Finite-time Prescribed Performance Time-Varying Formation Control for Second-Order Multi-Agent Systems With Non-Strict Feedback Based on a Neural Network Observer

This paper studies the problem of time-varying formation control with finite-time prescribed performance for nonstrict feedback second-order multi-agent systems with unmeasured states and unknown nonlinearities.To eliminate nonlinearities,neural networks are applied to approximate the inherent dynamics of the system.In addition,due to the limitations of the actual working conditions,each follower agent can only obtain the locally measurable partial state information of the leader agent.To address this problem,a neural network state observer based on the leader state information is designed.Then,a finite-time prescribed performance adaptive output feedback control strategy is proposed by restricting the sliding mode surface to a prescribed region,which ensures that the closed-loop system has practical finite-time stability and that formation errors of the multi-agent systems converge to the prescribed performance bound in finite time.Finally,a numerical simulation is provided to demonstrate the practicality and effectiveness of the developed algorithm.

Adaptive Event-Triggered Time-Varying Output Group Formation Containment Control of Heterogeneous Multiagent Systems

In this paper,a class of time-varying output group formation containment control problem of general linear hetero-geneous multiagent systems(MASs)is investigated under directed topology.The MAS is composed of a number of tracking leaders,formation leaders and followers,where two different types of leaders are used to provide reference trajectories for movement and to achieve certain formations,respectively.Firstly,compen-sators are designed whose states are estimations of tracking lead-ers,based on which,a controller is developed for each formation leader to accomplish the expected formation.Secondly,two event-triggered compensators are proposed for each follower to evalu-ate the state and formation information of the formation leaders in the same group,respectively.Subsequently,a control protocol is designed for each follower,utilizing the output information,to guide the output towards the convex hull generated by the forma-tion leaders within the group.Next,the triggering sequence in this paper is decomposed into two sequences,and the inter-event intervals of these two triggering conditions are provided to rule out the Zeno behavior.Finally,a numerical simulation is intro-duced to confirm the validity of the proposed results.

Geometry and formation mechanism of tension gashes and their implication on the hydrocarbon accumulation in the deep-seated strata of sedimentary basin:A case from Shunnan area of Tarim Basin

With the theoretical and technological developments related to cratonic strike-slip faults,the Shuntuoguole Low Uplift in the Tarim Basin has attracted considerable attention recently.Affected by multi-stage tectonic movements,the strike-slip faults have controlled the distribution of hydrocarbon resources owing to the special fault characteristics and fault-related structures.In contrast,the kinematics and formation mechanism of strike-slip faults in buried sedimentary basins are difficult to investigate,limiting the discussion of these faults and hydrocarbon accumulation.In this study,we identified the characteristics of massive sigmoidal tension gashes(STGs)that formed in the Shunnan area of the Tarim Basin.High-resolution three-dimensional seismic data and attribute analyses were used to investigate their geometric and kinematic characteristics.Then,the stress state of each point of the STGs was calculated using seismic curvature attributes.Finally,the formation mechanism of the STGs and their roles in controlling hydrocarbon migration and accumulation were discussed.The results suggest that:(1)the STGs developed in the Shunnan area have a wide distribution,with a tensile fault arranged in an enéchelon pattern,showing an S-shaped bending.These STGs formed in multiple stages,and differential rotation occurred along the direction of strike-slip stress during formation.(2)Near the principal displacement zone of the strike-slip faults,the stress value of the STGs was higher,gradually decreasing at both ends.The shallow layer deformation was greater than the deep layer deformation.(3)STGs are critical for connecting source rocks,migrating oil and gas,sealing horizontally,and developing efficient reservoirs.This study not only provides seismic evidence for the formation and evolution of super large STGs,but also provides certain guidance for oil and gas exploration in this area.

