ThesisProjectUpdate

JOEOLIVARES
CSUSMEGRADSTUDENT
Briefdescription
Mythesisprojectisaproofofconceptexampleofautomaticcontrolusingheatinducedactuators.
Usingmoderncontroltheoryandcoupledwithelementaryvibrationmodellingweaimtoincreasethe
dampingfactorofathinoscillatingbeam.Buildingalongthinbeamandsubjectingittoaninitial
displacementwecanformaverypredictablesystemthatoscillatesataspecificfrequencyandhasa
verymeasurableamountofstructuraldamping.Takingthisbeamandattachingafewthinplatesof
dissimilarmetaltoasectionclosetothefixedbaseofthebeamchangesthedynamicsoftheplant
slightly.Wethenusethemethodofvirtualworkcoupledwiththermoelastictheorytofindthe
additionalstiffnessandinducedappliedmomentforceontothebeamifeitherplateissubjectedto
heating,therebycausingelongation.Asortofdoublefacedbimetallicstripismadeinthisfashion.

Wecansimplystatethatourgoalistoheatalongthinoscillatingbeaminsuchawaythatwecandrive
itstippositiontozerodisplacement,aboutitscentralaxis,asquicklyaspossible.Oursecondarygoalis
touseaslittleenergyaspossibleintheprocess.Apaperpresentedbymycolleague,JoshuaMoua
(2015),modelledsuchasystemwheretheactuatorswhensubjectedtoheatdidnottransferanyinto
thebeamitself.Thisprojectaimstoabandonthatnotionduetotheoverwhelmingchallengepresented

byfixinganactuatorthatisperfectlyinsulatedbutthatalsodoesntaddsignificantstiffnesstothe
beam,thuschangingdynamicsconsiderably.Themostimportantreasonfornotusingabulky
insulatoristogetthephysicalelongationasclosetobeamfaceaspossiblesothatourinitialmodelis
muchmorecloselyapproximatedasarealphysicalsystem.Atthispointasummaryofthetheoretical
coupledsystemisasfollows:

ThinBeam,usingEulerBernoullitheory,subjectedtoinitialdisplacement
UseofVirtualWorkandThermoelasticitytheorytocouplethethinheatedplates,andtheir
elongationtotheprimarybeam.
UseofFouriersLawtopredictthetemperaturethroughthebeamandtherateofheattransfer
givenaradiatedthermalinput

Thesystemisthenapproximated,usingappropriatetechniques,anddiscretizedinsuchawaysothatit
canbemodeledasstatespaceplant.UsingtheLinearQuadraticRegulatormodel(LQR)andits
associatedcostfunctionasastartingpointweseektofindasolutionthatbringsthebeamtiptozero.In
theorythisisanacademicexercise,inrealityitisatremendouschallengeduetothenatureofheat.The
initialmodelswecreatedusedaheatingpowerinputtotheactuatorfacethatwasaninfinite
ondemandpotentialsourcecapableofallpowerrequiredofit,atanytime.Thechoiceofheating
sourcethenbecomesveryproblematic.Currentlythebestchoice,economicallyandelectronically,isthe
useofNiChromeheatingwire.Aresistivewirecomposedofalloyednickelandchromiumthatradiates
heatwhensubjectedtoavoltageandcurrent.Theuseofradiatedheatpowerthenaddsanother
dimensiontothetheory.Atthispointitisnecessarytounderstandthatweseektofindacontrolinput
thatvariesthepowerradiatedfromthewirethatinturnelongatestheactuatorsandhelpstobringthe
beamtiptozerodisplacement.Theproverbialcatchisallthismustbedoneinaperiodbeforethe
heattransferreachesasteadystatethroughthebeam.Atsuchapointnousefulcontrolinputserves
indampingthesystemsincenocoolingpowerisbeingapplied.Weonlyheat,coolingisnotusedinthis
project.Whatwehavecreatedisaraceconditionthatlimitstheexperimentthatwasotherwisenot
thoughtabout.Wecantheatthewireinfinitelybecauseitwillmelt,andwecantheatinsuchaway
thatnothermalgradientexistsinthebeambecausethenbothactuatorswillheatsimultaneously,this
doesnoworkonthesystem.Theonlyadvantagewecantakefromradiatedheatinputisthataslongas

thesurfaceemissivityoftheactuatorisaround~0.8wehaveasystemthatsuppliesaround300Watts
ofpower,whichcorrespondstosomeofearliermodels.Insummary:

Timeconditionsexistsduetopracticalmateriallimits
Noconsiderationwastakingintoeffectonhowthepowerwasappliedtotheactuatorinour
modelsbutneedstobeaddedintothemodelbecauseitistimedependent.

