Leaderless and leader-follower cooperative control of multiple marine surface vehicles with unknown dynamics

Unlike the tracking control of a single marine vehicle, this paper considers the leaderless and leader-follower cooperative control of multiple marine surface vehicles subject to unknown nonlinear dynamics and ocean disturbances, all seeking to maintain a relative formation. For both cases, a cooperative control design approach is proposed by integrating neural networks, a backstepping technique, and graph theory. It is shown that with the developed cooperative controllers, formation behavior among vehicles can be achieved for any undirected connected communication graphs without requiring the accurate model of each vehicle. Based on Lyapunov stability analysis, all signals in the closed-loop system are guaranteed to be uniformly ultimately bounded, and cooperative tracking errors converge to a small neighborhood of the origin. Simulation results are given to show the efficacy of the proposed methods.     

Modeling and validation of hitch loading effects on tractor yaw dynamics

This paper develops a yaw dynamic model for a farm tractor with a hitched implement, which can be used to understand the effect of tractor handling characteristics for design applications and for new automated steering control systems. Dynamic equations which use a tire-like model to capture the characteristics of the implement are found to adequately describe the tractor implement yaw dynamics. This model is termed the “3-wheeled” Bicycle Model since it uses an additional wheel (from the traditional bicycle model used to capture lateral dynamics of passenger vehicles) to account for the implement forces. The model only includes effects of lateral forces as it neglects differential longitudinal or draft forces between inner and outer sides of the vehicle. Experiments are taken to verify the hitch model using a three-dimensional force dynamometer. This data shows the implement forces are indeed proportional to lateral velocity and that differential draft forces can be neglected as derived in the “3-wheeled” Bicycle Model. Steady state and dynamic steering data are used for implements at varying depths and speeds to quantify the variation in the hitch loading. The dynamic data is used to form empirical transfer function estimates (ETFEs) of the implements and depths in order to determine the coefficients used in the “3-wheeled” Bicycle Model. Changes in a single parameter, called the hitch cornering stiffness, can capture the various implement configurations. Finally, a model that includes front wheel drive forces is derived. Experiments are taken which provide a preliminary look into the effect of four-wheel drive traction forces, and show a difference with two-wheel versus four-wheel drive, on the yaw dynamics of a tractor with the hitched implement.     

Fully distributed spherical formation tracking control for nonlinear vehicles with spatiotemporal uncertainties and digraphs

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper addresses the spherical formation tracking control problem of nonlinear vehicles under digraphs, where the dynamics of vehicle contains spatiotemporal uncertainties...     

Autonomous and non-autonomous fixed-time leader–follower consensus for second-order multi-agent systems

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper addresses the problem of consensus tracking with fixed-time convergence, for leader–follower multi-agent systems with double-integrator dynamics, where only a...     

Distributed adaptive tracking control of multiple flexible spacecraft under various actuator and measurement limitations

This paper investigates the distributed leader–follower tracking problem for a team of flexible spacecraft over an undirected communication network with uncertain parameters subject to various actuator and measurement limitations. Assuming that at least one team member can receive information from the virtual leader, three scenarios are considered: (i) all the states of the flexible spacecraft can be completely measured and driven, (ii) only the rigid part of the flexible spacecraft can be driven with full state feedback and (iii) only the rigid part of the flexible spacecraft can be measured and driven. In the first case, a continuous adaptive control law is designed by building a unified architecture based on the linear-in-parameter property. In the second case, a distributed adaptive control algorithm is developed with a discontinuous parameter update law by treating the team of flexible spacecraft as two cascading subsystems. In the third case, a distributed adaptive control law is established with feedback from the generalized coordinates, generalized velocities and generalized accelerations of the rigid part of the spacecraft. It is theoretically proved that the closed-loop systems under the three designed adaptive control laws are all convergent to the target states. Finally, three numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the three proposed control laws.     

Effectiveness evaluation of hydro-pneumatic and semi-active cab suspension for the improvement of ride comfort of agricultural tractors

Advances have been made to agricultural tractors to improve their ride comfort. However, the ride comfort of tractors is relatively low compared to that of passenger vehicles. Many researchers have developed various types of suspension for tractors. While most studies have focused on the geometry of the suspension, few studies have been carried out on the development of a control algorithm for tractor suspension.In this paper, to improve the ride comfort of an agricultural tractor, a hydro-pneumatic suspension model with a semi-active suspension control is developed with computer simulation, and the effectiveness of the suspension is evaluated before the vehicle is equipped with the suspension and placed into production.An optimal control algorithm for the semi-active suspension of the tractor is developed using a linear quadratic Gaussian. In the simulation, a hydro-pneumatic suspension system model is developed using SimulationX and is applied to a full vehicle model using MATLAB/Simulink. The suspension is assessed by experiments and simulations. The ride comfort using the ride comfort index according to ISO 2631 is evaluated by comparing a vehicle with a passive cab suspension to that with a hydro-pneumatic suspension applied with the semi-active control.     

