Dynamic model of underwater snake-like robot using Kane’s method

In this paper, a dynamic model for an underwater snake-like robot is developed based on Kane＇s dynamic equations. This methodology allows construction of the dynamic model simply and incrementally. The partial velocity is deduced. The forces which contribute to dynamics are determined by Kane＇s approach. The generalized active forces and the generalized inertia forces are deduced. The model developed in this paper includes inertia force, inertia moment, gravity, control torques, and three major hydrodynamic forces： added mass, profile drag and buoyancy. The equations of hydrodynamic forces are deduced. Kane＇s method provides a direct approach for incorporating external environmental forces into the model. The dynamic model developed in this paper is obtained in a closed form which is well suited for control purposes. It is also computationally efficient and has physical insight into what forces really influence the system dynamics. The simulation result shows that the proposed method is feasible.     

A dynamic model of an underwater quadruped walking robot using Kane’s method

In this paper, the kinematics and dynamics of an underwater quadruped walking robot were derived based on Kane dynamic equations. This methodology allows construction of the dynamic model simply and incrementally. The velocity and angular velocity components of an underwater quadruped walking robot were served as the generalized velocities. The forces which contribute to dynamics of an underwater quadruped walking robot were determined by Kane＇s approach. The equations of hydrodynamic forces of an underwater quadruped walking robot were deduced. Hydrodynamic coefficients were determined by experiments. The dynamic model was established by obtaining the generalized active forces and the generalized inertia forces. Numerical simulations of the walking behavior on underwater flat ground were implemented to verify the dynamic model of an underwater quadruped walking robot. Simulation results show that the dynamic model is correct.     

Research of underwater self-reconfigurable system

This article describes a novel underwater robot, which is called underwater self-reconfigurable system （USS）. USS is studied and developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University. It is formed by a quantity of the same modules and works in group. Based on that, USS can change its form while working in the complicated underwater structures according to different tasks. New multi-jaw underwater docking system, piston style regulator and clamshell-like sampling module are designed for USS, these developments address the problems of underwater docking, floating condition adjusting and sampling. Besides, the gaits like wriggle, creeping, swimming and fourlegged moving have been successfully implemented in tank and lake test, which verifies the validity of the concept.     

Central pattern generator based gait control for planar quadruped robots

In this paper, a gait control scheme is presented for planar quadruped robots based on a biologic concept, namely central pattern generator （CPG）. A CPG is modeled as a group of the coupled nonlinear oscillators with an interaction weighting matrix which determines the gait patterns. The CPG model, mapping functions and a proportional-differential （PD） joint controller compose the basic gait generator. By using the duty factor of gait patterns as a tonic signal, the activity of the CPG model can be modulated, and as a result, a smooth transition between different gait patterns is achieved. Moreover, by tuning the parameters of the CPG model and mapping functions, the proposed basic gait generator can realize adaptive workspace trajectories for the robot to suit different terrains. Simulation results illustrate and validate the effectiveness of the proposed gait controllers.     

Analysis of interaction factors between two piles

A rigorous analytical method is presented for calculating the interaction factor between two identical piles subjected to vertical loads. Following the technique proposed by Muki and Sternberg, the problem is decomposed into an extended soil mass and two fictitious piles characterized respectively by Young＇s modulus of the soil and that of the difference between the pile and soil. The unknown axial forces along fictitious piles are determined by solving a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind, which imposes the compatibility condition that the axial strains of the fictitious piles are equal to those corresponding to the centroidal axes of the extended soil. The real pile forces and displacements can subequally be calculated based on the determined fictitious pile forces, and finally, the validity of the proposed approach and desired pile interaction factors may be obtained. Results confirm the portray the influence of the governing parameters on the pile interaction.     

