In this thesis different control methods are applied to the beam and ball system. Test setup for the previous thesis is handled, circuit assemblies and hardware redesigned. As the system is controlled by the control law partitioning method by a computer, discrete time system model is created. The controllability and the observability of the system are analyzed and a nonlinear controller by using control law partitioning in other words computed torque is designed. State feedback control algorithm previously designed is repeated. In case of calculating the non measurable state variables two different reduced order observers are designed for these two different controllers, one for control law partitioning controller and the other for state-feedback controller. Two controller methods designed for the thesis study are tested in the computer environment using modeling and simulation tools (Also a different controller by using sliding mode controller is designed and tested in the computer environment using simulation tools). A controller software program is written for the designed controller algorithms and this software is tested on the test setup. It is observed that the system is stable when we apply either of the control algorithms.

Despite its simple construction, robustness and low manufacturing cost, the application areas of SR motors are remained limited due to the high level of acoustic noise and torque ripple. In this thesis work, two different type of controllers are designed and implemented in order to minimize the acoustic noise and torque ripple which are considered as the major problems of SR motors. In this scope, first the possible acoustic noise sources are investigated. A sliding mode controller is designed and implemented to reduce the shaft torque ripple which is considered as a major source of acoustic noise. The performance of the controller is experimentally tested and it is observed that especially in low speed region reduction of torque ripple is significant. The torque ripple minimization performance of the controller is also tested at different speeds and the acoustic noise levels are recorded simultaneously. Comparing the noise mitigation with the noise reduction the correlation between the acoustic noise and shaft torque ripple is investigated. The results obtained from this investigation indicated that the torque ripple is not a major source of acoustic noise in SR motors. After this finding, radial force which is the other possible acoustic noise source of SRM is taken into consideration. The effects of control parameters on radial force and the motor efficiency are investigated via simulations. With the intuition obtained from this analysis, a switching angle neuro-controller is designed to minimize the peak level of radial forces. The performance of the mentioned controller is verified through noise records under steady state conditions. Regarding to the radial force simulations and the acoustic noise measurements, it is deduced that the radial force is the major source of acoustic noise. On the other hand, another controller is designed and implemented which increases the average torque per ampere value in order to increase the efficiency of the motor. It is seen that this controller has a good effect on increasing the efficiency but does not guarantee to operate at maximum efficiency.