Dynamic event-triggered formation control of second-order nonholonomic systems

In this paper,the formation control problem of secondorder nonholonomic mobile robot systems is investigated in a dynamic event-triggered scheme.Event-triggered control protocols combined with persistent excitation(PE)conditions are presented.In event-detecting processes,an inactive time is introduced after each sampling instant,which can ensure a positive minimum sampling interval.To increase the flexibility of the event-triggered scheme,internal dynamic variables are included in event-triggering conditions.Moreover,the dynamic event-triggered scheme plays an important role in increasing the lengths of time intervals between any two consecutive events.In addition,event-triggered control protocols without forward and angular velocities are also presented based on approximate-differentiation(low-pass)filters.The asymptotic convergence results are given based on a nested Matrosov theorem and artificial sampling methods.

Controlling factors and models of shale oil enrichment in Lower Permian Fengcheng Formation,Mahu Sag,Junggar Basin,NW China

Based on the combination of core observation,experimental analysis and testingand geological analysis,the main controlling factors of shale oil enrichment in the Lower Permian Fengcheng Formation in the Mahu Sag of the Junggar Basin are clarified,and a shale oil enrichment model is established.The results show that the enrichment of shale oil in the Fengcheng Formation in the Mahu Sag is controlled by the organic abundance,organic type,reservoir capacity and the amount of migration hydrocarbon in shale.The abundance of organic matter provides the material basis for shale oil enrichment,and the shales containing typesⅠandⅡorganic matters have good oil content.The reservoir capacity controls shale oil enrichment.Macropores are the main space for shale oil enrichment in the Fengcheng Formation,and pore size and fracture scale directly control the degree of shale oil enrichment.The migration of hydrocarbons in shale affects shale oil enrichment.The shale that has expelled hydrocarbons has poor oil content,while the shale that has received hydrocarbons migrated from other strata has good oil content.Lithofacies reflect the hydrocarbon generation and storage capacity comprehensively.The laminated felsic shale,laminated lime-dolomitic shale and thick-layered felsic shale have good oil content,and they are favorable lithofacies for shale oil enrichment.Under the control of these factors,relative migration of hydrocarbons occurred within the Fengcheng shale,which leads to the the difference in the enrichment process of shale oil.Accordingly,the enrichment mode of shale oil in Fengcheng Formation is established as"in-situ enrichment"and"migration enrichment".By superimposing favorable lithofacies and main controlling factors of enrichment,the sweet spot of shale oil in the Fengcheng Formation can be selected which has great significance for the exploration and development of shale oil.

A Novel Obstacle Avoidance Consensus Control for Multi-AUV Formation System

In this paper, the fixed-time event-triggered obstacle avoidance consensus control for a multi-AUV time-varying formation system in a 3D environment is presented by using an improved artificial potential field and leader-follower strategy(IAPF-LF). Firstly, the proposed fixed-time control can achieve the desired multi-AUV formation within a fixed settling time in any initial system state. Secondly, an event-triggered communication strategy is developed to govern the communication among AUVs, and the communication energy consumption can be decremented. The time-varying formation obstacle avoidance control algorithm based on IAPF-LF is designed to avoid static and dynamic obstacles, the desired formation is maintained in the presence of external disturbances, and there is no Zeno behavior under the fixed-time event-triggered consensus control strategy.The stability of the system is proved by the Lyapunov function and inequality scaling. Finally, simulation examples and water pool experiments are reported to verify the performance of the proposed theoretical algorithms.

Leader trajectory planning method considering constraints of formation controller

To ensure safe flight of multiple fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs)formation,considering trajectory planning and formation control together,a leader trajectory planning method based on the sparse A*algorithm is introduced.Firstly,a formation controller based on prescribed performance theory is designed to control the transient and steady formation configuration,as well as the formation forming time,which not only can form the designated formation configuration but also can guarantee collision avoidance and terrain avoidance theoretically.Next,considering the constraints caused by formation controller on trajectory planning such as the safe distance,turn angle and step length,as well as the constraint of formation shape,a leader trajectory planning method based on sparse A^(*)algorithm is proposed.Simulation results show that the UAV formation can arrive at the destination safely with a short trajectory no matter keeping the formation or encountering formation transformation.

