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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 649 records · Page 36
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Optimal control of the electron temperature profile in DIII-D using machine learning surrogate models

The viability of the tokamak as a potential fusion reactor depends on the ability to keep the plasma in a stable regime while achieving temperatures, densities, and confinement times that are as high as possible. Tokamak scenario development attempts to find plasma regimes that achieve all of these conditions and are accessible with a given set of hardware constraints. This requires the ability to control plasma properties such as the normalized beta, the internal inductance, safety factor, rotation, etc. One property that has received less attention than some of the others, but is no less critical to achieving high performance, is the electron temperature (T e ) profile. In this work, Linear Quadratic Integral (LQI) control is used to develop a controller for the electron temperature profile in DIII-D. The controller is based on a linearized model derived from the transport equation that describes the evolution of the electron temperature, and includes contributions from the neural network surrogate models NubeamNet and MMMnet. Furthermore, the controller is tested in simulation using COTSIM, and is proven capable of tracking a target T e profile.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Optimal Control of the Energy-Saving Hybrid Hydraulic-Electric Architecture (HHEA) for Off-Highway Mobile Machines

Most off-highway constructions and agriculture equipment use hydraulics, which has unmatched power density, for power transmission and throttling as a means for control. A novel hybrid hydraulic-electric architecture (HHEA) has recently been proposed to improve efficiency for high-power machines that would have been cost-prohibitive to electrify directly. HHEA uses a set of common pressure rails (CPRs) to transmit the majority of power hydraulically and small electric motor drives to modulate that power and to achieve precise control. This article proposes a computationally efficient Lagrange multiplier method (LMM) for computing the optimal sequence of pressure rail selections to minimize energy use. This is needed to evaluate HHEA's energy-saving potential and for iterative architecture design and sizing. An interesting complication is that the cost function is not fully defined until the candidate control sequence is fully specified. This issue is dealt with by decomposing the original problem into a set of sub-problems with additional constraints that can be solved efficiently. Computational effort can be further reduced if actuators are optimized individually instead of together. However, additional steps are required to prevent the constraint functions from becoming discontinuous with respect to the Lagrange multipliers, which is necessary for meeting the constraints. Lastly, a case study of a construction machine demonstrates the efficacy of the method and shows that the HHEA reduces energy consumption by 68%-73% compared to the baseline load-sensing architecture.

Lagrange multiplier↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Active Optics System on the Vera C. Rubin Observatory: Optimal Control of Degeneracy among the Large Number of Degrees of Freedom

Abstract The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is a unique facility for survey astronomy that will soon be commissioned and begin operations. Crucial to many of its scientific goals is the achievement of sustained high image quality, limited only by the seeing at the site. This will be maintained through an active optics system that controls optical element misalignments and corrects mirror figure error to minimize aberrations caused by both thermal and gravitational effects. However, the large number of adjustment degrees of freedom available on the Rubin Observatory introduces a range of degeneracies, including many that are induced by noise due to imperfect measurement of the wave-front errors. We present a structured methodology for identifying these degeneracies through an analysis of image noise level. We also present a novel scaling strategy based on truncated singular value decomposition that mitigates the degeneracy and optimally distributes the adjustment over the available degrees of freedom. Our approach ensures the attainment of optimal image quality, while avoiding excursions around the noise-induced subspace of degeneracies, marking a significant improvement over the previous techniques adopted for Rubin, which were based on an optimal integral controller. This new approach is likely to also yield significant benefits for all telescopes that incorporate large numbers of degrees of freedom of adjustment.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Comparative Study of Model Predictive Control and Optimal Causal Control for Heaving Point Absorbers

Efforts by various researchers in recent years to design simple causal control laws that can be applied to WEC devices suggest that these controllers can yield similar levels of energy output as those of more complex non-causal controllers. However, most studies were established without adequately considering device and power conversion system constraints which are relevant design drivers from a cost and economic point of view. It is therefore imperative to understand the benefits of MPC compared to causal control from a performance and constraint handling perspective. In this paper, we compare linear MPC to a casual controller that incorporates constraint handling to benchmark its performance on a one DoF heaving point absorber in a range of wave conditions. Our analysis demonstrates that MPC provides significant performance advantages compared to an optimized causal controller, particularly if significant constraints on device motion and/or forces are imposed. We further demonstrate that distinct control performance regions can be established that correlate well with classical point absorber and volumetric limits of the wave energy conversion device.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1985

A new approach to approximating the linear quadratic optimal control law for hereditary systems with control delays

A factorization approach is presented for deriving approximations to the optimal feedback gain for the linear regulator-quadratic cost problem associated with time-varying functional differential equations with control delays. The approach is based on a discretization of the state penalty which leads to a simple structure for the feedback control law. General properties of the Volterra factors of Hilbert-Schmidt operators are then used to obtain convergence results for the feedback kernels.

