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Behrad Dehghan: Position Control of a Pneumatic System using Adaptive Intelligent Methods. M.A.Sc. Thesis, Queen’s University, June, 2012. A large body of research is devoted to the development of advanced control techniques to improve the positioning performance of pneumatic systems, which are known to be highly nonlinear systems. Although model based controllers show good results, the requirement for a system model makes these methods difficult to implement. So-called intelligent algorithms, such as neural networks and fuzzy rule based controllers, are attractive since they do not require a model. The performance of these controllers can be enhanced by adding an adaptive mechanism to adjust controller parameters in a continuous on-line fashion. The objective of this thesis was to explore different adaptive intelligent controllers for position control of a pneumatic system. The application was the x-axis and z-axis of a pneumatic gantry robot. They were tested independently for their ability to track step and sine wave trajectories. The rodded x-axis cylinder was an example of a short stroke low friction application. The rodless z-axis cylinder was an example of a long stroke high friction application. Five different controllers were tested: 1) PID, 2) Fuzzy, 3) PID+Adaptive Neural Network Compensator (ANNC), 4) ANNonly and 5) Fuzzy Adaptive PID (FAPID). Results with FAPID and PID+ANNC showed improvement in tracking performance over PID by 60% for the rodded and 35% for the rodless cylinder. This level of improvement was expected given the adaptive nature of the controller. Unfortunately, both required significant effort to setup and tune. In order to reduce the tuning effort, a second adaptive mechanism was added to FAPID, to adjust output weights. Results with adaptive PID and modified FAPID (MFAPID) showed further improvement performance over PID by 87% for the rodded and 70% for the rodless cylinder (in addition to being easier to tune). To provide a measure of robustness, experiments were conducted at two supply pressures and three tracking frequencies. The fact that MFAPID was able to improve performance for both cylinders, is considered further evidence of its robustness. MFAPID is considered novel for two reasons: 1) fuzzy rule set is reduced in size relative previous work and 2) addition of an adaptive mechanism for output weights is new. / Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2012-06-20 11:09:19.694

Analytic solutions to the static and stationary boundary value field problems relative to an arbitrary configuration of parallel cylinders are obtained by using translational addition theorems for scalar Laplacian polar functions, to express the field due to one cylinder in terms of the polar coordinates of the other cylinders such that the boundary conditions can be imposed at all the cylinder surfaces. The constants of integration in the field expressions of all the cylinders are obtained from a truncated infinite matrix equation. Translational addition theorems are available for scalar cylindrical and spherical wave functions but such theorems are not directly available for the general solution of the Laplace equation in polar coordinates. The purpose of deriving these addition theorems and applying them to field problems involving systems of cylinders is to obtain exact analytic solutions with controllable accuracies, thereby, yielding benchmark solutions to validate other approximate numerical methods.

Analytic solutions to the static and stationary boundary value field problems relative to an arbitrary configuration of parallel cylinders are obtained by using translational addition theorems for scalar Laplacian polar functions, to express the field due to one cylinder in terms of the polar coordinates of the other cylinders such that the boundary conditions can be imposed at all the cylinder surfaces. The constants of integration in the field expressions of all the cylinders are obtained from a truncated infinite matrix equation. Translational addition theorems are available for scalar cylindrical and spherical wave functions but such theorems are not directly available for the general solution of the Laplace equation in polar coordinates. The purpose of deriving these addition theorems and applying them to field problems involving systems of cylinders is to obtain exact analytic solutions with controllable accuracies, thereby, yielding benchmark solutions to validate other approximate numerical methods.

