Minimum-fuel control of high-order systems

The minimum-fuel control problem is of special interest in various space systems. To date, solutions of minimum-fuel control problems have been carried out for relatively low-order systems. Space structures, however, are generally characterized by a large number of degrees of freedom, so that minimum-fuel control of such systems requires a new approach. In the independent modal-space control (IMSC) method, the control laws are designed in the modal space for each mode independently. The minimum-fuel problem reduces to that of a set of independent second-order systems, so that minimum-fuel control is possible. This paper shows how the IMSC method can be used to control a space structure with a minimum amount of fuel. A numerical example is presented.This research was supported by NASA Research Grant No. NAG-1-225, sponsored by the Spacecraft Control Branch, Langley Research Center.     

Wigner distribution transformations in high-order systems

By combining the definition of the Wigner distribution function (WDF) and the matrix method of optical system modeling, we can evaluate the transformation of the former in centered systems with great complexity. The effect of stops and lens diameter are also considered and are shown to be responsible for nonlinear clipping of the resulting WDF in the case of coherent illumination and nonlinear modulation of the WDF when the illumination is incoherent. As an example, the study of a single lens imaging system illustrates the applicability of the method.     

Nonlinearity tests for bilinear systems

The purpose of this paper is to develop nonlinearity tests for open-loop bilinear systems. Lagrange multiplier tests of linear systems against a bilinear alternative are proposed. A simulation study is performed to check the validity of the asymptotic null distributions of the test statistics and to investigate the power characteristics of the tests. Two recent nonlinearity tests in the time-series context are adapted to linear systems and compared with Lagrange multiplier tests. Simulation results show that the proposed Lagrange multiplier tests are more powerful than the other tests.     

Fast algorithms for high-order spline collocation systems

Summary. In this paper, we present a complete eigenvalue analysis for arbitrary order -spline collocation methods applied to the Poisson equation on a rectangular domain with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Based on this analysis, we develop some fast algorithms for solving a class of high-order spline collocation systems which arise from discretizing the Poisson equation. Received April 8, 1997 / Revised version received August 29, 1997     

Global finite-time stabilization of switched high-order rational power nonlinear systems

This works is concerned with the finite-time optimal stabilization problem for a class of switched non-strict-feedback nonlinear systems whose powers are possibly different positive odd rational numbers in the sense the powers of each subsystem might differ from others. It is well known that high-order nonlinear systems are intrinsically challenging as feedback linearization and backstepping method successfully developed for low-order systems fail to work. To this purpose, the nested saturation homogeneous controller is constructively devised to achieve global finite-time stability. Furthermore, the corresponding design parameters are optimized by minimizing a well-defined cost function, and thus an optimal controller being independent of switching signals is obtained. Simulation results are eventually provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

Worst-case evaluation complexity for unconstrained nonlinear optimization using high-order regularized models

The worst-case evaluation complexity for smooth (possibly nonconvex) unconstrained optimization is considered. It is shown that, if one is willing to use derivatives of the objective function up to order p (for \(p\ge 1\)) and to assume Lipschitz continuity of the p-th derivative, then an \(\epsilon \)-approximate first-order critical point can be computed in at most \(O(\epsilon ^{-(p+1)/p})\) evaluations of the problem’s objective function and its derivatives. This generalizes and subsumes results known for \(p=1\) and \(p=2\).     

Efficient high-order methods based on golden ratio for nonlinear systems

We derive new iterative methods with order of convergence four or higher, for solving nonlinear systems, by composing iteratively golden ratio methods with a modified Newton’s method. We use different efficiency indices in order to compare the new methods with other ones and present several numerical tests which confirm the theoretical results.     

Solitary wave solutions of the high-order KdV models for bi-directional water waves

An approach, which allows us to construct specific closed-form solitary wave solutions for the KdV-like water-wave models obtained through the Boussinesq perturbation expansion for the two-dimensional water wave problem in the limit of long wavelength/small amplitude waves, is developed. The models are relevant to the case of the bi-directional waves with the amplitude of the left-moving wave of O(ϵ) (ϵ is the amplitude parameter) as compared with that of the right-moving wave. We show that, in such a case, the Boussinesq system can be decomposed into a system of coupled equations for the right- and left-moving waves in which, to any order of the expansion, one of the equations is dependent only on the (main) right-wave elevation and takes the form of the high-order KdV equation with arbitrary coefficients whereas the second equation includes both elevations. Then the explicit solitary wave solutions constructed via our approach may be treated as the exact solutions of the infinite-order perturbed KdV equations for the right-moving wave with the properly specified high-order coefficients. Such solutions include, in a sense, contributions of all orders of the asymptotic expansion and therefore may be considered to a certain degree as modelling the solutions of the original water wave problem under proper initial conditions. Those solitary waves, although stemming from the KdV solitary waves, possess features found neither in the KdV solitons nor in the solutions of the first order perturbed KdV equations.     