Milman, M. H.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Integrating Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure into Commercial Buildings and Mixed-Use Communities: Design, Modeling, and Control Optimization Opportunities: Preprint

This paper discusses modeling and field studies of controlled EV charging that have been performed with the goal of minimizing requirements for infrastructure upgrades, minimizing building peak demand charges, and maximizing the use of on-site generation. We present a large-scale workplace charging pilot of a demand-controlled scheduled EV charging system with over 250 active daily commuters, successfully demonstrating management of aggregate charging power to avoid new infrastructure investments, mitigate peak demand charges, and provide cost-effective workplace charging to users. In addition to understanding opportunities for demand management, integrating these controllable loads into the energy modeling process for new buildings will also be necessary. This paper then presents an example energy modeling process that evaluates the potential effects of EV charging on building load profiles and infrastructure requirements for a mixed-use community. Finally, we discuss an illustration of how EV charging can be controlled to be synergistic with other building loads and distributed generation.

buildings↗
NASA NTRS1976

On optimal control of linear systems in the presence of multiplicative noise

This correspondence considers the problem of optimal regulator design for discrete time linear systems subjected to white state-dependent and control-dependent noise in addition to additive white noise in the input and the observations. A pseudo-deterministic problem is first defined in which multiplicative and additive input disturbances are present, but noise-free measurements of the complete state vector are available. This problem is solved via discrete dynamic programming. Next is formulated the problem in which the number of measurements is less than that of the state variables and the measurements are contaminated with state-dependent noise. The inseparability of control and estimation is brought into focus, and an 'enforced separation' solution is obtained via heuristic reasoning in which the control gains are shown to be the same as those in the pseudo-deterministic problem. An optimal linear state estimator is given in order to implement the controller.

Joshi, S. M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The H(sub infinity) optimal controller design and reduction for the inertial hold mode of the attitude control system of the XTE spacecraft

The Inertial Hold Mode (IHM) is one mode of the attitude control system of the X-ray Timing Explorer spacecraft that is disturbed by both parametric uncertainties and external torque disturbance. The IHM model is modified into a typical H-infinity mixed-sensitivity problem through choosing suitable weighting functions W(sub 1)(s) and W(sub 3)(s). The controller is designed by the H-infinity optimization technique with the transformation of shifting the imaginary axis. It can stabilize the plant with uncertainties from the natural frequencies of the flexible body. The gain margin and phase margin of the system are 24.03 db and 55.04 deg, respectively. The step response attenuates to zero within 150 seconds. These show that the controller satisfies the specified requirements. Since the order of the controller appears high, it is reduced to fourth order one. The results show that the stability and the performance of the system with the reduced controller are retained perfectly.

Xu, Zhong Ling↗
NASA NTRS1976

On the design of optimal controllers with certain structural constraints

This paper considers the problem of designing certain structurally constrained optimal regulators for linear systems subjected to additive white process noise and measurement noise. Three types of controller structures are considered, using direct output feedback, prespecified time constant filters, and optimal dynamic compensators. Necessary conditions are obtained for minimizing quadratic performance criteria. The techniques are demonstrated by application to a helicopter/slung load system, and a flexible space station.

Joshi, S. M.↗
DOE OSTI2012

Multigrid Preconditioning of Linear Systems for Interior Point Methods Applied to a Class of Box-constrained Optimal Control Problems

We construct and analyze multigrid preconditioners for discretizations of operators of the form ${\mathcal D}_{\lambda}+{\mathcal K}^*{\mathcal K}$, where $D_{\lambda}$ is the multiplication with a relatively smooth function $\lambda>0$ and ${\mathcal K}$ is a compact linear operator. These systems arise when applying interior point methods to the minimization problem $\min_{u} \frac{1}{2}(|\!|{\mathcal K} u-f|\!|^2 +\beta|\!|u|\!|^2)$ with box-constraints $\underline{u}\leqslant u\leqslant\overline{u}$ on the controls. The presented preconditioning technique is closely related to the one developed by Draganescu and Dupont [Math. Comp., 77 (2008), pp. 2001–2038] for the associated unconstrained problem and is intended for large-scale problems. As in that work, the quality of the resulting preconditioners is shown to increase as $h\downarrow 0$, but it decreases as the smoothness of $\lambda$ declines. We test this algorithm on a Tikhonov-regularized backward parabolic equation with box-constraints on the control and on a standard elliptic-constrained optimization problem. In both cases it is shown that the number of linear iterations per optimization step, as well as the total number of finest-scale matrix-vector multiplications, is decreasing with increasing resolution, thus showing the method to be potentially very efficient for truly large-scale problems.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2010

Optimally Controlled Flexible Fuel Powertrain System

The primary objective of this project was to develop a true Flex Fuel Vehicle capable of running on any blend of ethanol from 0 to 85% with reduced penalty in usable vehicle range. A research and development program, targeting 10% improvement in fuel economy using a direct injection (DI) turbocharged spark ignition engine was conducted. In this project a gasoline-optimized high-technology engine was considered and the hardware and configuration modifications were defined for the engine, fueling system, and air path. Combined with a novel engine control strategy, control software, and calibration this resulted in a highly efficient and clean FFV concept. It was also intended to develop robust detection schemes of the ethanol content in the fuel integrated with adaptive control algorithms for optimized turbocharged direct injection engine combustion. The approach relies heavily on software-based adaptation and optimization striving for minimal modifications to the gasoline-optimized engine hardware system. Our ultimate objective was to develop a compact control methodology that takes advantage of any ethanol-based fuel mixture and not compromise the engine performance under gasoline operation.

