The aim of this thesis is to investigate the development and control of electro-pneumatic actuators in a haptic teleoperation system. For controlling the mass flow rate of such actuators, two types of valve technology are sudied, i.e. solenoid (on/off) valve and proportional servovalve. The servovalves have found widespread applications in which high accuracy of force/position control are needed. They are however typically expensive due to the requirements of high-precision manufacturing. Therefore, the low-cost solenoid valves can be an alternative to the servovalves for achieving acceptable-performance pneumatic control. Generally, the highly nonlinear of the pneumatic actuator is heightened when it uses on/off solenoid valves instead of servovalves. In this case, precise control is challenging due to the discrete-input nature of the system. Our first objective is to demonstrate that it is possible to design an acceptable performance teleoperation system using master-slave robots that have pneumatic actuators equipped with only inexpensive on/off solenoid valves. To control efficiently the switching valves, several control approaches have been proposed, namely pulse width modulation (PWM), hybrid algorithm, and sliding mode control. A hybrid control theory, which includes more switching control modes, than PWM, allows to reduce the chattering problem and improve the energy consumption of the valves. Another strategy (i.e. a sliding mode control), which does not depend on the pneumatic model, is proposed. This control stratgy allows to perform not only the transparent analysis but also the stability analysis. In order to improve the dynamic performance and reduce the chattering problem in solenoid valve actuated pneumatic teleoperation systems, a five-mode sliding control scheme has been used, which can be considered as an extension of the three-mode sliding controller. Our study demonstrates that by increasing the number of possible control actions for the valves, we can reduce the valves' switching activities, hence improving the valve's life times at no cost to teleoperation transparency. The second objective of the thesis involves in implementing the proportional servovalves on the pneumatic teleoperation system. A comparison related to the teleoperation performance between an on/off valve and a servovalve is carried out. In experiments, it is observed that with the bilateral teleoperation architecture employing solenoid valves or servovalves, satisfactory force and position tracking between the master and the slave is obtained. In bilateral teleoperation control, force sensors are often omitted to save cost and to lessen weight and volume. Therefore, another aspect of our work consists in using observers for an estimation of operator and environment forces. Experimental results show that acceptable teleoperation transparency based on a simple Nicosia observer and a tangent linear control approach can be achieved.

One of the most common goals in manufacturing is to improve the quality and accuracy of the parts being fabricated without reducing productivity. Aiming at this goal, many different manufacturing processes have been developed. Among them, machining plays a major role in increasing product accuracy. As an important machining process, grinding is a vital step that can produce both fine finish and dimensional accuracy for applications in which the workpiece material is either hard or brittle. Currently, the ball screw is the most frequently used setup for grinding machine tool feed drive. However, the existence of transmission components induces wear, high friction, backlash, and also lower system stiffness; therefore, applications of conventional feed drives for high speed and high accuracy machining are very limited. As a promising technology, a linear motor feed drive discards the transmission system; therefore, it eliminates transmission induced error, such as backlash and pitch error, and avoids stiffness reduction as well. As a result, a linear motor drive can achieve both high speed and high accuracy performance. A linear motor feed drive will be subject to external disturbances such as friction, force ripple and machining force. Due to the lack of a transmission unit, the tracking behavior of a linear motor feed drive is prone to be affected by external disturbances and model parameter variations. Thus, in order to deliver high performance, a controller should be capable of achieving high accuracy in the presence of external disturbance and parameter uncertainty. This dissertation proposes a general robust motion control framework for the CNC design of a linear motor feed drive to achieve high speed/high precision as well as low speed/high precision. An application to the linear motor feed drives in grinding machines was carried out. One of the developed algorithms is the HSMC, which combines the merits of a reaching law based sliding mode control and a modified disturbance observer for precision tracking to address the practical issues of friction, force ripple, and grinding force disturbances. Another algorithm presented is ASMC, which combines the reaching law based sliding mode control with adaptive disturbance estimation to achieve an adaptive robust motion control.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 152-158).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-126).

