Teaching Classical Control System Course With Portable Student-Owned Mechatronic Kits

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eniko T. Enikov ◽  
Estelle Eke
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Fiber ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Systems Design ◽  
Circuit Board ◽  
System Level ◽  
Linear Feedback ◽  
Phase System ◽  
Phase Lead ◽  
Controls Systems

Teaching classical controls systems design to mechanical engineering students presents unique challenges. While most mechanical engineering programs prepare students to be well-versed in the application of physical principles and modeling aspects of physical systems, implementation of closed loop control and system-level analysis is lagging. It is not uncommon that students report difficulty in conceptualizing even common controls systems terms such as steady-state error and disturbance rejection. Typically, most courses focus on the theoretical analysis and modeling, but students are left asking the questions…How do I implement a phase-lead compensator? …What is a non-minimum phase system? This paper presents an innovative approach in teaching control systems design course based on the use of a low-cost apparatus that has the ability to directly communicate with MATLAB and its Simulink toolbox, allowing students to drag-and-drop controllers and immediately test their effect on the response of the physical plant. The setup consists of a DC micro-motor driving a propeller attached to a carbon-fiber rod. The angular displacement of the rod is measured with an analog potentiometer, which acts as the pivot point for the carbon fiber rod. The miniature circuit board is powered by the USB port of a laptop and communicates to the host computer using the a virtual COM port. MATLAB/Simulink communicates to the board using its serial port read/write blocks to command the motor and detect the deflection angle. This presentation describes a typical semester-long experimental protocol facilitated by the low-cost kit. The kit allows demonstration of classical PID, phase lead and lag controllers, as well as non-linear feedback linearization techniques. Comparison between student gains before and after the introduction of the mechatronic kits are also provided.

Hardware Demonstration of Classical Undergraduate Control Design Methods Using MATLAB Real-Time Windows Target Environment

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eniko T. Enikov ◽  
Vasco Polyzoev ◽  
Joshua Gill
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Fiber ◽  
Control Systems ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Time Windows ◽  
Control Design ◽  
Circuit Board ◽  
Control Board

Engineering education has the objective of not only presenting the scientific principles, i.e., engineering science, but also of teaching students how to apply these to real problems. Therefore, hands-on laboratories have been an integral part of the engineering curriculum since its inception [1–3]. This presentation will demonstrate the use of a novel low-cost experimental apparatus for use in a typical undergraduate course in control systems taught to mechanical engineering students, i.e. students with limited exposure to electrical engineering. A simple to use, low cost system has been designed that provides a platform for experimentation in areas from basic open loop control, to frequency domain and digital control systems. This paper presents the design of the system, and demonstrates the ability of MATLAB tools such as Simulink Real Time Windows Target to illustrate implementation of various aspects of control design. The system setup consists of a DC micro-motor attached to a carbon fiber rod. The angular displacement is measured with an analog potentiometer, which acts as the pivot point for the carbon fiber rod. The DC micro-motor is powered by a low cost, custom circuit board, whos H-bridge allows the motor rotate in either forward or reverse directions. Attached to the micro-motor is a small propeller, providing thrust force to rotate the pendulum about its potentiometer. The circuit board communicates to the host computer using the USB protocol, utilizing usbser.sys to create a virtual COM port. MATLAB uses the serial port object to read and write from the control board. The control board is powered through two USB ports, requiring no external power adaptor or extra cabling. This paper shows the use of feedback linearization to arrive at a system where classical linear control design methods can be used. The project was tested in a classical control systems design class offered to senior-level mechanical engineering students. Student feedback and survey data on the effectiveness of the module is also presented.

scholarly journals Fringing Electric Field Sensors for Anti-Attack at System-Level Protection

Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 3034
Author(s):  
Xiang Gao ◽  
Yiqiang Zhao ◽  
Haocheng Ma
Keyword(s):  
Integrated Circuits ◽  
Electric Field ◽  
Printed Circuit Board ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Circuit Board ◽  
System Level ◽  
Geometrical Parameters ◽  
Electric Field Sensors ◽  
Fringing Electric Field

