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Article
Publication date: 28 December 2020

Qinjie Yang, Guozhe Shen, Chao Liu, Zheng Wang, Kai Zheng and Rencheng Zheng

Steer-by-wire (SBW) system mainly relies on sensors, controllers and motors to replace the traditionally mechanical transmission mechanism to realize steering functions. However…

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Abstract

Purpose

Steer-by-wire (SBW) system mainly relies on sensors, controllers and motors to replace the traditionally mechanical transmission mechanism to realize steering functions. However, the sensors in the SBW system are particularly vulnerable to external influences, which can cause systemic faults, leading to poor steering performance and even system instability. Therefore, this paper aims to adopt a fault-tolerant control method to solve the safety problem of the SBW system caused by sensors failure.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper proposes an active fault-tolerant control framework to deal with sensors failure in the SBW system by hierarchically introducing fault observer, fault estimator, fault reconstructor. Firstly, the fault observer is used to obtain the observation output of the SBW system and then obtain the residual between the observation output and the SBW system output. And then judge whether the SBW system fails according to the residual. Secondly, dependent on the residual obtained by the fault observer, a fault estimator is designed using bounded real lemma and regional pole configuration to estimate the amplitude and time-varying characteristics of the faulty sensor. Eventually, a fault reconstructor is designed based on the estimation value of sensors fault obtained by the fault estimator and SBW system output to tolerate the faulty sensor.

Findings

The numerical analysis shows that the fault observer can be rapidly activated to detect the fault while the sensors fault occurs. Moreover, the estimation accuracy of the fault estimator can reach to 98%, and the fault reconstructor can make the faulty SBW system to retain the steering characteristics, comparing to those of the fault-free SBW system. In addition, it was verified for the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control framework.

Research limitations/implications

As the SBW fault diagnosis and fault-tolerant control in this paper only carry out numerical simulation research on sensors faults in matrix and laboratory/Simulink, the subsequent hardware in the loop test is needed for further verification.

Originality/value

Aiming at the SBW system with parameter perturbation and sensors failure, this paper proposes an active fault-tolerant control framework, which integrates fault observer, fault estimator and fault reconstructor so that the steering performance of SBW system with sensors faults is basically consistent with that of the fault-free SBW system.

Details

Journal of Intelligent and Connected Vehicles, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2399-9802

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2013

Sanjay Jayaram

The purpose of this paper is to present novel robust fault tolerant control design architecture to detect and isolate spacecraft attitude control actuators and reconfigure to…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present novel robust fault tolerant control design architecture to detect and isolate spacecraft attitude control actuators and reconfigure to redundant backups to improve the practicality of actuator fault detection.

Design/methodology/approach

The Robust Fault Tolerant Control is designed for spacecraft Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking (AR&D) using Lyapunov direct approach applied to non‐linear model. An extended Kalman observer is used to accurately estimate the state of the attitude control actuators. Actuators on all three axes (roll/pitch/yaw) sequentially fail one after another and the robust fault tolerant controller acts to reconfigure to redundant backups to stabilize the spacecrafts and complete the required maneuver.

Findings

In the simulations, the roll, pitch and yaw dynamics of the spacecraft are considered and the attitude control actuators failures are detected and isolated. Furthermore, by switching to redundant backups, the guarantee of overall stability performance is demonstrated.

Research limitations/implications

A real time actuator failure detection and reconfiguration process using robust fault tolerant control is applied for spacecraft AR&D maneuvers. Finding an appropriate Lyapunov function for the non‐linear dynamics is not easy and always challenging. Failure of actuators on all three axes at the same time is not considered. It is a very useful approach to solve self‐assembly problems in space, spacecraft proximity maneuvers as well as co‐operative control of planetary vehicles in presence of actuator failures.

Originality/value

An approach has been proposed to detect, isolate and reconfigure spacecraft actuator failures occurred in the spacecraft attitude control system. A Robust Fault Tolerant Control scheme has been developed for the nonlinear AR&D maneuver for two spacecrafts. Failures that affect the control performance characteristics are considered and overall performance is guaranteed even in presence of control actuator failures. The architecture is demonstrated through model‐based simulation.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-6427

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2023

Zhifang Wang, Quanzhen Huang and Jianguo Yu

In this paper, the authors take an amorphous flattened air-ground wireless self-assembling network system as the research object and focus on solving the wireless self-assembling…

Abstract

Purpose

In this paper, the authors take an amorphous flattened air-ground wireless self-assembling network system as the research object and focus on solving the wireless self-assembling network topology instability problem caused by unknown control communication faults during the operation of this system.

Design/methodology/approach

In the paper, the authors propose a neural network-based direct robust adaptive non-fragile fault-tolerant control algorithm suitable for the air-ground integrated wireless ad hoc network integrated system.

Findings

The simulation results show that the system eventually tends to be asymptotically stable, and the estimation error asymptotically tends to zero with the feedback adjustment of the designed controller. The system as a whole has good fault tolerance performance and autonomous learning approximation performance. The experimental results show that the wireless self-assembled network topology has good stability performance and can change flexibly and adaptively with scene changes. The stability performance of the wireless self-assembled network topology is improved by 66.7% at maximum.

