Multidisciplinary hybrid hierarchical collaborative optimization of electric wheel vehicle chassis integrated system based on driver’s feel

The optimization design of chassis integrated system mainly involves steering, suspension and brake subsystems, which is essentially a multidisciplinary design optimization. This paper mainly researches the multidisciplinary optimization of the chassis integrated system for the electric wheel vehicle, from the view of ensuring a favorable feel for the driver. The dynamic models of differential steering system, brake system, active suspension system and vehicle are established. Then, taking the coupling relationship of the chassis subsystems into account, this paper proposes an evaluating index of driver’s ride comfort (Drc), which is composed of the steering road feel, brake feel and suspension ride comfort. In order to determine the weight coefficient in the quantization formula of Drc, the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method is used to overcome the subjectivity in the selection. Based on these, a multidisciplinary hybrid hierarchical collaborative optimization (HHCO) method is proposed on the basis of the collaborative optimization (CO), which consists of a system level coordinator and a coupling analyzer to solve the problem of poor convergence and the low efficiency of CO method. The optimization results show that the proposed HHCO method has excellent computational efficiency and better convergence compared with the CO method, which can further improve the steering road feel and the drive ride comfort, on the premise of ensuring the brake feel and suspension ride comfort.     

Human–machine shared control for lane departure assistance based on hybrid system theory

To improve the human–machine cooperation of lane departure assistance system (LDAS), a human–machine shared control strategy based on hybrid system theory was proposed. By considering vehicle’s discrete and continuous states and time-varying longitudinal speed, the hybrid system was formalized as hybrid automaton, and the shared control strategy was built to govern the human–machine interaction. Robust gain-scheduling energy-to-peak method was adopted to design the assistance system controller. The D-stability of the system was also studied and guaranteed by solving the linear matrix inequality (LMI). The proposed human–machine shared control method was evaluated via the co-simulation of CarSim/Simulink and the hardware-in-loop (HIL) experiment. The results showed that the proposed approach can effectively keep the vehicle in lane and a good human–machine coordination was demonstrated.     

Intelligent integrated optimization and control system for lead–zinc sintering process

The lead–zinc sintering process (LZSP) is an important step in imperial smelting. This paper presents an intelligent integrated optimization and control system (IIOCS) for the LZSP. The optimization and control scheme has a hierarchical configuration. First, the requirements of process control and the configuration of the IIOCS are described. Then, models for predicting quantity and quality (Q&Q) are established using correlation and mechanism analysis, and are implemented by improved back-propagation neural networks. Based on the models, an integrated algorithm combining c-means clustering, genetic, and chaos approaches is employed to optimize the operating parameters of the process. Finally, the control of the process state is carried out by a distributed control system to control the Q&Q of the product.     

Optimal control of the production–inventory system with deteriorating items and tradable emission permits

Using the well-known Arrow and Karlin (1958) Arrow, K.J., and Karlin, S. (1958), ‘Production over Time with Increasing Marginal Costs’, in Studies in the Mathematical Theory of Inventory and Production, eds. K.J. Arrow and S. Karlin, Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 61–69. [Google Scholar] dynamic production–inventory model and the model with tradable emission permits which was presented by Dobos (2005 Dobos, I. (2005), ‘The Effects of Emission Trading on Production and Inventories in the Arrow–Karlin Model’, International Journal of Production Economics, 93–94, 301–308.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2007) Dobos I. (2007), ‘Tradable Emission Permits and Production-inventory Strategies of the Firm’, International Journal of Production Economics, 108, 329–333.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], we develop a model of the production–inventory system with deteriorating items and tradable emission permits. The objective of this paper is to apply the optimal control theory to solve the production–inventory problem with deteriorating items and tradable emission permits, and derive the optimal inventory level and the optimal production rate that minimise the total cost. The results are discussed with a numerical example and a sensitivity analysis of the optimal solution with respect to the parameters of the production–inventory system is carried out.     

Research on the computer monitoring and control system of diesel motor

The working conditions of diesel motors used in somespecial condition are complex. By using microcomputer control,A/D conversion and digital tele-communication techniques, au-tocontrol of the working process, digital sampling of parameters,tele-communication concentrative monitoring and control are real-ized.When the signal sampled goes beyond the limit,the station alarms,reacts automatically and stops authomatically if necessary.     

