Gypsum-based Silica Gel Humidity-controlling Composite Materials:Preparation,Characterization,and Performance

Gypsum was used as substrate,and silica gel was mixed into substrate at a certain mass ratio to prepare humidity-controlling composites;moreover,the moisture absorption and desorption properties of gypsum-based composites were compared with adding different silica gel particle size and proportion.The morphological characteristics,the isothermal equilibrium moisture content curve,moisture absorption and desorption rate,moisture absorption and desorption stability,and humidity-conditioning performance were tested and analyzed.The experimental results show that,compared with pure-gypsum,the surface structure of the gypsum-based composites is relatively loose,the quantity,density and aperture of the pores in the structure increase.The absorption and desorption capacity increase along with the increase of silica gel particle size and silica gel proportion.When 3 mm silica gel particle size is added with a mass ratio of 40%,the maximum equilibrium moisture content of humidity-controlling composites is 0.161 g/g at 98% relative humidity(RH),3.22 times that of pure-gypsum.The moisture absorption and desorption rates are increased,the equilibrium moisture absorption and desorption rates are 2.68 times and 1.61 times that of pure-gypsum at 58.5% RH,respectively.The gypsum-based composites have a good stability,which has better timely response to dynamic humidity changes and can effectively regulate indoor humidity under natural conditions.

Controllable thermal rectification design for buildings based on phase change composites

Phase-change material(PCM)is widely used in thermal management due to their unique thermal behavior.However,related research in thermal rectifier is mainly focused on exploring the principles at the fundamental device level,which results in a gap to real applications.Here,we propose a controllable thermal rectification design towards building applications through the direct adhesion of composite thermal rectification material(TRM)based on PCM and reduced graphene oxide(rGO)aerogel to ordinary concrete walls(CWs).The design is evaluated in detail by combining experiments and finite element analysis.It is found that,TRM can regulate the temperature difference on both sides of the TRM/CWs system by thermal rectification.The difference in two directions reaches to 13.8 K at the heat flow of 80 W/m^(2).In addition,the larger the change of thermal conductivity before and after phase change of TRM is,the more effective it is for regulating temperature difference in two directions.The stated technology has a wide range of applications for the thermal energy control in buildings with specific temperature requirements.

Adaptive fuzzy compensation based composite nonlinear feedback controller design for robot manipulators

In order to suppress the influence of uncertain factors on robot system and enable an uncertain robot system to track the reference input accurately,a strategy of combining composite nonlinear feedback(CNF)control and adaptive fuzzy control is studied,and a robot CNF controller based on adaptive fuzzy compensation is proposed.The key of this strategy is to use adaptive fuzzy control to approach the uncertainty of the system online,as the compensation term of the CNF controller,and make full use of the advantages of the two control methods to reduce the influence of uncertain factors on the performance of the system.The convergence of the closed-loop system is proved by feedback linearization and Lyapunov theory.The final simulation results confirm the effectiveness of this plan.

Design and performance analysis of tracking controller for uncertain nonlinear composite system using neural networks

Based on high order dynamic neural network, this paper presents the tracking problem for uncertain nonlinear composite system, which contains external disturbance, whose nonlinearities are assumed to be unknown. A smooth controller is designed to guarantee a uniform ultimate boundedness property for the tracking error and all other signals in the dosed loop. Certain measures are utilized to test its performance. No a priori knowledge of an upper bound on the “optimal” weight and modeling error is required; the weights of neural networks are updated on-line. Numerical simulations performed on a simple example illustrate and clarify the approach.

Composite control for coagulation process with time delay and disturbances

A composite control scheme consisting of modepredictive control （MPC） and disturbance observer （DOB） iproposed to solve the control performance degradationproblem of the turbidity of the treated water in the presence osignificant changes in raw water quality, water flow rate andinternal model mismatch disturbances. The MPC is employedas a feedback controller for the coagulation process with alarge time delay. The DOB is adopted to estimate the severedisturbances in the turbidity control, such as large changes inraw water quality and water flow rate. The estimated valuesare applied for feed-forward compensation to rejecdisturbances. Finally, the disturbance rejection performancesfor step disturbances and time-varying disturbances in thenominal case and model mismatch case are tested. Thesimulation results illustrate that, compared with the MPCmethod, the proposed method can significantly improve thedisturbance rejection performance in the turbidity control othe treated water, no matter if in the presence of externadisturbances or internal model mismatch disturbances.

