Application of Fuzzy Moving Sliding Surface Approach for Container Cranes

International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems - In this paper, we consider the fuzzy moving sliding surface anti-sway control problem for container cranes. We first introduce the dynamic...     

Irregular Depth Tiles: Automatically Generated Data Used for Network-based Robotic Grasping in 2D Dense Clutter

Recent advances in deep learning have enabled robots to grasp objects even in complex environments. However, a large amount of data is required to train the deep-learning network, which leads to a high cost in acquiring the learning data owing to the use of an actual robot or simulator. This paper presents a new form of grasp data that can be generated automatically to minimize the data-collection cost. The depth image is converted into simplified grasp data called an irregular depth tile that can be used to estimate the optimal grasp pose. Additionally, we propose a new grasping algorithm that employs different methods according to the amount of free space in the bounding box of the target object. This algorithm exhibited a significantly higher success rate than the existing grasping methods in grasping experiments in complex environments.

     

Power Smoothing of a Variable-speed Wind Turbine Generator

This paper presents a power-smoothing scheme of a variable-speed wind turbine generator (VSWTG) that employs separate control gains for the over-frequency section (OFS) and under-frequency section (UFS). In the proposed scheme, an additional proportional control loop based on the system frequency deviation operating in conjunction with maximum power point tracking operation is used. In the OFS, to improve the energy-storing capability, the scheme suggests the gain of the frequency deviation control loop, which is set to be monotonously decreasing with the rotor speed while being significantly larger than that in the UFS. In the UFS, to improve the energy-releasing capability while preventing over-deceleration, the gain of the frequency deviation control loop is set to be a linear function of the rotor speed. The simulation results under continuously varying wind speeds with different wind patterns and wind speeds clearly demonstrate that the proposed scheme significantly mitigates the output power fluctuations of a VSWTG. The proposed scheme keeps the frequency within a narrow range, thereby reducing the required primary frequency control reserve for regulating the frequency under normal operations.

     

Design of a Sliding Mode Controller with Fuzzy Rules for a 4-DoF Service Robot

In this study, a novel control strategy that combines a fuzzy system and the sliding mode controller is proposed for improving stability and achieving high-accuracy control in service robots. Based on the kinematic and dynamic models of a 4-degrees of freedom manipulator, and the observed tracking error using a low-cost inertial sensor, the proposed fuzzy sliding mode controller (FSMC(IMU)) is designed to generate appropriate torques at robot joints. The FSMC(IMU) controller parameters are adjusted through a fuzzy rule that determines the state of the system. The error in trajectory tracking is reduced through this. The gain value K can be finely adjusted by fuzzy control by observing the degree of vibration after entering the sliding mode surface. The larger the observed vibration value, the faster the fuzzy controller follows the given input trajectory by selecting a smaller gain value K and reducing jitter due to the sliding mode control’s discontinuous switch characteristics. When the degree of error is small, it achieves faster and more accurate control performance than when the observer is not used. The stability of the FSMC(IMU) system is verified via disturbance experiments. The experimental data are compared with the conventional sliding mode controller and proportional-derivative control. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed FSMC(IMU) controller is stable, fast, and highly accurate in controlling service robots.

     

Companion robots for older adults: Rodgers’ evolutionary concept analysis approach

Intelligent Service Robotics - This study aims to analyze the concept of companion robots for older adults from the perspective of nursing. This study employed a concept analysis. The literature...     

Alignment control for a long span urban rail-transit cable-stayed bridge considering dynamic train loads

In this paper, bridge alignment control with considering dynamic train loads was experimentally and theoretically investigated. Analytical process of bridge dynamics and the self-adaptive Kalman filter bridge alignment control method with considering the dynamic train loads were briefly introduced. The static measurement, the dynamic test, the field alignment measurement as well as the finite element analysis (FEA) of the second longest rail transit cable-stayed bridge in the world were carried out. Based on the results, the train dynamic load effect on the bridge alignment was obtained quantitatively. Subsequently, alignment control of the rail transit bridge with considering this effect using a self-adaptive Kalman filter method was analyzed. The results show that: (a) the dynamic train loads have effects on alignment control of the bridge and therefore cannot be neglected; (b) the self-adaptive Kalman filter method is applicable and reliable for alignment control of bridges during construction. The analytical method and whole process contribute to develop a related specification and further engineering applications.     