Cyclic-Pursuit-Based Circular Formation Control of Mobile Agents with Limited Communication Ranges and Communication Delays

This article addresses the circular formation control problem of a multi-agent system moving on a circle in the presence of limited communication ranges and communication delays.To minimize the number of communication links,a novel distributed controller based on a cyclic pursuit strategy is developed in which each agent needs only its leading neighbour’s information.In contrast to existing works,we propose a set of new potential functions to deal with heterogeneous communication ranges and communication delays simultaneously.A new framework based on the admissible upper bound of the formation error is established so that both connectivity maintenance and order preservation can be achieved at the same time.It is shown that the multi-agent system can be driven to the desired circular formation as time goes to infinity under the proposed controller.Finally,the effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by some simulation examples.

Factors Controlling Organic Matter Enrichment in Alkaline Lacustrine Source Rocks:A Case Study of the Late Paleozoic Fengcheng Formation in the Junggar Basin,NW China

The late Paleozoic Fengcheng Formation shale(LPF shale)in the Junggar Basin,NW China,is the oldest alkaline source rock discovered in the world,providing a unique perspective with which to explore organic matter(OM)enrichment in alkaline lake environments.Combined with the organic carbon isotope profile and paleoenvironmental proxies,this study reveals that the LPF shale was deposited in an arid climate with high salinity and a strong reducing environment,accompanied by frequent volcanic activity.High TOC values are concentrated in two intervals with frequent fluctuations in OM types.A negative excursion due to changes in sedimentary OM source is found in the δ^(13)C_(org) profile.The excursion corresponds to the OM enrichment interval and is accompanied by abnormally high values of Sr/Ba and Sr/Cu.This implies that the extreme arid climate has led to high salinity,resulting in strong reducibility and changes in paleontological assemblages,which in turn controlled the differential enrichment of OM.The Fengcheng Fm.high-quality source rocks are the result of the combined action of climatic events,volcanism,high-salinity water environment and superior hydrocarbon-generating organisms.The results provide new insights into the formation conditions of terrestrial alkaline high-quality source rocks and the factors controlling alkaline OM enrichment.

Nonlinear direct data-driven control for UAV formation flight system

This paper proposes the nonlinear direct data-driven control from theoretical analysis and practical engineering,i.e.,unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)formation flight system.Firstly,from the theoretical point of view,consider one nonlinear closedloop system with a nonlinear plant and nonlinear feed-forward controller simultaneously.To avoid the complex identification process for that nonlinear plant,a nonlinear direct data-driven control strategy is proposed to design that nonlinear feed-forward controller only through the input-output measured data sequence directly,whose detailed explicit forms are model inverse method and approximated analysis method.Secondly,from the practical point of view,after reviewing the UAV formation flight system,nonlinear direct data-driven control is applied in designing the formation controller,so that the followers can track the leader’s desired trajectory during one small time instant only through solving one data fitting problem.Since most natural phenomena have nonlinear properties,the direct method must be the better one.Corresponding system identification and control algorithms are required to be proposed for those nonlinear systems,and the direct nonlinear controller design is the purpose of this paper.

Nonlinear tight formation control of multiple UAVs based on model predictive control

A tight formation of unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) has many advantages, such as fuel saving and deceiving enemy radar during battlefield entry. As a result, research on UAVs in close formation has received much attention, and the controller design for formation holding has become a popular research topic in the control field. However, there are many unknown disturbances in tight formation, and the tail aircraft is disturbed by the wake. This paper establishes a mathematical model of wake vortices for tail aircraft that considers uncertainty and strong interference. Two UAVs are simulated by Computational Fluid Dynamics software, followed by the design of a semiphysical simulation model predictive control(MPC) scheme that suppresses uncertainty and interference sufficiently to enable the tail aircraft to accurately track the lead aircraft and maintain a stable, tight formation. The tight formation controller is verified by numerical simulation and semiphysical simulation. The results show that the designed controller has an excellent control effect in the case of disturbance caused by the wake vortex.