Adaptive robust control for an active heave compensation system

Active heave compensation systems are usually employed in offshore and deep-sea operations to reduce the adverse impact of unexpected vessel’s vertical motion on the response of underwater instruments.This paper presents a control strategy for an active heave compensation system consisting of an electro-hydraulic system driven by a double rod actuator,which is subjected to parametric uncertainties and unmeasured environmental disturbances.Adaptive observer and discontinuous projection type updating law with bounded adaption rate are presented firstly to estimate the uncertain system parameters.Then a similar estimation algorithm is designed by using a multiple delayed version of the system to enhance the performance of parameter observation.A reduced order observer is also introduced to estimate unknown wave disturbances.Using the obtained uncertainty information,the resulting control development and stability analysis are implemented based on the Lyapunov’s direct method and back-stepping technique.The proposed controller guarantees the heave compensation error convergent to a bounded neighborhood around the origin.Simulations illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control system.     

Finite Element Optimization of Vee-ring Factor in Fine-blanking Process

The vee-ring is one of the most characteristic features of the fine-blanking process which is derived from the conventional blanking. With the vee-ring, a counter plate and some other working parameters, a component with a precise geometry and smoothly blanked surface can be produced without any major secondary operations. However, these working parameters are always empirically determined or determined by trial-and-error method, which is time-consuming and expensive. In this study, a numerical simulation method was used to analyze the effect of vee-ring factors on product quality, such as distance between vee-ring and punch, vee-ring height and blank holder force, so as to obtain as high clean cut ratio as possible. During the simulation, the model was assumed as axisymmetric one and the workpiece was considered as rigid plastic material, meanwhile the tools were defined as rigid bodies so as to shorten the computational time. A damage model taking into account the influence of hydrostatic stress was used to simulate material fracture in fine-blanking. The result obtained from the simulation indicated that with the help of vee-ring, the metal material near the shear band does not flow with the punch penetration and high compressive stress in the shear band is generated. Consequently, higher clean cut ratio can be obtained with a vee-ring model than the one obtained with a plane blank holder model. Furthermore, the longer the distance between vee-ring and punch is, the higher the height of roll-over becomes.     

Geometrical design of blade＇s surface and boundary control of Navier-Stokes equations

In this article a new principle of geometric design for blade＇s surface of an impeller is provided. This is an optimal control problem for the boundary geometric shape of flow and the control variable is the surface of the blade. We give a minimal functional depending on the geometry of the blade＇s surface and such that the flow＇s loss achieves minimum. The existence of the solution of the optimal control problem is proved and the Euler-Lagrange equations for the surface of the blade are derived. In addition, under a new curvilinear coordinate system, the flow domain between the two blades becomes a fixed hexahedron, and the surface as a mapping from a bounded domain in R2 into R3 , is explicitly appearing in the objective functional. The Navier-Stokes equations, which include the mapping in their coefficients, can be computed by using operator splitting algorithm. Furthermore, derivatives of the solution of Navier- Stokes equations with respect to the mapping satisfy linearized Navier-Stokes equations which can be solved by using operator splitting algorithms too. Hence, a conjugate gradient method can be used to solve the optimal control problem.     

An Active Endoscopy Robotic System for Direct Tracheal Inspection

The development of active endoscopy techniques is one important area of medical robot.This paper designed a new flexible and active endoscopy robotic system for direct tracheal inspection.The mobile mechanism of the robot is based on the inchworm movement actuated by pneumatic rubber actuator.There are five air chambers controlled independently,by adjusting pressures in air chambers,the robot can move in a straight mode or in a bending mode.The inspection sensors and some therapy surgery tools can be equipped in the front of the robot.The prototype was made and its mechanical characteristics were analyzed.The robot could move smoothly in a small plastic tube,and the robot is respectable to be used for inspection in human trachea directly.     

