Extended sliding mode observer based robust adaptive backstepping controller for electro-hydraulic servo system: Theory and experiment

This paper firstly presents an extended sliding mode observer (ESMO) for the electro-hydraulic servo systems (EHSSs) to deal with nonlinear factors like the external disturbance, parameter uncertainties as well as unmodeled characteristics in the EHSS. The model for the EHSS is established by taking these nonlinear factors into consideration and then the statespace representation is obtained. According to the state space, the ESMO for the EHSS is presented, the equivalence principle is properly utilized to simplify the ESMO and some saturation functions are employed to eliminate high frequency interferences caused by the chattering phenomenon. Based on estimated values from the ESMO, a robust adaptive backstepping controller (RABC) is presented in detail with taking some parameter uncertainties into consideration to further improve the tracking performance. The proposed controller has the following advantages: (1) utilizing the ESMO to cope with these nonlinear factors; (2) parameter online adaptive laws are employed in the RABC design to further improve the tracking performance. In order to verify the performance of the proposed controller, an experiment bench was established. Two sine waves reference signal (one amplitude 0.01 m, 1 Hz; the other 0.015 m, 2 Hz) are employed to verify the performance of the controller. Comparative experimental results show that: (1) the tracking performance of the proposed controller is better than that of a DOs based BC, a BC and a PI controller; (2) estimation values from the ESMO contains fewer noise than two conventional disturbance observers (DOs), which will decrease the control input ripples.     

Improved DV-Hop based on parallel and compact whale optimization algorithm for localization in wireless sensor networks

Wireless Networks - Improving localization performance is one of the critical issues in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). As a range-free localization algorithm, Distance Vector-Hop(DV-Hop) is...     

Relationship of structure and enhanced photocatalytic activity of S-scheme BiOCl/g-C3N4 heterojunction for xanthate removal under visible light

Constructing heterojunctions is an excellent way to enhance the photocatalytic property of semiconductors. Herein, a range of S-scheme BiOCl/g-C₃N₄ heterojunctions with varying mass ratios were designed using a facile hydrothermal route, and their photocatalytic ability was assessed by degrading the ethyl xanthate (EX) under visible light (λ > 400 nm). The results showed that the degradation efficiency of BiOCl/g-C₃N₄-0.1 heterojunction for EX was up to 91.2 % within 180 min, and its apparent rate constants (K_app) were 4.3 and 11 times greater than those of BiOCl and g-C₃N₄, respectively. The experimental and characterization results revealed that the excellent photocatalytic property was ascribed to the construction of S-scheme heterojunctions. Such structure not only enhanced the visible light response but also facilitated the efficient separation of photoinduced carriers with the S-scheme transfer route, retaining strong redox-capable holes and electrons to participate in surface reactions. Furthermore, the cycling experiments indicated that the fabricated photocatalysts have great recyclability and stability. Based on the results of active substance capture, the S-scheme charge transfer model was proposed and the photodegradation mechanism of EX was reasonably elucidated. Overall, this work offers some theoretical direction for the design and construction of S-scheme heterojunctions with superior visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance.     

Effects of bottom profile on the circulation and classification of particles in cylindrical hydrocyclones

The cylindrical hydrocyclone has been increasingly used in coarse classification due to its reduced fine particle entrainment, but the loss of coarse particles to overflow remains an intractable problem. Based on the notion that the strong circulation flow caused by the flat bottom structure bears primary responsibility for the problem, this study designs eight unique bottom profiles to regulate the particle circulating flow and attempts to correlate particle circulation flow with classification performance. The effects of the bottom profile on flow field characteristics, particle spatial distribution, circulation flow rates, and grade efficiency are explored in detail using validated models in a Φ200 mm cylindrical hydrocyclone. The findings suggest that bottom profiles have the greatest effect on the axial velocity near the bottom and the grade efficiency of intermediate and coarse particles, while all unique designs have the potential to lower turbulence intensity. An ascending segment near the wall or a descending segment near the axis can help to mitigate the misplacement of coarse particles by reducing particle circulation flow without affecting the entrainment of fines appreciably. Additionally, two circles are found on each side of the cut plane, which is conducive to releasing coarse particles from the circulation flow. Regulation of particle circulation flow by adjusting bottom profile parameters can improve separation performance.     

Investigating paper vs. screen in real-life hospital workflows: Performance contradicts perceived superiority of paper in the user experience

IntroductionAll hospitals in the province of Styria (Austria) are well equipped with sophisticated Information Technology, which provides all-encompassing on-screen patient information. Previous research made on the theoretical properties, advantages and disadvantages, of reading from paper vs. reading from a screen has resulted in the assumption that reading from a screen is slower, less accurate and more tiring. However, recent flat screen technology, especially on the basis of LCD, is of such high quality that obviously this assumption should now be challenged. As the electronic storage and presentation of information has many advantages in addition to a faster transfer and processing of the information, the usage of electronic screens in clinics should outperform the traditional hardcopy in both execution and preference ratings.This study took part in a County hospital Styria, Austria, with 111 medical professionals, working in a real-life setting. They were each asked to read original and authentic diagnosis reports, a gynecological report and an internal medical document, on both screen and paper in a randomly assigned order. Reading comprehension was measured by the Chunked Reading Test, and speed and accuracy of reading performance was quantified. In order to get a full understanding of the clinicians' preferences, subjective ratings were also collected.ResultsWilcoxon Signed Rank Tests showed no significant differences on reading performance between paper vs. screen. However, medical professionals showed a significant (90%) preference for reading from paper. Despite the high quality and the benefits of electronic media, paper still has some qualities which cannot provided electronically do date.     

The asymptotic structure of the Morris–Lecar model

In this paper, the asymptotic structure of the Morris–Lecar (ML) model in the concepts of slow manifold and fast foliation is analyzed based on the Tikhonov's theorem. The rationality of the well-known V, N reduced ML system is discussed, and a new V, N reduced ML system is derived from a more reasonable asymptotic structures of the original ML system, which we propose.     

Adaptive neural control for uncertain stochastic nonlinear strict-feedback systems with time-varying delays: A Razumikhin functional method

This paper addresses the problem of adaptive neural control for a class of uncertain stochastic nonlinear strict-feedback systems with time-varying delays. A novel adaptive neural control scheme is presented for this class of systems, based on a combination of the Razumikhin functional approach, the backstepping technique and the neural network (NN) parameterization. The proposed adaptive controller guarantee that all the error variables are 4-Moment semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded in a compact set while the system output converges to a small neighborhood of the reference signal. Two simulation examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control schemes.     

Characterisation and control of bubbling behaviour in gas–solid fluidised beds

Bubbling fluidised beds are often exploited for the good mixing of phases they promote, which is required in many chemical processes. However, the bubbles cause heterogeneity in the fluidised system, and their dynamics must be understood for good process control. In this paper, the dynamic behaviour of the bubbles in a planar gas–solid fluidised bed is described analytically and experimentally validated. The bed resembles a temporary buffer of gas for which the bubble residence time in the bed is important. Subsequently, a closed-loop controller was developed using visual feedback to regulate the process.