Stabilization control of a hovering model insect: lateral motion

Our previous study shows that the lateral disturbance motion of a model drone fly does not have inherent stability (passive stability),because of the existence of an unstable divergence mode.But drone flies are observed to fly stably.Constantly active control must be applied to stabilize the flight.In this study,we investigate the lateral stabilization control of the model drone fly.The method of computational fluid dynamics is used to compute the lateral control derivatives and the techniques of eigenvalue and eigenvector analysis and modal decomposition are used for solving the equations of motion.Controllability analysis shows that although inherently unstable,the lateral disturbance motion is controllable.By feeding back the state variables (i.e.lateral translation velocity,yaw rate,roll rate and roll angle,which can be measured by the sensory system of the insect) to produce anti-symmetrical changes in stroke amplitude and/or in angle of attack between the left and right wings,the motion can be stabilized,explaining why the drone flies can fly stably even if the flight is passively unstable.     

Coordinating control of multiple rigid bodies based on motion primitives

This paper studies the problem of coordinated motion generation for a group of rigid bodies.Two classes of coordinated motion primitives,relative equilibria and maneuvers,are given as building blocks for generating coordinated motions.In a motion-primitive based planning framework,a control method is proposed for the robust execution of a coordinated motion plan in the presence of perturbations.The control method combines the relative equilibria stabilization with maneuver design,and results in a closeloop motion planning framework.The performance of the control method has been illustrated through a numerical simulation.     

Distributed coordinated tracking of multiple autonomous underwater vehicles

This paper considers the distributed coordinated tracking problem of multiple autonomous underwater vehicles with a time-varying reference trajectory. Each vehicle is subject to model uncertainty and time-varying ocean disturbances. A novel predictor-based neural dynamic surface control design approach is proposed to develop the node controllers, under which synchronization between vehicles can be reached on condition that the augmented graph induced by the vehicles and the reference trajectory contains a spanning tree. The prediction errors are used to update the neural adaptive laws, which enable fast identifying the vehicle dynamics without excessive knowledge of their dynamical models. Further, this result is extended to the output-feedback case where only position-yaw information can be measured. A local predictor, based on its own position-yaw information, is constructed, not only to recover the unmeasured velocity information, but also to identify the unknown dynamics for each vehicle. A linear matrix inequality-based analysis is performed for the stability of the predictor. Then, distributed output-feedback tracking controllers are developed to achieve synchronization between vehicles in the presence of unknown dynamics and unmeasured velocities. For both cases, the stability properties of the closed-loop network are established via Lyapunov analysis. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.     

Collision avoidance strategies and coordinated control of passenger vehicles

Recent research has demonstrated the efficaciousness of the coordinated control of platoons of vehicles in order to homogenize the traffic flows and improve the exploitation of the capacity of road networks. Yet, taking into account the necessity of reducing, in the next years, the number of accidents involving pedestrians or other vulnerable road users (VRUs), like cyclists and motorcyclists, it seems useful to provide the control systems of the vehicles of the platoon with some collision detection and avoidance capability. This issue is investigated in this paper. The control system presented in this paper allows to maintain cruise conditions, and, as a novelty with respect to consolidated proposals, to avoid the collision with possible VRUs present on the road. The proposed control system is realized by means of vehicle supervisors, which, on the basis of the data acquired by the sensors, make the decision on which is the appropriate current control mode for each controlled vehicle, and manage the switches among low-level controllers. These are designed relying on a simple bicycle model, and according to a sliding mode control methodology. This choice is motivated by the robustness features of the sliding mode design, which appears particularly appropriate dealing with the automotive context.     

