On the problem of observation spillover in self-adjoint distributed-parameter systems

The problem of observation spillover in self-adjoint distributed-parameter systems is investigated. Observation spillover occurs when the output of a limited number of sensors, located at various points on the distributed domain, cannot synthesize the modal coordinates exactly. To this end, two techniques of state estimation (namely, observers and modal filters) are described. Both techniques can be used to extract modal coordinates from the system output and to implement feedback controls. It is shown that, if the residual modes are included in the observer dynamics, observation spillover cannot lead to instability in the residual modes. The problem of the unmodeled modes does remain, however. It is also shown that the modal filters have some very attractive features. In particular, modal filters can be designed to estimate the modal coordinates with such accuracy that observation spillover can be virtually eliminated. In addition, when modal filters are used, in conjunction with a sufficiently large number of sensors, the entire infinity of the system modes can be regarded as modeled, which implies that actual distributed control of the system is possible. It is also demonstrated that modal filters are quite easy to design and are not plagued by instability problems.     

Suboptimality and stability of linear distributed-parameter systems with finite-dimensional controllers

In order to implement feedback control for practical distributed-parameter systems (DPS), the resulting controllers must be finite-dimensional. The most natural approach to obtain such controllers is to make a finite-dimensional approximation, i.e., a reduced-order model, of the DPS and design the controller from this. In past work using perturbation theory, we have analyzed the stability of controllers synthesized this way, but used in the actual DPS; however, such techniques do not yield suboptimal performance results easily. In this paper, we present a modification of the above controller which allows us to more properly imbed the controller as part of the DPS. Using these modified controllers, we are able to show a bound on the suboptimality for an optimal quadratic DPS regulator implemented with a finite-dimensional control, as well as stability bounds. The suboptimality result may be regarded as the distributed-parameter version of the 1968 results of Bongiorno and Youla.This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ECS-80-16173 and by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Grant No. AFOSR-83-0124. The author would like to thank the reviewer for many helpful suggestions.     

Decay property of solutions for damped wave equations with space-time dependent damping term

We consider the Cauchy problem for the damped wave equation with space-time dependent potential b(t,x) and absorbing semilinear term |u|^ρ−1u. Here, with b₀>0, α,β?0 and α+β∈[0,1). Using the weighted energy method, we can obtain the L² decay rate of the solution, which is almost optimal in the case ρ>ρc(N,α,β):=1+2/(N−α). Combining this decay rate with the result that we got in the paper [J. Lin, K. Nishihara, J. Zhai, L²-estimates of solutions for damped wave equations with space-time dependent damping term, J. Differential Equations 248 (2010) 403-422], we believe that ρc(N,α,β) is a critical exponent. Note that when α=β=0, ρc(N,α,β) coincides to the Fujita exponent ρF(N):=1+2/N. The new points include the estimate in the supercritical exponent and for not necessarily compactly supported data.     

Asymptotic stability of a mechanical robotics model with damping and delay

In this paper we study the asymptotic stability of a mechanical robotics model with damping and delay. This model yields a certain linear third order delay differential equation. In proving our results we make use of Pontryagin's theory for quasi-polynomials.     

Hamiltonian modelling and buckling analysis of a nonlinear flexible beam with actuation at the bottom

ABSTRACT

The use of beams and similar structural elements is finding increasing application in many areas including micro and nanotechnology devices. For the purpose of buckling analysis and control, it is essential to account for nonlinear terms in the strains while modelling these flexible structures. Further, the Poisson’s effect can be accounted in modelling by the use of a two-dimensional stress–strain relationship. This paper studies the buckling effect for a slender, vertical beam (in the clamped-free configuration) with horizontal actuation at the fixed end and a tip-mass at the free end. Including also the inextensibility constraint of the beam, the equations of motion are derived. A preliminary modal analysis of the system has been carried out to describe candidate post-buckling configurations and study the stability properties of these equilibria. The vertical configuration of the beam under the action of gravity is without loss of generality, since the objective is to model a potential field that determines the equilibria. Neglecting the inextensibility constraint, the equations of motion are then casted in port-Hamiltonian form with appropriately defined flows and efforts as a basis for structure-preserving discretization and simulation. Finally, the finite-dimensional model is simulated to obtain the time response of the tip-mass for different loading conditions.     

