Sharif Digital Repository

In this note, the type number concept is defined for fractional-order systems. Based on this definition, it is shown that fractional-order systems having type numbers more than 1 can not track some classes of reference inputs without any overshoot  

Measurement of partial discharges (PDs) current pulses is found to be one of the most efficient methods to evaluate the high voltage electrical equipment insulation condition. Generators, transformers, cables and transmission lines are especially tested for the presence of PDs. In AC, the solution is well known. Phase-resolved method can be used to detect and determine partial discharge activities. Although phase-resolved method works well under AC voltage; due to lack of a cyclic variation in DC voltage and current this cannot be used when studying partial discharges in DC voltage systems. Therefore, other methods are employed to interpret the partial discharge in DC. For this purpose, the... 

In this paper, a simple fractional calculus-based control law is proposed for asymptotic tracking of ramp reference inputs in dynamical systems. Without need to add any zero to the loop transfer function, the proposed technique can guarantee asymptotic ramp tracking in plants having nonminimum phase zeros. The appropriate range for determining the parameters of the proposed control law is also specified. Moreover, the performance of the designed control system in tracking ramp reference inputs is illustrated by different numerical examples. © 2016 by ASME  

A better performance and consequently the widespread use of polymeric insulators in different parts of the power grid can increase their role in the grid reliability. The accumulation of contamination and housing-erosion are the two most effective factors in undermining the performance of this type of insulators. Therefore, electric utilities need to identify contaminated insulators for washing and cracks in polymeric housing to replace them with healthy specimens. This paper discusses the impact of contamination layer and housing-erosion of polymeric insulators on the partial discharges (PD) at the insulator surface, through RF-PRPD (phase resolved partial discharge) patterns. The existence... 

In this paper, the problem of optimal tracking control for a container ship is addressed. The multi-input-multi-output nonlinear model of the S175 container ship is well established in the literature and represents a challenging problem for control design, where the design requirement is to follow a commanded maneuver at a desired speed. To satisfy the constraints on the states and the control inputs of the vessel nonlinear dynamics and minimize the heading error, a nonlinear optimal controller is formed. To solve the resulted nonlinear constrained optimal control problem, the Gauss Pseudospectral Method (GPM) is used to transcribe the optimal control problem into a Nonlinear Programming... 

Due to the nonlinear dynamics of hydraulic systems, applying high performance closed-loop controllers is complicated. In this paper, a single-rod hydraulic actuator is considered in which load displacement (for positioning purposes) is controlled via manipulation of the input voltage to the servo-valve. Dynamics of the servo-valve is described by first and second order transfer functions (named as Models 1 and 2). Through linearization of the system around its operating points, dynamics of the hydraulic actuator is represented in the state space. A full-order observer is designed for on-line states estimation. Then, feedback control system is designed for both regulation and tracking... 

To achieve a cost-effective and reliable use of wind power generation, advanced control techniques are required. In this paper, the application of two control strategies for the improvement of wind turbine power output is investigated in the presence of model/environmental uncertainties. Rotational speed of the wind turbine and consequently its power output are controlled via manipulation of blades pitch angle (at a constant generator torque). First, the classical PID controller is designed based on root locus analysis while in the second scheme, an H∞-robust controller is designed via μ-synthesis based on DKiteration algorithm. Performance of the two controllers in tracking of the desired... 

In this research, nonlinear dynamics of an air-ehandling unit (AHU) is studied for tracking objectives, in the presence of harmonic perturbations. Three arbitrary realistic set-paths are considered for the indoor temperature and relative humidity. Two controllers based on feedback linearization (FBL) and pole placement approaches are designed to preserve the dynamic system around the desired tracking paths. It is shown that FBL controller works efficiently in bifurcation control and transforms the quasi-periodic limit cycles into the periodic ones (and consequently comfortable indoor conditions). In addition, FBL controller guarantees suppression of larger periodic limit cycles into the... 

This paper presents a robust model predictive control algorithm with a time-varying terminal constraint set for systems with model uncertainty and input constraints. In this algorithm, the nonlinear system is approximated by a linear model where the approximation error is considered as an unstructured uncertainty that can be represented by a Lipschitz nonlinear function. A continuum of terminal constraint sets is constructed off-line, and robust stability is achieved on-line by using a variable control horizon. This approach significantly reduces the computational complexity. The proposed robust model predictive controller with a terminal constraint set is used in tracking set-points for... 

Performance control of a boiler–turbine unit is of great importance due to demands for the economical operations of power plants and environmental awareness. In this paper, an optimal control strategy is designed to achieve the desired performance of a boiler–turbine unit. A multivariable nonlinear model of a utility boiler–turbine unit is considered. By manipulation of valves position for the fuel, steam and feed-water flows; output variables including the drum pressure, electric output and fluid density (and consequently drum water level) are controlled. Performance measure of the problem is defined such that the control efforts are minimized while the tracking objectives are obtained. In... 

This paper presents some computationally efficient algorithms for online tracking of set points in robust model predictive control context subject to state and input constraints. The nonlinear systems are represented by a linear model along with an additive nonlinear term which is locally Lipschitz. As an unstructured uncertainty, this term is replaced in the robust stability constraint by its Lipschitz coefficient. A scheduled control technique is employed to transfer the system to desired set points, given online, by designing local robust model predictive controllers. This scheme includes estimating the regions of feasibility and stability of the related equilibriums and online switching...