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: As control problems become more and more complex, techniques are required that surpass the capabilities of simple controllers that are linearized about certain parametric set points. Controllers that can operate over a large range of model parameter variations and even controllers that are largely model-independent are becoming more valuable and necessary. In this control application, voltage regulation is done on a direct AC-AC medium voltage regulator, making use of a type of regulated autotransformer configuration. The fifth order system is shown to be prone to oscillations on the input bus. This, together with the control requirement of robustness to load variations, provides a challenging control problem that is rarely addressed in literature. This thesis solves the control problem by means of applying sliding mode control on voltage regulator module level, and supervisory control on system level. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Soos die soeke na oplossings vir hedendaagse beheer probleme al hoe meer uitdagend raak, word die behoefte vir model onafhanklike en robuuste beheerders dienooreenkomstig groter. Eenvoudige beheerders wat gelineariseer is om ’n parametriese werkpunt raak ondoeltreffend vir vandag se vereistes vir doeltreffende beheer ongeag van parametriese veranderinge. In hierdie tesis word spanning regulasie toegepas deur ’n direkte WS-na-WS medium spanning reguleerder in te span. Hierdie toestel maak gebruik van ’n tipe van outotransformator opstelling waar die sekondêre wikkelings gereguleer word deur die skakelaksie van die drywingselektroniese regulasie modules. Die vyfde-orde stelsel se intree bus is geneigd om onstabiel te raak, en moet dus aktief gedemp word terwyl die uitreespanning reguleer word. Die vereiste dat die beheer boonop robuus ten opsigte van las veranderings moet wees maak hierdie probleem ’n monster van ’n uitdaging wat skaars in die literatuur aangeraak is. Hierdie tesis los die probleem van robuuste beheer op deur glymodus beheer toe te pas op reguleerder module vlak, en ook deur toesighoudende beheer op stelsel vlak toe te pas.

A grande maioria dos robôs industriais disponíveis no mercado é de alto desempenho, principalmente com relação à precisão de posicionamento. Este aspecto é um dos fatores que mais influencia no seu preço final, levando em consideração toda a complexa cadeia de elementos que fazem com que o robô opere corretamente, desde os motores e componentes mecânicos, passando pela arquitetura e sistemas de controle até o sistema de programação. Tendo isto em vista, este trabalho visa projetar um robô industrial com preço mais acessível, adequado para o uso em processos industriais que não necessitem altos níveis de precisão. Para a redução de custos de fabricação e de componentes do robô, este trabalho viabiliza o uso de atuadores pneumáticos lineares como fonte motriz, pois os mesmos são relativamente baratos, leves, não poluentes, de fácil montagem e operação, além de apresentarem uma boa relação peso/potência. Para tanto, foi implementado uma estratégia de controle por modos deslizantes com objetivo de superar as dificuldades impostas pelo comportamento não-linear dos componentes pneumáticos. Com relação à redução de custos de programação e operação do robô, desenvolveu-se um ambiente de programação off-line, através de softwares de auxilio à manufatura e de engenharia usualmente encontrados em ambientes industriais. A estratégia fundamental neste trabalho, foi o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia de projeto própria, concebida especificamente para a aplicação em projetos de robôs industriais, com os atributos de facilidade de execução e modularidade das fases envolvidas. A qual, no presente trabalho, apresenta o desenvolvimento de um robô cartesiano com três graus de liberdade acionado por atuadores pneumáticos lineares. / The great majority of industrial robots available in the market have high performance, especially relative to position accuracy. This aspect is one of the factors that most influence its final price, taking into account all complicated web elements that makes the robot operates in the correct form, since the actuators and the constructive part, passing by the architecture and control systems until the system of programming. According to these, the present work aims to project an industrial robot with more accessible costs, adequate to use in industrial process that not require high level of accuracy. For the reduction of manufacture and components costs of the robot, this work make viable to use of pneumatic actuators like a motive source, because are relatively cheap, light, not pollutants, easy assembly and operation, besides presenting a good relation weight/power. For such purpose, the strategy of control was implemented by sliding mode control for the objective to surpass the difficulties imposed by the non-linear behavior of the pneumatic components. About the reduction of programming and operation costs of the robot, an off-line programming environment was developed through manufacturing aided software and a software of engineering both usually found in industrial environments. The basic strategy in this work, was the development of an own methodology of project, conceived specifically for the application in projects of industrial robots, with the attributes of easiness of execution and modularization of the wrapped phases. That methodology, in the present work, presents the development of a Cartesian robot with three degrees of freedom actuated by pneumatic servo drive.