Nonlinear observation via global optimization methods: Measure theory approach

Nonlinear observation methods developed by Galperin (Refs. 1 and 2) and global optimization methods developed by Zheng (Refs. 3 and 4) are coupled to obtain effective procedures for solution of nonlinear observation and identification problems.The work of this author was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada under Grant No. A3492.     

Remarks on the nonlinear instability of incompressible Euler equations

In this paper, we consider the nonlinear instability of incompressible Euler equations. If a steady density is non-monotonic, then the smooth steady state is a nonlinear instability. First, we use variational method to find a dominant eigenvalue which is important in the construction of approximate solutions, then by energy technique and analytic method, we obtain the dynamical instability result.     

Modulational instability analysis of the Peregrine soliton

We perform modulational instability analysis of the Peregrine soliton. The eigensystem of the linearized perturbations results in time-dependent gain curve. The instantaneous stability of the Peregrine soliton is studied at different times and in terms of modulated spacial width. A correlation between the most unstable eigenmode and the time evolution of the Peregrine soliton is established. Our analysis explains the bifurcation of the Peregrine soliton into Ma breathers and the generation of shock waves. The theoretical approach and numerical procedure followed here may be applied to any other localized solution with nontrivial time dependence.     

Superharmonic instability of stokes waves

A stability of nearly limiting Stokes waves to superharmonic perturbations is considered numerically in approximation of an infinite depth. Investigation of the stability properties can give one an insight into the evolution of the Stokes wave. The new, previously inaccessible branches of superharmonic instability were investigated. Our numerical simulations suggest that eigenvalues of linearized dynamical equations, corresponding to the unstable modes, appear as a result of a collision of a pair of purely imaginary eigenvalues at the origin, and a subsequent appearance of a pair of purely real eigenvalues: a positive and a negative one that are symmetric with respect to zero. Complex conjugate pairs of purely imaginary eigenvalues correspond to stable modes, and as the steepness of the underlying Stokes wave grows, the pairs move toward the origin along the imaginary axis. Moreover, when studying the eigenvalues of linearized dynamical equations we find that as the steepness of the Stokes wave grows, the real eigenvalues follow a universal scaling law, that can be approximated by a power law. The asymptotic power law behavior of this dependence for instability of Stokes waves close to the limiting one is proposed. Surface elevation profiles for several unstable eigenmodes are made available through  http://stokeswave.org website.     

Effects of knowledge spillover on inter-organizational resource sharing decision in collaborative knowledge creation

Collaborative knowledge creation is important for firms to gain new competitive advantages, but knowledge outgoing spillover harms their existing competitive advantages, which puts them into a dilemma when investing R&D resources. This study formalizes and investigates this dilemma using the Stackelberg leader–follower framework. Through our analyses, we find that, (1) current knowledge creation efforts and prior knowledge are substitutable in collaborative knowledge creation, and through controlling the ratio of current knowledge creation efforts to prior knowledge invested, the leader and the follower can gain benefits from collaboration and restrict knowledge outgoing spillover simultaneously; (2) because the leader invests resources first and faces moral hazards, it has the incentives to participate in collaborative knowledge creation only when its benefits from collaborative knowledge creation fruits and knowledge incoming spillover are bigger than those of the follower, and the more moral hazards it confronts, the more it demands; (3) the leader and the follower invest resources at ratios consistent with the benefits and costs the resources bring to them if they can determine the amount, or the collaboration is unstable.     

