INCORPORATING PRACTICAL AND SYNTHESIS CONTENTS IN UNDERGRADUATE CONTROL EDUCATION

This paper revisits the effort over the last decade in making undergraduate control education more useful and attractive to both the control engineers and the engineers at large. With the help of further coverage in new textbooks, more practical and synthesis contents in the control courses have been incorporated. Gaps still exist, particularly in the areas of PID control and auto‐tuning, fuzzy control, overall control strategy, control structure and systems thinking, and these will be elaborated. A major challenge is in the coverage of more practical and synthesis contents in the introductory common control course for all engineers. How this may be resolved is discussed. Finally, the need for new teaching approaches such as the use of interesting case studies and the use of problem‐based learning will be outlined.     

A survey of CSCW systems

Over the last decade, computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) has emerged as an identifiable research area that focuses on the role of the computer in group work. CSCW is a generic term which combines the understanding of the nature of group working with the enabling technologies of computer networking, systems support and applications. The paper examines the classes of system which have emerged to support cooperative working. A framework for characterising and describing CSCW systems is presented and four major classes of cooperative system identified. Each of these classes of cooperative system are examined highlighting their general characteristics and applicability to CSCW.     

分布系统中多米诺效应的分析与消除

分布系统中发生故障后,错误信息在进程间的传播,以及由此引起的系统恢复过程中的多米诺效应是分布系统容错恢复技术所面临的最重要与最困难的问题.目前各种研究工作偏重于具体的系统动态恢复技术.本文的研究重点在于首次揭示多米诺效应本身固有的数量特征及其与分布系统技术参数间的联系,给出多米诺效应动态消除技术,引入系统额外开销的下限,并针对动态技术的缺点,探讨多米诺效应的静态消除技术,为解决困难开辟新途径.     

Multivariable controller design in an adaptive control scheme

A multivariable control system design approach in the frequency domain is presented. The issue of control system redesign in an adaptive control scheme is discussed. Expert system techniques have been used for the automated design of controllers for multivariable systems. Design knowledge has been represented using rules, facts and objects. The design process consists of a sequence of operations obtained by heuristics and experience in the the design techniques. An automated design session of a multivariable plant using the expert system demonstrates that the expert system appears to work well in its prototype implementation.     

Pole shifting for matrices over real algebras

Pole shifting of multivariable control system over finite dimensional real algebras is studied. The main results are expressed in terms of the minimal polynomial of A + BF, where F is a feedback.     

Effect of Plate Oscillation on Bubble Residence Time in an Aerated Stagnant Liquid

Gas transfer efficiency during absorption is an important factor in various technological processes involving the interaction between liquid and gaseous systems. It is known that gas bubble motion characteristics strongly affect the efficiency of mass transfer during gas absorption. A device for mechanical vibration of an aerated liquid was designed, based on a cylindrical column filled up with tab water and a plate oscillating in the vertical direction. The goal of the present study is to investigate the effect of vibration parameters such as amplitude, frequency and form of the applied signal on the efficiency of the oxygenation process. Bubble residence time in the liquid and bubble depth of submergence related to the oscillating plate surface were chosen as main parameters for measurements. Furthermore, experiments were conducted to study the effect of the design parameters of the vibrating plate on bubble motion characteristics. The resultant data show that bubble residence time and depth of submergence can be controlled by changing the amplitude, the frequency and the form of the vibration field applied.     

Delay-insensitive codes — an overview

The problem of delay-insensitive data communication is described. The notion of delay-insensitive code is defined, giving precise conditions under which delay-insensitive data communication is feasible. Examples of these codes are presented and analyzed. It appears that delay-insensitive codes are equivalent with antichains in partially ordered sets and with all unidirectional error-detecting codes. Tom Verhoeff received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics from Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, in 1985. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mathematics and Computing Science of the same university. His main research interests are parallel computations, especially formalisms for their specification and design, and their implementation as delay-insensitive VLSI circuits.     

Using memory and fuzzy rules in a co-operative multi-thread strategy for optimization

In this article, we analyze a co-operative multi-thread search-based optimization strategy, where each solver thread represents a different optimization algorithm (or the same one with different settings), and they are all controlled by a centralized co-ordinator. We also propose the use of memory to keep track of both the state of the individual threads and the obtained solutions. Based on this memory, a very simple fuzzy rule base is used to control the system behavior.We also present the results of three computational experiments. The first of these checks the strategy by comparing it with an independent search strategy and a sequential algorithm, and the superiority of the co-operative scheme is confirmed. The second analyzes how definition of the threads affects the quality of the results, and the importance of there being a balanced set between intensification and diversification is corroborated. The third explores the use of memory with two different fuzzy rules, and the results indicate that the best combination is to use memory together with two rules (solver dependent and solver independent ones) (although this combination should not be activated at the beginning of the search in order to avoid premature convergence).     

Reducing radiotoxicity in the long run

Stockpiles of spent nuclear fuel and weapons material are growing worldwide. So far, the only long-term strategy seriously considered is geological repository for several hundred thousand years. Transmutation is an option significantly reducing the time during which repositories have to be sealed, simplifying the task of protecting future generations from the radioactive remnants of our civilisation. This paper gives an overview of motives and priorities, and describes the main technique suggested for transmutation of nuclear waste.     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) grafted sodium alginate hydrogel beads for the controlled release of indomethacin

Graft copolymers of sodium alginate (NaAlg) with N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone were prepared using azobisisobutyronitrile as initiator. The graft copolymers (NaAlg‐g‐PVP) were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. Polymeric hydrogel beads of NaAlg and NaAlg‐g‐PVP were prepared by crosslinking method using glutaraldehyde (GA) as a crosslinker in the hydrochloric acid catalyst (HCl) and these beads were used to deliver anti‐inflammatory drug, indomethacin (IM). Chemical stability of the IM after encapsulation into beads was confirmed by FTIR. Preparation conditions of the NaAlg‐g‐PVP beads were optimized by considering the percentage entrapment efficiency, particle size, swelling capacity and their release data. In vitro release studies were performed in simulated gastric fluid (pH 1.2) for the initial 2 h, followed by simulated intestinal fluid (pH 7.4) for 4 h. Effects of GA concentration, exposure time to GA, drug/polymer (d/p) ratio, and concentration of HCl on the release of IM were discussed. It was observed that IM release from the beads decreased with increasing GA concentration and exposure time. IM release also decreases with increasing d/p ratio and HCl concentration. The highest IM release was obtained to be 77% for beads crosslinked with 0.027M GA. Swelling experiments were also performed to compute molecular mass between crosslinks of the beads. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008