Micro air vehicle-motivated computational biomechanics in bio-flights: aerodynamics, flight dynamics and maneuvering stability

Aiming at developing an effective tool to unveil key mechanisms in bio-flight as well as to provide guidelines for bio-inspired micro air vehicles（MAVs） design,we propose a comprehensive computational framework,which integrates aerodynamics,flight dynamics,vehicle stability and maneuverability.This framework consists of（1） a Navier-Stokes unsteady aerodynamic model;（2） a linear finite element model for structural dynamics;（3） a fluidstructure interaction（FSI） model for coupled flexible wing aerodynamics aeroelasticity;（4） a free-flying rigid body dynamic（RBD） model utilizing the Newtonian-Euler equations of 6DoF motion;and（5） flight simulator accounting for realistic wing-body morphology,flapping-wing and body kinematics,and a coupling model accounting for the nonlinear 6DoF flight dynamics and stability of insect flapping flight.Results are presented based on hovering aerodynamics with rigid and flexible wings of hawkmoth and fruitfly.The present approach can support systematic analyses of bio- and bio-inspired flight.     

Optimal vehicle suspension characteristics for increased structural fatigue life

Heavy off-road vehicle suspension systems face unique challenges. The ride comfort versus handling compromise in these vehicles has been frequently investigated using mathematical optimisation. Further challenges exist due to the large variations in vehicle sprung mass. A passive suspension system can only provide optimal isolation at a single payload. The designer of such a suspension system must therefore make a compromise between designing for a fully-laden or unladen payload state. This work deals with suspension optimisation for vehicle structural life. The paper mainly addresses two questions: (1) What are the suspension characteristics required to ensure optimal isolation of the vehicle structure from road loads? and (2) If such optimal suspension characteristics can be found, how sensitive are they to changes in vehicle payload? The study aims to answer these questions by examining a Land Rover Defender 110 as test vehicle. An experimentally validated non-linear seven degree-of-freedom mathematical model of the test vehicle is constructed for the use in sensitivity studies. Mathematical optimisation is performed using the model in order to find the suspension characteristics for optimal structural life for the vehicle under consideration. Sensitivity studies are conducted to determine the robustness of the optimal characteristics and their sensitivity to vehicle payload variation. Recommendations are made for suspension characteristic selection for optimal structural life.     

Output-feedback formation control of wheeled mobile robots with actuators saturation compensation

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper addresses output-feedback formation control of a group of wheeled mobile robots with saturating actuators. A virtual leader–follower strategy and a...     

A roll stability performance measure for off-road vehicles

The roll stability is significant for both road and off-road commercial vehicles, while the majority of reported studies focus on road vehicles neglecting the contributions of uneven off-road terrains. The limited studies on roll stability of off-road vehicles have assessed the stability limits using performance measures derived for road vehicles. This study proposes an alternative performance measure for assessing roll stability limits of off-road vehicles. The roll dynamics of an off-road mining vehicle operating on random rough terrains are investigated, where the two terrain-track profiles are synthesized considering coherency between them. It is shown that a measure based on steady-turning root-mean-square lateral acceleration corresponding to the sustained period of unity lateral-load-transfer-ratio prior to the absolute-rollover, could serve as a reliable measure of roll stability of the vehicle operating on random rough terrains. The robustness of proposed performance measure is demonstrated considering sprung mass center height variations and different terrain excitations. The simulation results revealed adverse effects of terrain elevation magnitude on the roll stability, while a relatively higher coherency resulted in lower terrain roll-excitation and thereby enhanced vehicle roll stability. Terrains with relatively higher waviness increased the magnitude of lower spatial frequency components, which resulted in reduced roll stability limits.     

Robust adaptive formation control of underactuated autonomous surface vessels based on MLP and DOB

Nonlinear Dynamics - This paper investigates the leader–follower formation problem of multiple underactuated autonomous surface vessels in the presence of model uncertainties and...     

