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Undergraduate Thesis Project Database: Search Results (7 records found)
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| ID: |
MB01 |
| Title: |
Active suspension system |
| Description: |
Suspension systems on vehicles damped the effect of the wheel disturbances on the movement of the body. The aim of the project is to study the journal paper below in order to develop a simulation on which control engineering studies can be conducted. Once coded the simulator is to be used to evaluate the efficacy of various control strategies on the motion of the vehicle body when subjected to road disturbances.
Reference
Guglielmino,E, K.A.Edge (2004). A controlled friction damper for vehicle applications. Control Engineering Practice, 12(4), 431-443. |
| Deliverables: |
Simulator and report detailing the work done and the conclusions reached.
Programming skills essential (VB preferred but other languages, excluding Matlab/Simulink, can be negotiated). A good understanding of mathematical modelling and control engineering techniques assumed. |
| Skills/requirements: |
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| Extra: |
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| Area: |
Control Engineering |
| ID: |
MB02 |
| Title: |
A four-term bilinear PID controller application |
| Description: |
PID control of nonlinear systems generally requires that the controller be detuned in some way to allow for the undesirable effects of the inevitable process non-linearities. It has been suggested that the BPID control law is a good alternative to dealing with such systems. The aim of this project is to test this suggestion by implementing and studying the behaviour of both PD and BPID controllers on particular physical systems (possibly with simulated nonlinearities to fully evaluate the BPID.)
The physical system might be the six-tank flotation plant in the Control & Instrumentation Laboratory, the servo motor or one of the other laboratory-scale systems.
Reference
Martineau,S, K.J.Burnham, O.C.L.Haas, G.Andrews, A.Heeley (2004). Four-term bilinear PID controller applied to an industrial furnace. Control Engineering Practice, 12(4), 457-464. |
| Deliverables: |
Report detailing the work done and the results of the comparisons. |
| Skills/requirements: |
Programming skills essential (VB preferred but other languages, excluding Matlab/Simulink, can be negotiated). Good at practical applications. |
| Extra: |
None |
| Area: |
Control Engineering |
| ID: |
MB03 |
| Title: |
Vehicle Control |
| Description: |
Automatic control of vehicles using GPS positioning and accelerometer systems leads to challenging problems. This project will study the given journal paper and produce a digital simulation of the kinematic model of motion, with suitable graphical outputs including animation. The input-output feedback linearization with preview (control strategy) proposed in the paper is then to be investigated in depth. Alternative control schemes should also be considered and each should be fully evaluated in terms of its relative performance, taking the proposed controller as the base case.
Reference
Rajamani,R, C.Zhu, L.Alexander (2003). Lateral control of a backward driven front-steering vehicle. Control Engineering Practice, 11(5), pp531-540. |
| Deliverables: |
Report detailing the work done and the results of the various control strategies and their performances. |
| Skills/requirements: |
A high level of mathematics is assumed for understanding the paper. Programming skills essential (VB preferred but other languages, excluding Matlab/Simulink, can be negotiated). |
| Extra: |
None |
| Area: |
Control Engineering |
| ID: |
MB04 |
| Title: |
Control of tracking systems |
| Description: |
Tracking satellites, missiles or other targets is critical in many diverse applications including open heart surgery without stopping the heart. This project will investigate the state of the art in this topic and then through simulation studies evaluate the performance of various control strategies on the basis of tracking, noise rejection, disturbance attenuation, input constraints and robustness. The paper quoted below will be taken as the starting point and its equations could form the basis of a digital simulation of a tracking system, including animation effects.
Reference
Kim,K, Y.Kim (2004). Design of generalized conceptual guidance law using aim angle. Control Engineering Practice, 12(3), 291-298. |
| Deliverables: |
Report detailing the current theory applicable to tracking control, the simulation studies and possibly an application to light tracking using a servomotor system. |
| Skills/requirements: |
Mathematical competence is essential. Programming skills essential (VB preferred but other languages, excluding Matlab/Simulink, can be negotiated). Ability to assemble real systems will be required for the application. |
| Extra: |
None |
| Area: |
Control Engineering |
| ID: |
MB05 |
| Title: |
Investigation of electronic throttle control systems |
| Description: |
The combination of increasing functionality and tumbling costs of electronic gadgetry drives the application of sophisticated control systems to smaller physical systems. The aim of the project is to investigate the paper referenced below with a view to doing an in-depth analysis of control strategies for the throttle system including the proposed fault diagnosis techniques.
Reference
Conatser,R, j.Wagner, S.Ganta, I.Walker (2004). Diagnosis of automotive electronic throttle systems. Control Engineering Priactice, 12(1), 23-30. |
| Deliverables: |
A report detailing the underlying dynamic mathematical models, the digital simulation and the results of the control strategies and fault diagonosis. |
| Skills/requirements: |
Programming skills essential (VB preferred but other languages, excluding Matlab/Simulink, can be negotiated). Must have the ability to handle the mathematics and control theory. |
| Extra: |
None |
| Area: |
Control Engineering |
| ID: |
MB06 |
| Title: |
Power Control of an Induction Machine |
| Description: |
A new output feedback control algorithm for a doubly fed induction machine is presented in the reference below. This project will investigate the proposed system via digital simulation in an in-depth control engineering study that looks at the performance indices for the control system with a view to improving or commenting on the given design.
Reference
Peresada,S, A.Tilli, A.Tonielli (2004). Power control of a doubly fed induction machine via output feedback. Control Engineering Practice, 12(1), 41-57. |
| Deliverables: |
A report detailing the mathematical model for the motor, its digital simulation and the results obtained during the control study of the given system. |
| Skills/requirements: |
A thorough understanding of induction motors including d-q axis transformations, mathematics and control engineering techniques is vital as the theory behind used in this paper is at a very high level. Programming skills essential (VB preferred but other languages, excluding Matlab/Simulink, can be negotiated). |
| Extra: |
None |
| Area: |
Control Engineering, Machines |
| ID: |
MB07 |
| Title: |
Parameter estimation in geared and linear resonant systems |
| Description: |
Mathematical modelling, particularly of uncontrolled open loop systems, is an important first stage in controller design. Nonlinear systems are particularly difficult to model. This project is to study the paper referenced below, to make up an equivalent system in the control laboratory suing (e.g.) a servomotor system.
Reference
O’Donovan, J.G, R.C.Kavanagh, J.M.D.Murphy, M.G.Egan (2004). Modular approach to parameter estimation in geared and linear resonant systems. Control Engineering Practice, 12(1), 75-86. |
| Deliverables: |
A report detailing the work that was done. The physical systems that were studied are also to be accurately defined to allow future work in this area. |
| Skills/requirements: |
A good understanding of control theory. An interest in system identification methods and mathematical skills to deal with PRBS, correlation and FFT methods. Programming skills essential (VB preferred but other languages, excluding Matlab/Simulink, can be negotiated). |
| Extra: |
Step tests represent a low-cost experiment in which system models can be deduced from the resulting input-output signals. In more sophisticated identification methods special pseudo-random binary sequences (PRBS) are used as input signals and then cross-correlated with the resulting output response to produce system models. Correlation is most economically done using fast Fourier Transformations (FFTs or DFTs). |
| Area: |
Control Engineering |