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Report (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. M.S. 1991. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-97). Also available via the Internet.

Report (M. Eng.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-82). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

With the increase in electronic equipment implemented in various systems, as well as the increase in calculating power that these devices offer, designers are being empowered to make use of this power in real-time systems to diagnose and protect the systems themselves. This reasoning is too compounded by the focus on efficiency and safety in the design of complex systems, as well as the increasing expense and sensitivity of the electronic components themselves. With this in mind, this dissertation aims at developing a comprehensive measurement, control and reaction system for the electrical diagnosis and ultimately optimisation of complex electrical and electronic systems. This system will serve as a real-time diagnosis tool, which will enable the real-time diagnosis of various components in an electro-mechanical system, which can then be interpreted to determine the working state of the various components. Another sphere of this project will involve the accurate monitoring of the battery status as well as actively balancing the series connected batteries. The focus on the batteries will seek to prolong the life of the batteries, while being able to squeeze as much capacity out of them. The initial design and testing will be based on an AGV system implemented at VWSA, however a main goal throughout the design process will be modularity, i.e. the ease of implementation of this system in other systems. The key technologies used in the development of this system will still comprise of the components used in the original AGV, however new prototype components sourced from Microcare are used for the battery management system, while current sensors directly connected to the PLC’s analog input ports will be used for the active monitoring of currents distributed through the AGV.

published_or_final_version / Electrical and Electronic Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Traditional simulation languages and simulators do not fully support the need to design, modify, and extend simulation models of manufacturing systems, especially, material handling systems. Since AGV systems, one type of automated material handling systems, require complicated control logic, flexible job routings, and frequent layout modifications and extensions to correspond to production requirements, the time consumption and efforts to achieve the above tasks in traditional paradigms are significant. However, such difficulties can be overcome by the use of object-oriented simulation. This research develops an object-oriented modeling architecture for the simulation of AGV (automated guided vehicle) systems by extending Beaumariage's object-oriented modeling environment (1990) which is originally designed for the simulation of job shop type manufacturing systems. For this extension, several classes required to comprise an AGV system are created into the original environment which include AGV, limited size queue, control point, track segment, machine cell, AGV system control classes, and so on. This architecture provides a flexible environment that enables the modeling of traditional and tandem AGV system layouts. A best-first search approach, one artificial intelligence search algorithm, is employed to direct AGVs to determine the shortest path from all possible travel paths. The computerized modeling system with this conceptual architecture is easy to use, especially compared with traditional simulation tools. In addition, the extended object-oriented architecture used for the simulation of AGV systems is program independent and may be implemented in any object-oriented language. The prototype system implemented as a portion of this research is performed in Smalltalk/V. Two case examples are presented for verification and validation. / Graduation date: 1996

The simulation tools that are used to model vehicle systems have not been advancing as quickly as the growth of research and technology surrounding the advancements of vehicle technology itself. A topological vehicle systems modelling package would use Modelica to take advantage of the flexibility and modularity of the language, the inherent multi-domain workspace and analytical accuracy of model equations. This package is defined through the use of SuperBlocks, a generalized model that allows the user to select and parameterize the appropriate sub-system directly within the workspace. This palette of SuperBlocks would be implemented within MapleSim6 to create MapleCar. This provides a customized balance between speed and accuracy after taking advantage of advanced graph-theoretic solutions methods used in MapleSim. MapleCar provides several advantages to a user over conventional tools. The SuperBlocks would ease the required steps to model a full vehicle system by providing clear, simple connections to quickly get a simulation assembled. Next, each SuperBlock is represented by a model that contains a replaceable model, a Modelica function which allows its internal model to be changed through a user-friendly parameter selection. The combination of sub-systems accessible directly through a parameter allows a variety of vehicle systems to be easily assembled, as well as provide a container for future models to be shared and published. A short demonstration of connecting these vehicle SuperBlocks from the MapleCar package is provided using MapleSim6. The generalized vehicle component palette provides a straight-forward, customizable drag-and-drop interface to assist in generating vehicle models for simulation. Conclusions and recommendations are provided at the end.

Thesis (M.Eng.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2002. / CD-ROM has title: CD-ROM companion for Master's thesis. Bibliography: leaves 124-130.

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