Longitudinal dynamics of a tracked vehicle: Simulation and experiment

In recent years virtual dynamic system simulation has become very important in the design and development stage, as new strategies can be examined without expensive measurements and with reduced time. This paper describes the development of a simulation model for transient analysis of the longitudinal dynamics of a heavy tracked vehicle. The driving inputs for this simulation model are obtained from a powertrain model. The main elements of the powertrain include the engine, Torque Converter (TC), transmission and drivetrain. Here the engine is modeled based on the engine maps from steady-state experiments. The TC is modeled based on its characteristic map from experiments. A fairly simple transmission model is used which is based on static gear ratios assuming small shift times. The final drivetrain model however includes the rotational dynamics of the sprocket. The simulation model developed is validated by comparing the predicted values with the measured data from experiments. The results have demonstrated that the developed model is able to predict fairly accurately the acceleration and braking performance of the heavy tracked vehicle on both soft and hard terrain.     

Optimization of Vehicle Suspension Systems for Improved Comfort of Road Vehicles Using Flexible Multibody Dynamics

Methods that account for the flexibility of multibody systems extend the range of applications to areas such as flexible robots, precision machinery, vehicle dynamics or space satellites. The method proposed here for flexible multibody models allows for the representation of complex-shaped bodies using general finite-element discretizations which deform during the dynamic loading of the system, while the gross rigid body motion of these bodies is still captured using fixed-body coordinate frames. Components of the system for which the deformations are relatively unimportant are represented with rigid bodies. This method is applied to a road vehicle where flexibility plays an important role in its ride and handling dynamic behavior. Therefore, for the study of the limit behavior of the vehicles, the use of flexible multibody models is of high importance. The design process of these vehicles, very often based on intuition and experience, can be greatly enhanced through the use of generalized optimization techniques concurrently with multibody codes. The use of sparse matrix system solvers and modal superposition, to reduce the number of flexible coordinates, in a computer simulation, assures a fast and reliable analysis tool for the optimization process. The optimum design of the vehicle is achieved through the use of an optimization algorithm with finite-differencesensitivities, where the characteristics of the vehicle components are the design variables on which appropriate constraints are imposed. The ride optimization is achieved by finding the optimum of a ride index that results from a metric that accounts for the acceleration in several key points in the vehicle properly weighted in face of their importance for the comfort of the occupant. Simulations with different road profiles are performed for different speeds to account for diverse ride situations. The results are presented and discussed in view of the different methods usedwith emphasis on models and algorithms.     

Elastic cables–rigid body coupled dynamics: asymptotic modeling and analysis

An elastic cables–rigid body coupled model is proposed for investigating dynamic interactions between cables’ nonlinear transversal vibrations and boundary tower’s torsional dynamics, arising in large transmission line–tower systems and suspended cable–bridge tower systems. By introducing a weak torsion assumption and a large moment of inertia for the tower, an asymptotic expansion of cables–tower coupled dynamics is conducted in a weakly nonlinear framework, and a cables–tower reduced coupled model is eventually established. After model’s validations using direct numerical simulations, two distinct kinds of coupled dynamics are fully investigated. The first is that an external torque is applied to the tower and the two cables would both be indirectly excited, asymmetrically, by the torsional/oscillating tower. The two cables’ responses are the same in this case. The second is that only one of the two cables, i.e., the leader cable, is directly excited, and the other cable, i.e., the follower one, is only indirectly excited through cables–tower dynamic interactions. In such kind of leader–follower dynamics, the leader cable is quite different from the follower one. Nonlinear coupled frequency response diagrams for both systems are constructed using numerical continuation algorithms, mainly focused on the coupled steady solutions’ stabilities and bifurcations. Furthermore, the dynamic effects of tower’s moment of inertia, wing span and damping are thoroughly investigated.

     

A coupled tire structure/acoustic cavity model

The dynamic characteristic of the tires is a key factor in the road-induced interior noise in passenger vehicles. The tire acoustic cavity is a very important factor in the tire dynamics and it must be considered in analyses. This paper describes a closed form analytical model for tire-wheel structures. In order to incorporate the dynamics of the cavity on the tire response, the tire acoustic-structure coupled problem is solved simultaneously. The tire is modeled as an annular cylindrical shell where only the outside shell is flexible, i.e. tire sidewalls and wheel are assumed rigid. From the analytical solution of the eigenproblems, both the tire structure and cavity acoustic responses are expanded in terms of their eigenfunctions. The main objective of the model is to have an efficient tool to investigate the physical coupling mechanisms between the acoustic cavity and the tire structure without the need of complicated numerical model such as finite elements. The result shows that the proposed model captures the main mechanisms of the effect of the tire air acoustic on the tire dynamics.     