Consensus of second-order and high-order discrete-time multi-agent systems with random networks

This paper studies the convergence and convergence speed for the second-order and the high-order discrete-time multi-agent systems with random networks and arbitrary weights. Random networks mean that the existence of any edge is probabilistic and independent of any other edge. By introducing the agreement set, velocity control gain and high-order state control gain, some consensus protocols are provided for the discrete-time random networks. Moreover, the per-step and asymptotic convergence factors are proposed to measure the convergence and convergence speed. Some examples and simulation results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained theoretical results.     

Synchronization in reduced-order of chaotic systems via control approaches based on high-order sliding-mode observer

The reduced-order synchronization problem of two chaotic systems (master–slave) with different dimension and relative degree is considered. A control scheme based on a high-order sliding-mode observer-identifier and a feedback state controller is proposed, where the trajectories of slave can be synchronized with a canonical projection of the master. Thus, the reduced-order synchronization is achieved in spite of master/slave mismatches. Simulation results are provided in order to illustrate the performance of the proposed synchronization scheme.     

Critical heuristics of social systems design

Health care planning, city and regional planning, energy and transportation planning, environmental design and other areas of social systems design are becoming issues of increasing concern to policy makers. Faced with complex steering problems that may have far-reaching societal implications, they except help from applied disciplines such as Operational Research, systems science, technology assessment, program evaluation, cost-effectiveness analysis, and similar approaches to scientifically informed planning. But these approaches offer little help in critically reflecting on the normative implications of the problem definitions and solution proposals they inspire.Critical Heuristics seeks to provide both the involved planners and affected citizens with a conceptual framework for identifying and discussing the normative implications of problem definitions, systems designs, program evaluations, etc. The paper introduces some key concepts of Critical Heuristics and briefly discusses their significance to ‘rational’ planning.     

Nonlinearity management in optics

We study nonlinearity management in optics by investigating the propagation of localized pulses and plane waves in a layered, cubically nonlinear (Kerr) medium that consists of alternating layers of glass and air. We show that such nonlinearity management delays the blow-up/collapse of pulses and leads to a band structure of modulationally unstable regions for plane waves. We find excellent agreement between experiments, numerical simulations, and theory. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Taxonomy of batch queueing models in manufacturing systems

Batching plays an important role in performance evaluation of manufacturing systems. Three types of batching are commonly seen: transfer batches, parallel batches and serial batches. To model the batching behavior correctly, a comprehensive classification of batching is proposed. Eight types of batching behavior are classified and corresponding queueing models are given. The newly proposed models are validated by simulation.     

Category-theoretic models of algebraic computer systems

A computer system is said to be algebraic if it contains nodes that implement unconventional computation paradigms based on universal algebra. A category-based approach to modeling such systems that provides a theoretical basis for mapping tasks to these systems’ architecture is proposed. The construction of algebraic models of general-purpose computations involving conditional statements and overflow control is formally described by a reflector in an appropriate category of algebras. It is proved that this reflector takes the modulo ring whose operations are implemented in the conventional arithmetic processors to the ?ukasiewicz logic matrix. Enrichments of the set of ring operations that form bases in the ?ukasiewicz logic matrix are found.     

Queueing models for appointment-driven systems

Many service systems are appointment-driven. In such systems, customers make an appointment and join an external queue (also referred to as the “waiting list”). At the appointed date, the customer arrives at the service facility, joins an internal queue and receives service during a service session. After service, the customer leaves the system. Important measures of interest include the size of the waiting list, the waiting time at the service facility and server overtime. These performance measures may support strategic decision making concerning server capacity (e.g. how often, when and for how long should a server be online). We develop a new model to assess these performance measures. The model is a combination of a vacation queueing system and an appointment system.