O presente trabalho trata do projeto, construção e análise de desempenho de um robô pneumático com três graus de liberdade. Foi fundamentado no trabalho de Frasson (2007) com alterações na escolha de componentes que permitissem a redução de custos. Tem como objetivo verificar se um robô comandado por válvulas solenóide rápidas, e controlado pela técnica baseada em modos deslizantes (Slide Mode Control), tem desempenho adequado para permitir sua aplicação em processos industriais. Os testes efetuados para constatar seu desempenho foram os de deslocamento em degrau (step) e o seguimento de trajetória. A configuração do robô é cartesiana por permitir que os eixos do robô trabalhem desacoplados, facilitando o estudo dos movimentos. Os resultados dos testes de deslocamento em degrau e os de seguimento de trajetória indicam que o robô mostrou-se eficiente no posicionamento final em relação os valores definidos pela camada limite. Observou-se também que a combinação entre o tempo de resposta da válvula solenóide e a vazão de ar que atravessa à válvula (constante no caso de válvulas solenóide) estabelece a dinâmica dos cilindros e, dependendo da velocidade determinada para o deslocamento do êmbolo resulta impossível manter a movimentação dentro da camada limite escolhida. Desta forma o robô cartesiano com acionamento por eletroválvulas pneumáticas e controlado através da técnica baseada em modos deslizantes, mostrou-se eficiente para tarefas em que é necessário um de posicionamento final dentro da camada limite, como podem ser as de montagem e armazenamento, por exemplo. Já nas aplicações em que o seguimento de trajetória se torna necessário, deve ser feito um estudo considerando o tempo de acionamento das válvulas, a vazão de ar e as velocidades que o robô deve desempenhar para determinar se a largura da camada limite necessária é aceitável para a aplicação pretendida. / The present work tries the design, construction and analysis of performance of one three degrees of freedom pneumatic robot. This work was substantiated in the work of Frasson (2007) with some alterations in the components choice to reduce costs. This work objective is to verify the robot, being commanded by quick solenoid valves, and controlled by a technique based on Slide Mode Control, permits their application in industrial trials. The tests performed for establish his performance were the displacement in step function and the following of path. This robot has a Cartesian configuration because the axis is free to move alone and the study of axes movement is easy. The tests results indicate that a pneumatic robot had precise perform in the tests of displacement in step, positioning itself inside the streak of default tolerance in each one of the axes. Also the solenoid valve response time and the solenoid valve air flux make a cylinder dynamics and depends on speed choice to piston movement may be impossible to maintain the motion inside of the sliding surface. Then a Cartesian pneumatic robot commanded by fast solenoid valves a having an Slide Mode Control show efficient to deal with assignments which need a final location inside the limit area, as assemblies or storage assignments. In cases where following of path is important, is need an specific study on valves switching time, air flow and speed needed in robot operation to determine if the limit region defined is accepted for the assignments choiced.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-02T11:16:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-09-01Bitstream added on 2014-12-02T11:20:54Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000799068.pdf: 3768476 bytes, checksum: 1308aec4b04ff8dc2b7a52a958654f9b (MD5) / Este trabalho trata de sistemas incertos com controle com modos deslizantes. O foco principal das contribuições é dado na investigação deste método de controle realizado através de rede de comunicação sujeitas a atrasos. Para minimizar os efeitos degenerativos dos atrasos, preditores de estado no seu formato mais simples são utilizados na lei de controle. São feitas análises da robustez da estabilidade e também da influência que as incertezas e atrasos exercem sobre o comportamento destes sistemas em malha fechada. Para corroborar os resultados apresentados nas análises, são realizadas simulações em um modelo matemático de um sistema de ordem dois, em um modelo linear do sistema de suspensão ativa e em um modelo não linear do sistema pêndulo invertido. Neste último, o atraso é tratado como uma falha e apresenta-se uma estratégia para detectar e adaptar os controladores a este tipo de falha. Também são investigados, através de simulações, aplicações do controle com modos deslizantes em dois processos integrantes do tratamento primário de petróleo / This work deals with control of uncertain systems with sliding modes. The main focus of the contributions is given in the investigation of this method of control accomplished via communication network subject to time delay. To minimize the degenerative effects of delay, state predictors in its simpler format is used in the control law. Analyses of the stability robustness are made and also analyses about the influence that the uncertainties and delay exert on the behavior of closed-loop systems. To corroborate the results presented in the analyses, simulations are performed on a mathematical model of a system of order two, in a linear model of the active suspension system and a nonlinear model of the inverted pendulum system. In this last, the delay is treated as a failure and a strategy to detect and adapt the controllers to this type of failure is presented. Through simulations, sliding mode control in two processes of the primary oil treatment is also investigated