Research limitations/implications

The research results may lack generalisability because of the chosen research approach. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.

Originality/value

This paper designs a direct, robust, non-fragile adaptive neural network fault-tolerant controller based on the Lyapunov stability principle and neural network learning capability. By directly optimizing the feedback matrix K to approximate the robust fault-tolerant correction factor, the neural network adaptive adjustment factor enables the system as a whole to resist unknown control and communication failures during operation, thus achieving the goal of stable wireless self-assembled network topology.

Article
Publication date: 3 January 2022

Zhifang Wang, Jianguo Yu and Shangjing Lin

To solve the above problems and ensure the stability of the ad hoc network node topology in the process of wireless signal transmission, this paper aims to design a robust…

Abstract

Purpose

To solve the above problems and ensure the stability of the ad hoc network node topology in the process of wireless signal transmission, this paper aims to design a robust adaptive sliding film fault-tolerant controller under the nonlinear distortion of signal transmission in an amorphous flat air-to-ground wireless ad hoc network system.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper designs a robust adaptive sliding film fault-tolerant controller under the nonlinear distortion of signal transmission in an amorphous flat air-to-ground wireless ad hoc network system.

Findings

The simulation results show that the amorphous flat wireless self-organizing network system has good nonlinear distortion fault-tolerant correction ability under the feedback control of the designed controller, and the system has the asymptotically stable convergence ability; the test results show: the node topology of the self-organizing network structural stability is significantly improved, which provides a foundation for the subsequent realization of long-distance transmission of ad hoc network nodes.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.

Originality/value

The controller can extract the fault information caused by nonlinear distortion in the wireless signal transmission process, and at the same time, its feedback matrix K can gradually converge the generated wireless signal error to zero, to realize the stable transmission of the wireless signal.

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2021

Yu Lu, Pengpeng Ye, Ming-Zhe Dai, Jin Wu and Chengxi Zhang

This paper aims to address the spacecraft attitude regulation problem in the presence of extrinsic disturbances and actuator faults.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to address the spacecraft attitude regulation problem in the presence of extrinsic disturbances and actuator faults.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on adaptive backstepping design technique, a new concise adaptive dual-mode control scheme is proposed, which can either use the fault information detected by fault diagnosis mechanisms or switch to the fault-unknown mode when the fault diagnosis information is non-existent for control signal generation. These two modes share an adaptive mechanism that reduces the complexity of the algorithm.

Findings

The new fault-tolerant attitude control algorithm can accommodate both modes with and without fault diagnosis mechanisms.

Originality/value

The proposed algorithm in this paper can be applied to both cases when the attitude control system is equipped with or without fault diagnosis capability. This also enhances the robustness of attitude control algorithm. This study performs numerical simulations and verifies that the algorithm could effectively adapt to both modes.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 94 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2013

Brenton K. Wilburn, Mario G. Perhinschi, Hever Moncayo, Ondrej Karas and Jennifer N. Wilburn

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and compare the performance of several different UAV trajectory tracking algorithms in normal and abnormal flight conditions to investigate…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and compare the performance of several different UAV trajectory tracking algorithms in normal and abnormal flight conditions to investigate the fault‐tolerant capabilities of a novel immunity‐based adaptive mechanism.

Design/methodology/approach

The evaluation of these algorithms is performed using the West Virginia University (WVU) UAV simulation environment. Three types of fixed‐parameter algorithms are considered as well as their adaptive versions obtained by adding an immunity‐based mechanism. The types of control laws investigated are: position proportional, integral, and derivative control, outer‐loop nonlinear dynamic inversion (NLDI), and extended NLDI. Actuator failures on the three channels and increased turbulence conditions are considered for several different flight paths. Specific and global performance metrics are defined based on trajectory tracking errors and control surface activity.

Findings

The performance of all of the adaptive controllers proves to be better than their fixed parameter counterparts during the presence of a failure in all cases considered.

Research limitations/implications

The immunity inspired adaptation mechanism has promising potential to enhance the fault‐tolerant capabilities of autonomous flight control algorithms and the extension of its use at all levels within the control laws considered and in conjunction with other control architectures is worth investigating.

Practical implications

The WVU UAV simulation environment has been proved to be a valuable tool for autonomous flight algorithm development, testing, and evaluation in normal and abnormal flight conditions.

Originality/value

A novel adaptation mechanism is investigated for UAV control algorithms with fault‐tolerant capabilities. The issue of fault tolerance of UAV control laws has only been addressed in a limited manner in the literature, although it becomes critical in the context of imminent integration of UAVs within the commercial airspace.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems, vol. 1 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-6427

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2017

Ahmet Ermeydan and Emre Kiyak

The purpose of this paper is to present fault tolerant control of a quadrotor based on the enhanced proportional integral derivative (PID) structure in the presence of one or more…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present fault tolerant control of a quadrotor based on the enhanced proportional integral derivative (PID) structure in the presence of one or more actuator faults.