Resilient Time-Varying Formation-Tracking of Multi-UAV Systems Against Composite Attacks: A Two-Layered Framework

This paper studies the countermeasure design problems of distributed resilient time-varying formation-tracking control for multi-UAV systems with single-way communications against composite attacks,including denial-of-services(DoS)attacks,false-data injection attacks,camouflage attacks,and actuation attacks(AAs).Inspired by the concept of digital twin,a new two-layered protocol equipped with a safe and private twin layer(TL)is proposed,which decouples the above problems into the defense scheme against DoS attacks on the TL and the defense scheme against AAs on the cyber-physical layer.First,a topologyrepairing strategy against frequency-constrained DoS attacks is implemented via a Zeno-free event-triggered estimation scheme,which saves communication resources considerably.The upper bound of the reaction time needed to launch the repaired topology after the occurrence of DoS attacks is calculated.Second,a decentralized adaptive and chattering-relief controller against potentially unbounded AAs is designed.Moreover,this novel adaptive controller can achieve uniformly ultimately bounded convergence,whose error bound can be given explicitly.The practicability and validity of this new two-layered protocol are shown via a simulation example and a UAV swarm experiment equipped with both Ultra-WideBand and WiFi communication channels.

The Controllability, Observability, and Stability Analysis of a Class of Composite Systems with Fractional Degree Generalized Frequency Variables

This paper is concerned with fundamental properties of a class of composite systems with fractional degree generalized frequency variables, including controllability, observability and stability. Firstly, some necessary and sufficient conditions are given to guarantee controllability and observability of such composite systems. Then we prove that the stability problem of such composite systems can be reduced to judging whether a fractional degree polynomial is stable. Finally, the stability analysis result is applied in the supervisory control of fractional-order multi-agent systems, and an example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Synthesis and analysis of new humidity-controlling composite materials

Gypsum is a traditional building material. To improve the humidity-controlling properties of gypsum, we prepared a new type of humidity-controlling composite using the sol-gel method. Methods to determine the maximum equilibrium moisture content and speed of adsorption/desorption were subsequently applied to analyze the performance of the samples. The appearance and structural properties of the samples were characterized by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The experimental results show that the humidity-controlling gel with added LiCl exhibits high moisture storage and that the equilibrium maximum moisture content is 5.652 g/g at a 75.29% relative humidity (RH). A mass ratio of LiCl/sol = 0.15 is demonstrated to be appropriate for the preparation of the new humidity-controlling composites. A coarse network with tiny pores is observed on the surface of the new humidity-controlling composites, and this pore network provides sufficient space for moisture adsorption.

Magneto-rheological elastomer (MRE) based composite structures for micro-vibration control

Magneto-rheological elastomers （MILEs） are used to construct composite structures for micro-vibration control of equipment under stochastic support-motion excitations. The dynamic behavior of MREs as a smart viscoelastic material is characterized by a complex modulus dependent on vibration frequency and controllable by external magnetic fields. Frequency-domain solution methods for stochastic micro-vibration response analysis of the MRE-based structural systems are developed to derive the system frequency-response function matrices and the expressions of the velocity response spectrum. With these equations, the root-mean-square （RMS） velocity responses in terms of the one-third octave frequency band spectrum can be calculated. Further, the optimization problem of the complex moduli of the MRE cores is defined by minimizing the velocity response spectra and the RMS velocity responses through altering the applied magnetic fields. Simulation results illustrate the influences of MRE parameters on the RMS velocity responses and the high response reduction capacities of the MRE-based structures. In addition, the developed frequency-domain analysis methods are applicable to sandwich beam structures with arbitrary cores characterized by complex shear moduli under stochastic excitations described by power spectral density functions, and are valid for a wide frequency range.

Nonlinear dynamic characteristics and optimal control of a giant magnetostrictive film-shaped memory alloy composite plate subjected to in-plane stochastic excitation

The nonlinear dynamic characteristics and optimal control of a giant magnetostrictive film （GMF）-shaped memory alloy （SMA） composite plate subjected to in-plane stochastic excitation are studied. GMF is prepared based on an SMA plate, and combined into a GMF-SMA composite plate. The Van der Pol item is improved to explain the hysteretic phenomena of GMF and SMA, and the nonlinear dynamics model of a GMF-SMA composite cantilever plate subjected to in-plane stochastic excitation is developed. The stochastic stability of the system is analyzed, and the steady-state probability density function of the dynamic response of the system is obtained. The condition of stochastic Hopf bifurcation is discussed, the reliability function of the system is provided, and then the probability density of the first-passage time is given. Finally, the stochastic optimal control strategy is proposed by the stochastic dynamic programming method. Numerical simulation shows that the stability of the trivial solution varies with bifurcation parameters, and stochastic Hopf bifurcation appears in the process; the system＇s reliability is improved through stochastic optimal control, and the first- passage time is delayed. A GMF-SMA composite plate combines the advantages of GMF and SMA, and can reduce vibration through passive control and active control effectively. The results are helpful for the engineering applications of GMF-SMA composite plates.

