Publications

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

This dissertation describes the development of a control algorithm that transitions a robotic linkage system between stabilized states producing responsive locomotion. The developed algorithm is demonstrated using a simple robotic construction consisting of a few links with actuation and sensing at each joint. Numerical and experimental validation is presented.

The below overview is designed to give the reader a limited understanding of Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood (MLE) estimation; a basic understanding of some of the mathematical tools to evaluate the quality of an estimation; an introduction to energy methods and a limited discussion of damage potential. This discussion then goes on to presented a limited presentation as to how energy methods and Bayesian estimation are used together to qualify components. Example problems with solutions have been supplied as a learning aid. Bold letters are used to represent random variables. Un-bolded letter represent deterministic values. A concluding section presents a discussion of attributes and concerns.

Abstract not provided.

This report describes a system level study on the use of a swarm of sea gliders to detect, confirm and kill littoral submarine threats. The report begins with a description of the problem and derives the probability of detecting a constant speed threat without networking. It was concluded that glider motion does little to improve this probability unless the speed of a glider is greater than the speed of the threat. Therefore, before detection, the optimal character for a swarm of gliders is simply to lie in wait for the detection of a threat. The report proceeds by describing the effect of noise on the localization of a threat once initial detection is achieved. This noise is estimated as a function of threat location relative to the glider and is temporally reduced through the use of an information or Kalman filtering. In the next section, the swarm probability of confirming and killing a threat is formulated. Results are compared to a collection of stationary sensors. These results show that once a glider has the ability to move faster than the threat, the performance of the swarm is equal to the performance of a stationary swarm of gliders with confirmation and kill ranges equal to detection range. Moreover, at glider speeds greater than the speed of the threat, swarm performance becomes a weak function of speed. At these speeds swarm performance is dominated by detection range. Therefore, to future enhance swarm performance or to reduce the number of gliders required for a given performance, detection range must be increased. Communications latency is also examined. It was found that relatively large communication delays did little to change swarm performance. Thus gliders may come to the surface and use SATCOMS to effectively communicate in this application.

Abstract not provided.

This report documents the results obtained during a one-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) initiative aimed at investigating coupled structural acoustic interactions by means of algorithm development and experiment. Finite element acoustic formulations have been developed based on fluid velocity potential and fluid displacement. Domain decomposition and diagonal scaling preconditioners were investigated for parallel implementation. A formulation that includes fluid viscosity and that can simulate both pressure and shear waves in fluid was developed. An acoustic wave tube was built, tested, and shown to be an effective means of testing acoustic loading on simple test structures. The tube is capable of creating a semi-infinite acoustic field due to nonreflecting acoustic termination at one end. In addition, a micro-torsional disk was created and tested for the purposes of investigating acoustic shear wave damping in microstructures, and the slip boundary conditions that occur along the wet interface when the Knudsen number becomes sufficiently large.

In this paper, the effect of viscous wave motion on a micro rotational resonator is discussed. This work shows the inadequacy of developing theory to represent energy losses due to shear motion in air. Existing theory predicts Newtonian losses with little slip at the interface. Nevertheless, experiments showed less effect due to Newtonian losses and elevated levels of slip for small gaps. Values of damping were much less than expected. Novel closed form solutions for the response of components are presented. The stiffness of the resonator is derived using Castigliano's theorem, and viscous fluid motion above and below the resonator is derived using a wave approach. Analytical results are compared with experimental results to determine the utility of existing theory. It was found that existing macro and molecular theory is inadequate to describes measured responses.

Abstract not provided.

We have designed and fabricated a polysilicon sidewall-contact motion monitor that fits in between the teeth of a MEMS gear. The monitor has a center grounded member that is moved into contact with a pad held at voltage. When observing motion, however, the monitor fails after only a few actuations. A thorough investigation of the contacting interfaces revealed that for voltages > 5 V with a current limit of 100 pA, the main conduction process is Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. After a few switch cycles, the polysilicon interfaces became insulating. This is shown to be a permanent change and the suspected mechanism is field-induced oxidation of the asperity contacts. To reduce the effects of field-induced oxidation, tests were performed at 0.5 V and no permanent insulation was observed. However, the position of the two contacting surfaces produced three types of conduction processes: Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, ohmic, and insulator, which were observed in a random order during switch cycling. The alignment of contact asperities produced this positional effect.

This report is a presentation of modeling and simulation work for analyzing three designs of Micro Electro Mechanical (MEM) Compound Pivot Mirrors (CPM). These CPMs were made at Sandia National Laboratories using the SUMMiT{trademark} process. At 75 volts and above, initial experimental analysis of fabricated mirrors showed tilt angles of up to 7.5 degrees for one design, and 5 degrees for the other two. Nevertheless, geometric design models predicted higher tilt angles. Therefore, a detailed study was conducted to explain why lower tilt angles occurred and if design modifications could be made to produce higher tilt angles at lower voltages. This study showed that the spring stiffnesses of the CPMs were too great to allow for desired levels of rotation at lower levels of voltage. To produce these lower stiffnesses, a redesign is needed.

