Design of internal model control based fractional order PID controller

This article presents a design of the internal model control(IMC)based single degree of freedom(SDF) fractional order(FO)PID controller with a desired bandwidth specification for a class of fractional order system(FOS). The drawbacks of the SDF FO-IMC are eliminated with the help of the two-degree of freedom(TDF)FO PID controller. The robust stability and robust performance of the designed controller are analyzed using an example.     

Experimental determination of mechanical parameters in sensorless vector-controlled induction motor drive

High-performance industrial drives widely employ induction motors with position sensorless vector control (SLVC). The state-of-the-art SLVC is first reviewed in this paper. An improved design procedure for current and flux controllers is proposed for SLVC drives when the inverter delay is significant. The speed controller design in such a drive is highly sensitive to the mechanical parameters of the induction motor. These mechanical parameters change with the load coupled. This paper proposes a method to experimentally determine the moment of inertia and mechanical time constant of the induction motor drive along with the load driven. The proposed method is based on acceleration and deceleration of the motor under constant torque, which is achieved using a sensorless vector-controlled drive itself. Experimental results from a 5-hp induction motor drive are presented.     

Effect of interlayer anions on the physicochemical properties of zinc–aluminium hydrotalcite-like compounds

Zinc–aluminium hydrotalcite-like compounds (ZnAlAn-–HT) with a Zn/Al atomic ratio 2.0 and An- = CO2-3, Cl-, NO-3 and SO2-4, were synthesized by coprecipitation under low supersaturation. Their physicochemical properties were studied using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), infrared (IR) and laser Raman (LR) spectra, thermogravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), evolved gas analysis (EGA), 27Al MAS NMR, BET surface area and pore-size determination. The PXRD of the synthesized samples showed that the crystallinity was affected by the nature of the anions present in the interlayer space. The IR and LR studies revealed that except the NO-3 ion, the symmetry of these interlayer anions was reduced upon intercalation. The TG, DSC and EGA results showed two or three stages of weight loss corresponding to the removal of the interlayer water, structural water and the anion, respectively. The activation energy, Ea, for the decomposition process was found to decrease in the order ZnAlCO3–HT>ZnAlSO4–HT>ZnAlCl–HT>ZnAlNO3–HT. Formation of a pentacoordinated Al (AlV) in addition to the octahedral (AlVI) and tetrahedral Al (AlIV) was the special feature noticed in the 27Al MAS NMR of the calcined samples. Thermal calcination around 500 °C resulted in the formation of non-stoichiometric ZnO whose crystallinity decreased in the order ZnAlNO3–CHT>ZnAlCl–CHT>ZnAlSO4–CHT>ZnAlCO3–HT while their extent of solid solubility was found to be the reverse. The crystallinity of the calcined samples was also correlated with surface area and pore-size determination. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Is Connectionism Compatible with Rationalism?

The main aim of this paper is to explore three connectionist stances on innateness. The argument is that connectionists can be nativists without necessarily being, for want of a better term, ‘symbolic nativists’. Also, connectionist versions of the innateness hypothesis can be just as strong in their commitment to nativism as symbolic versions. In addition, it will be claimed that these three connectionist stances on nativism concern synthetic a priori knowledge. Since the synthetic a priori is essentially a category of knowledge based on rationalist philosophy, the conclusion is that connectionism is compatible with rationalism.     

Soft Error Rate Reduction Using Circuit Optimization and Transient Filter Insertion

This paper describes a tunable transient filter (TTF) design for soft error rate reduction in combinational logic circuits. TTFs can be inserted into combinational circuits to suppress propagated single-event transients (SETs) before they can be captured in latches or flip-flops. TTFs are tuned by adjusting the maximum width of the propagated SET that can be suppressed. A TTF requires 6–14 transistors, making it an attractive cost-effective option to reduce the soft error rate in combinational circuits. A global optimization approach based on geometric programming that integrates TTF insertion with dual-V _DD and gate sizing is described. Simulation results for the 65 nm process technology indicate that a 17–48× reduction in the soft error rate can be achieved with this approach.     