Flow structures of gaseous jets injected into water for underwater propulsion

Gaseous jets injected into water are typically found in underwater propulsion,and the flow is essentially unsteady and turbulent.Additionally,the high water-to-gas density ratio can result in complicated flow structures;hence measuring the flow structures numerically and experimentally remains a challenge.To investigate the performance of the underwater propulsion,this paper uses detailed Navier-Stokes flow computations to elucidate the gas-water interactions under the framework of the volume of fluid(VOF) model.Furthermore,these computations take the fluid compressibility,viscosity,and energy transfer into consideration.This paper compares the numerical results and experimental data,showing that phenomena including expansion,bulge,necking/breaking,and back-attack are highlighted in the jet process.The resulting analysis indicates that the pressure difference on the rear and front surfaces of the propulsion system can generate an additional thrust.The strong and oscillatory thrust of the underwater propulsion system is caused by the intermittent pulses of the back pressure and the nozzle exit pressure.As a result,the total thrust in underwater propulsion is not only determined by the nozzle geometry but also by the flow structures and associated pressure distributions.     

Development of high-mobility tracked vehicles for over snow operations

This paper describes a detailed investigation into the effects of some of the major design features on the mobility of tracked vehicles over snow. The investigation was carried out using the latest version of an advanced computer simulation model, known as NTVPM, developed under the auspices of Vehicle Systems Development Corporation (VSDC), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Results show that the road wheel system configuration, initial track tension (i.e., the tension in the track system when the vehicle is stationary on a level, hard ground) and track width have significant effects on vehicle mobility over snow. On deep snow where the vehicle belly (hull) contacts the snow surface, the location of the centre of gravity (C.G.) of the sprung weight in the longitudinal direction has a noticeable effect on vehicle mobility, as it affects the attitude of the belly and the belly–snow interaction. Based on the investigation, a conceptual high-mobility tracked vehicle for over snow operations is discussed. Results of this study will provide the vehicle designer with guiding principles for the development of high-mobility tracked vehicles. It also demonstrates that NTVPM is a useful and effective tool for design and performance evaluation of tracked vehicles from a traction perspective.     

膜扑翼飞行器的变形研究

最近昆虫翼的变形成了研究热点,而扑翼飞行器的变形力学研究却几乎无人问津.然而,无论昆虫、鸟类还是扑翼飞行器在飞行时,翼的变形都是存在的,要精确计算翼扑动产生的气动力,必须考虑其变形.本文比较了导致变形产生的膜扑翼飞行器的惯性力和气动力在一个周期中的变化情况,发现它们的峰值比值为2左右,然后提出了在随体坐标系中的固支边界条件,采用有限元法计算了惯性力和气动力分别对变形的影响,发现扑翼飞行器的气动力对变形的影响是不可忽略的重要因素,而惯性力与气动力的合力引起的最大正变形发生在下扑初始阶段,最大负变形发生在上扑初始阶段.本文为扑翼飞行器的设计提供了力学分析基础.     

Coupled acoustic–structural response of optimized ring-stiffened hull for scaled down submerged vehicle subject to underwater explosion

One of the major problems confronted by the designer of submersibles is to minimize the weight of the pressure hull for increasing the payload of a crew and necessary equipment and to simultaneously enhance the strength of the pressure hull for withstanding hydrostatical pressure, underwater explosive loading and other environmental loading. Hence, this paper presents the optimal design of a small-scale midget submersible vehicle (MSV) pressure hull with a ring-stiffened cylinder and two hemispherical ends subjected to hydrostatic pressure, using a powerful optimization procedure combined the extended interior penalty function method (EIPF) with the Davidon-Fletcher-Powell (DFP) method. According to the above optimum design results, we built up midget submersible vehicle finite element model. Then, the coupled acoustic–structural arithmetic from the widely used calculation program of the finite element – ABAQUS, was used to simulate and analyze the transient dynamic response of a midget submersible vehicle pressure hull that experiences loading by an acoustic pressure shock wave resulting from an underwater explosion (UNDEX). The analytical results are presented which will be used in designing stiffened optimum submersible vehicle so as to enhance resistance to underwater shock damage.     

