A Certifiable Framework for Health Monitoring and Management

The scope of this paper is to provide an E2 Eperspective of health monitoring and management(HMM)and structural health mornitoring(SHM)as an integrated system element of an integrated system health monitoring and management(ISHM)system.The paper will address two main topics:(1)The importance of a diagnostics and prognostic requirements specification to develop an innovative health monitoring and management system;(2)The certification of a health monitoring and management system aiming at a maintenance credit as an integral part of the maintenance strategies.The development of a maintenance program which is based on combinations of different types of strategies(preventive,condition-based maintenance(CBM)and corrective maintenance…)for different subsystems or components and structures of complex systems like an aircraft to achieve the most optimized solution in terms of availability,cost and safety/certification is a real challenge.The maintenance strategy must satisfy the technical-risk and cost feasibility of the maintenance program.     

INTEGRATED VEHICLE PERFORMANCE AND EMISSION MONITORING SYSTEM

This paper discusses a vehicle performance and emission monitoring system (VPEMS) capable of interfacing with either a vehicle engine management system (EMS) or a sensor array fitted to the vehicle. It also describes the procedures used to validate the data generated by both diesel and petrol powered vehicles. These include the results of bench and field experiments using two instrumented vehicles and of experiments on a chassis dynamometer emissions test facility. The prototype VPEMS attains the specified performance levels for each of the subsystems, with aggregate mass emissions agreeing with the reference to within 11.5%, 8.1% and 17.7% for CO, CO2 and NO, respectively. The collation of these data to produce coherent spatially and temporally referenced databases of vehicle performance and the emission is demonstrated.     

Modeling and Simulation of Pipeline Security Monitoring System Based on Line-Structure Sagnac Interferometer with 3×3Coupler

The third damage action,human disruption behavior,is one of the major threats to pipeline operation.It is necessary to monitor and locate the perturbation behavior that may threat pipeline safety in real-time.Therefore,a new pipeline security monitoring system is designed by using line-structure Sagnac optic fiber interferemeter with the characteristic of 3×3coupler that can modulate the phase of optic signal,with no need for phase modulation and demodulation.The optic structure of the new system is simplified,the signal processing accuracy is improved,and the polarization effect is reduced.The working principle of the monitoring in ideal condition is described,the phase demodulation is analyzed and the location of the possible damage action point is formulated.By using simulink,the optic signal propagation and interference is simulated and interference signals in different frequencies are obtained.The results validate the feasibility of the monitoring system and indicate that the low frequency signal less than 1kHz resulting from the human damage action can be detected.The disturbance set at 10 km can be located by calculating the demodulation signal accurately over a long monitoring distance.     

MULTI-FUNCTION VEHICLE NAVIGATION AND MONITORING SYSTEM IN URBAN AREAS

A vehicle navigation and monitoring system integrated by a high precision navigation system and a vehicle black box is studied to satisfy the demand for the intelligent transportation system (ITS). Firstly, the architecture of the system is proposed. Then the integration scheme of global positioning system/dead reckoning/bluetooth beacon/map matching (GPS/DR/BB/MM) with the hluetooth assistant positioning technology, and the algorithm of the Kalman filter for the integrated GPS/DR are investigated. Finally many field trials for principle prototypes are made. Experimental results show that the proposed integrated navigation algorithm is effective and feasible, and the function of the vehicle black-box is realized.     

Panoramic Imaging System Inspired by Insect Compound Eyes

Inspired by the unique structure of insect compound eyes, a multi-channel image acquisition system is designed to photograph a cylindrical panorama of its surroundings with one shot. The hardware structure consists of an embedded ARM system and one array of 16 micro-image sensors. The system achieves the synchronization of captured photos in 10 ms, as well as 10 f/s video capture. The software architecture includes the TCP/IP proto- col, video capture procedures in ＂Poll/Read＂ or ＂video streaming＂ modes, thread pool monitoring in multi-threa- ding mutex, synchronization control with the ＂event＂ ＂mutex signal＂ and ＂critical region＂ functions, and a syn- thetic image algorithm characterized by its portability, modularity, and remote transmission. The panoramic imaging system is expected to be a vision sensor for mobile robotics.     

