They are also tested on the data of daily auto-parts shipments gathered from the largest Iranian automobile company. Results demonstrate there exists a significant potential for cost saving through milk-run strategy compared with the direct shipping strategy.     

A hidden Markov model to detect regime changes in cryptoasset markets

The objective of this work is to understand the dynamics of cryptocurrency prices. Specifically, how prices switch between different regimes, going from “bull” to “stable” and “bear” times. For this purpose, we propose a hidden Markov model that aims at explaining the evolution of Bitcoin prices through different, unobserved states. The implementation of the proposed model includes a likelihood ratio test that allows to compare models with different states and with different covariance structures. Our empirical findings show that the time movements of Bitcoin prices across different exchange markets are well-described by the proposed model. In particular, a parsimonious model with a diagonal covariance matrix leads to better predictions, compared with a model with a full covariance matrix.     

How does a bank's involvement interplay with a firm's capacity investment? An analysis and comparison of different consortium structures

As nonrecourse project finance (rather than financing on a sovereign basis) is becoming more prevalent worldwide, financing institutions have to collaborate more closely with firms to optimize capacity‐investment and financing decisions. Under this background, this paper presents a stylized Stackelberg games model, taking into account the firm's capacity investment as well as the bank's interest rate and funding ratio decisions. Consortium structures between bank and firm are formalized into five modes based on industry practice, namely, the integrated consortium, pure shareholder funding, bank as leader, full coordination, and bank as follower. The optimality and equilibrium of each of the five modes are analytically derived, and their existence and uniqueness are demonstrated. Valuable economic insights are obtained through both modeling analysis and numerical experiments, with the main findings including the following: (i) a lack of bank financing leads to insufficient capacity investment and poor consortium performance; (ii) interest rate and funding ratio play important but different roles in the bank's risk management; (iii) the bank's proactivity in leading and coordinating the consortium is critical for the two parties’ overall performance; and (iv) if the bank is the follower, the firm's capacity decision is irrelevant to the bank's loan contract, and the consortium cannot be coordinated to the first‐best level of performance.     

异螺距万分尺设计

介绍了一种螺旋万分尺的结构设计。该万分尺的微分筒采用双螺纹,两螺纹的螺旋方向相同,螺距不同。采用V型槽和V型块精确定位来增加量程。测量最小刻度可达0.001 mm,读数精度达0.0001 mm。万分尺采用纯机械结构,结构原理简单,制造安装方便。