Information system security has been in the spotlight of individuals and governments in recent years. Integrated Circuits (ICs) function as the basic element of communication and information spreading, therefore they have become an important target for attackers. From this perspective, system-level protection to keep chips from being attacked is of vital importance. This paper proposes a novel method based on a fringing electric field (FEF) sensor to detect whether chips are dismantled from a printed circuit board (PCB) as system-level protection. The proposed method overcomes the shortcomings of existing techniques that can be only used in specific fields. After detecting a chip being dismantled from PCB, some protective measures like deleting key data can be implemented to be against attacking. Fringing electric field sensors are analyzed through simulation. By optimizing sensor’s patterns, areas and geometrical parameters, the methods that maximize sensitivity of fringing electric field sensors are put forward and illustrated. The simulation is also reproduced by an experiment to ensure that the method is feasible and reliable. The results of experiments are inspiring in that they prove that the sensor can work well for protection of chips and has the advantage of universal applicability, low cost and high reliability.

A Novel Wideband transition from Substrate Integrated Waveguide to Rectangular Waveguide

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyur Mahant ◽  
Hiren Mewada ◽  
Amit Patel ◽  
Alpesh Vala ◽  
Jitendra Chaudhari
Keyword(s):  
Rectangular Waveguide ◽  
Printed Circuit Board ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Single Layer ◽  
Circuit Board ◽  
Substrate Integrated Waveguide ◽  
Ka Band ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Millimeter Wave Circuits ◽  
Wideband Transition

Aim: In this article, wideband substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) and rectangular waveguide (RWG) transition operating in Ka-band is proposed Objective: In this article, wideband substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) and rectangular waveguide (RWG) transition operating in Ka-band is proposed. Method: Coupling patch etched on the SIW cavity to couple the electromagnetic energy from SIW to RWG. Moreover, metasurface is introduced into the radiating patch to enhance bandwidth. To verify the functionality of the proposed structure back to back transition is designed and fabricated on a single layer substrate using standard printed circuit board (PCB) fabrication technology. Results: Measured results matches with the simulation results, measured insertion loss is less than 1.2 dB and return loss is better than 3 dB for the frequency range of 28.8 to 36.3 GHz. By fabricating transition with 35 SRRs bandwidth of the proposed transition can be improved. Conclusion: The proposed transition has advantages like compact in size, easy to fabricate, low cost and wide bandwidth. Proposed structure is a good candidate for millimeter wave circuits and systems.

scholarly journals Highly Compact Through-Wire Microstrip to Empty Substrate Integrated Coaxial Line Transition

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 6885
Author(s):  
Marcos D. Fernandez ◽  
José A. Ballesteros ◽  
Angel Belenguer
Keyword(s):  
Printed Circuit Board ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Coaxial Line ◽  
Circuit Board ◽  
Central Layer ◽  
Printed Circuit ◽  
Integrated Technology ◽  
Low Profile ◽  
The Many ◽  
High Degree

Empty substrate integrated coaxial line (ESICL) technology preserves the many advantages of the substrate integrated technology waveguides, such as low cost, low profile, or integration in a printed circuit board (PCB); in addition, ESICL is non-dispersive and has low radiation. To date, only two transitions have been proposed in the literature that connect the ESICL to classical planar lines such as grounded coplanar and microstrip. In both transitions, the feeding planar lines and the ESICL are built in the same substrate layer and they are based on transformed structures in the planar line, which must be in the central layer of the ESICL. These transitions also combine a lot of metallized and non-metallized parts, which increases the complexity of the manufacturing process. In this work, a new through-wire microstrip-to-ESICL transition is proposed. The feeding lines and the ESICL are implemented in different layers, so that the height of the ESICL can be independently chosen. In addition, it is a highly compact transition that does not require a transformer and can be freely rotated in its plane. This simplicity provides a high degree of versatility in the design phase, where there are only four variables that control the performance of the transition.

ZnCl2 regulate flax-based porous carbon fiber for long cycle stability supercapacitors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaigai Duan ◽  
Luying Zhao ◽  
Lian Chen ◽  
Feng Wang ◽  
Shuijian He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Fiber ◽  
Electrochemical Performance ◽  
Porous Carbon ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Flax Fiber ◽  
Cycle Stability ◽  
Long Cycle

The flax fiber with abundant sources and low cost is an excellent precursor of carbon fiber for supercapacitor. At present, it is very attractive designing high electrochemical performance electrode via...

