Global Robust and Adaptive Output Feedback Dynamic Positioning of Surface Ships

A constructive method was presented to design a global robust and adaptive output feedback controller for dynamic positioning of surface ships under environmental disturbances induced by waves, wind, and ocean currents. The ship's parameters were not required to be known. An adaptive observer was first designed to estimate the ship's velocities and parameters. The ship position measurements were also passed through the adaptive observer to reduce high frequency measurement noise from entering the control system. Using these estimate signals, the control was then designed based on Lyapunov's direct method to force the ship's position and orientation to globally asymptotically converge to desired values. Simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control system. In conclusion, the paper presented a new method to design an effective control system for dynamic positioning of surface ships.

Nonlinear observer-controller design for dynamic positioning of ships

The main focus is nonlinear model-based dynamic positioning (DP) control system design. A nonlinear uniform global exponential stability (UGES) observer produces noise-free estimates of the position, the slowly varying environmental disturbances and the velocity, which are used in a proportional-derivative (PD) + feedforward control law. The stability of this observer-controller system is proved by introducing a specific nonlinear cascaded system. The simulation results have successfully demonstrated the performance of designed DP control system.

Adaptive Observer Based Backstepping Controller Design for Dynamic Ship Positioning

Modified adaptive observer based backstepping control system for dynamic positioning of ship is proposed. As an improvement, the adaptive observer takes the first-order wave frequency model and the bias term which represent the slowly varying environmental disturbances and the unmodeled dynamics. Thus, the wave-frequency motions are filtered out, and only the reconstructed low-frequency motions are sent as inputs of the controller. Furthermore, as the ship dynamics parameters are unknown, the adaptive estimation law is designed for both the unknown ship dynamics and the unmeasured state variables. Based on the estimated states and parameters, backstepping controller considering the integral action is designed. Global exponential stability （GES） for the total system is proved using Lyapunov direct method. Simulation results show a good performance of the observer and control system.

Fixed Time Control of Dynamic Positioning Ship with Unknown Interference

This paper proposes a fixed-time control scheme to ensure that the dynamic positioning can accurately reach the specified position under external interference. A fixed-time state observer was developed to accurately estimate the total external unknown interference. Based on the dynamic positioning ship motion model, the inversion design method is used to ensure the stability of the system and eliminate various uncertain effects. A fixed-time backstepping sliding mode controller is designed. Finally, the simulation results show that the method has good performance and advantages.

Novel disturbance compensating dynamic positioning of dredgers based on adaptive backstepping

In order to deal with the dynamic positioning system control problems of dredgers working under strong dredging reaction or harsh environments,an adaptive backstepping method is proposed.Disturbances are estimated and compensated for by the adaptive method without extra sensors on dredging equipment,and the control mechanism is simplified.Adaptive control is used to compensate for the reaction and environmental disturbances on the dredger,so the dredger can maintain the desired position with a minimum error and shock.The proposed adaptive robust controller guarantees the global asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system and rapid position tracking of the dredger.The simulation results show that the proposed controller has superior performance in position tracking and robustness to large disturbances.

Position-Aware and Subgraph Enhanced Dynamic Graph Contrastive Learning on Discrete-Time Dynamic Graph

Unsupervised learning methods such as graph contrastive learning have been used for dynamic graph represen-tation learning to eliminate the dependence of labels.However,existing studies neglect positional information when learning discrete snapshots,resulting in insufficient network topology learning.At the same time,due to the lack of appropriate data augmentation methods,it is difficult to capture the evolving patterns of the network effectively.To address the above problems,a position-aware and subgraph enhanced dynamic graph contrastive learning method is proposed for discrete-time dynamic graphs.Firstly,the global snapshot is built based on the historical snapshots to express the stable pattern of the dynamic graph,and the random walk is used to obtain the position representation by learning the positional information of the nodes.Secondly,a new data augmentation method is carried out from the perspectives of short-term changes and long-term stable structures of dynamic graphs.Specifically,subgraph sampling based on snapshots and global snapshots is used to obtain two structural augmentation views,and node structures and evolving patterns are learned by combining graph neural network,gated recurrent unit,and attention mechanism.Finally,the quality of node representation is improved by combining the contrastive learning between different structural augmentation views and between the two representations of structure and position.Experimental results on four real datasets show that the performance of the proposed method is better than the existing unsupervised methods,and it is more competitive than the supervised learning method under a semi-supervised setting.