Design/methodology/approach

Mathematical model of the quadrotor is derived by parameter identification of the system for the simulation of the UAV dynamics and flight control in MATLAB/Simulink. An improved PID structure is used to provide the stability of the nonlinear quadcopter system both for attitude and path control of the system. The results of the healty system and the faulty system are given in simulations, together with motor dynamics.

Findings

In this study, actuator faults are considered to show that a robust controller design handles the loss of effectiveness in motors up to some extent. For the loss of control effectiveness of 20 per cent in first and third motors, psi state follows the reference with steady state error, and it does not go unstable. Motor 1 and Motor 3 respond to given motor fault quickly. When it comes to one actuator fault, steady state errors remain in some states, but the system does not become unstable.

Originality/value

In this paper, an enhanced PID controller is proposed to keep the quadrotor stable in case of actuator faults. Proposed method demonstrates the effectiveness of the control system against motor faults.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 89 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 January 2016

Dan Xu, James Ferris Whidborne and Alastair Cooke

The growing use of small unmanned rotorcraft in civilian applications means that safe operation is increasingly important. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the fault

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Abstract

Purpose

The growing use of small unmanned rotorcraft in civilian applications means that safe operation is increasingly important. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the fault tolerant properties to faults in the actuators of an C 1 adaptive controller for a quadrotor vehicle.

Design/methodology/approach

C 1 adaptive control provides fast adaptation along with decoupling between adaptation and robustness. This makes the approach a suitable candidate for fault tolerant control of quadrotor and other multirotor vehicles. In the paper, the design of an C 1 adaptive controller is presented. The controller is compared to a fixed-gain LQR controller.

Findings

The C 1 adaptive controller is shown to have improved performance when subject to actuator faults, and a higher range of actuator fault tolerance.

Research limitations/implications

The control scheme is tested in simulation of a simple model that ignores aerodynamic and gyroscopic effects. Hence for further work, testing with a more complete model is recommended followed by implementation on an actual platform and flight test. The effect of sensor noise should also be considered along with investigation into the influence of wind disturbances and tolerance to sensor failures. Furthermore, quadrotors cannot tolerate total failure of a rotor without loss of control of one of the degrees of freedom, this aspect requires further investigation.

Practical implications

Applying the C 1 adaptive controller to a hexrotor or octorotor would increase the reliability of such vehicles without recourse to methods that require fault detection schemes and control reallocation as well as providing tolerance to a total loss of a rotor.

Social implications

In order for quadrotors and other similar unmanned air vehicles to undertake many proposed roles, a high level of safety is required. Hence the controllers should be fault tolerant.

Originality/value

Fault tolerance to partial actuator/effector faults is demonstrated using an C 1 adaptive controller.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-6427

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 January 2018

Hidenobu Matsuki, Taishi Nishiyama, Yuya Omori, Shinji Suzuki, Kazuya Masui and Masayuki Sato

This paper aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of a fault-tolerant flight control method by using simple adaptive control (SAC) with PID controller.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of a fault-tolerant flight control method by using simple adaptive control (SAC) with PID controller.

Design/methodology/approach

Numerical simulations and flight tests are executed for pitch angle and roll angle control of research aircraft MuPAL-α under the following fault cases: sudden reduction in aileron effectiveness, sudden reduction in elevator effectiveness and loss of longitudinal static stability.

Findings

The simulations and flight tests reveal the effectiveness of the proposed SAC with PID controller as a fault-tolerant flight controller.

Practical implications

This research includes implications for the development of vehicles’ robustness.

Originality/value

This study proposes novel SAC-based flight controller and actually demonstrates the effectiveness by flight test.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 90 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1748-8842

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 2006

Mehmet Dede and Sabri Tosunoglu

The objective of this study is to enhance the usage of teleoperation fields, such as in nuclear site decommissioning or nuclear waste disposal, by designing a stable, dependable…

Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study is to enhance the usage of teleoperation fields, such as in nuclear site decommissioning or nuclear waste disposal, by designing a stable, dependable and fault‐tolerant teleoperation system in the face of “extraordinary” conditions. These “extraordinary” conditions can be classified as variable time delays in communications lines, usage of different robotic systems, component failures and changes in the system parameters during task execution.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper first gives a review of teleoperation systems developed earlier. Later, fault tolerance is proposed for use in teleoperation systems at the processor, actuator, sub‐system, and system levels. Position/force control algorithms are recommended to address stability issues when there is a loss in communications. Various other controls are also introduced to overcome the instability experienced when there is a time delay in the communications line.

Findings

Finally, this work summarizes the teleoperation system architecture and controller design options in terms of a flowchart to help in the conceptual design of such systems.

Originality/value

The impact of these new designs and algorithms will be to expand the limits and boundaries of teleoperation and a widening of its utilization area. Enhanced operation of these systems will improve system reliability and even encourage their use in more critical and diverse applications.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 33 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

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