Suppression of instability in rotatory hydromagnetic convection

Recently discovered hydrodynamic instability [1], in a simple Bénard configuration in the parameter regime under the action of a nonadverse temperature gradient, is shown to be suppressed by the simultaneous action of a uniform rotation and a uniform magnetic field both acting parallel to gravity for oscillatory perturbations whenever (Qσ ₁/π² + J/π⁴) > 1 and the effective Rayleigh numberR(1 -T ₀α₂) is dominated by either 27π⁴(1 + l/σ₁/4 or 27π⁴/2 according as σ₁ ≥1 or σ₁ ≤ 1 respectively. HereT ₀is the temperature of the lower boundary while α₂ is the coefficient of specific heat at constant volume due to temperature variation and σ₁,R,Q andJ respectively denote the magnetic Prandtl number, the Rayleigh number, the Chandrasekhar number and the Taylor number.     

A generalization of the inertia theorem for quadratic matrix polynomials

We show that the inertia of a quadratic matrix polynomial is determined in terms of the inertia of its coefficient matrices if the leading coefficient is Hermitian and nonsingular, the constant term is Hermitian, and the real part of the coefficient matrix of the first degree term is definite. In particular, we prove that the number of zero eigenvalues of such a matrix polynomial is the same as the number of zero eigenvalues of its constant term. We also give some new results for the case where the real part of the coefficient matrix of the first degree term is semidefinite.     

Numerical simulation of Richtmyer-Meshkov instability

The compressible Navier-Stokes equations discretized with a fourth order accurate compact finite difference scheme with group velocity control are used to simulate the Richtmyer-Meshkov (R-M) instability problem produced by cylindrical shock-cylindrical material interface with shock Mach number Ms=1.2 and density ratio 1:20 (interior density/outer density). Effect of shock refraction, reflection, interaction of the reflected shock     

Barotropic instability of shear flows

We consider barotropic instability of shear flows for incompressible fluids with Coriolis effects. For a class of shear flows, we develop a new method to find the sharp stability conditions. We study the flow with Sinus profile in details and obtain the sharp stability boundary in the whole parameter space, which corrects previous results in the fluid literature. Our new results are confirmed by more accurate numerical computation. The addition of the Coriolis force is found to bring fundamental changes to the stability of shear flows. Moreover, we study dynamical behaviors near the shear flows, including the bifurcation of nontrivial traveling wave solutions and the linear inviscid damping. The first ingredient of our proof is a careful classification of the neutral modes. The second one is to write the linearized fluid equation in a Hamiltonian form and then use an instability index theory for general Hamiltonian partial differential equations. The last one is to study the singular and nonresonant neutral modes using Sturm-Liouville theory and hypergeometric functions.     

A dynamic programming approach to the maximum principle of distributed-parameter systems

This paper provides a dynamic programming approach to the maximum principle for the optimal control of systems with distributed parameters. The process of the systems under consideration is governed by a partial differential equation.This paper is based on Chapter 2 of the author's PhD Thesis under the supervision of Professor S. E. Dreyfus to whom the author wishes to express his appreciation.     

The role of thermal instability in star formation

The observations tell us that the density in the giant molecularclouds in which stars are formed is inhomogeneous on a varietyof scales, but it seems unlikely that this is due to the actionof gravitational instability. This paper describes numericalcalculations using an adaptive mesh refinement magnetohydrodynamicscode that show that thermal instability may have an importantrole to play in the formation of this structure     

A Newton-based method for the calculation of the distance to instability

In this paper, a new fast algorithm for the computation of the distance of a stable matrix to the unstable matrices is provided. The method uses Newton’s method to find a two-dimensional Jordan block corresponding to a pure imaginary eigenvalue in a certain two-parameter Hamiltonian eigenvalue problem introduced by Byers [R. Byers, A bisection method for measuring the distance of a stable matrix to the unstable matrices, SIAM J. Sci. Statist. Comput. 9 (1988) 875-881]. This local method is augmented by a test step, previously used by other authors, to produce a global method. Numerical results are presented for several examples and comparison is made with the methods of Boyd and Balakrishnan [S. Boyd, V. Balakrishnan, A regularity result for the singular values of a transfer matrix and a quadratically convergent algorithm for computing its L_∞-norm, Systems Control Lett. 15 (1990) 1-7] and He and Watson [C. He, G.A. Watson, An algorithm for computing the distance to instability, SIAM J. Matrix Anal. Appl. 20 (1999) 101-116].