A grande maioria dos robôs industriais disponíveis no mercado é de alto desempenho, principalmente com relação à precisão de posicionamento. Este aspecto é um dos fatores que mais influencia no seu preço final, levando em consideração toda a complexa cadeia de elementos que fazem com que o robô opere corretamente, desde os motores e componentes mecânicos, passando pela arquitetura e sistemas de controle até o sistema de programação. Tendo isto em vista, este trabalho visa projetar um robô industrial com preço mais acessível, adequado para o uso em processos industriais que não necessitem altos níveis de precisão. Para a redução de custos de fabricação e de componentes do robô, este trabalho viabiliza o uso de atuadores pneumáticos lineares como fonte motriz, pois os mesmos são relativamente baratos, leves, não poluentes, de fácil montagem e operação, além de apresentarem uma boa relação peso/potência. Para tanto, foi implementado uma estratégia de controle por modos deslizantes com objetivo de superar as dificuldades impostas pelo comportamento não-linear dos componentes pneumáticos. Com relação à redução de custos de programação e operação do robô, desenvolveu-se um ambiente de programação off-line, através de softwares de auxilio à manufatura e de engenharia usualmente encontrados em ambientes industriais. A estratégia fundamental neste trabalho, foi o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia de projeto própria, concebida especificamente para a aplicação em projetos de robôs industriais, com os atributos de facilidade de execução e modularidade das fases envolvidas. A qual, no presente trabalho, apresenta o desenvolvimento de um robô cartesiano com três graus de liberdade acionado por atuadores pneumáticos lineares. / The great majority of industrial robots available in the market have high performance, especially relative to position accuracy. This aspect is one of the factors that most influence its final price, taking into account all complicated web elements that makes the robot operates in the correct form, since the actuators and the constructive part, passing by the architecture and control systems until the system of programming. According to these, the present work aims to project an industrial robot with more accessible costs, adequate to use in industrial process that not require high level of accuracy. For the reduction of manufacture and components costs of the robot, this work make viable to use of pneumatic actuators like a motive source, because are relatively cheap, light, not pollutants, easy assembly and operation, besides presenting a good relation weight/power. For such purpose, the strategy of control was implemented by sliding mode control for the objective to surpass the difficulties imposed by the non-linear behavior of the pneumatic components. About the reduction of programming and operation costs of the robot, an off-line programming environment was developed through manufacturing aided software and a software of engineering both usually found in industrial environments. The basic strategy in this work, was the development of an own methodology of project, conceived specifically for the application in projects of industrial robots, with the attributes of easiness of execution and modularization of the wrapped phases. That methodology, in the present work, presents the development of a Cartesian robot with three degrees of freedom actuated by pneumatic servo drive.

O presente trabalho trata do projeto, construção e análise de desempenho de um robô pneumático com três graus de liberdade. Foi fundamentado no trabalho de Frasson (2007) com alterações na escolha de componentes que permitissem a redução de custos. Tem como objetivo verificar se um robô comandado por válvulas solenóide rápidas, e controlado pela técnica baseada em modos deslizantes (Slide Mode Control), tem desempenho adequado para permitir sua aplicação em processos industriais. Os testes efetuados para constatar seu desempenho foram os de deslocamento em degrau (step) e o seguimento de trajetória. A configuração do robô é cartesiana por permitir que os eixos do robô trabalhem desacoplados, facilitando o estudo dos movimentos. Os resultados dos testes de deslocamento em degrau e os de seguimento de trajetória indicam que o robô mostrou-se eficiente no posicionamento final em relação os valores definidos pela camada limite. Observou-se também que a combinação entre o tempo de resposta da válvula solenóide e a vazão de ar que atravessa à válvula (constante no caso de válvulas solenóide) estabelece a dinâmica dos cilindros e, dependendo da velocidade determinada para o deslocamento do êmbolo resulta impossível manter a movimentação dentro da camada limite escolhida. Desta forma o robô cartesiano com acionamento por eletroválvulas pneumáticas e controlado através da técnica baseada em modos deslizantes, mostrou-se eficiente para tarefas em que é necessário um de posicionamento final dentro da camada limite, como podem ser as de montagem e armazenamento, por exemplo. Já nas aplicações em que o seguimento de trajetória se torna necessário, deve ser feito um estudo considerando o tempo de acionamento das válvulas, a vazão de ar e as velocidades que o robô deve desempenhar para determinar se a largura da camada limite necessária é aceitável para a aplicação pretendida. / The present work tries the design, construction and analysis of performance of one three degrees of freedom pneumatic robot. This work was substantiated in the work of Frasson (2007) with some alterations in the components choice to reduce costs. This work objective is to verify the robot, being commanded by quick solenoid valves, and controlled by a technique based on Slide Mode Control, permits their application in industrial trials. The tests performed for establish his performance were the displacement in step function and the following of path. This robot has a Cartesian configuration because the axis is free to move alone and the study of axes movement is easy. The tests results indicate that a pneumatic robot had precise perform in the tests of displacement in step, positioning itself inside the streak of default tolerance in each one of the axes. Also the solenoid valve response time and the solenoid valve air flux make a cylinder dynamics and depends on speed choice to piston movement may be impossible to maintain the motion inside of the sliding surface. Then a Cartesian pneumatic robot commanded by fast solenoid valves a having an Slide Mode Control show efficient to deal with assignments which need a final location inside the limit area, as assemblies or storage assignments. In cases where following of path is important, is need an specific study on valves switching time, air flow and speed needed in robot operation to determine if the limit region defined is accepted for the assignments choiced.