Circular Formation Control with Collision Avoidance Based on Probabilistic Position

In this paper,we study the circular formation problem for the second-order multi-agent systems in a plane,in which the agents maintain a circular formation based on a probabilistic position.A distributed hybrid control protocol based on a probabilistic position is designed to achieve circular formation stabilization and consensus.In the current framework,the mobile agents follow the following rules:1)the agent must follow a circular trajectory;2)all the agents in the same circular trajectory must have the same direction.The formation control objective includes two parts:1)drive all the agents to the circular formation;2)avoid a collision.Based on Lyapunov methods,convergence and stability of the proposed circular formation protocol are provided.Due to limitations in collision avoidance,we extend the results to LaSalle’s invariance principle.Some theoretical examples and numerical simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Multi-robot formation control:a comparison between model-based and learning-based methods

Formation control of multi-robot systems has been extensively studied by model-based methods,where analytic control inputs are constructed based on the kinematics and/or dynamics model and the communication graphs of the multi-robot system.Recently,driven by remarkable advances of robotic learning techniques,emerging studies on learning-based methods for formation control have been developed for adaptive and intelligent control of multi-robot systems.This paper aims to provide a brief overview of our recent development of learning-based formation control,and compare it with a model-based method for a case study of three-robot formation control.Fundamental principles,experimental results and technical challenges are presented,comparing the two different methodologies.

Formation mechanism and organizational controlling of ultra-fine-grain copper processed by asymmetrical accumulative rolling-bond and annealing

The initial copper with large grain sizes of 60-100 μm was processed by six passes asymmetrical accumulative rolling-bond （AARB） and annealing, the ultra-fine-grained （UFG） copper with grain size of 200 nm was obtained, and the microstructures and properties were studied. The results show that there are large sub-structures and also texture component C for the UFG copper obtained by six passes AARB, possessing high strength and microhardness in company with poor elongation and conductivity. Thereafter, the UFG copper was annealed at 220 °C for 35 min, in which the sub-structures disappear, the grain boundaries are composed of big angle grain boundaries, and the textures are composed of a variety of texture components and parts of twins. Compared with the UFG copper obtained by six passes AARB, the tensile strength and yield strength for the UFG copper obtained by six passes AARB and annealing at 220 °C for 35 min are decreased slightly, the elongation and conductivity are improved obviously.

Geological characteristics and models of fault-foldfracture body in deep tight sandstone of the second member of Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation in Xinchang structural belt of Sichuan Basin,SW China

In the second member of the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation(T_(3)x_(2))in the Xinchang area,western Sichuan Basin,only a low percent of reserves has been recovered,and the geological model of gas reservoir sweet spot remains unclear.Based on a large number of core,field outcrop,test and logging-seismic data,the T_(3)x_(2) gas reservoir in the Xinchang area is examined.The concept of fault-fold-fracture body(FFFB)is proposed,and its types are recognized.The main factors controlling fracture development are identified,and the geological models of FFFB are established.FFFB refers to faults,folds and associated fractures reservoirs.According to the characteristics and genesis,FFFBs can be divided into three types:fault-fracture body,fold-fracture body,and fault-fold body.In the hanging wall of the fault,the closer to the fault,the more developed the effective fractures;the greater the fold amplitude and the closer to the fold hinge plane,the more developed the effective fractures.Two types of geological models of FFFB are established:fault-fold fracture,and matrix storage and permeability.The former can be divided into two subtypes:network fracture,and single structural fracture,and the later can be divided into three subtypes:bedding fracture,low permeability pore,and extremely low permeability pore.The process for evaluating favorable FFFB zones was formed to define favorable development targets and support the well deployment for purpose of high production.The study results provide a reference for the exploration and development of deep tight sandstone oil and gas reservoirs in China.