During the lift-off of a launch vehicle, the acoustic pressure fluctuations caused by the engine exhaust gases produce high noise levels inside the cavity of the fairing and can damage the payload inside the fairing. Hence reducing the noise transmitted into the payload bay is an important area of research. Work presented in this thesis investigates the external acoustic pressure excitations on the fairing of a launch vehicle during the lift-off acoustic environment. In particular, it investigates the external sound pressure levels in the low frequency range from 50Hz to 400Hz, on the fairing during the lift-off of a launch vehicle. This study establishes theoretical and numerical models for the prediction of external sound pressure loading on composite structures representing launch vehicles, such as a large composite cylinder referred to as a Boeing cylinder and a Representative Small Launch Vehicle Fairing (RSLVF). To predict the external sound pressure loading, various incident wave conditions were investigated, including incident plane waves, oblique plane waves and oblique plane waves with random phases that strike the circumference of the composite structures. For the theoretical model, both the incident and scattered sound pressure fields due to incident plane waves; perpendicular to an idealised long cylinder were investigated. The results show that the scattered sound pressure field plays a major role in determining the total circumferential sound pressure field at the surface of the cylinder and cannot be ignored for the launch case. The theoretical model was developed further for a point source, line source and oblique incident waves, and modified to determine the incident, scattered and total sound pressure fields away from the cylinder. The approach developed overcomes some limitations of previous analytical derivations. An experiment was undertaken to determine the sound pressure patterns at the surface of a cylinder at various frequencies due to a point source positioned at a finite distance from the cylinder surface. The experimental work confirmed the accuracy of the theoretical model for a point source at a finite distance from the cylinder. The Boundary Element Method (BEM), approach was used for the numerical investigation of the acoustic loadings. The numerical analysis was developed for various acoustic loading conditions and verified with the theoretical results, which showed that the numerical and theoretical models agree well. Both models were extended to a Boeing composite cylinder and an RSLVF for various acoustic loading conditions. The complex acoustic environment generated during the lift-off of a launch vehicle was investigated and used as a basis for the acoustic loading on an RSLVF. To predict the acoustic excitations on an RSLVF, two different source allocation techniques were investigated, which considered acoustic sources along the rocket engine exhaust flow. The investigations were conducted both numerically and analytically. Both results agree well and show that it is possible to predict the acoustic loads on the fairing numerically and analytically. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1347443 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Mechanical Engineering, 2008

Local scour around bridge piers can cause serious damages and structural failure to the bridge. Correct prediction of the scour is an important criterion for the engineering design. Though the subject has been investigated for many decades, the theoretical developments have been very limited due to the complicated interaction of three-dimensional flow and the sediment transport. This thesis concerns the flow around a vertical bottom mounted cylinder exposed to currents and is considered as the initial phase of a study towards modeling local scour around vertical bottom-mounted structures. The aim of the present study is to obtain a better understanding of the complex three-dimensional flow and the mechanisms related to the scouring. The study started with the development of a three-dimensional numerical model to simulate flow around cylindrical structures. After validation of the model, the model was applied to investigate flow around an isolated rectangular cylinder. Unsteady flows around cylinders of a square cross section (A/D = 1) and a rectangular cross section (A/D = 2) were simulated to understand the flow properties around a cylinder other than a circular cross section. Three-dimensional flow patterns, pressure distribution, forces on the cylinder and vortex-shedding frequencies were discussed. It was found that the present numerical results generally agree well with the experimental data. Flow around a vertical cylinder mounted on a rigid bed was then investigated by the numerical model. A circular and a square cross sections were considered respectively. Flow structures of horseshoe vortex and the wake vortex which are the major mechanisms leading to the scouring around the base of the vertical cylinder were explored. The bed shear stress distributions that directly affect the scour processes were discussed. Finally the numerical model was applied to study the flow around a submerged square cylinder mounted on a bed, which has significant engineering relevance to the local scour around structures, such as bridge pier foundation itself, or a caisson placed underwater around the pier bottom for scour protection. The numerical calculations were carried out at different cylinder heights to investigate the effect of the cylinder height on the flow properties. It was found that for submerged cylinders with the height of less than one and a half of the cylinder side width the maximum bed shear stress amplification is about 60% of the value of an infinite long cylinder. The quantification of the shear stress reduction is important for scour protection design.

Mémoire (M.Eng.)--Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 2001. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Thèse (M.Eng.) -- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 2003. / Bibliogr.: f. 123-126. Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2004. / Bibliography: leaves 175-182.

Η διπλωματική εργασία συνίσταται στην κατασκευή και έλεγχο, μιας πειραματικής διάταξης, στην οποία δύο πνευματικοί κύλινδροι διπλής δράσης, προσπαθούν να λειτουργήσουν συνεργατικά, για να μετακινήσουν ένα αντικείμενο που βρίσκεται ανάμεσά τους, ασκώντας του κάθε χρονική στιγμή μια επιθυμητή σταθερή δύναμη. / The aim of this diploma thesis is the cooperation of two pneumatic cylinders, in order to exert a constant force in an object while moving it, in both directions.