Mobile Robot Hierarchical Simultaneous Localization and Mapping Using Monocular Vision

A hierarchical mobile robot simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) method that allows us to obtain accurate maps was presented. The local map level is composed of a set of local metric feature maps that are guaranteed to be statistically independent. The global level is a topological graph whose arcs are labeled with the relative location between local maps. An estimation of these relative locations is maintained with local map alignment algorithm, and more accurate estimation is calculated through a global minimization procedure using the loop closure constraint. The local map is built with Rao-Blackwellised particle filter (RBPF), where the particle filter is used to extending the path posterior by sampling new poses. The landmark position estimation and update is implemented through extended Kalman filter (EKF). Monocular vision mounted on the robot tracks the 3D natural point landmarks, which are structured with matching scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) feature pairs. The matching for multi-dimension SIFT features is implemented with a KD-tree in the time cost of O(lbN). Experiment results on Pioneer mobile robot in a real indoor environment show the superior performance of our proposed method.     

CAE-Based Robust Optimization for Deep-Drawing Process of Sheet Metal Forming Using Grey Relational Analysis Method

The theory of grey systems is a new technique for performing prediction, relational analysis and decision making in many areas. The grey relational analysis was used to optimize the deep-drawing process parameters with considerations of the multiple response (the wrinkle, crack and thinning variation). The deep-drawing parameters, such as the blank holding force (F_ bh ), the radii of punch and die (R_1,R_2), the coefficients of friction (μ_1,μ_2,μ_3) are considered. An orthogonal array is used for the experimental design. The multiple response values are obtained making use of finite element analysis (FEA). Optimal process parameters are determined by the grey relational grade obtained from the grey relational analysis for multi-performance characteristics (the wrinkle, crack and the thinning). The analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the grey relational grade is implemented. The results show that the quality of stamped parts can be improved effectively through the new approach. The grey relational analysis can be applied in sheet metal forming.     

DATA MODELING METHOD BASED ON PARTIAL LEAST SQUARE REGRESSION AND APPLICATION IN CORRELATION ANALYSIS OF THE STATOR BARS CONDITION PARAMETERS

Objective To investigate various data message of the stator bars condition parameters under the condition that only a few samples are available, especially about correlation information between the nondestructive parameters and residual breakdown voltage of the stator bars. Methods Artificial stator bars is designed to simulate the generator bars. The partial didcharge(PD) and dielectric loss experiments are performed in order to obtain the nondestructive parameters, and the residual breakdown voltage acquired by AC damage experiment. In order to eliminate the dimension effect on measurement data, raw data is preprocessed by centered-- compress. Based on the idea of extracting principal components, a partial least square (PLS) method is applied to screen and synthesize correlation information between the nondestructive parameters and residual breakdown voltage easily. Moreover, various data message about condition parameters are also discussed. Results Graphical analysis function of PLS is easily to understand various data message of the stator bars condition parameters. The analysis Results are consistent with result of aging testing. Conclusion The method can select and extract PLS components of condition parameters from sample data, and the problems of less samples and malticollinearity are solved effectively in regression analysis.     

Kinematics Modeling of an Omnidirectional Autonomous Mobile Robot with Castor Wheels

The kinematics model of an omnidirectional wheeled mobile robot （WMR） platform with 3 castor wheels was built, which includes the actuated inverse solution and the sensed forward solution. Motion simulations verify the consistency between the actuated inverse solution and the sensed forward solution. Analysis results show that the WMR possesses 3 degrees of freedom, and its motion trajectory is a straight line. The ＂pushing＂ and ＂pulling＂ motion patterns of the WMR can be generated by using different wheel orientations. It can be used in the places where the space is limited.     

A Practical Approach of Developing Mathematical Model for All Speed Governors

The paper introduced a special approach for diesel‘s all-speed-governor modeling, which, in some cases,could solve the knotty problem frequently met in computer simulation of diesel propulsion system or diesel generating set. Suppose that it is hard to get a control-oriented governor mathematical model when the general approaches, the analytical approach or the experimental approach, are applied, and that an open-loop step response of the diesel engine and its system is available by means of computer simulation, the critical three parameters of a governor mathematical model, the proportional gain Kp, integral time constant Ki, and derivative time constant Kd, can be determined by use of PID tuning method which are widely applied in industrial process control. This paper discussed the train of thought of the approach, precondition, procedure, several modifications of the classical PID model, and some points for attention. A couple of case studies were given to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.     