Design and Reliability Analysis of DP-3 Dynamic Positioning Control Architecture

As the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas proliferate throughout deepwater area, the requirements on the reliability of dynamic positioning system become increasingly stringent. The control objective ensuring safety operation at deep water will not be met by a single controller for dynamic positioning. In order to increase the availability and reliability of dynamic positioning control system, the triple redundancy hardware and software control architectures were designed and developed according to the safe specifications of DP-3 classification notation for dynamically positioned ships and rigs. The hardware redundant configuration takes the form of triple-redundant hot standby configuration including three identical operator stations and three real-time control computers which connect each other through dual networks. The function of motion control and redundancy management of control computers were implemented by software on the real-time operating system VxWorks. The software realization of task loose synchronization, majority voting and fault detection were presented in details. A hierarchical software architecture was planed during the development of software, consisting of application layer, real-time layer and physical layer. The behavior of the DP-3 dynamic positioning control system was modeled by a Markov model to analyze its reliability. The effects of variation in parameters on the reliability measures were investigated. The time domain dynamic simulation was carried out on a deepwater drilling rig to prove the feasibility of the proposed control architecture

Portable Dynamic Positioning Control System on A Barge in Short-Crested Waves Using the Neural Network Algorithm

This paper develops a nonlinear mathematical model to simulate the dynamic motion behavior of the barge equipped with the portable outboard Dynamic Positioning （DP） system in short-crested waves. The self-tuning Proportional- Derivative （PD） controller based on the neural network algorithm is applied to control the thrusters for optimal adjustment of the barge position in waves. In addition to the wave, the current, the wind and the nonlinear drift force are also considered in the calculations. The time domain simulations for the six-degree-of-freedom motions of the barge with the DP system are solved by the 4th order Runge-Kutta method which can compromise the efficiency and the accuracy of the simulations. The technique of the portable alternative DP system developed here can serve as a practical tool to assist those ships without being equipped with the DP facility while the dynamic positioning missions are needed.

Dynamic Interaction of Parallel Moving Ships in Close Proximity

Nowadays,there are many studies conducted in the field of marine hydrodynamics which focus on two vessels traveling and floating in sufficiently close proximity to experience significant interactions.The hydrodynamic behavior of parallel moving ships in waves is an interesting and important topic of late.A numerical investigation has been carried out for the prediction of wave exciting forces and motion responses of parallel moving ships in regular waves.The numerical solution was based on 3D distribution technique and using the linear wave theory to determine the exciting forces and ship＇s motion.The speed effects have been considered in the Green function for more realistic results.The numerical computations of wave exciting forces and motion responses were carried out for a Mariner and Series 60 for the purpose of discovering different Froude numbers and different separation distances in head sea conditions.Based on the numerical computations,it was revealed that the sway,roll and yaw have a significant effect due to hydrodynamic interaction.

Model Predictive Controller Design for the Dynamic Positioning System of a Semi-submersible Platform

This paper researches how to apply the advanced control technology of model predictive control （MPC） to the design of the dynamic positioning system （DPS） of a semi-submersible platform. First, a linear low-frequency motion model with three degrees of freedom was established in the context of a semi-submersible platform. Second, a model predictive controller was designed based on a model which took the constraints of the system into account. Third, simulation was carried out to demonstrate the feasibility of the controller. The results show that the model predictive controller has good performance and good at dealing with the constraints or the system.

Virtual Reality Simulation of Fuzzy-logic Control during Underwater Dynamic Positioning

In this paper, graphical-user-interface （GUI） software for simulation and fuzzy-logic control of a remotely operated vehicle （ROV） using MATLABTM GUI Designing Environment is proposed. The proposed ROV＇s GUI platform allows the controller such as fuzzy-logic control systems design to be compared with other controllers such as proportional-integral-derivative （PID） and sliding-mode controller （SMC） systematically and interactively. External disturbance such as sea current can he added to improve the modelling in actual underwater environment. The simulated results showed the position responses of the fuzzy-logic control exhibit reasonable performance under the sea current disturbance.