A method for predicting the internal motion resistance of rubber-tracked undercarriages,Pt. 1. A review of the state-of-the-art methods for modeling the internal resistance of tracked vehicles

This article summarizes the known methods for calculating the internal resistance of tracked undercarriages. The values of the coefficient of internal resistance for sample tracked vehicles are available in the literature and presented in this paper. Although they are suitable for simple computations, they cannot be used to optimize the energy efficiency of new generation tracked undercarriages. This problem might be solved by the models where every phenomenon leading to energy dissipation during vehicle motion is described by a separate submodel as a function of vehicle speed, track tension, undercarriage layout, design features of the undercarriage components, etc. This kind of model is still missing for vehicles with conventional rubber tracks. The article presents multiple state-of-the-art models describing rolling resistance of road wheels, bending resistance of rubber belts, etc., including the models of belt conveyors resistance. A vast majority of the phenomena discussed herein are described by several incompatible models whose parameters have not yet been determined for conventional rubber tracks. Consequently, in the second and the third part of the article, the authors have undertaken a theoretical and experimental studies on the methods for calculating and optimizing the internal motion resistance of vehicles with conventional rubber tracks.     

A mathematical model for spatial motion of tracked vehicles on soft ground

A mathematical model which predicts spatial motion of tracked vehicles on non-level terrain has been developed. The motion of the vehicle is represented by three translational and three rotational degrees of freedom. In order to incorporate the inelastic deformation of soil, a soil-track interaction model is introduced; this constitutive model relates the traction exerted on the track by soil to the slip velocity and sinkage of the track. The model is based upon available soil plasticity theories and furnishes mechanics-based interpretation of Bekker's empirical relations. For planar motion the proposed model reduces to the existing equations of motion by introducing kinematic constraints on the vertical translation, pitching and rolling degrees-of-freedom.     

Bounded controllers for LOS-based coordinated path following in networks of marine surface vehicles with delayed communications

Nonlinear Dynamics - The purpose of this paper is to develop a new type of coordinated path following controllers for multiple marine surface vehicles (MSVs) which track parameterized paths under...     

Terminal sliding mode control for coordinated motion of a space rigid manipulator with external disturbance

The control problem of coordinated motion of a free-floating space rigid manipulator with external disturbance is discussed. By combining linear momentum conversion and the Lagrangian approach, the full-control dynamic equation and the Jacobian relation of a free-floating space rigid manipulator are established and then inverted to the state equation for control design. Based on the terminal sliding mode control （SMC） technique, a mathematical expression of the terminal sliding surface is proposed. The terminal SMC scheme is then developed for coordinated motion between the base＇s attitude and the end-effector of the free-floating space manipulator with external disturbance. This proposed control scheme not only guarantees the existence of the sliding phase of the closed-loop system, but also ensures that the output tracking error converges to zero in finite time. In addition, because the initial system state is always at the terminal sliding surface, the control scheme can eliminate reaching phase of the SMC and guarantee global robustness and stability of the closed-loop system. A planar free-floating space rigid manipulator is simulated to verify the feasibility of the proposed control scheme.     

交通荷载下沥青路面车辙三维非线性有限元分析

建立了半刚性沥青路面和柔性沥青路面的三维有限元模型,采用非线性粘弹塑性理论分析了不同交通荷载对沥青路面车辙变形和切应力的影响,并考虑了刹车、路面纵坡对路面车辙的影响。结果表明:在相同荷载作用下,两种路面结构的车辙变形和切应力分布随着路面深度呈非线性分布,但不同路面结构对交通荷载变化的敏感性存在较大的差异;不同的胎压、轮载以及刹车产生的水平力对路面车辙变形有着较大的影响。当胎压为1 050 kPa及轮载为62.5 kN时,路面产生的车辙都大于在标准荷载及标准胎压时路面产生的车辙;在坡度为1%～6%时,路面纵坡对沥青路面车辙深度的影响不明显;在坡道上行车(特别是下行)时刹车是路面车辙过大的主要原因。     

Robust control for MIMO hybrid dynamical system of underwater vehicles by composite adaptive fuzzy estimation of uncertainties

An organization structure of global oscillation with respect to a cracked rotor system with oil-film force is investigated in this paper. We profit from GPU cluster parallel computing to present a number of high-quality phase diagrams, and exhibit global dynamic characteristics of the system. An interesting scenario, “eye” of chaos, is discovered in this cracked rotor system, emerging as the accumulation limit of forward and reverse period-doubling bifurcation cascades. In this system, it is a common phenomenon that the vibration response of the rotor presents three typical characteristics in parameter space with the rotation speed increasing. Moreover, these phase diagrams assist us to identify multi-attractor coexisting that makes the dynamics behavior of this system become more enrich and complex. These results we represent get us better to understand the nonlinear response of the cracked rotor system and are beneficial to control and diagnose the crack.     