H ∞ parameter identification and H 2 feedback control synthesizing for inflight aircraft icing

Aircraft icing accident happens frequently. Researchers try to find new ways to solve this problem. The study is facing the direction of intelligent inspection and control system. Previous studies focused on the principle of aircraft icing and its effects on flight performance. The onboard icing detection equipment can only give the qualitative icing information, but cannot effectively describe how serious the consequences would be. If the icing detection equipment fails, it will cause a serious threat to flight safety. This paper reviews the smart icing system and its fundamental principle. Then based on H∞ theory, an aircraft icing parameter identification method is introduced, and its feasibility is verified by simulation results. Moreover, this method can work normally under noise interference and measurement error. Icing parameter identification method can also test part of aircraft’s stability or control derivatives which would be changed obviously after aircraft icing. Classified by neural networks, the stability or control derivatives’ variation can be mapped to ice parameters’ variation that reflects the severity of aircraft icing. Then H2 state feedback control is designed originally to suppress the impact of noise interference, so aircraft can keep steady after it is iced. Seeing from simulation result of the whole system, it is clear that the system can effectively detect icing parameters and by using feedback control system, it can ensure the safety of aircraft in the flight envelope.     

Power management of parallel hybrid electric power train

This paper presents an integrated and detailed procedure to improve the power management feature implemented in the integrated starter-generator(ISG) parallel hybrid electric vehicle.First,the configuration of the single-shaft ISG hybrid vehicle model established in MATLAB-Simulink environment is given.The vehicle model then is validated by comparing the experimental measurements and the simulation predictions of the traditional vehicle.The baseline rule based control strategy and the optimal control strategy using the dynamic programming(DP) algorithm are introduced.Finally,a suboptimal control strategy which employs the new control rules extracted from the optimal control strategy is designed with the remarkable fuel consumption performance.     

Study on Probability Plot Correlation Coefficient of the Log-Weibull Distribution

The log-Weibull distribution is a variant of the three-parameter Weibull distribution. The probability plot of a distribution model is desired since it can help to decide on whether the model is appropriate for fitting a given dataset and can provide the initial estimate of the model parameters. The decision on the appropriateness of a distribution is somehow subjective. This paper presents a probability plot of the log-Weibull distribution(LWPP). The distribution of the probability plot correlation coefficient is studied. From this distribution, a lower confidence limit is determined for determining whether the probability plot correlation coefficient derived from a given data set is large enough. The appropriateness and usefulness of this study are illustrated by two real-world examples.     

A New MPEG-2 Rate Control Method Based on Model Classification

The paper proposed a new MPEG-2 rate control method that is based on model classification. The macro-blocks are classified according to their prediction errors, and different parameters are used in the rate-quantization and distortion quantization model. The different model parameters are calculated from the previous frame of the same type in the process of coding. These models are used to estimate the relations among rate, distortion and quantization of the current frame. Further steps, such as R-D optimization based quantization adjustment and smoothing of quantization of adjacent macroblocks, are used to improve the quality. The results of the experiments prove that the technique is effective and can be realized easily. The method presented in the paper can be a good way for MPEG rate control.     

Nonlinear Modeling and Neuro-Fuzzy Control of PEMFC

The proton exchange membrane generation technology is highly efficient, and clean and is considered as the most hopeful “green” power technology. The operating principles of proton exchange membrane fuel cell （PEMFC） system involve thermodynamics, electrochemistry, hydrodynamics and mass transfer theory, which comprise a complex nonlinear system, for which it is difficult to establish a mathematical model and control online. This paper analyzed the characters of the PEMFC; and used the approach and self-study ability of artificial neural networks to build the model of nonlinear system, and adopted the adaptive neural-networks fuzzy infer system to build the temperature model of PEMFC which is used as the reference model of the control system, and adjusted the model parameters to control online. The model and control were implemented in SIMULINK environment. The results of simulation show the test data and model have a good agreement. The model is useful for the optimal and real time control of PEMFC system.