Halloysite Nanotube Composited Thermo-responsive Hydrogel System for Controlled-release

Halloysite nanotube-composited thermo-responsive hydrogel system has been successfully developed for controlled drug release by copolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide （NIPAM） with silane-modified halloysite nanotubes （HNT） through thermally initiated free-radical polymerization. With methylene blue as a model drug, thermo-responsive drug release results demonstrate that the drug release from the nanotubes in the composited hy-drogel can^be well controlled by manipulating the environmental temperature. When the hydrogel network is swol- len at temperature below the lower critical solution temperature （LCST）, drug releases steadily from lumens of the embedded nanotubes, whereas the drug release stops when hydrogel shrinks at temperature above the LCST. The release of model drug from the HNT-composited hydrogel matches well with its thermo-responsive volume phasetransition, and shows characteristics of well controlled release. The design strategy and release results of the pro- posed novel HNT-composited thermo-responsive hydrogel system provide valuable guidance for designing respon- s_i_ve nanocomposites for controlled-release of active agents.

Coating thickness control in continuously fabricating metallic glass-coated composite wires

A continuous production process was developed for coating bulk metallic glasses on the metallic wire surface. The effects of processing parameters, including the drawing velocity and coating temperature, on the coating thickness were investigated. It is found that the coating thickness increases with the increase in drawing velocity but decreases with the increase in coating temperature. A fluid mechanical model was developed to quantify the coating thickness under various processing conditions. By using this theoretical model, the coating thickness was calculated, and the calculated values are in good agreement with the experimental data.

ADVANCED QUALITY CONCEPTS AND COMPOSITE RELIABILITY THROUGH STATISTICALPROCESS CONTROL

The physical properties of thermosetting resins and resin based composites may be influenced by changes in any one of the mang formulating or process related variables involved in their manufacture. When resins and composite materials are required to perform in aggressive environments, reliable and predicable performance is essential and therefore these materials must be prepared and tested in accorkance with a strictquality plan. This paper outlines the elements of statistical process control (S.P.C.)as it may be applied to non-metallic materials and discusses the concept of Capability Index (Cp).

Failure analysis and control measures of deep roadway with composite roof:a case study

There is great variation in the lithology and lamination thickness of composite roof in coal-measure strata;thus,the roof is prone to delamination and falling,and it is difficult to control the surrounding rock when developing roadway in such rock strata.In deep mining,the stress environment of surrounding rock is complex,and the mechanical response of the rock mass is different from that of the shallow rock mass.For composite-roof roadway excavated in deep rock mass,the key to safe and efficient production of the mine is ensuring the stability of the roadway.The present paper obtains typical failure characteristics and deformation and failure mechanisms of composite-roof roadway with a buried depth of 650 m at Zhaozhuang Coal Mine(Shanxi Province,China).On the basis of determining a reasonable cross-section shape of the roadway and according to the failure characteristics of the composite roof in different regions,the roof is divided into an unstable layer,metastable layer,and stable layer.The controlled unstable layer and metastable layer are regarded as a small structure while the stable layer is regarded as a large structure.A superimposed coupling support technology of large and small structures with a multi-level prestressed bearing arch formed by strong rebar bolts and highly prestressed cable bolts is put forward.The support technology provides good application results in the field.The study thus provides theoretical support and technical guidance for ground control under similar geological conditions.

Application of composite nonlinear feedback control approach to linear and nonlinear systems

The objective of this research is to realize a composite nonlinear feedback control approach for a class of linear and nonlinear systems with parallel-distributed compensation along with sliding mode control technique.The proposed composite nonlinear feedback control approach consists of two parts.In a word,the first part provides the stability of the closed-loop system and the fast convergence response,as long as the second one improves transient response.In this research,the genetic algorithm in line with the fuzzy logic is designed to calculate constant controller coefficients and optimize the control effort.The effectiveness of the proposed design is demonstrated by servo position control system and inverted pendulum system with DC motor simulation results.

Analysis and Control of Surface Delamination Defects During Milling of Orthogonal Aramid Fiber‑Reinforced Composites Laminates

The aramid fiber-reinforced composites(AFRC)can increase the durability of corresponding applications such as aerospace,automobile and other large structural parts,due to the improvement in hardness,heat build-up,wear properties and green environmental protection.However,because of its complex multiphase structure and unique heterogeneity and anisotropy,the poor compression fatigue resistance and the incident surface fibrillation are inevitable.To improve the assembly precision of AFRC,mechanical processing is necessary to meet the dimensional accuracy.This paper focuses on the influence of contour milling parameters on delamination defects during milling of AFRC laminates.A series of milling experiments are conducted and two different kinds of delamination defects including tearing delamination and uncut-off delamination are investigated.A computing method and model based on brittle fracture for the two different types of delamination are established.The results can be used for explaining the mechanism and regularity of delamination defects.The control strategy of delamination defects and evaluation method of finished surface integrity are further discussed.The results are meaningful to optimize cutting parameters,and provide a clear understanding of surface defects control.

