Twice-optimal control design with construction pruning for second order plus time delay systems.

To effectively control a class of second-order plus time delay (SOPTD) systems, based on twice-optimal control (TOC) and construction pruning (CP) methods, an SOPTD-TOCCP controller is proposed, which can achieve strong robustness and excellent set-point tracking performance. The TOC controller of the SOPTD is designed based on a classical cascade controller and an extended state observer (ESO). A fast and accurate method is proposed to help engineers obtain the optimal time scale, which is the most critical parameter for regulating control performance. The influence of different parameter sensitivities on SOPTD is studied. In addition, a new robust enhancement method is proposed for SOPTD systems. A construction pruning method for SOPTD systems is proposed to further improve control performance, particularly robustness. Finally, a comparison with other control methods demonstrates that the SOPTD-TOCCP controller is simple, reliable, and versatile and can achieve better control performance.

Adaptive prescribed settling time periodic event-triggered control for uncertain robotic manipulators with state constraints.

In this paper, an adaptive prescribed settling time periodic event-triggered control (APST-PETC) is investigated for uncertain robotic manipulators with state constraints. In order to economize network bandwidth occupancy and reduce computational burden, a periodic event-triggered control (PETC) strategy is proposed to reduce the update frequency of the control signal and avoid unnecessary continuous monitoring. Besides, considering that the maneuverable space of the actual robotic manipulators is often limited, the barrier Lyapunov function (BLF) is applied to deal with the influence of the constraint characteristics on the robotic manipulators. Further, based on the one-to-one nonlinear mapping function of the system tracking error, an adaptive prescribed settling time control (APSTC) is designed to ensure that the system tracking error reaches the predetermined precision residual set within the prescribed settling time. Finally, theoretical analysis and comparative experiments are given to verify its feasibility.

Modeling Dual-Drive Gantry Stages with Heavy-Load and Optimal Synchronous Controls with Force-Feed-Forward Decoupling.

The application of precision dual-drive gantry stages in intelligent manufacturing is increasing. However, the loads of dual drive motors can be severely inconsistent due to the movement of heavy loads on the horizontal crossbeam, resulting in synchronization errors in the same direction movement of dual-drive motors. This phenomenon affects the machining accuracy of the gantry stage and is an critical problem that should be immediately solved. A novel optimal synchronization control algorithm based on model decoupling is proposed to solve the problem. First, an accurate physical model is established to obtain the essential characteristics of the heavy-load dual-drive gantry stage in which the rigid-flexible coupling dynamic is considered. It includes the crossbeam's linear motion and rotational motion of the non-constant moment of inertia. The established model is verified by using the actual system. By defining the virtual centroid of the crossbeam, the cross-coupling force between dual-drive motors is quantified. Then, the virtual-centroid-based Gantry Synchronization Linear Quadratic Regulator (GSLQR) optimal control and force-Feed-Forward (FF) decoupling control algorithm is proposed. The result of the comparative experiment shows the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed algorithm.

Adaptive 2-bits-triggered neural control for uncertain nonlinear multi-agent systems with full state constraints.

This paper investigates an adaptive 2-bits-triggered neural control for a class of uncertain nonlinear multi-agent systems (MASs) with full state constraints. Considering the limitations of practical physical devices and operating conditions, MASs may suffer performance degradation or even crash while the system states are not restricted. With this in mind, combined with barrier Lyapunov function (BLF), an adaptive neural consensus control is developed to guarantee that the state constraints of all followers are not violated. Further, the conversion relationship between the state constraints of MASs and the synchronization error constraints is clarified more precisely, which could improve the synchronization performance of MASs. In addition, considering both trigger threshold setting and control signal transmission bits issues, a 2-bit trigger strategy is proposed to maximize the utilization of MASs bandwidth resources. Theoretical analysis shows that all signals are uniformly ultimately bounded. And the simulation results demonstrate its effectiveness.

Robust optimization control for turbidity process with large inertia and time-delay in waterworks.