Fast Numerical Solution to Forward Kinematics of General Stewart Mechanism Using Quaternion

The forward kinematics of the general Stewart mechanism is studied and a fast numerical method is presented.Quaternion is utilized to model the forward kinematics and the equations are merely a system of quadratic ones.The numerical method is a nice simplification of the Newton-Raphson method when applied to this system.A simulation of the movement control of the Stewart mechanism is accomplished,confirming the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in real-time conditions.     

OUTPUT MAXIMIZATION CONTROL FOR VSCF WIND ENERGY CONVERSION SYSTEM USING EXTREMUM CONTROL STRATEGY

The energy conversion optimization control strategy is presented for a family of horizontal-axis variablespeed fixed-pitch wind energy conversion systems,working in the partial load region.The system uses a variablespeed wind turbine(VSWT)driving a squirrel-cage induction generator(SCIG)connected to a grid.A new maximum power point tracking(MPPT)approach is proposed based on the extremum seeking control principles under the assumption that the wind turbine model and its parameters are poorly known.The aim is to drive the average position of the operation point close to optimality.Here the wind turbulence is used as search disturbance instead of inducing new sinusoidal search signals.The discrete Fourier transform(DFT)process of some available measures estimates the distance of operation point to optimality.The effectiveness of the proposed MPPT approach is validated under different operation conditions by numerical simulations in MATLAB/SIMULINK.The simulation results prove that the new approach can effectively suppress the vibration of system and enhance the dynamic performance of system.     

Experiment on a Semi-Active In-Car Crib with Joint Application of Regular and Inverted Pendulum Mechanisms Using Scale Model

To reduce the collision shock and risk of injury to an infant in an in-car crib(or in a child safety bed)during a car crash,it is necessary to limit the force acting on the crib below a certain allowable value.To realize this objective,we propose a semi-active in-car crib system with the joint application of regular and inverted pendulum mechanisms.The crib is supported by arms similar to a pendulum,and the pendulum system itself is supported by arms similar to an inverted pendulum.In addition,the arm acting as a regular pendulum is joined with the arm acting as an inverted pendulum through a linking mechanism for simplicity,and the friction torque of the joint connecting the base and the latter arm is controlled using a brake mechanism,which enables the proposed in-car crib to gradually increase the deceleration of the crib and maintain it at around the target value.This system not only reduces the impulsive force but also transfers the force to the infant′s back using a spin control system,i.e.,the impulse force is made to act perpendicularly on the crib.The spin control system was developed in our previous work.The present work focuses on the acceleration control system.A semi-active control law with acceleration feedback is introduced using the sliding mode control theory.Especially,a feedback system of the crib acceleration relative to the vehicle is proposed for the high-vibrational environment.Further,a control experiment using scale model is conducted to confirm the effectiveness,and some results are reported.     

CYLINDER-SPHERE 3-DOF ULTRASONIC MOTOR AND ITS CONTROL

A three degree-of-freedom (DOF) ultrasonic motor (USM) with a cylinder-shaped stator and a spherical rotor is introduced, which uses one first order longitudinal and two second order bending nature vibration modes of the cylinder. Control strategies for the two DOF trajectory following are studied and applied to the prototype USM. Vibration amplitude control is employed for speed regulation. The first trajectory following strategy is a step-by-step interpolation. The second strategy is vector decomposition control. Three pulse width modulation (PWM) methods for the exciting voltage regulation are investigated. These methods are compared and verified by several experiments. The key is to keep the phase differences of the three vibration constants and small exciting voltage distortion while the exciting voltages are changed for simplifing the control process and obtaining good control performance. The vector control method has advantages of small trajectory following error, smooth moving and low noise.     