AN EFFICIENT PARALLEL PROCESSING OPTIMAL CONTROL SCHEME FOR A CLASS OF NONLINEAR COMPOSITE SYSTEMS

This article presents an efficient parallel processing approach for solving the opti- mal control problem of nonlinear composite systems. In this approach, the original high-order coupled nonlinear two-point boundary value problem （TPBVP） derived from the Pontrya- gin＇s maximum principle is first transformed into a sequence of lower-order deeoupled linear time-invariant TPBVPs. Then, an optimal control law which consists of both feedback and forward terms is achieved by using the modal series method for the derived sequence. The feedback term specified by local states of each subsystem is determined by solving a ma- trix Riccati differential equation. The forward term for each subsystem derived from its local information is an infinite sum of adjoint vectors. The convergence analysis and parallel processing capability of the proposed approach are also provided. To achieve an accurate feedforward-feedbaek suboptimal control, we apply a fast iterative algorithm with low com- putational effort. Finally, some comparative results are included to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Composite Control of Precalciner Exit Temperature in Cement Rotary Kiln

A composite control strategy for the precalciner exit temperature in cement kiln is introduced based on a mathematical model. In this model, the raw meal flow, coal powder flow and wind flow are taken as three input variables, the clinker fow and exit teperature of cement kiln are output variables, and other influencing factors are considered as disturbance. A composite control system is synthesied by integrating self learning PID, fuzzy and feedforward function into a combined controller, and the arithmetics for the self learning PID controller, fuzzy controller and feedforward controller are elaborated respectively. The control strategy has been realized by software in real practice at cement factory. Application results show that the composite control technology is superior to the general PID control in control effect, and is suitable to the industrial process control with slow parameter variation, nonlinearity and uncertainty.

Alveolar Ridge Preservation Utilizing Composite (Bioceramics/Collagen) Graft: A Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Assessment in a Randomized Split-Mouth Controlled Trial

Background: The vast percentage of the alveolar bone resorption process happens within the first 12 to 24 weeks post extraction;however, this phenomenon is chronic, and the alveolar ridge continues to resorb. In order to prevent this reduction or at least recompense the loss of bone dimensions, the alveolar ridge preservation (ARP) technique was developed. Objectives: This research studied the vertical and horizontal bone dimensional changes as a result of non-molar teeth extraction alone against extraction with alveolar ridge preservation utilizing composite (bioceramics/collagen) graft by cone-beam computed tomography radiographies analyses. Material and Methods: This research was a randomized split-mouth controlled trial. 12 patients need extraction of the maxillary non-molar teeth were enrolled and allocated into 2 groups. 12 sockets after atraumatic extraction were filled with a composite graft in the role of the test group, 12 sockets left to unassisted healing after atraumatic extraction without any graft materials in the role of the control group. Two CBCT radiographs were taken at baseline and at 4 months after extraction for comparison. Both vertical and horizontal resorptions of the alveolar ridge were analyzed between test and control group by CBCT radiographs. Results: 4 months after extraction, there was a mean of vertical alveolar bone resorption compared with the baseline (0.56 ± 0.15 mm) in the test group and (1.47 ± 0.30 mm) in the control group. Whereas it was a mean of horizontal alveolar bone resorption compared with the baseline (0.90 ± 0.16 mm) in the test group and (2.26 ± 0.30 mm) in the control group. Therefore, there was a significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions: Within the limitations of this research, we demonstrated that the osteogen-plug technique significantly decreased the reduction of the bone dimensional in comparison to the tooth extraction alone, and showed that the dimensional change of the alveolar ridge after tooth extraction was minimized by using an osteogen-plug.

Thermal Activation of Asymetrical Composites for Vibration Control

The CBCM (Controlled Behaviour Composite Material) is a thermal active composite, which has been developed for morphing applications. The thermal activation is made by a source of heating generated within the composite structure. The coupling between the induced thermal field and the thermomechanical properties of the various components of the composite structure leads to the change of the structure shape. The heat source is generated by Joule effect, Carbon yarns inserted in the composite, are connected to a power supply. The application field of CBCM technology is the domain of shape modification and active assembly. The objective of this work is to illustrate the capabilities of CBCM in the domain of vibration control. We will study several reference plates with different constitution. The influences of these different constitutions, of the CBCM effect and the loss of stiffness for the matrix will be highlighted, for two boundary conditions, free/free and embedded/embedded.