Robust Adaptive Gain Higher Order Sliding Mode Observer Based Control-constrained Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Spacecraft Formation Flying

This work deals with the development of a decentralized optimal control algorithm, along with a robust observer,for the relative motion control of spacecraft in leader-follower based formation. An adaptive gain higher order sliding mode observer has been proposed to estimate the velocity as well as unmeasured disturbances from the noisy position measurements.A differentiator structure containing the Lipschitz constant and Lebesgue measurable control input, is utilized for obtaining the estimates. Adaptive tuning algorithms are derived based on Lyapunov stability theory, for updating the observer gains,which will give enough flexibility in the choice of initial estimates.Moreover, it may help to cope with unexpected state jerks. The trajectory tracking problem is formulated as a finite horizon optimal control problem, which is solved online. The control constraints are incorporated by using a nonquadratic performance functional. An adaptive update law has been derived for tuning the step size in the optimization algorithm, which may help to improve the convergence speed. Moreover, it is an attractive alternative to the heuristic choice of step size for diverse operating conditions. The disturbance as well as state estimates from the higher order sliding mode observer are utilized by the plant output prediction model, which will improve the overall performance of the controller. The nonlinear dynamics defined in leader fixed Euler-Hill frame has been considered for the present work and the reference trajectories are generated using Hill-Clohessy-Wiltshire equations of unperturbed motion. The simulation results based on rigorous perturbation analysis are presented to confirm the robustness of the proposed approach.

Leader-following consensus protocols for formation control of multi-agent network

Two protocols are presented,which can make agents reach consensus while achieving and preserving the desired formation in fixed topology with and without communication timedelay for multi-agent network.First,the protocol without considering the communication time-delay is presented,and by using Lyapunov stability theory,the sufficient condition of stability for this multi-agent system is presented.Further,considering the communication time-delay,the effectiveness of the protocol based on Lyapunov-Krasovskii function is demonstrated.The main contribution of the proposed protocols is that,as well as the velocity consensus is considered,the formation control is concerned for multi-agent systems described as the second-order equations.Finally,numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed protocols.

A Novel Multi-agent Formation Control Law With Collision Avoidance

In this paper a stable formation control law that simultaneously ensures collision avoidance has been proposed.It is assumed that the communication graph is undirected and connected.The proposed formation control law is a combination of the consensus term and the collision avoidance term(CAT).The first order consensus term is derived for the proposed model,while ensuring the Lyapunov stability.The consensus term creates and maintains the desired formation shape,while the CAT avoids the collision.During the collision avoidance,the potential function based CAT makes the agents repel from each other.This unrestricted repelling magnitude cannot ensure the graph connectivity at the time of collision avoidance.Hence we have proposed a formation control law,which ensures this connectivity even during the collision avoidance.This is achieved by the proposed novel adaptive potential function.The potential function adapts itself,with the online tuning of the critical variable associated with it.The tuning has been done based on the lower bound of the critical variable,which is derived from the proposed connectivity property.The efficacy of the proposed scheme has been validated using simulations done based on formations of six and thirty-two agents respectively.

Distributed formation control for a multi-agent system with dynamic and static obstacle avoidances

Formation control and obstacle avoidance for multi-agent systems have attracted more and more attention. In this paper, the problems of formation control and obstacle avoidance are investigated by means of a consensus algorithm. A novel distributed control model is proposed for the multi-agent system to form the anticipated formation as well as achieve obstacle avoidance. Based on the consensus algorithm, a distributed control function consisting of three terms （formation control term, velocity matching term, and obstacle avoidance term） is presented. By establishing a novel formation control matrix, a formation control term is constructed such that the agents can converge to consensus and reach the anticipated formation. A new obstacle avoidance function is developed by using the modified potential field approach to make sure that obstacle avoidance can be achieved whether the obstacle is in a dynamic state or a stationary state. A velocity matching term is also put forward to guarantee that the velocities of all agents converge to the same value. Furthermore, stability of the control model is proven. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control.