Experiment on a Double-Foot Stepping Piezoelectric Linear Motor

A novel double-foot piezoelectric linear motor is proposed.The kinematic model of the motor under stepping motion is presented.The motor mainly consists of a stator with four piezoelectric stacks,a mover,a holding mechanism,and a preloading mechanism to achieve large stroke with high resolution.Finite element simulations are carried out to analyze the motion characteristics of the motor.A prototype is fabricated and a serial experiments are conducted to validate the feasibility of the motor principle.Experimental results indicate that the motor can move at a speed of 670.22μm/s with a driving frequency of 120 Hz and a voltage of 120 V.The resolution of the proposed motor is 3.6μm while the resolution of the single-step motion is 0.1μm.     

Crack Length Quantification Based on Planar Eddy-Current Sensor Array and Two-Dimensional Image

Eddy-current (EC) testing is an effective electromagnetic non-destructive testing (NDT) technique.Planar eddy-current sensor arrays have several advantages such as good coherence,fast response speed,and high sensitivity,which can be used for micro-damage inspection of crucial parts in mechanical equipments and aerospace aviation.The main purpose of this research is to detect the defect in a metallic material surface and identify the length of a crack using planar eddy-current sensor arrays in different directions.The principle and characteristics of planar eddy-current sensor arrays are introduced,and a crack length quantification algorithm in different directions is investigated.A damage quantitative detection system is established based on a field programmable gate array and ARM processor.The system is utilized to inspect the micro defect in a metallic material,which is carved to micro crack with size of 7mm(length)×0.1mm(width)×1mm(depth).The experimental data show that the sensor arrays can be used for the length measurement repeatedly,and that the uncertainty of the length measurement is below ±0.2mm.     

ENERGY-SAVING MATCHING STRATEGY AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF PUMPING SYSTEM FOR TRUCK-MOUNTED CONCRETE PUMP

Aiming at the high fuel consumption and use-cost of truck-mounted concrete pump , an energy-saving matching strategy of pumping system is presented and the experimental study is conducted.Since pumping system occupies most resources of engine , the matching strategy between engine and main pump is analyzed to meet the load demand and reduce the engine rational speed drop.The testing method is established to measure the fuel consumption of engine under various working conditions , and the experimental data are analyzed to find the law of the fuel consumption of engine.The system performance can be improved by adjusting the system input value.Finally , the energy-saving matching strategy is established to reduce the fuel consumption of truck for unit workload , which provides a new approach for the energy-saving of truck-mounted concrete pump.     

ROBUST REPETITIVE CONTROL FOR IMPROVING RATE SMOOTHNESS OF TEST TURNTABLE

A robust repetitive control scheme is used to improve the rate smoothness of a brushless DC motor (BLDCM) driven test turntable. The method synthesizes variable structure control (VSC) laws and repetitive control (RC) laws in a complementary manner. The VSC strategy can stabilize the system and suppress uncertainties, such as the aperiodic disturbance and noises, while RC strategy can eliminate the periodic rate fluctuation in a steady state. The convergence of the repetitive learning process is also guaranteed by VSC. A general nonlinear system model is discussed. The model can be considered as an extension of BLDCMs. The stability and asymptotic position tracking performance are validated by using Lyapunov functions. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach for improving the rate smoothness.     

SIMULATION OF BLEED AIR BEHAVIOR DURING AIRCRAFT IN FLIGHT BASED ON FLOWMASTER

Bleed air system is one of the most important components of air management system(AMS).It acts as transfer pipes responsible for air supply at high temperature and pressure.The thermal and flow performance of the bleed air system is a key issue for the design of AMS since the characteristics of air source have a great influence on the anti-ice system,the environmental control system and other downstream system in need of high temperature pressurized air.Based on the one-dimensional lumped parameter technology,a computer analysis model of bleed air system is developed in order to analyze the thermal and flow behaviors of the nodal points in the pipeline network.The simulation are performed with a given flight assignment using the analysis model,and the results verify that the system meets the design requirements.     