02 PETROLEUM↗
NASA NTRS1976

The human operator in manual preview tracking /an experiment and its modeling via optimal control/

A manual preview tracking experiment and its results are presented. The preview drastically improves the tracking performance compared to zero-preview tracking. Optimal discrete finite preview control is applied to determine the structure of a mathematical model of the manual preview tracking experiment. Variable parameters in the model are adjusted to values which are consistent to the published data in manual control. The model with the adjusted parameters is found to be well correlated to the experimental results.

Tomizuka, M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

H(infinity) and H2 optimal controllers for periodic and multi-rate systems

The solutions to the optimal l2 to l2 disturbance rejection problem H(infinity) as well as to the LQG (linear quadratic Gaussian) H2 problem in periodic systems using the lifting technique are presented. Both problems involve a causality condition on the optimal LTI (linear time invariant) compensator when viewed in the lifted domain. The H(infinity) problem is solved using the Nehari's theorem, whereas in the H2 problem the solution is obtained using the projection theorem in Hilbert spaces. The authors demonstrate that exactly the same method of solution to the H(infinity) and H2 problems in periodic systems applies when considering the same problems in multirate sampled data systems.

Voulgaris, Petros G.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Existence of the time optimal control for robotic manipulators

Using Filipov's Theorem, it is shown that the conditions oif nonfinite escape of trajectories, reachability, and convexity of the dynamics over all admissible controls are needed for the existence of a time optimal solution for the robotic equation. With a lower bound for the finite-escape time established using a Liapunov approach, and an upper bound for the time to reach the target established using the exact linearization idea, a single inequality is found which is closely related to the coriolis and the centrifugal terms, the absence of which implies that the domain of existence of the optimal solution can be made arbitrarily large with a large torque constraint. As the work space is finite, this is essentially a global result in practical situations.

Wen, J.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Linear stochastic optimal control and estimation problem

Problem involves design of controls for linear time-invariant system disturbed by white noise. Solution is Kalman filter coupled through set of optimal regulator gains to produce desired control signal. Key to solution is solving matrix Riccati differential equation. LSOCE effectively solves problem for wide range of practical applications. Program is written in FORTRAN IV for batch execution and has been implemented on IBM 360.

Geyser, L. C.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Modal methods in optimal control synthesis

Efficient algorithms for solving linear smoother-follower problems with quadratic criteria are presented. For time-invariant systems, the algorithm consists of one backward integration of a linear vector equation and one forward integration of another linear vector equation. Furthermore, the backward and forward Riccati matrices can be expressed in terms of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the Euler-Lagrange equations. Hence, the gains of the forward and backward Kalman-Bucy filters and of the optimal state-feedback regulator can be determined without integration of matrix Riccati equations. A computer program has been developed, based on this method of determining the gains, to synthesize the optimal time-invariant compensator in the presence of random disturbance inputs and random measurement errors. The program also computes the rms state and control variables of the optimal closed-loop system.

Bryson, A. E., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Verification of Energy Reduction Effect through Control Optimization of Supply Air Temperature in VRF-OAP System

This paper developed an algorithm that controls the supply air temperature in the variable refrigerant flow (VRF), outdoor air processing unit (OAP) system, according to indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, and verified the effects after applying the algorithm to real buildings. The VRF-OAP system refers to a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to complement a ventilation function, which is not provided in the VRF system. It is a system that supplies air indoors by heat treatment of outdoor air through the OAP, as a number of indoor units and OAPs are connected to the outdoor unit in the VRF system simultaneously. This paper conducted experiments with regard to changes in efficiency and the cooling capabilities of each unit and system according to supply air temperature in the OAP using a multicalorimeter. Based on these results, an algorithm that controlled the temperature of the supply air in the OAP was developed considering indoor and outdoor temperatures and humidity. The algorithm was applied in the test building to verify the effects of energy reduction and the effects on indoor temperature and humidity. Loads were then changed by adjusting the number of conditioned rooms to verify the effect of the algorithm according to various load conditions. In the field test results, the energy reduction effect was approximately 15–17% at a 100% load, and 4–20% at a 75% load. However, no significant effects were shown at a 50% load. The indoor temperature and humidity reached a comfortable level.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

AEOLUS: Advances in Experimental Design, Optimal Control, and Learning for Uncertain Complex Systems

The AEOLUS Center is dedicated to developing a unified optimization-under-uncertainty framework for (1) learning predictive models from data and (2) optimizing experiments, processes, and designs governed by these models, all driven by complex, uncertain energy systems. AEOLUS addressed the critical need for principled, rigorous, scalable, and structure-exploiting capabilities for exploring parameter and decision spaces of complex forward simulation models---the so-called outer loop. This report summarizes the work done under DE-SC0021077 on (1) nonlocal models for solidification problems, (2) a multifidelity method for a nonlocal diffusion model, and (3) multifidelity Monte Carlo methods.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