Green Communication Infrastructure (GCI) Serving Different Smart City Applications

2021 ◽  
Vol 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qutaiba I. Ali ◽  
Issam Jafar
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
System Level ◽  
Green Communication ◽  
Communication Infrastructure ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Self Powered ◽  
Application Fields

Aims: The aim of the Green Communication Infrastructure ‎‎(GCI) project is to understand the idea of a self ‎‎"sustainably" controlled correspondence foundation ‎fitting for smart city application fields. ‎ Background: This paper shows the endeavors to understand the idea of a ‎self "sustainably" energized communication foundation ‎fitting for smart city application fields. The recommended ‎Green Communication Infrastructure (CGI) comprises ‎different kinds of remote settled (or even versatile) hubs ‎performing diverse activities as per the application ‎requests. An imperative class of these hubs is the Wireless ‎Solar Router (WSR). Objective: The work in this venture was begun in 2009 with the aim ‎of demonstrating the essential advances that must be taken to ‎accomplish such framework and to proclaim the value of ‎embracing natural vitality assets in building mission ‎basic frameworks. Alternate destinations of this venture ‎are introducing a sensibly cost, solid, verified, and simple ‎to introduce correspondence foundation.‎ Method: The arrangement to actualize the GCI was accomplished ‎subsequent to passing two structure levels: device level and ‎system level. Result: The suggested system is highly applicable and serves a wide ‎range of smart city application fields and hence many ‎people and organizations can utilize this system. ‎ Conclusion: The presence of a reliable, secured, low cost, easy to install ‎and self-powered communication infrastructure is ‎mandatory in our nowadays. The communities in ‎developing countries or in rural areas need such a system ‎highly in order to communicate with other people in the ‎world which will affect positively their social and ‎economic situation.

EFFECT OF HYDROTHERMAL TIME ON THE GROWTH OF ZnO NANORODS

2020 ◽  
pp. 84-91
Author(s):  
Hanh
Keyword(s):  
Printed Circuit Board ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cell Structure ◽  
Zno Nanorods ◽  
Zinc Nitrate ◽  
Circuit Board ◽  
Nitrate Hexahydrate ◽  
Hydrothermal Time ◽  
One Step ◽  
Surface Morphologies

In this work, ZnO nanorods (NRs) were successfully grown on printed circuit board substrates (PCBs) by utilizing a one-step, seedless, low-cost hydrothermal method. It was shown that by implementing a galvanic cell structure in an aqueous solution of 80 mM of zinc nitrate hexahydrate and hexamethylenetetramine, ZnO NRs can directly grow on the PCBs substrate without the assistance of a seed layer. The effect of hydrothermal time on the surface morphologies, and the crystallinity of the as-grown ZnO nanorods (NRs) was also investigated. The as-grown ZnO NRs also exhibited a significant enhancement in vertical growth and their crystallinity with 5 hour growth.

Split Vibration Modes in Acoustically-Coupled Disk Stacks

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Ge Tseng ◽  
Jonathan Wickert
Keyword(s):  
Natural Frequencies ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
System Level ◽  
Thin Plates ◽  
Mode Shapes ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Phase System ◽  
Acoustic Coupling ◽  
Annular Plates ◽  
Vibration Model

Abstract Vibration of an array of stacked annular plates, in which adjacent plates couple weakly through an acoustic layer, is investigated through experimental and theoretical methods. Such acoustic coupling manifests itself through split natural frequencies, beating in the time responses of adjacent or separated plates, and system-level modes in which plates in the array vibrate in- or out-of-phase at closely-spaced frequencies. Laboratory measurements, including a technique in which the frequency response function of all in-phase modes but no out-of-phase modes, or visa versa, is measured, demonstrate the contribution of coupling to the natural frequency spectrum, and identify the combinations of design parameters for which it is important. For the lower modes of primary interest here, the natural frequencies of the out-of-phase system modes decrease as the air layer becomes thinner, while those of the in-phase mode remain sensibly constant at the in vacuo values. A vibration model comprising N classical thin plates that couple through the three-dimensional acoustic fields established in the annular cavities between plates is developed, and its results are compared with measurements of the natural frequencies and mode shapes.

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