Totheextenttowhichtheaboveconditionsgovernourphysicalsystemthecontrolmethodologywe
appliedusingLQRisonlyasgoodasthefeedbackdataitgets.Particularlynoisysystemscancause
problemsforpredictinggains.Inthisapplicationhallsensors(position)andresistancetemperature
detectors(RTDs)areusedasfeedbacksignalsbecauseitiswhatwecouldmeasuresafelyunderhigh
thermalpower.Theheatingwireissubjectedtoapulsewidthmodulatedinputat500Hz,~90Amps,24
Volts,thiscombinationcreatesaverynoisyenvironment.WiththisinformationtheuseofaKalman
Filter,althoughcomputationallyexpensiveforrealtimeapplications,isnecessary.Thesystemthen
becomesaLinearQuadraticGaussiancontroller(LQG).TheKalmanfilteristhenresponsiblefor
predictingthegainsandthusthecontrolinput.

KalmanFilterimplementedfornoise,andpracticality
SystembecomesverycomputationallyexpensiveforRealtimesystem.

Sensorinterfacesarecustomdesignsbasedonmanufacturesrecommendationsandpracticallimits.As
awholewewouldratherusemoresensorsthanthree,butdynamicallymeasuringheataccurately
withinashortsampleperiodisverydifficult(<than1s)andanotherreasonwhyagoodmodelmaybe
moreimportantthansensorinputs,especiallywiththeuseofaKalmanfilter.

Agoodmodelcanmakeupforsomedifficultieswithsensorsandsampling.


HardwareandRealActuatorDynamics
Asummaryofthehardwareisasfollows

NationalInstrumentsMyRioFPGAmoduleprogrammedwithLabViewservesasadeterministic
controller
0.030Thickby1.5Wideby36LongMildSteelBeamfixedtoa60+lbsteelbase.
Allegro1324LUATHallSensorsspacedoutsidebeamtip,wherebeamtiphasoriented
neodymiummagnetstodifferentiallymeasuretipdisplacement
USSensorPPG101A1ClassARTDSensormountedoneachactuatorfacefortemperature
readingpoweredbyexcitationcurrentfromTexasInstrumentsLM234currentreference.
Instrumentationamplifiers,voltageregulators,LowPassFilters,DifferenceAmplifiers,Transistor
Switchesasdiagramed
Custompulsewidthmodulator(PWM),comparessymmetrictrianglewaveformtoFPGAoutput
usingTILM393comparatorat500HZ.
CrydomHDC60D120SolidStateRelays,runningat~25Volts,90Amppowerside,triggeredby
customPWM,deliverspowertoeachheaterthroughsoftwarelogic
14gage,32solidNichrome60resistiveheating,at0.16ohms/ft.Usedinthreestrand
configuration.Thisyieldsanexperimentalrangeofabout90Amps,duetocablingresistance
beingaddedin.
300AmaxCurrentShuntonPowerSideofSSRstovalidatemodels

Thissystemisextremelycoupledandcomplexandtoaddfurtherintricacythedynamicsoftheactuators
mustbemeasuredinordertokeepthesystemreasonablysolvable.Theideahereisthatsinceweare
usingradiatedheatfromtheheatersweshouldmodeltheheattransferdynamicallyusingsensorson
boththeheaterandtheactuatorface.Thismeansthatadefinitiveradiativeheatpowercanbeknown
atalltimes.Theissuewiththisisthattomeasureatemperaturethathighwouldrequirea
thermocoupleattachedtobarewire,inanoisyenvironment,thatcanswingtemperaturesinexcessof
300degreeseveryhalfsecond,butaccurately.Thisisnotagoodelectronically,orfinancially.Insteadwe
choosetomeasurethebeamstippositionasafunctionoftimeatasetdutycyclefromthepower
source.Bytakingseveraldutycyclesandtimecurves,andtemperaturesattheactuatorfacewecan
buildamapthattellsustherelationshipbetweenheatingtimes,temperature,andHeatWorkdonebya
specificmomentappliedthroughtheelongationoftheplate.Thiswayweonlytracktemperatureatthe
faceofthebeamovertime;thisdescribeselongationandthusmechanicalpowerappliedtothebeam.


