Variable structure control of a class of uncertain systems

This brief paper proposes a method for tuning the parameters of a variable structure controller. The approach presented extracts the error at the output of the controller and applies a nonlinear tuning law using this error measure. The adaptation mechanism drives the state tracking error vector to the sliding hypersurface and maintains the sliding mode. In the simulations, the approach presented has been tested on the control of Duffing oscillator and the analytical claims have been justified under the existence of measurement noise, uncertainty and large nonzero initial errors.     

Tuning PI controllers for stable processes with specifications on gain and phase margins

In industrial practice, controller designs are performed based on an approximate model of the actual process. It is essential to design a control system which will exhibit a robust performance because the physical systems can vary with operating conditions and time. Gain and phase margins are well known parameters for evaluating the robustness of a control system. This paper presents a tuning algorithm to design and tune PI controllers for stable processes with a small dead time while meeting specified gain and phase margins. Simulation examples are given to demonstrate that the proposed design method can result, in a closed-loop system, in better performances than existing design methods which are also based on user-specified gain and phase margins.     

Synthesis,Thermal and Morphological Properties of Polyurethanes Containing Azomethine Linkage

This paper presents synthesis, photophysical, electrochemical, thermal and morphological properties of Schiff bases containing various side-group substitutions and polyurethanes (PUs) containing azomethine linkage. Morphological properties of PUs containing azomethine bonding were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM images showed that PU containing azomethine consist of semi-crystalline particles. Thermal transitions in PUs containing azomethine units were studied using DSC. The obtained DSC curves showed that PUs containing azomethine are semi-crystalline materials due to they contain both crystallization and melting peaks. Electrochemical properties also investigated by using cyclic voltammetry (CV). According to the cyclic voltommagrams and CV data, PUs containing azomethine have below 2.0 eV electrochemical band gap.     

Preparation and characterization of conductive polypyrrole/kaolinite composites

Conductive polypyrrole (PPy)/kaolinite clay composites were prepared by in situ chemical polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of kaolinite using FeCl₃ as oxidant. The PPy content and conductivity of the composites reached 32.8% and 8.3×10^?2 S/cm at HCl concentrations of 1.5 M and 0.5 M, respectively. The microhardness of the composites containing different amounts of PPy was higher than that of the PPy and kaolinite components. The highest microhardness observed was 30.17 kg/mm² for the composite containing 9.6% PPy. The electrical resistance of the composites was monitored during heating–cooling cycles over the range 5–120 °C. The change in resistance with temperature was more repeatable for the composite than for PPy. The composites were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The humidity-sensing properties were also examined.     

A Planning Framework for Non-Prehensile Manipulation under Clutter and Uncertainty

Robotic manipulation systems suffer from two main problems in unstructured human environments: uncertainty and clutter. We introduce a planning framework addressing these two issues. The framework plans rearrangement of clutter using non-prehensile actions, such as pushing. Pushing actions are also used to manipulate object pose uncertainty. The framework uses an action library that is derived analytically from the mechanics of pushing and is provably conservative. The framework reduces the problem to one of combinatorial search, and demonstrates planning times on the order of seconds. With the extra functionality, our planner succeeds where traditional grasp planners fail, and works under high uncertainty by utilizing the funneling effect of pushing. We demonstrate our results with experiments in simulation and on HERB, a robotic platform developed at the Personal Robotics Lab at Carnegie Mellon University.     

An exponential approach for the system of nonlinear delay integro-differential equations describing biological species living together

Neural Computing and Applications - In this paper, we consider a system of nonlinear delay integro-differential equations with convolution kernels, which arises in biology. This problem...     

Sodium and ultrafiltration profiling in hemodialysis: A long-forgotten issue revisited

Sodium and ultrafiltration profiling are method of dialysis in which dialysate sodium concentration and ultrafiltration rate are altered during the course of the dialysis session. Sodium and ultrafiltration profiling have been used, commonly simultaneously, to improve hemodynamic stability during hemodialysis. Sodium profiling is particularly effective in decreasing the incidence of intradialytic hypotension, while ultrafiltration profiling is suggested to decrease subclinical repeated end organ ischemia during dialysis. However, complications such as increased interdialytic weight gain and thirst due to sodium excess have prevented widespread use of sodium profiling. Evidence suggest that different sodium profiling techniques may lead to different clinical results, and preferring sodium balance neutral sodium profiling may mitigate adverse effects related to sodium overload. However, evidence is lacking on the long-term clinical outcomes of different sodium profiling methods. Optimal method of sodium profiling as well as the utility of sodium/ultrafiltration profiling in routine practice await further clinical investigation.