REALIZATION OF GPS／SST／SINS INTEGRATED NAVIGATION FILTER ALGORITHM FOR BALLISTIC MISSILE

Considering the domestic single navigation system of the ballistic missile, a new filter method is presented. The method integrates the information of the strapdown star tracker (SST) attitude, the position and the velocity of a high speed GPS with a strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) information into one filter, thus improving the precision of the attitude, the velocity, and the position. Finally, the GPS/SST/SINS simulation platfornt is designed. Simulation results demonstrate that the filter is robust and reliable, and the precision rises to the comparative level abroad.     

Ejection Separation Characteristic Analysis of Parachute Container Cover from Return Capsule for Lunar Exploration

The parachute container cover ejection separation is the first and foremost motion for the return capsule recovery system, which is related to the success of a recovery system. Adopting the computational fluid dynamics （CFD） simulation and flight dynamics coupling method, the parachute container cover ejection separation is simu lated. The rationality of the ejection separation speed and dynamic characteristics of the separation process is ana- lyzed. Meanwhile, the influences of angle of attack, Mach number and ejection separation speed on the parachute container cover ejection are also investigated. Results show that the ejection separation speed design is reasonable. It has a certain design margin for parachute container cover to escape from the wake region, and to pull out the drag parachute completely. The results may provide a theoretical basis for recovery system engineering design of the lunar exploration project.     

ROBUST SLIDING MODE DECENTRALIZED CONTROL FOR A CLASS OF NONLINEAR INTERCONNECTED LARGE-SCALE SYSTEM WITH NEURAL NETWORKS

A new decentralized robust control method is discussed for a class of nonlinear interconnected largescale system with unknown bounded disturbance and unknown nonlinear function term. A decentralized control law is proposed which combines the approximation method of neural network with sliding mode control. The decentralized controller consists of an equivalent controller and an adaptive sliding mode controller. The sliding mode controller is a robust controller used to reduce the track error of the control system. The neural networks are used to approximate the unknown nonlinear functions, meanwhile the approximation errors of the neural networks are applied to the weight value updated law to improve performance of the system. Finally, an example demonstrates the availability of the decentralized control method.     

WHAT DRIVES BUSINESS AND LEISURE AIR PASSENGER TRANSPORT DEMAND

The back-propagation neural network ( BPN ) is used to explore what the most influential variables are to drive business and leisure air passenger travel from Japan to Taiwan.The variables are systematically identified , evaluated and analyzed in detail.The results reveal that some factors affect both leisure and business air passenger transport , and the others only affect one of them.Flights from Tokyo to Taipei and average hotel rate in Taiwan are the two most important factors for forecasting the demand of leisure air passenger transport , while variables related to business activities have more effect on the demand forecast of business air passenger transport.By using BPN , a forecasting model that considers actual market segments is established , and the results show that it is an accurate tool to forecast air transport demand.     

Fractional Pfaff-Birkhoff Principle and Birkhoff′s Equations in Terms of Riesz Fractional Derivatives

The dynamical and physical behavior of a complex system can be more accurately described by using the fractional model.With the successful use of fractional calculus in many areas of science and engineering,it is necessary to extend the classical theories and methods of analytical mechanics to the fractional dynamic system.Birkhoffian mechanics is a natural generalization of Hamiltonian mechanics,and its core is the Pfaff-Birkhoff principle and Birkhoff′s equations.The study on the Birkhoffian mechanics is an important developmental direction of modern analytical mechanics.Here,the fractional Pfaff-Birkhoff variational problem is presented and studied.The definitions of fractional derivatives,the formulae for integration by parts and some other preliminaries are firstly given.Secondly,the fractional Pfaff-Birkhoff principle and the fractional Birkhoff′s equations in terms of RieszRiemann-Liouville fractional derivatives and Riesz-Caputo fractional derivatives are presented respectively.Finally,an example is given to illustrate the application of the results.