A Generative Computer-Aided Process Planning System for Prismatic Components

This paper deals with design and development of a generative computer-aided process planning (CAPP) system for prismatic components and named PSG-CAPP. The proposed CAPP system has been divided into three modules. The first module is concerned with feature extraction. The second and third modules deal with planning the set-up, machine selection, cutting tool selection, cutting parameter selection, and generation of process plan sheet. The whole CAPP system is developed using Visual Basic 6.0 as front end and Oracle 7.3 as back end. The SolidWorks98 plus has been used for modelling, and feature extraction has been implemented using a program written in Visual Basic 6.0. The speciality of the developed CAPP system is that it is linked with the CAD module and it extracts the majority of features automatically prior to process planning. The developed CAPP system has been tested with aerospace components. The main feature of the proposed CAPP system is its ability to handle a variety of prismatic components and generate process plans for them. A case study has been included to highlight the potential of the CAPP system. ID="A1"Correspondance and offprint requests to: Professor P. V. Mohanram, Department of Mechanical Engineering, PSG College of Technology, Peelamedu, Coimbatore 641004, India. E-mail: msadaiah@yahoo.com     

Analytical evaluation of DC capacitor RMS current and voltage ripple in neutral-point clamped inverters

The sizing of the DC-link capacitor in a three-level inverter is based on the RMS current flowing through it. This paper analyses the DC-link capacitor RMS current in a neutral-point clamped (NPC) inverter and expresses the same as a function of modulation index, line-side current amplitude and power factor. Analytical closed-form expressions are derived for the capacitor RMS current for single-phase half-bridge, single-phase full-bridge and three-phase three-leg topologies of a three-level inverter. The worst-case capacitor current stress is determined for each topology based on the analytical expressions. Further, analytical expressions are derived for the RMS values of low-frequency and high-frequency capacitor currents. These expressions are then used to estimate voltage ripple across the DC capacitor for sinusoidally modulated three-phase NPC inverter. The analytical expressions for the RMS current and voltage ripple are validated experimentally over a wide range of operating points.     

Cost optimization of process tolerance allocation-a tree based approach

Tolerance transfer techniques are used extensively for allocation of tolerances for each machining operation in the process sequence, and hence are used to coordinate the process planning and the design activities in the evolution of a new product. This paper deals with an extended approach to allocate process tolerances based on a tree topology called technologically and topologically related surfaces (TTRS) and its subsequent extension to cost optimization. The benefit of this approach is that equations are generated explicitly with regard to tolerance transfer. These have been exploited by implementing the cost function in the generated explicit equations and subsequent optimization. The TTRS approach has been extended which scores over the limitations of some of the already existing techniques in that, it is optimal with respect to two factors namely, cost of producing the required tolerances, as also the process capability of the machines involved in producing the part. This technique has been proved practically feasible as it has been implemented in an industry. To enable a better view of the advantages of the approach, a comparative study with the existing techniques has been carried out in addition to a simulation using the Monte Carlo method.     

Computational model of edge effects in graphene nanoribbon transistors

We present a semi-analytical model incorporating the effects of edge bond relaxation, the third nearest neighbor interactions, and edge scattering in graphene nanoribbon field-effect transistors (GNRFETs) with armchair-edge GNR (AGNR) channels. Unlike carbon nanotubes (CNTs) which do not have edges, the existence of edges in the AGNRs has a significant effect on the quantum capacitance and ballistic I-V characteristics of GNRFETs. For an AGNR with an index of m=3p, the band gap decreases and the ON current increases whereas for an AGNR with an index of m=3p+1, the quantum capacitance increases and the ON current decreases. The effect of edge scattering, which reduces the ON current, is also included in the model. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com     

Environmentally assisted cracking resistance of Al–Cu–Li alloy AA2195 using slow strain rate test in 3.5% NaCl solution

The general corrosion and environmental cracking resistances of Al–Cu–Li alloy AA2195 were investigated in 3.5% NaCl environment and compared with those of another high strength alloy AA2219. The general corrosion resistance of these alloys was examined using immersion corrosion and potentiodynamic polarization tests, while the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) resistance was evaluated by slow strain rate test (SSRT) method. The tested samples were further characterized by SEM–EDS and optical profilometry to study the change in corrosion morphology, elemental content and depth of corrosion attack. The reduction in ductility was used as a parameter to evaluate the SCC susceptibility of the alloys. The results indicated that the corrosion resistance of AA2195 alloy was better than that of AA2219 alloy as it exhibited lower corrosion rate, along with lower pit depth and density. However, the SCC index (?_NaCl/?_air) measured was greater than 0.90, indicating good environmental cracking resistance of both the alloys. Detailed fractography of the failed samples under SEM–EDS, in general, revealed a typical ductile cracking morphology for both the alloys.