Adaptive neural network control for coordinated motion of a dual-arm space robot system with uncertain parameters

Control of coordinated motion between the base attitude and the arm joints of a free-floating dual-arm space robot with uncertain parameters is discussed. By combining the relation of system linear momentum conversation with the Lagrangian approach, the dynamic equation of a robot is established. Based on the above results, the free-floating dual-arm space robot system is modeled with RBF neural networks, the GL matrix and its product operator. With all uncertain inertial system parameters, an adaptive RBF neural network control scheme is developed for coordinated motion between the base attitude and the arm joints. The proposed scheme does not need linear parameterization of the dynamic equation of the system and any accurate prior-knowledge of the actual inertial parameters. Also it does not need to train the neural network offline so that it would present real-time and online applications. A planar free-floating dual-arm space robot is simulated to show feasibility of the proposed scheme.     

Preliminary development, simulation and validation of a weigh in motion system for railway vehicles

The development of efficient Weigh In Motion (WIM) systems with the aim of estimating the axle loads of railway vehicles in motion is quite interesting both from an industrial and an academic point of view. This kind of systems is very important for safety and maintenance purposes in order to verify the loading conditions of a wide population of vehicles using a limited number of WIM devices distributed on the railway network. The evaluation of the axle load conditions is fundamental especially for freight wagons, more subjected to the risk of unbalanced loads which may be extremely dangerous both for the vehicle safety and the infrastructure maintenance. In this work the authors present the development, the simulation and the validation of an innovative WIM algorithm with the aim of estimating the axle loads $\widehat{N}$ of railway vehicles (the axle loads include the wheelset weights). The new estimation algorithm is a general purpose one; theoretically it could be applied by considering as input different kinds of track measurements (rail shear, rail bending, sleepers with sensors, etc.) and could be easily customized for different kinds of signals. In the paper a benchmark case based on rail bending measurements is proposed in which the longitudinal deformations ε _xx measured on the rail foot through strain sensitive elements are used as input. The considered input is affected by noise and bandwidth limitations and, consequently, is a good benchmark to test the robustness of the new algorithm. To estimate the axle loads, the algorithm approximates the measured physical input through a set of elementary functions calculated by means of a single fictitious load moving on the track. Starting from the set of elementary functions, the measured signal is then reproduced through Least Square Optimization (LSO) techniques: in more detail, the measured signal is considered as a linear combination of the elementary functions, the coefficients of which are the axle loads to be estimated. Authors have also developed a physical model of the railway track. The model consists of the planar FEM (finite elements method) model of the infrastructure and of the two-dimensional (2D) multibody model of the vehicle (the effects of lateral dynamics are treated as disturbances) and takes into account both the coupling between adjacent loads moving on the track and the vehicle dynamics. The physical model of the track and the innovative WIM algorithm (both considering possible measurement errors) have been validated by means of the experimental data kindly provided by Ansaldo STS and have been implemented in the Matlab and Comsol Multiphysics environments. In particular the model of the railway track has been developed expressly to test the WIM algorithm with a suitable simulation campaign when experimental data are not available; in other words it provides simulated inputs to test the WIM algorithm when there are no experimental inputs.     

气体模型对再入飞行器气动力热环境影响的数值研究

复杂外形再入飞行器的设计,需对气动力热环境进行预测,由于不同的气体模型会对预测的结果产生影响,所以气动设计时就必须考虑这一影响.采用热化学平衡气体模型和双温度热化学非平衡气体模型对复杂外形再入飞行器的气动力热环境进行了数值计算;分析了气体模型对气动力、壁面热流等值线、驻点线平动温度、振动温度、组分质量分数等特征量的影响...