Constructing confidence intervals of extreme rainfall quantiles using Bayesian,bootstrap, and profile likelihood approaches

Hydrological risk is highly dependent on the occurrence of extreme rainfalls.This fact has led to a wide range of studies on the estimation and uncertainty analysis of the extremes.In most cases,confidence intervals(CIs)are constructed to represent the uncertainty of the estimates.Since the accuracy of CIs depends on the asymptotic normality of the data and is questionable with limited observations in practice,a Bayesian highest posterior density(HPD)interval,bootstrap percentile interval,and profile likelihood(PL)interval have been introduced to analyze the uncertainty that does not depend on the normality assumption.However,comparison studies to investigate their performances in terms of the accuracy and uncertainty of the estimates are scarce.In addition,the strengths,weakness,and conditions necessary for performing each method also must be investigated.Accordingly,in this study,test experiments with simulations from varying parent distributions and different sample sizes were conducted.Then,applications to the annual maximum rainfall(AMR)time series data in South Korea were performed.Five districts with 38-year(1973–2010)AMR observations were fitted by the three aforementioned methods in the application.From both the experimental and application results,the Bayesian method is found to provide the lowest uncertainty of the design level while the PL estimates generally have the highest accuracy but also the largest uncertainty.The bootstrap estimates are usually inferior to the other two methods,but can perform adequately when the distribution model is not heavy-tailed and the sample size is large.The distribution tail behavior and the sample size are clearly found to affect the estimation accuracy and uncertainty.This study presents a comparative result,which can help researchers make decisions in the context of assessing extreme rainfall uncertainties.     

Code-to-code comparison study on rotor aeromechanics in descending flight

This paper conducts the aeromechanics study using the two different rotorcraft computational structural dynamics (CSD) codes, CAMRAD II and DYMORE II, for the rotor in low-speed descending flight. The three test cases of the HART (Higher-harmonic control aeroacoustic rotor test) I -baseline, minimum noise, and minimum vibration- are considered in this study of the blade-vortex interaction (BVI) airloads, rotor trim, blade elastic deformations, and blade structural loads. The two prediction results are compared to each other for a code-to-code comparison study as well as to the measured data. Although CAMRAD II and DYMORE II use different theories and models, most of the prediction results are similar to each other and compared fairly well with the wind tunnel test data. For all the three test cases, the two rotorcraft CSD analyses show good prediction on the fluctuations of the section normal force (M²C_n) due to BVI, but both over-predict the trimmed collective pitch angle. The blade elastic deformations, such as flap deflection and elastic torsion deformation at the tip, are reasonably predicted by both rotorcraft CSD analyses. But, the CAMRAD II result using the multiple-trailer wake model with consolidation is slightly better than the DYMORE II prediction with the single wake panel model particularly for the elastic torsion deformation in the baseline case. In addition, CAMRAD II and DYMORE II both correlate reasonably the blade structural loads, such as flap bending, lead-lag bending, and torsion moments, with the measured data; however, the CAMRAD II results are moderately better than the DYMORE II predictions.     

Effects of Al:Si and (Al + Na):Si ratios on the properties of the international simple glass,part II: Structure

High-alumina containing high-level waste (HLW) will be vitrified at the Waste Treatment Plant at the Hanford Site. The resulting glasses, high in alumina, will have distinct composition-structure-property (C-S-P) relationships compared to previously studied HLW glasses. These C-S-P relationships determine the processability and product durability of glasses and therefore must be understood. The main purpose of this study is to understand the detailed structural changes caused by Al:Si and (Al + Na):Si substitutions in a simplified nuclear waste model glass (ISG, international simple glass) by combining experimental structural characterizations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The structures of these two series of glasses were characterized by neutron total scattering and ²⁷Al, ²³Na, ²⁹Si, and ¹¹B solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Additionally, MD simulations were used to generate atomistic structural models of the borosilicate glasses and simulation results were validated by the experimental structural data. Short-range (eg, bond distance, coordination number, etc) and medium-range (eg, oxygen speciation, network connectivity, polyhedral linkages) structural features of the borosilicate glasses were systematically investigated as a function of the degree of substitution. The results show that bond distance and coordination number of the cation-oxygen pairs are relatively insensitive to Al:Si and (Al + Na):Si substitutions with the exception of the B-O pair. Additionally, the Al:Si substitution results in an increase in tri-bridging oxygen species, whereas (Al + Na):Si substitution creates nonbridging oxygen species. Charge compensator preferences were found for Si-[NBO] (Na⁺), ^[3]B-[NBO] (Na⁺), ^[4]B (mostly Ca²⁺), ^[4]Al (nearly equally split Na⁺ and Ca²⁺), and ^[6]Zr (mostly Ca²⁺). The network former-BO-network former linkages preferences were also tabulated; Si-O-Al and Al-O-Al were preferred at the expense of lower Si-O-^[3]B and ^[3]B-O-^[3]B linkages. These results provide insights on the structural origins of property changes such as glass-transition temperature caused by the substitutions, providing a basis for future improvements of theoretical and computer simulation models.     

Atomic layer deposition of GDC cathodic functional thin films for oxide ion incorporation enhancement

In this paper, we report successful fabrication of a gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) thin film using atomic layer deposition (ALD) for improving the performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). By varying the deposition conditions and adjusting the configuration of the ALD supercycle, the doping ratio of ALD GDC was controlled. The morphology, crystallinity, and chemical composition of ALD GDC thin films were analyzed. ALD GDC showed different surface chemistry, including oxidation states, at different doping ratios. The application of ALD GDC in a SOFC led to an output power density enhancement greater than 2.5 times. With an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) porous support structure, an ALD GDC thin film SOFC (TF-SOFC) showed a high power density of 288.24 mW/cm² at an operating temperature of 450°C.