Sharif Digital Repository

Trolling mode atomic force microscopy (TR-AFM) has overcome many imaging problems in liquid environments by considerably reducing the liquid-resonator interaction forces. The finite element model of the TR-AFM resonator considering the effects of fluid and nanoneedle flexibility is presented in this research, for the first time. The model is verified by ABAQUS software. The effect of installation angle of the microbeam relative to the horizon and the effect of fluid on the system behavior are investigated. Using the finite element model, frequency response curve of the system is obtained and validated around the frequency of the operating mode by the available experimental results, in air... 

In this paper, the modeling and impedance-control of a one link flexible robot is presented. The concept of impedance control of flexible link robots is rather new and is being addressed for the first time. The control algorithm is valid for both constrained and unconstrained maneuvers. First, equations of motion and the associated boundary conditions are derived using Hamilton's principle. A linear finite dimensional model is, then, generated in the Cartesian coordinates, using the assumed mode method and by introduction of a proper coordinate transformation. The target impedance is, then, introduced in the Cartesian coordinate system and a control law is designed to realize the proposed... 

In this article, impedance control of a two link flexible link manipulators is addressed. The concept of impedance control of flexible link robots is rather new and is being addressed for the first time by the authors. Impedance Control provides a universal approach to the control of flexible robots, in both constrained and unconstrained maneuvers. The initial part of the paper concerns the use of Hamilton's principle to derive the mathematical equations governing the dynamics of joint angles, vibration of the flexible links and the constraining forces. The approximate elastic deformations are then derived by means of the Assumed-Mode-Method (AMM). Using the singular perturbation method, the... 

This paper proposes a multi-objective structure for the optimization of an engine control unit mapping. In this way, first an integrated engine-vehicle model is developed. The objective functions for the optimization problem can be defined from this model. After describing the structure of the optimization problem, two different multi-objective genetic algorithms, namely Distance-based Pareto Genetic Algorithm and Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (together with Entropy-based Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm), are proposed and implemented. The results demonstrate the superiority of this computerized structure to the manual mapping methods and also more generality of the... 

In this paper, development of a MATLAB-based computer environment for optimization of EMS calibration is presented. The objective is to eliminate the complicated and tedious calibration process on chassis dynamometer or at least reduce the time required. In this way, first a black-box model of engine is developed. Then this model is linked to ADVISOR -The renowned vehicle simulation software- to obtain an integrated engine-driveline model. This model is used in the optimization process, which includes different optimization techniques. Copyright © 2004 SAE International  

Four nonlinear Model Reference Adaptive Impedance Controllers are introduced, tested, and compared for the control of the robot impedance with uncertainties in model parameters. The intended application area is human-robot interactions (HRI), particularly rehabilitation robots and haptic interfaces. All of the controllers make the closed-loop dynamics of the robot similar to the reference impedance model besides providing asymptotic tracking of the impedance model for the robot end-effector in Cartesian coordinates. The tracking and global stability are proved using Lyapunov stability theorem. Based on the simulations and experiments on a two-DOFs robot, the effectiveness of the proposed... 

The economical operations of power plants and environmental awareness are the major factors affecting the importance of control in boiler-turbine units. In this paper, a multivariable nonlinear model of boiler-turbine unit is considered. Drum pressure, electric output and water level of drum (as output variables) are adjusted at desired values by manipulation of valve positions for fuel, steam and feed-water flow rates (as input variables). Nonlinear dynamics of the unit is investigated through the concepts of bifurcation and limit cycles behaviour. In the presence of harmonic disturbances, some coefficients of the dynamic model, fuel and steam flow rates play as the bifurcation parameters.... 

An analytical solution for obtaining steady-state eddy-current-based force on a levitated permanent magnet above a plate with linear conductivity in the field of an electromagnet having cylindrical symmetry is presented in this paper. In literature, the force due to eddy current in this levitation system have been used for high precision positioning of a levitated permanent magnet without providing an explicit analytical model. In this system, a change in the coil's current and also the motion of the levitated permanent magnet in 3-D space generate eddy current in the plate. A novel explicit solution for obtaining damping forces due to these eddy currents is obtained as a function of... 

The economical operations of power plants and environmental awareness are the major factors affecting the importance of control in boiler-turbine units. In this paper, a multivariable nonlinear model of boiler-turbine unit is considered. Drum pressure, electric output and water level of drum (as output variables) are adjusted at desired values by manipulation of valve positions for fuel, steam and feed-water flow rates (as input variables). Nonlinear dynamics of the unit is investigated through the concepts of bifurcation and limit cycles behaviour. In the presence of harmonic disturbances, some coefficients of the dynamic model, fuel and steam flow rates play as the bifurcation parameters.... 

To guarantee the safety and efficient performance of the power plant, a robust controller for the boiler-turbine unit is needed. In this paper, a robust adaptive sliding mode controller (RASMC) is proposed to control a nonlinear multi-input multi-output (MIMO) model of industrial boiler-turbine unit, in the presence of unknown bounded uncertainties and external disturbances. To overcome the coupled nonlinearities and investigate the zero dynamics, input-output linearization is performed, and then the new decoupled inputs are derived. To tackle the uncertainties and external disturbances, appropriate adaption laws are introduced. For constructing the RASMC, suitable sliding surface is... 

