Sharif Digital Repository

In this paper, the agent velocity in robotic swarm was determined by using particle swarm optimization (PSO) to maximize the robotic swarm coordination velocity. A swarm as supposed here is homogenous and includes at least two members. Motion and behavior of swarm members are mostly result of two different phenomena: interactive mutual forces and influence of the agent. Interactive mutual forces comprise both attraction and repulsion. To be more realistic the field of the swarm members' view is not infinity. So influence of the coordinator agent on the robotic swarm would be local. The objective here is to guide the robotic swarm with maximum possible velocity. According to equation motion... 

In this paper, we consider a control strategy of multi-robot systems, or simply, swarms, based on emotional control technique. First, we briefly discuss a "kinematic" swarm model in n-dimensional space introduced in an earlier paper. In that model, motion of every swarm member is governed by predefined inter-individual interactions. Limitations of every member's field of view are also considered in that model. After that, we consider a general model for vehicle dynamics of each swarm member, and use emotional control theory to force their motion to obey the dynamics of the kinematic model. Based on the kinematic model, stability (cohesion) analysis is performed and coordination controller.is... 

In this paper, a novel thermal microactuator is designed which is capable of producing bi-directional lateral and rotational output and one of its applications as a two DOF micromanipulator is shown. Also, by carefully choosing the doping level, temperature distribution is determined by considering the dependency of silicon's resistivity and conductivity to temperature. Using variable separation method an equation in terms of elliptic integrals is reached and after imposing boundary conditions the exact temperature distribution is obtained numerically. Currents at each branch is updated due to the last temperature distribution and this process is repeated several times until the final... 

In this paper, a novel microfabrication process of a six DOF thermal compliant nanopositioner is presented. The microfabrication process was based on bulk micromachining process. By using this process some important operational restrictions which are usually created by surface micromachining were removed. Moreover, this novel process does not need SOI wafers and needs only ordinary wafers. Therefore, it makes microfabrication process cheaper than surface micromachining processes where SOI wafer should be used. This method is completely appropriate for microactuators which have 120 degree misalignment. Finally, a primary test by using interferometer method was used to test connection of... 

Dynamic behavior of a electrostatically actuated MEMS resonator is investigated. A double clamped micro-beam under distributed DC and AC actuation is used. Corresponding single degree of freedom model is derived using Galerkin's decomposition method. Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) is implemented in order to derive analytical expression for frequency response of the micro-resonator. Comparison of the obtained results with the numerical simulations confirms that HPM agrees very well with numerical simulations for a wide range of parameters. Obtained analytical solution can be used for design and optimization of MEMS resonators  

Effects of fringing electrostatic fields on the behavior of a double clamped initially curved microbeam are investigated. Galerkin's decomposition method is applied on the governing Euler-Bernoulli equation with distributed electrostatic force to obtain the lumped-parameter model of the system. The resulting single degree of freedom model is obtained with the Palmer's formula as a model for the fringing field effects. To derive an applied form of the fringing field effect in lumped model, we have used Genetic Algorithms as an optimization method. Then using the lumped model, we have investigated the system nonlinear dynamics. Comparison of the obtained bifurcation diagrams with the... 

This paper presents an offline path planning method in 3D space for a surveillance aerial vehicle. In this method, the aerial vehicle is supposed to visit particular points on the path, and the collision between the vehicle and the fixed obstacles in the environment must be avoided. In order to accomplish the mission, first, the path is generated using B-splines. Then, the feasibility of tracking the designed path for the vehicle is considered by analyzing the vehicle's dynamic constraints, such as limitations on deflections of control surfaces. The analysis is supported by a simulation. Potential extension of the proposed analysis to multiple aerial vehicles has been also discussed at the... 

System Identification is a key technology for the development and integration of modern engineering systems including gas turbines. These systems are highly parametric with complex dynamics and nonlinearities. Small turbojet engines are special class of gas turbines that are suitable for scientific purposes and researches in the area of stability, performance, simulation and fuel control design. The motivation behind the presented study is to improve the speed, quality and cost of engine testing and to gain insight into alternatives to traditional identification methods for gas turbines. It discusses the identification of small turbojet engine dynamics by validating the thermodynamic model... 

Aerial tail-sitters have drawn many attentions in recent years. The main challenge of employing these vehicles is to ensure safe and efficient takeoff and landing. The aim of the current study is to develop a gradient-base optimization algorithm for a jet aerial tail-sitter in order to obtain minimum time trajectories in transition flight phases. The vehicle is supposed to utilize thrust vectoring system instead of conventional control surfaces that will pose minimal drawbacks in terms of low speed efficiency and complexity. The time-optimal trajectories are computed using the nonlinear dynamic equations of motion of the vehicle in order to make sure that the vehicle can follow the optimum... 

Variable speed wind turbines are widely used in the modern power industry. These turbines that are usually driven by doubly fed induction generators (DFIG) contain two groups of controlling variables; mechanical variables like pitch angle, and electrical variables like rotor voltage. During the turbine operation, with variable wind speed, power must be managed in two different regimes; power optimization and power limitation. In the current research, initially a non-linear simulation, based on the general wind turbine dynamic model is presented. Then, the desired controllers for both pitch angle and generator voltage components are constructed. To validate turbine behavior and controller... 