Decentralised adaptive architectures for control of large-scale active–passive modular systems with stability and performance guarantees

ABSTRACT

Decentralised control of large-scale active–passive modular systems is considered in this paper. The considered class of large-scale systems consist of physically interconnected and generally heterogeneous modules, where local control signals can only be applied to a subset of these modules (i.e. active modules) and the rest do not admit any control signals (i.e. passive modules). Specifically, based on a set-theoretic model reference adaptive control approach predicated on restricted potential functions, we design and analyse decentralised command following control laws for each active module such that they can effectively perform their tasks in the presence of unknown physical interconnections between modules and module-level system uncertainties. The key feature of our framework allows the system error trajectories of the active modules to be contained within a-priori, user-defined compact sets. Thus, they are guaranteed to achieve strict performance guarantees, where this is of paramount importance for practical applications. In addition to our theoretical findings and research contributions, the efficacy of the proposed decentralised adaptive control architecture is demonstrated in an illustrative numerical example.     

Stability analysis and design of fuzzy control system with bounded uncertain delays

Fuzzy control problems for systems with bounded uncertain delays were studied. Based on Lyapunov stability theory and matrix theory, a nonlinear state feedback fuzzy controller was designed by linear matrix inequalities （LMI） approach, and the global exponential stability of the closed-loop system was strictly proved. For a fuzzy control system with bounded uncertain delays, under the global exponential stability condition which is reduced to p linear matrix inequalities, the controller guarantees stability performances of state variables. Finally, the simulation shows the validity of the method in tiffs paper.     

Sheet metal forming global control system based on artificial vision system and force–acoustic sensors

Forming processes are manufacturing processes based on deformation of raw material applying pressure in one or several stages until getting the final product. This process depends on many factors, e.g. process parameters, material properties or lubrication, leading to possible defective parts. Correct forming of parts is very important as any defective part may result in big economical losses, e.g. the return of a complete set of parts or the loss of some clients. Thus, in our European Craft Pro2Control project, leading German, French, Italian and Spanish companies, universities and forming industries are defining and implementing a zero-defect forming control system, minimizing costs and maximizing the throughput of parts.     

H∞ and H2 control of multi-agent systems with transient performance improvement

In this paper, the H_∞ consensus control and H₂ robust control synthesised with transient performance problems are investigated for a group of autonomous agents with linear or linearised dynamics. Based on the relative information between neighbouring agents and a subset of absolute information of the agents, distributed controllers are proposed for both H_∞ and H₂ cases. Compared with the existing protocols, the one presented in this article focuses on improving the transient performance of the consensus problem. By using the tools from matrix analysis and robust control theory, conditions for the existence of controllers to those problems under an undirected communication topology are provided. Then, it is shown that the H₂ performance limit of uncertain systems under a distributed controller equals the minimum H_∞ consensus index synthesised with transient performance of a single agent by using a state feedback controller, independent of the communication topology. Finally, a simulation example as an application in Raptor-90 helicopter is proposed to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.     

Multivariate analysis of human behavior data using fuzzy windowing: Example with driver–car–environment system

In most human component system studies performed in simulators, several factors (or independent variables) (at least two, i.e., individual and time) and many variables (or dependent variables) are present. Large and complex databases have to be analyzed. Instead of using rather automatic procedures, this article suggest that, for a very first analysis at least, the human being must be present and he/she must choose a method being adapted to the data, which is different to run a method supposing that the data fit such or such model. This article suggests starting the analysis while keeping both the multifactorial (MF) and multivariate (MV) aspects. To achieve this aim, with the possibility to show nonlinear relationships, a MFMV exploration of the experimental database is performed using the pair (fuzzy space windowing, Multiple Correspondence Analysis). Then may come an inference analysis. This long (due to multiple large graphical views) but rich procedure is illustrated and discussed using a car driving study example.     

On the stability and convergence of self-tuning control–virtual equivalent system approach

This article presents a unified understanding and judgement of the stability and convergence of a general self-tuning control (STC) system, which consists of arbitrary control strategy, arbitrary parameter estimation algorithm and a deterministic/stochastic linear time-invariant (LTI) plant. The necessary conditions required for the global stability and convergence of a general STC system are relaxed, i.e. the convergence of parameter estimates is removed for both deterministic and stochastic STC schemes. To reach this goal, ‘virtual equivalent system (VES)’ concept and methodology is adopted. With the help of VES, the original nonlinear dominant (nonlinear in structure) problem is converted to a linear dominant (linear in structure) problem. The results developed in this article show that STC systems are stable and convergent for the abundance of control strategies and parameter estimation algorithms, which will provide great flexibility in the applications of STC.     