Fully Coupled Time-Domain Simulation of Dynamic Positioning Semi-Submersible Platform Using Dynamic Surface Control

A fully coupled 6-degree-of-freedom nonlinear dynamic model is presented to analyze the dynamic response of a semi-submersible platform which is equipped with the dynamic positioning(DP) system. In the control force design, a dynamic model of reference linear drift frequency in the horizontal plane is introduced. The dynamic surface control(DSC) is used to design a control strategy for the DP. Compared with the traditional back-stepping methods, the dynamic surface control combined with radial basis function(RBF) neural networks(NNs) can avoid differentiating intermediate variables repeatedly in every design step due to the introduction of a first order filter. Low frequency motions obtained from total motions by a low pass filter are chosen to be the inputs for the RBF NNs which are used to approximate the low frequency wave force. Considering the propellers' wear and tear, the effect of filtering frequencies for the control force is discussed. Based on power consumptions and positioning requirements, the NN centers are determined. Moreover, the RBF NNs used to approximate the total wave force are built to monitor the disturbances. With the DP assistance, the results of fully coupled dynamic response simulations are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Dynamical Correction of Control Laws for Marine Ships’ Accurate Steering

The objective of this work is the analytical synthesis problem for marine vehicles autopilots design. Despite numerous known methods for a solution, the mentioned problem is very complicated due to the presence of an extensive population of certain dynamical conditions, requirements and restrictions, which must be satisfied by the appropriate choice of a steering control law. The aim of this paper is to simplify the procedure of the synthesis, providing accurate steering with desirable dynamics of the control system. The approach proposed here is based on the usage of a special unified multipurpose control law structure that allows decoupling a synthesis into simpler particular optimization problems. In particular, this structure includes a dynamical corrector to support the desirable features for the vehicle＇s motion under the action of sea wave disturbances. As a result, a specialized new method for the corrector design is proposed to provide an accurate steering or a trade-off between accurate steering and economical steering of the ship. This method guaranties a certain flexibility of the control law with respect to an actual environment of the sailing;its corresponding turning can be realized in real time onboard.

Scrap Activities on the Coastal Zone： Dynamic Model for the Recycling of Ships

This paper describes the main activities of the ship recycling facilities that have moved to the Asia continent and puts emphasis on environmental and working conditions under the umbrella of the new IMO （International Maritime Organization） convention. However, the convention is not enforced yet and the legal gaps found on limited existing regulations do not impose strict rules on the shipping industry and at the same time offer motives for the safe recycling of ships. Ship-owners seem reluctant to send their vessels for scrap but rather prefer to employ them till the last minute, preferably in areas where the environmentally-friendly concept is not of primary importance. The dynamics of this specialized industry can be better shown by examining variables such as legal instruments, occupational health and safety hazards, geographical allocation of scrapping sites, scrap prices, safety working plans and volume to be scrapped. The next step is to build a simulation model in order to discuss the relevant scenarios. The first scenario is based on the current conditions where the ship-owner＇s decision is mainly affected by the fluctuations of the market and whether the effectiveness of existing regulations can improve the working environment in terms of health and safety. The second scenario refers to the situation when the IMO Convention is implemented, then it will produce two major recycling markets, the first one for the convention ships and the second for non-convention ships.

Evaluation of Hydrodynamic Coefficients of Ships Oscillating in A Numerical Wave Tank

A technique for the evaluation of the hydrodynamic coefficients of ships is outlined for ship oscillating in a numerical wave tank, which is established on Computational Fluid Dynamics （CFD） theories. The numerical simulation of ship sections and bodies forced oscillating in the tank are carried out. The added mass and damping coefficients are obtained by the decomposition of the computational results, which agree well with the corresponding ones of potential theories.