This paper deals with the dynamic analysis of a delaminated composite beam under the action of moving oscillatory mass. The beam is analyzed as four interconnected sub-beams using the delamination limits as their boundaries. The constrained model is used to model the delamination region. The continuity and equilibrium conditions are satisfied between the adjoining beams. The beam response variation due to the delamination with respect to the intact beam has been investigated. Furthermore, the possible separation of the moving oscillator from the beam during the course of the motion is investigated by monitoring the contact force between the oscillator and the beam. The effect of the... 

In this paper, nonlinear oscillation of a pendulum wrapping and unwrapping around two cylindrical bases is studied and an analytical solution is obtained using multiple scales method. Equations of motion are derived based on energy conservation technique. Applying perturbation method on the equations, nonlinear natural frequency of the system is calculated along with its time response. Analytical results are compared with numerical findings and good agreement is found. Effect of nonlinearity due to large amplitude and radius of cylinders on the system frequency is evaluated. Results indicate that as the radius of cylinder is increased, nonlinear frequency is enhanced. Initial amplitude plays... 

Due to the nonlinear dynamics of hydraulic systems, applying high performance closed-loop controllers is complicated. In this paper, a single-rod hydraulic actuator is considered in which load displacement (for positioning purposes) is controlled via manipulation of the input voltage to the servo-valve. Dynamics of the servo-valve is described by first and second order transfer functions (named as Models 1 and 2). Through linearization of the system around its operating points, dynamics of the hydraulic actuator is represented in the state space. A full-order observer is designed for on-line states estimation. Then, feedback control system is designed for both regulation and tracking... 

The accuracy of multi dimensional simulation of vehicle dynamics has been significantly increased for both passive and active vehicles which are equipped with advanced electronic components. Recently, one of the subjects that has been considered is increasing the car safety in design. Therefore, many efforts have been done to increase vehicle stability especially during the turn. It is also very important in three wheel car. One of the most important efforts is adjusting the camber angle in the car suspension system. Camber angle as well as the vehicle stability has major effects on the wheel slip, reducing rubber abrasion, acceleration and braking. Since the increase or decrease in the... 

In this paper, nonlinear vibration of a micro cantilever exposed to a constant velocity flow is studied. In order to obtain vibration frequency and time response of the micro beam the variational iteration method is used as a novel tool for solving nonlinear differential equations. Results of the analytical solution are compared with those obtained by Runge-Kutta method which shows very good agreement between them. Results confirm that frequency of vibration depends on the flow velocity. Also, the high sensitivity of the vibration frequency to the flow velocity means that it can be an effective indicator of velocity  

In the present work, a multi sensing grasper has been developed for minimally invasive surgery with embedded ZnO piezoelectric and Fiber Bragg Grating sensors. In this model, a sensing patch equipped with three FBG sensors to sense the temperature in rage of 800 n.m and two separated FBG in range of 1550 m.m to detect the displacement in x and y directions. ZnO piezoelectric is highly sensitive to time and provides a good resistance to temperature. Therefore, this sensor is used for measuring the rate of strain and creep coefficient. A finite element approach based on the viscous material theory and plane displacement theory of anisotropic materials has been utilized to obtain the compliance... 

Several lower extremity exoskeletal systems have been developed for augmentation purpose. Common actuators, have important drawbacks such as complexity, and poor torque capacities. The main scope of this research is to propose a series elastic actuator for lower extremity exoskeletal system which was designed based on muscle functional analysis. For this purpose, a biomechanical framework consisting of a musculoskeletal model with ten degrees-of-freedom actuated by eighteen Hill-type musculotendon actuators per leg is utilized to perform the muscle functional analysis for common daily human activities. The simulation study illustrated functional differences between flexor and extensor... 

Considerable attention has been devoted recently to vibration control using intelligent materials as sensor/actuator. An intelligent control technique using a neural network is proposed for vibration control of micro-cantilever beam with bonded piezoelectric sensor and actuator. Structure modal characteristic analysis is done to determine the optimal configuration of piezoelectric sensor and actuator. With the piezoelectric elements are surface-bonded near the same position to the fixed end of micro-cantilever beam, an optimal controller, linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG), and an intelligent strategy based on neural network are investigated. Finally, the simulation results are given to... 

The vibration suppression of semi-actively controlled jacket-type offshore platforms using Magnetorheological (MR) dampers is studied. The main goal of using MR damper system is to reduce vibration caused by wave hydrodynamic forces. A fixed jacket-type offshore platform affected by wave-induced hydrodynamic forces and controlled by MR dampers is modelled as a semi-active controlled system with 30 DOFs. In comparison with earlier studies, an improvement in problem modelling is made. Based on the wave theory and Morison equation, an exosystem is designed to simulate regular wave forces. The necessary input voltage to MR dampers to generate desired damping force is derived by clipped optimal...