Drivability analysis of through-the-road-parallel hybrid vehicles

In the last decade, Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) have spread worldwide due to their capability to reduce fuel consumption. Several studies focused on the optimisation of the energy management system of hybrid vehicles are available in literature, whilst there are few articles dealing with the drivability and the dynamics of these new powertrain systems. In this paper a ‘Through-the-Road-Parallel HEV’ is analysed. This architecture is composed of an internal combustion engine mounted on the front axle and an electric motor powering the rear one. These two powertrains are not directly connected to each other, as the parallel configuration is implemented through the road-tyre force interaction. The main purpose of this paper is the drivability analysis of this layout of HEVs, using linearised mathematical models in both time (i.e. vehicle response during tip-in tests) and frequency domain (i.e. frequency response functions), considering the effect of the engaged gear ratio. The differences from a traditional Front-Wheel-Drive (FWD) configuration are subsequently highlighted. Furthermore, the authors compare different linearised dynamic models, with an increasing number of degrees of freedom, in order to assess which model represents the best compromise between complexity and quality of the results. Finally, a sensitivity analysis of the influence of the torque distribution between the front (thermal) and rear (electric) axles on vehicle drivability is carried out and presented in detail.     

EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF ACTIVE STEERING HARDWARE-IN-LOOP BASED ON SLIDING MODE CONTROL 1)

为了提高重型车辆在转向过程中的稳定性和安全性,本文提出了一种基于滑模变结构控制的主动前轮转向控制策略,基于这种策略设计了主动转向控制器,建立了三轴商用车的二自由度车辆动力学简化模型及整车模型,利用TruckSim--Simulink建立联合仿真平台以及进行硬件在环实验。在不同工况、不同车速下,分别对有无主动转向控制器的车辆进行了操纵稳定性分析,并在此基础上进行了滑模变结构控制的主动转向影响因素敏感性分析。实验结果表明,这种控制器策略在不同工况下具有较强的适应性。     

Assessment of low-altitude atmospheric turbulence models for aircraft aeroelasticity

We investigate the dynamic aeroelastic response of large but slow aircraft in low-altitude atmospheric turbulence. To this end, three turbulence models of increasing fidelity, namely, the one-dimensional von Kármán model, the two-dimensional Kaimal model and full three-dimensional wind fields extracted from large-eddy simulations (LES) are used to simulate ambient turbulence near the ground. Load calculations and flight trajectory predictions are conducted for a representative high-aspect-ratio wing aircraft, using a fully coupled nonlinear flight dynamics/aeroelastic model, when it operates in background atmospheric turbulence generated by the aforementioned models. Comparison of load envelopes and spectral content, on vehicles of varying flexibility, shows strong dependency between the selected turbulence model and aircraft aeroelastic response (e.g. 58% difference in the predicted magnitude of the wing root bending moment between LES and von Kármán models). This is mainly due to the presence of large flow structures at low altitudes that have comparable dimensions to the vehicle, and which despite the relatively small wind speeds within the Earth boundary layer, result in overall high load events for slow-moving vehicles. Results show that one-dimensional models that do not capture those effects provide fairly non-conservative load estimates and are unsuitable for very flexible airframe design.     

A comparison of ground vehicle mobility analysis based on soil moisture time series datasets from WindSat,LIS, and in situ sensors

Soil moisture is a key terrain variable in ground vehicle off-road mobility. Historically, models of the land water balance have been used to estimate soil moisture. Recently, satellites have provided another source of soil moisture estimates that can be used to estimate soil-limited vehicle mobility. In this study, we compared the off-road vehicle mobility estimates based on three soil moisture sources: WindSat (a satellite source), LIS (a computer model source), and in situ ground sensors (to represent ground truth). Mobility of six vehicles, each with different ranges of sensitivity to soil moisture, was examined in three test sites. The results demonstrated that the effect of the soil moisture error on mobility predictions is complex and may produce very significant errors in off-road mobility analysis for certain combinations of vehicles, seasons, and climates. This is because soil moisture biases vary in both direction and magnitude with season and location. Furthermore, vehicles are sensitive to different ranges of soil moistures. Modeled vehicle speeds in the dry time periods were limited by the interaction between soil traction and the vehicles’ powertrain characteristics. In the wet season, differences in soil strength resulted in more significant differences in mobility predictions.