Dynamic Positioning System Design for A Marine Vessel with Unknown Dynamics Subject to External Disturbances Including Wave Effect

In this paper, a new control system is proposed for dynamic positioning(DP) of marine vessels with unknown dynamics and subject to external disturbances. The control system is composed of a substructure for wave filtering and state estimation together with a nonlinear PD-type controller. For wave filtering and state estimation, a cascade combination of a modified notch filter and an estimation stage is considered. In estimation stage, a modified extended-state observer(ESO) is proposed to estimate vessel velocities and unknown dynamics. The main advantage of the proposed method is its robustness to model uncertainties and external disturbances and it does not require prior knowledge of vessel model parameters. Besides, the stability of the cascade structure is analyzed and input to state stability(ISS) is guaranteed. Later on, a nonlinear PD-type controller with feedforward of filtered estimated dynamics is utilized. Detailed stability analyses are presented for the closed-loop DP control system and global uniform ultimate boundedness is proved using large scale systems method. Simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed method for wave filtering and state estimation and comparisons are made with two conventional methods in terms of estimation accuracy and the presence of uncertainties. Besides, comparisons are made in closed-loop control system to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method compared with conventional methods. The proposed control system results in better performance in the presence of uncertainties,external disturbance and even in transients when the vessel is subjected to sudden changes in environmental disturbances.

Robustifying Dynamic Positioning of Crane Vessels for Heavy Lifting Operation

Construction crane vessels make use of dynamic positioning(DP)systems during the installation and removal of offshore structures to maintain the vessel’s position.Studies have reported cases of instability of DP systems during offshore operation caused by uncertainties,such as mooring forces.DP"robustification"for heavy lift operations,i.e.,handling such uncertainties systematically and with stability guarantees,is a long-standing challenge in DP design.A new DP method,composed by an observer and a controller,is proposed to address this challenge,with stability guarantees in the presence of uncertainties.We test the proposed method on an integrated cranevessel simulation environment,where the integration of several subsystems(winch dynamics,crane forces,thruster dynamics,fuel injection system etc.)allow a realistic validation under a wide set of uncertainties.

Optimal Filtering Correction forMarine Dynamical Positioning Control System

This paper focuses on the problem of control law optimization for marine vessels working in a dynamical positioning （DP） regime. The approach proposed here is based on the use of a special unified multipurpose control law structure constructed on the basis of nonlinear asymptotic observers, that allows the decoupling of a synthesis into simpler particular optimization problems. The primary reason for the observers is to restore deficient information concerning the unmeasured velocities of the vessel. Using a number of separate items in addition to the observers, it is possible to achieve desirable dynamical features of the closed loop connection. The most important feature is the so-called dynamical corrector, and this paper is therefore devoted to solving its optimal synthesis in marine vessels controlled by DP systems under the action of sea wave disturbances. The problem involves the need for minimal intensity of the control action determined by high frequency sea wave components. A specialized approach for designing the dynamical corrector is proposed and the applicability and effectiveness of the approach are illustrated using a practical example of underwater DP system synthesis.

Representation of Dynamic Positioning on Hovering Type Autonomous Underwater Vehicle in Precise Welding Operations

This paper proposes dynamic positioning(DP) on a hovering autonomous underwater vehicle(HAUV) to perform accurate underwater processes such as welding operations. High maneuverability, high controllability, and hovering of the robot were the prerequisites of this operation, which increase its accuracy and velocity and reduce costs and human health risks. Other types of thrusters were used in this robot to reduce the number of thrusters and controller’s complexity. Controlling every 6 degrees of freedom to perform this type of operation was done. Furthermore, such a delicate operation required controlling the translational and rotational movements together. There was also a need to control the velocities to travel in a prescribed distance at a reasonable time. The possibility of dynamic positioning for welding and maintaining position at a point was defined for the robot. Then the robot’s performance under a defective state-servo motor failure, thruster malfunction-and the subsequent effects on the performance during the predetermined missions were investigated. Simulation results demonstrated that the HAUV has the capability to perform dynamic positioning operations. In this article, one of the prevalent classic control methods called PID controller was employed for controlling the movements of the robot.

Positioning in Dynamic Testing of Slender Bridges

The positioning combined with multi-functioning and interactive mechanics in dynamic testing of slender bridges are treated in present paper. The approach takes into account multiple functions in dynamic testing of slender bridges constructed of thin-walled structural members with their hierarchical configuration. Theoretical, numerical and experimental in situ assessments of the problem are presented. Some results of the application in situ are submitted.