To address the difficulty of optimizing turbidity process with large inertia and long time delay, a twice-optimal control and construction pruning (TOCCP) strategy is proposed, which can be used to improve the fast stability and strong robustness of industrial process. The new approach owns the advantages of twice optimal control (TOC) and construction pruning (CP) method. The TOC constructs an infinite-dimensional state observer of the system, which can eliminate the influence of time delay on the system. The CP is adopted to improve the mid-band damping of the open-loop frequency characteristics to improve the robustness of the system. Moreover, an exhaustive algorithm is designed to find the optimal time scale, the most important parameter for adjusting the system response speed. In addition, the influences of different parameter changes on the robustness of the system are analyzed, and a practical parameter tuning formula is provided. Simulation-based comparisons of TOCCP and the other two algorithms were made. The results show that the system optimized by TOCCP has strong robustness, especially in disturbances rejection and set-point tracking. Moreover, TOCCP is practical and easily implemented to set parameters, providing guidelines for industrial application of large inertia and time-delay systems.

Comparison of novel granulated pellet-containing tablets and traditional pellet-containing tablets by artificial neural networks.

Novel granulated pellets technique was adopted to prepare granulated pellet-containing tablets (GPCT). GPCT and traditional pellet-containing tablets (PCT) were prepared according to 29 formulations devised by the Design Expert 7.0, with doxycycline hydrochloride as model drug, blends of Eudragit FS 30D and Eudragit L 30D-55 as coating materials, for the comparison study to confirm the superiority of GPCT during compaction. Eudragit FS 30D content, coating weight gain, tablet hardness and pellet size were chosen as influential factors to investigate the properties and drug release behavior of tablets. The correlation coefficients between the experimental values and the predicted values by artificial neural networks (ANNs) for PCT and GPCT were 0.9474 and 0.9843, respectively, indicating the excellent prediction of ANNs. The similarity factors (f2) for release profiles of GPCT and the corresponding original pellets were higher than those of PCT, suggesting that the excipient layer of granulated pellets absorbed the compressing force and protected the integrity of coating films during compaction.

Formulation and evaluation of novel reverse microemulsions containing salmon calcitonin in hydrofluoroalkane propellants.

To develop reverse microemulsion as a potential strategy for pulmonary delivery of salmon calcitonin (sCT) in HFA134a propellant of pressurized metered dose inhalers (pMDIs), pluronic P85 (P85) was chosen as the most appropriate surfactant to form microemulsions containing sCT. Formulation parameters, including the surfactant and ethanol content, water content, and sCT loading, were optimized to obtain two desired pMDI formulations A and B with clear and transparent appearance, Tyndall effect, good physical stability and aerosolization properties. Aerosolization properties of the optimized pMDIs were assessed by next generation impactor (NGI) and twin-stage impactor (TSI), and the dose of sCT in each stage was assayed by HPLC. The fine particle fraction (FPF) of formulations A and B were both at the range of approximately 28.0-36.0%. Cytotoxicity studies indicated the cell viability determined by MTT assay only slightly dropped when the A549 cells were exposed to the pMDI formulations. Pharmacological study performed on the male Wistar rats showed the intratracheal administration of the microemulsion pMDIs containing sCT exhibited similar but prolonged hypocalcemic activity compared with the intravenous injection of sCT solution. Therefore, such reverse microemulsions are potential for pulmonary delivery of therapeutic peptides using HFA-pMDIs.

Global analysis of dynamic fluorescence anisotropy by a polarized phasor approach.

Recently, the graphical analysis of the fluorescence lifetime imaging using the phasor approach has been highlight, and a series of the reports have made it on the way for the applications by the nonprofessionals. In this paper, we put forward a similar theory validated by the experiments for the dynamic fluorescence anisotropy imaging. By subtracting the perpendicular component from the parallel one in the frequency-domain polarization measurement, we deduce a new analytical expression about the fluorescence joint time, and find that as much as the fluorophore is a single exponential decay and r∞ is equal to zero, △I(t) is a single exponential decay with the time constant X as well, and the center of its histograms is located on the semicircle in the polarized phasor plot. In the end, we conclude that the fluorescence joint time is the best parameter to weigh the fluorescence dynamics for the macromolecules.