Performance of a haptic device is evaluated based on the concept of transparency. Stability of a haptic device prevalently has been evaluated based on the passivity criterion. Due to conservativeness of passivity, it appears as an obstacle to improve transparency. In this paper, passivity is suggested to be replaced by the complementary stability criterion which accounts for the robust stability of the interaction in the presence of uncertain user hand dynamics. In this respect, an algorithm is proposed which guarantees transparency of the haptic device in a stable manner. Assuming that the dynamics of the device is known, a certain compensatory structure is assigned. This special structure... 

In this paper, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) has been used to identify the dynamics of robots used in haptic and master slave devices in order to improve transparency. In haptic and master slave devices, transparency depends on some factors such as robot's mass and inertia, gravitational forces and friction [1]. In such systems, mass and inertia of the robot has an undesirable effect on the system outputs, which should be neutralized for improved transparency. The main purpose of this paper introducting a method to neutralize the undesirable effects of mass and inertia of the robot. A recurrent multilayer perceptron (RMLP) is used in a way that the inputs and outputs of the neural network... 

In this paper, motion of a micro-robot with two perpendicular vibrational actuators is studied. In this work, separation of the micro-robot body from the substrate of motion is modeled. If the applied vertical force to the micro-robot body is greater than its weight, body of the micro-robot jumps apart from the substrate and then returns to it. This motion will continue intermittently until it is damped. In this condition, the motion mechanism of “stick-slip” is not valid, and a hybrid motion according to “stick-slip-jump” mode is governed. By increasing the applied vertical force, the motion velocity of the micro-robot becomes disordered and unrepeatable. By numerical solving of the... 

Large amplitude oscillation of the power transmission lines, which is also known as galloping phenomenon, has hazardous consequences such as short circuiting and failure of transmission line. In this article, to suppress the undesirable vibrations of the transmission lines, first the governing equations of transmission line are derived via mode summation technique. Then, due to the occurrence of large amplitude vibrations, nonlinear quadratic and cubic terms are included in the derived linear equations. To suppress the vibrations, arbitrary number of the piezoelectric actuators is assumed to exert the actuation forces. Afterwards, a Lyapunov based approach is proposed for the robust adaptive... 

Nowadays, exoskeletons have been gaining popularity due to their potential use in rehabilitation and augmentation. These robots often utilize series elastic actuators to facilitate compliant interaction with the human. Numerous studies have been carried out with the purpose of identification and control of these type of actuators. The goal of this paper is to provide a method for dynamic modeling and identification of series elastic actuators. This model is then used in the control loop as a feed-forward term to eliminate the actuator's dynamics. Each series elastic actuator used in the Sharif wearable robot, uses a brushless DC motor, a torsional spring, a harmonic drive, a timing belt, a... 

In this paper, the stick-slip-jump motion of a micro-robot with two perpendicular vibratory actuators is studied. A practical model of this micro-robot is designed and fabricated with two Langevin type piezoelectric actuators, which are driven by harmonic voltages. Depending on the amplitude and frequency of the driving voltages of the micro-robot actuators, as well as their phase difference, the type of the motion dynamics and the states of the contact points in the motion (slipping or jumping) are determined. Considering the conditions of the contact points of the micro-robot, the motion is based on the combination of the friction drive principle (stick-slip) and jumping phenomenon. A... 

In this study, a new algorithm for explicit model predictive control of linear discrete-time systems subject to linear constraints, disturbances, uncertainties, and actuator faults is developed. The algorithm is based on dynamic programming, constraint rearrangement, multi-parametric programming, and a solution combination procedure. First of all, the dynamic programming is used to recast the problem as a multi-stage optimization problem. Afterwards, the constraints are rearranged in an innovative manner to take into account the worst admissible situation of unknown bounded disturbances, uncertainties, and actuator faults. Then, the explicit solution of the reformulated optimization problem... 

In this article, to improve the precision, performance and robustness of an industrial boiler-turbine, two robust controllers are designed. First, a robust adaptive variable structure control scheme (RAVSC) is proposed to control a nonlinear multi-inputs multi-outputs (MIMO) model of an industrial boiler-turbine unit, in the presence of significant uncertainties and external disturbances. To guarantee the reliable performance of the RAVSC, appropriate adaption and control laws are introduced to compensate the uncertainties and modeling imprecisions and guarantee the convergence to the sliding surface. Then, the robustness and stability of the proposed RAVSC is proved via Lyapunov stability... 

Efficient robust control methods are required to keep the boiler-turbine unit performance appropriately. In this paper, a hybrid multivariable robust control strategy including the regulator and observer is designed to improve the performance of an industrial boiler-turbine unit. In the nonlinear model of the process, output variables including the drum pressure, electric power and water level of the drum are controlled at the desired set-points by manipulation of the fuel, steam, and feed-water flow rates. Due to economic and technical reasons and for the estimation of process states, the full-order observer is designed. For disturbance rejection and process stability, a regulator system is... 

In this paper, the stick-slip motion of a new type of micro-robot with two perpendicular vibratory actuators is studied which is based on the friction drive principle. The actuators are based on piezo-electric phenomenon which are driven by a harmonic voltage, and both of them are mounted on the micro-robot body. These actuators cause the micro-robot moves forward or backward due to the specified phase difference between the voltages applied to vertical and horizontal actuators. Since the dynamics of the actuators affects on the micro-robot motion, so to derive the equations of motion the coupled dynamics between the body of robot and vibratory masses of actuators are considered, and the...