Inessencewithusingappliedpowerastheinputsignalthisforcesthefollowingscenariotooccur:

IfAppliedPowerisdescribedasthefollowingequation:

,thenT1mustbecontrolleddynamicallybasedonareadingfromT2,atthesametimeasT2is
risingorfallingwhichbecomesquitedifficult.
Appropriateapproximationsmustbetakenintocontextwhennotmeasuringtemperatureat
theheaterface.

TOBECONTINUED


OverviewofHardwareIntegration

SENSOR INPUTS TO FPGA USED FOR

FEEDBACK
2 Hall Sensors with Signal Conditioning and
Custom Fitted Curve Showing Tip Displacement
Based on Sensor Voltage
2 Resistance Temperature Detector (RTDs) to read
Temperature at Face of fixed Plate Actuator
1 Current Shunt that gives Voltage Signal Relating
to Amperage Delivered to Heater Wire

CONTROLLER OUTPUTS FROM FPGA

TO PLANT OR COMPUTER
2 Analog Output(s) derived from one Control
Signal (CS). When CS is positive->Analog Output
1 then to PWM; When CS is negative -> Analog
Output 2 then to PWM
Data Recorded on 16 GB Flash Drive in .CSV
format on Flash Drive
Real Time Visual Update Depicted on Monitor
from FPGA as Controller Updates


PartsDescriptionforHeaterPowerCircuit
DESCRIPTION
DC Power Source
Fuse
Canadian Shunt 300 A / 100 mV
Heater 1, 2
Crydom Solid State Relay model HDC60D120
with 4.5 V to 32 V Control Input, 7 V to 48 V
Load Voltage, 120 A Rated Load
Mechanical Products Hi-Amp, Side by Side, 120
Amp, Manual Reset Circuit Breaker

FUNCTION
Two 12+ V Car Batteries in Series
In-line fuse, ATC style
Current Sensor Source
Ni-Chrome 60, 14 gage, 0.16 ohms/ft , ~32 long
by 3 parallel braids
Opto-coupled MOSFET High Speed Switch that
turns on PWM power to heaters
Circuit Breaker and Power Cut-Off Switch

PartsDescriptionforPulseWidthModulationCircuit
DESCRIPTION
LM741 Texas Instruments General Purpose
Operational Amplifier
LM393 Low Offset Voltage, Dual Comparator
PN2222A NPN Switching Transistor
LM7805 Fairchild Semiconductor 5 V voltage
regulators
INA126 Texas Instruments, Precision, Low Power
Instrumentation Amplifiers
Generic Orange Light Emitting Diode
Vcc = +12 V nominal voltage rail

FUNCTION
Oscillator Stages, Inverting Amplifier
Pulse Width Modulator
Bi-Polar Junction Transistor Switch
Comparator Pull-up Voltage Source
Instrumentation Amplifiers used as signal
conditioning in two stages
Visual Switching Indicator
12 V rail from modified PC ATX power supply

PartsDescriptionforTemperatureMeasurementCircuits
DESCRIPTION
LM234 Texas Instruments 3-terminal adjustable
current sources
PPG101A1 US Sensor thin film resistance
temperature detector
OP177 Analog Devices Ultraprecision
Operational Amplifier
LM317T STMicroelectronics 1.2 V to 37 V
adjustable voltage regulators
INA126 Texas Instruments, Precision, Low Power
Instrumentation Amplifiers
TL082 Texas Instruments Dual JFET Operational
Amplifier
Vcc = +12 V nominal voltage rail

FUNCTION
100 uA current source designed with a zero
temperature coefficient
Temperature sensing on actuator face
Used here as buffer amplifier and inverting unity
gain amplifier
Adjustable voltage regulator set to needs of circuit
Instrumentation Amplifiers used as signal
conditioning in two stages
Active Low Pass Filter Stages
12 V rail from modified PC ATX power supply

PartsDescriptionforHallSensorsPositionCircuit
DESCRIPTION
A1324LUA-T Allegro Micro-Systems Hall Sensor
0.7 diameter by 0.135 thick Neodymium
Magnets, 2 per side
OP177 Analog Devices Ultraprecision
Operational Amplifier
LM317T STMicroelectronics 1.2 V to 37 V
adjustable voltage regulators
INA129 Texas Instruments, Precision, Low Power
Instrumentation Amplifiers
Vcc = +12 V nominal voltage rail

FUNCTION
Hall Sensor, 5 mV / Gauss, bi-directional
Generic Magnet, higher field strength than ceramic
magnets
Used here as buffer amplifier and inverting unity
gain amplifier
Adjustable voltage regulator set to needs of circuit
Instrumentation Amplifiers used as signal
conditioning in two stages
12 V rail from modified PC ATX power supply