This report evaluates the option of using an equal slip controller, an effective rolling radius and rolling resistance force observer in a 4WD wheel loader. The vehicle studied is an under development- vehicle designed by Volvo CE. A wheel loader is an over actuated, articulated vehicle that is mainly used with low velocities in construction operations. The efficiency subject has been studied earlier by many manufacturers in order to analyze the environmental and economical losses and profits. This has provided research opportunities of optimizing efficiency of different kinds. Since the tire is the only part of a vehicle that is in contact with the ground, the characteristic of the tire effects the dynamics. The analysis shows that the efficiency of a tire is directly connected to the slip ratio which in turn is a component of the overall efficiency ratio. Studies show that the slip ratio should be controlled in such a way that the highest value of efficiency rate is obtained. This optimal value is dependent on all four wheel’s slip conditions. Therefore a strategy should be formulated in order to apply changes to all wheels and not only one. Further analysis shows that the maximum efficiency in a 4WD wheel loader is obtained when the vehicle runs in such a way that the slip ratio is equal for all wheels. I order to maintain same amount of slip for all wheels a control strategy is required. In the control strategy the current amount of slip of each wheel is determined. Further, the average value of slip ratio is calculated. Finally the equal amount of slip is achieved using corresponding optimal torque inputs for each individual wheel. Thus a stable, robust controller is required. The controller used to achieve this goal is a sliding mode controller that is popular among control engineers for its stability, robustness against uncertainties, speed and easy implementation. For an accurate control, states of the rolling resistance and the effective rolling radius need to be determined. The pressure acting on the tire will cause deformation on the tire itself. This leads to a dynamic radius of the tire. This deformation is highly dependent on vertical stress and the structure of tire. Further more velocity, inflation pressure, vertical load etc. also have effect on rolling resistance. Rolling resistance has a great impact on the fuel consumption of the vehicle and the driving characteristics. These estimated variations of effective radius and rolling resistance build a feedback system to the controller which in turn derives the system to the desired slip ratio. As it turns out, the slip efficiency is increased using an equal slip controller. However, it is highly dependent on the ratio of thrust between front and rear wheels. / Denna rapport utvärderar möjligheten att använda en olinjär regulator i syfte att sätta lika stor ’slip’ på fordonets alla fyra hjul. Vidare ska en olinjär observerare modelleras för att uppskatta den så kallad hjulets effektiva radie samt rollmoståndskraften som verkar på däcket. Det studerade fordonet är en hjullastare konstruerad av Volvo CE och som i nuläget är under utveckling. En hjullastare är ett overmanövrerat fordon som huvudsakligen används i låga hastigheter i bygg- och transportverksamheter. Effektivitet är ett ämne som har studerats tidigare av många tillverkare för att analysera miljörelaterade och ekonomiska förluster och vinster. Detta har gett forskarna möjligheten att studera effektivitet av olika slag. Eftersom däcket är den enda delen av ett fordon som kommer i kontakt med marken, påverkar dess karaktär fordonets dynamika beteende i helhet. Analysen visar att däckets effektivitet är direkt kopplad till slipförhållande som i sin tur är en del av det totala effektivitetsförhållandet. Studier visar att slipförhållandet bör kontrolleras på ett sådant sätt att det högsta värdet av effektivitet uppnås. Detta optimala värde är beroende av slipförhållanden hos alla fyra hjul och därför bör en strategi formuleras för att nå optimalt slipeffektivitet på alla hjul. Ytterligare analys visar att maximal slipeffektivitet i en 4WD hjullastare erhålls när fordonet går så att slipförhållandet är lika för alla hjul. I kontrollstrategin bestäms det nuvarande slipförhållandet för varje hjul. Av dessa beräknas medelvärdet som skall presentera referensvärdet av slipförhållandet. Slutligen upp-nås detta värde med motsvarande optimala momentinmatningar för varje enskilt hjul. Styralgoritmen som används för att uppnå detta mål är en Sliding mode regulator som är populär bland kontrollingenjörer för dess stabilitet, robusthet mot osäkerhet, snabbhet och enkel implementering. För en noggrann kontroll måste tillstånden av rullmotståndskraften och effektiv rull-radien observeras. De verkande krafterna på hjulet orsakar deformation på däcket som ger upphov till däckets dynamiska radie. Denna deformation är starkt beroende av vertikal spänning och däckets struktur. Vidare har hastighet, däckets lufttryck, vertikal belastning etc. också effekt på rullmotståndskraften. Rullmotstånd har stor inverkan på fordonets bränsleförbrukning och drivegenskaper. Dessa variationer av effektivradie och rullmotstånd bygger ett återkopplat system till regulatorn som i sin tur leder systemet till önskat slipförhållande. Som det visar sig, ökar slipeffektiviteten med hjälp av "equal slip" styralgoritm. Detta är emellertid mycket beroende av förhållandet av momentinmatningar mellan fram och bakhjulet.

Active anti-roll bars have recently found greater acceptance among premium car manufacturers and optimal application of this technology has emerged as an important field of research. This thesis investigates the potential of implementing active anti-roll bars in a passenger vehicle with the purpose of increasing customer value. For active anti-roll bars, customer value is defined in terms of vehicle’s ride comfort and handling performance. The objective with this thesis is to demonstrate this value through development of a control algorithm that can reflect the potential improvement in ride comfort and handling. A vehicle with passive anti-roll bars is simulated for different manoeuvres to identify the potential and establish a reference for the development of a control algorithm and for the performance of active anti-roll bars. While ride is evaluated using single-sided cosine wave and single-sided ramps, handling is evaluated using standardized constant radius, frequency response and sine with dwell manoeuvres.The control strategy developed implements a combination of sliding mode control, feed forward and PI-controllers. Simulations with active anti-roll bars showed significant improvement in ride and handling performance in comparison to passive anti-roll bars. In ride comfort, the biggest benefit was seen in the ability to increase roll damping and isolating low frequency road excitations. For handling, most significant benefits are through the system’s ability of changing the understeer behaviour of the vehicle and improving the handling stability in transient manoeuvres. Improvement in the roll reduction capability during steady state cornering is also substantial. In conclusion, active anti-roll bars are undoubtedly capable of improving both ride comfort and handling performance of a vehicle. Although the trade-off between ride and handling performance is significantly less, balance in requirements is critical to utilise the full potential of active anti-roll bars. With a more comprehensive control strategy, they also enable the vehicle to exhibit different driving characteristics without the need for changing any additional hardware.