Closed‐loop control for self‐calibration of accelerometer achieved through integrated sensor and actuator system

Microsystem Technologies - In-situ self-calibration can fundamentally solve the problem of long-term stability of the accelerometer. The implementation of external integrated micro structure to...     

Sensitivity analysis and optimization of vehicle–bridge systems based on combined PEM–PIM strategy

This paper presents a new optimization method for coupled vehicle–bridge systems subjected to uneven road surface excitation. The vehicle system is simplified as a multiple rigid-body model and the single-span bridge is modeled as a simply supported Bernoulli–Euler beam. The pseudo-excitation method transforms the random surface roughness into the superposition of a series of deterministic pseudo-harmonic excitations, which enables convenient and accurate computation of first and second order sensitivity information. The precise integration method is used to compute the vertical random vibrations for both the vehicle and the bridge. The sensitivities are used to find the optimal solution, with vehicle ride comfort taken as the objective function. Optimization efficiency and computational accuracy are demonstrated numerically.     

An ESO-based integrated trajectory tracking control for tractor–trailer vehicles with various constraints and physical limitations

This paper develops an effective integrated control strategy for the trajectory tracking control of a tractor–trailer vehicle which suffers from inaccessible system states and uncertain disturbance for practical implementation. In addition, diverse problems, such as nonholonomic constraints, underactuated dynamics, physical limitations, etc, can be resolved favourably all together. Aiming to the vehicle trajectory tracking, a constrained model predictive control (MPC) is introduced as a trajectory tracking module, by which the underactuated dynamics, various constraints and physical limitations, can be tackled at the same time. For the desired velocity tracking, a robust global terminal sliding mode control (GTSMC) is employed to guarantee the finite-time convergence of the velocity tracking process, which will improve the transient performance to a great extent. Particularly, in the absence of velocity information, an extended state observer (ESO) is developed to estimate the vehicle velocity in addition to simultaneously obtaining the uncertain disturbance information, which offers prerequisite for the previous control approaches. The simulation results confirm that the presented control strategy can synthesise varied control techniques effectively and deal with diverse problems for the trajectory tracking of tractor–trailer vehicles successfully.     

Co-simulation for performance prediction of integrated building and HVAC systems – An analysis of solution characteristics using a two-body system

Integrated performance simulation of buildings and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems can help in reducing energy consumption and increasing occupant comfort. However, no single building performance simulation (BPS) tool offers sufficient capabilities and flexibilities to analyze integrated building systems and to enable rapid prototyping of innovative building and system technologies. One way to alleviate this problem is to use co-simulation to integrate different BPS tools. Co-simulation approach represents a particular case of simulation scenario where at least two simulators solve coupled differential-algebraic systems of equations and exchange data that couples these equations during the time integration.This article analyzes how co-simulation influences consistency, stability and accuracy of the numerical approximation to the solution. Consistency and zero-stability are studied for a general class of the problem, while a detailed consistency and absolute stability analysis is given for a simple two-body problem. Since the accuracy of the numerical approximation to the solution is reduced in co-simulation, the article concludes by discussing ways for how to improve accuracy.     

A note on the existence and optimal control for mixed Volterra–Fredholm-type integrodifferential dispersion system of third order

The optimal control problem consists of a performance index subject to a set of differential equations that describes the path of the control and state variables. The main aim of this article is to prove the existence and uniqueness of a mild solution, optimal control, and time-optimal control of a mixed Volterra–Fredholm-type third-order dispersion system. By applying the strongly continuous semigroup theory and the Banach fixed-point theorem, we prove the existence and uniqueness of the considered system. The optimal control results are proved by using Mazur's lemma, Gronwall's inequality, and the minimizing sequence technique. The discussion on the time-optimal control of the third-order dispersion system is also presented.     

Effects of output display and control—display gain on human performance in interactive systems

Abstract

Human performance comparisons on interactive systems were drawn between output displays (CRT and LCD) across settings of control-display gain. Empirical evidence was sought in light of the common feeling in the user community that motor-sensory tasks are more difficult on a system equipped with an LCD display vs. a CRT display. In a routine target acquisition task using a mouse, movement times were 34% longer and motor-sensory bandwidth was 25% less when the output display was an LCD vs. a CRT. No significant difference in error rates was found. Control-display (C-D) gain was tested as a possible confounding factor; however, no interaction effect was found. There was a significant, opposing main effect for C-D gain on movement lime and error rates, illustrating the difficulty in optimizing C-D gain on the basis of movement time alone.