Practical Implementation of Embedded Controlled Reduced Switch Z-Source Inverter-Fed Induction Motor Drive

A cost-effective component minimized embedded controlled Z-source inverter for induction motor drive is presented. The proposed topology combines the advantages of a traditional four-switch three-phase inverter with the advantages of the z impedance network (two inductors in series and two X connected capacitors). This new topology, besides the self-boost property, has low switch count and it can operate as a buck-boost inverter. As a result, the new embedded controlled reduced switch Z-source inverter system provides ride through capability during voltage sags, reduces line harmonics, improves power factor, reliability and extends output voltage range. Analysis, simulation and experiment result will be presented to demonstrate these new features.

A Fuzzy Logic Based Supervisory Hierarchical Control Scheme for Real Time Pressure Control

This paper describes a supervisory hierarchical fuzzy controller （SHFC） for regulating pressure in a real-time pilot pressure control system. The input scaling factor tuning of a direct expert controller is made using the error and process input parameters in a closed loop system in order to obtain better controller performance for set-point change and load disturbances. This on-line tuning method reduces operator involvement and enhances the controller performance to a wide operating range. The hierarchical control scheme consists of an intelligent upper level supervisory fuzzy controller and a lower level direct fuzzy controller. The upper level controller provides a mechanism to the main goal of the system and the lower level controller delivers the solutions to a particular situation. The control algorithm for the proposed scheme has been developed and tested using an ARM7 microcontroller-based embedded target board for a nonlinear pressure process having dead time. To demonstrate the effectiveness, the results of the proposed hierarchical controller, fuzzy controller and conventional proportional-integral （PI） controller are analyzed. The results prove that the SHFC performance is better in terms of stability and robustness than the conventional control methods.

Tufting Carpet Machine Information Model Based on Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control Unified Architecture

In view of the lack of research on the information model of tufting carpet machine in China,an information modeling method based on Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control Unified Architecture(OPC UA)framework was proposed to solve the problem of“information island”caused by the differentiated data interface between heterogeneous equipment and system in tufting carpet machine workshop.This paper established an information model of tufting carpet machine based on analyzing the system architecture,workshop equipment composition and information flow of the workshop,combined with the OPC UA information modeling specification.Subsequently,the OPC UA protocol is used to instantiate and map the information model,and the OPC UA server is developed.Finally,the practicability of tufting carpet machine information model under the OPC UA framework and the feasibility of realizing the information interconnection of heterogeneous devices in the tufting carpet machine digital workshop are verified.On this basis,the cloud and remote access to the underlying device data are realized.The application of this information model and information integration scheme in actual production explores and practices the application of OPC UA technology in the digital workshop of tufting carpet machine.

Slip-draft embedded control system by adaptively adjusting the battery position for electric tractor

A slip-draft embedded control system was designed and developed for an independent developed 2WD(two-wheel drive)electric tractor,to improve the traction efficiency,operation performance and ploughing depth stability of the electric tractor.In this system,the battery of electric tractor was innovatively equivalent to the original counterweight of the fuel tractor.And through dynamic analysis of electric tractor during ploughing,the mathematical model of adjusting the center of gravity about draft force and slip rate was established.Then the automatic adjustment of the center of gravity for electric tractor was realized through the adaptive adjustment of battery position.Finally,the system was carried on electric tractor for performance evaluation under different ploughing conditions,the traction efficiency,slip rate and front wheel load of electric tractor were measured and controlled synchronously to make it close to the set range.And the comparative experiments of ploughing operation were carried out under the two modes of adaptive adjustment of center of gravity and fixed center of gravity.The test results showed that,based on the developed control system,the center of gravity of electric tractor can be adjusted in real time according to the complex changes of working conditions.During ploughing operation with adjusting adaptively battery position,the average values of traction efficiency,slip rate,front wheel load and relative error of tillage depth of electric tractor were 64.5%,22.2%,2045.0 N and 2.0%respectively.Which were optimized by 15.0%,29.5%,19.6%and 80.0%respectively,compared with electric tractor with fixed battery position.The slip-draft embedded control system can not only realize the adaptive adjustment of the center of gravity position in the ploughing process of electric tractor,but also improve the traction efficiency and the stability of ploughing depth,which can provide reference for the actual production operation of electric tractor.

Fault-Tolerant Scheduling for Real-Time Embedded Control Systems

With the increasing complexity of industrial application, an embedded control system (ECS) requires processing a number of hard real-time tasks and needs fault-tolerance to assure high reliability. Considering the characteristics of real-time tasks in ECS, an integrated algorithm is proposed to schedule real-time tasks and to guarantee that all real-time tasks are completed before their deadlines even in the presence of faults. Based on the nonpreemptive critical-section protocol (NCSP), this paper analyzes the blocking time introduced by resource conflicts of relevancy tasks in fault-tolerant multiprocessor systems. An extended schedulability condition is presented to check the assignment feasibility of a given task to a processor. A primary/backup approach and on-line replacement of failed processors are used to tolerate processor failures. The analysis reveals that the integrated algorithm bounds the blocking time, requires limited overhead on the number of processors, and still assures good processor utilization. This is also demonstrated by simulation results. Both analysis and simulation show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm in ECS.

Design of high-speed and low-power finite-word-length PID controllers

ASIC or FPGA implementation of a finite word-length PID controller requires a double expertise： in control system and hardware design. In this paper, we only focus on the hardware side of the problem. We show how to design configurable fixed-point PIDs to satisfy applications requiring minimal power consumption, or high control-rate, or both together. As multiply operation is the engine of PID, we experienced three algorithms： Booth, modified Booth, and a new recursive multi-bit multiplication algorithm. This later enables the construction of finely grained PID structures with bit-level and unit-time precision. Such a feature permits to tailor the PID to the desired performance and power budget. All PIDs are implemented at register-transfer4evel （RTL） level as technology-independent reusable IP-cores. They are reconfigurable according to two compilemtime constants： set-point word-length and latency. To make PID design easily reproducible, all necessary implementation details are provided and discussed.

Embedded model control:Reconciling modern control theory and error-based control design

The paper addresses the problem of reconciling the modern control paradigm developed by R. Kalman in the sixties of the past century, and the centenary error-based design of the proportional, integrative and derivative （PID） controllers. This is done with the help of the error loop whose stability is proved to be necessary and sufficient for the close-loop plant stability. The error loop is built by cascading the uncertain plant-to-model discrepancies （causal, parametric, initial state, neglected dynamics）, which are driven by the design model output and by arbitrary bounded signals, with the control unit transfer functions. The embedded model control takes advantage of the error loop and its equations to design appropriate algorithms of the modern control theory （state predictor, control law, reference generator）, which guarantee the error loop stability and performance. A simulated multivariate case study shows modeling and control design steps and the coherence of the predicted and simulated performance.

Algorithmic approaches for optimizing electronic control unit time using multi-rate sampling

With the emerging migration of automotive and other distributed control platforms from federated to integrated architectures, the need for optimal utilization of ECU （electronic control unit） bandwidth will become a key requirement in the implementation of embedded control features. This paper advocates the partitioning of the operating space of the plant and the use of minimal sampling rates in each partition without compromising the overall quality of control. At the heart of the proposed methodology are our algorithms that enable the choice of the partitions and the sampling rate for each partition. We demonstrate the efficacy of our methods on two case studies, namely an anti-lock braking system and a lane departure warning system. We also study the use of a supervisory controller that controls the switching among sampling rates for a combination of the two features.