This report documents how active structural control was used to significantly enhance the metal removal rate of a milling machine. An active structural control system integrates actuators, sensors, a control law and a processor into a structure for the purpose of improving the dynamic characteristics of the structure. Sensors measure motion, and the control law, implemented in the processor, relates this motion to actuator forces. Closed-loop dynamics can be enhanced by proper control law design. Actuators and sensors were imbedded within a milling machine for the purpose of modifying dynamics in such a way that mechanical energy, produced during cutting, was absorbed. This limited the on-set of instabilities and allowed for greater depths of cut. Up to an order of magnitude improvement in metal removal rate was achieved using this system. Although demonstrations were very successful, the development of an industrial prototype awaits improvements in the technology. In particular, simpler system designs that assure controllability and observability and control algorithms that allow for adaptability need to be developed.

As a joint is loaded, the tangent stiffness of the joint reduces due to slip at interfaces. This stiffness reduction continues until the direction of the applied load is reversed or the total interface slips. Total interface slippage in joints is called macro-slip. For joints not undergoing macro-slip, when load reversal occurs the tangent stiffness immediately rebounds to its maximum value. This occurs due to stiction effects at the interface. Thus, for periodic loads, a softening and rebound hardening cycle is produced which defines a hysteretic, energy absorbing trajectory. For many jointed sub-structures, this hysteretic trajectory can be approximated using simple polynomial representations. This allows for complex joint substructures to be represented using simple non-linear models. In this paper a simple one dimensional model is discussed.

In this paper a methodology for analytically estimating the response of replacement components in a system subjected to worst-case hostile shocks is presented. This methodology does not require the use of system testing but uses previously compiled shock data and inverse dynamic analysis to estimate component shock response. In the past component shock responses were determined from numerous system tests; however, with limitations on system testing, an alternate methodology for determining component response is required. Such a methodology is discussed. This methodology is mathematically complex in that two inverse problems, and a forward problem, must be solved for a permutation of models representing variabilities in dynamics. Two conclusions were deduced as a result of this work. First, the present methodology produces overly conservative results. Second, the specification of system variability is critical to the prediction of component response.

In this report the analysis of a micro-scale pump is described. This micro-pump uses active control to produce a distributed body force in a fluid micro-channel. The desired effect of this body force is to drive fluid through the channel. Limitations, assumptions, and design parameters are discussed. The mathematical analysis of pump dynamics is explained in detail. A perturbation analysis is used on the equations of mass, momentum and state to produce equations of motion for first and second order effects. The first order effects are described by linear wave motion in the fluid and are found by using integral equation methods. The second order effects are driven by body forces resulting from first order effects. Thus, by controlling the production of wave motion in the channel, second order excitation can also be controlled. This report is all theory and therefore needs experimental validation. Although many of the assumptions used in this report have been used elsewhere in the literature and have been found to be sufficient, there are many aspects of the problem which have been left unresolved. In particular, flow separation in the fluid channel is a critical problem. If the fluid does not separate, pumping will occur through the channel, however, if internal or external forces are not sufficient to stop separation, this type of pump will not function.

In this report, a study of wave propagation and damping in a fluid loaded Flexural Plate Wave (FPW) sensor is presented. Previous to this study, it was believed that supersonic radiation was the dominate mechanism of loss in FPW devices. However, because no previous theory had been developed to explain finite length effects, this belief was never challenged. In this paper, it will be shown that the dominate mechanism of damping is not only due to supersonic radiation, but is also due to a fluid/structure resonance arising from finite length effects. The two-dimensional equations of motion for a single port FPW sensor plate are derived and coupled to the equations of motion for a viscous Newtonian fluid. These coupled equations are solved by using a wave number transform approach. This approach captures dynamics due to source terms at infinity. The resulting solution is comprised of terms derived by Wenzel, plus additional terms representing diffracted wave dynamics. The displacement field above the plate is then determined by using the Helmholtz integral equation.

The use of active feedback compensation to mitigate cutting instabilities in an advanced milling machine is discussed in this paper. A linear structural model delineating dynamics significant to the onset of cutting instabilities was combined with a nonlinear cutting model to form a dynamic depiction of an existing milling machine. The model was validated with experimental data. Modifications made to an existing machine model were used to predict alterations in dynamics due to the integration of active feedback compensation. From simulations, subcomponent requirements were evaluated and cutting enhancements were predicted. Active compensation was shown to enable more than double the metal removal rate over conventional milling machines. 25 refs., 10 figs., 1 tab.

System identification for the purpose of robust control design involves estimating a nominal model of a physical system and the uncertainty bounds of that nominal model via the use of experimentally measured input/output data. Although many algorithms have been developed to identify nominal models, little effort has been directed towards identifying uncertainty bounds. Therefore, in this document, a discussion of both nominal model identification and bounded output multiplicative uncertainty identification will be presented. This document is divided into several sections. Background information relevant to system identification and control design will be presented. A derivation of eigensystem realization type algorithms will be presented. An algorithm will be developed for calculating the maximum singular value of output multiplicative uncertainty from measured data. An application will be given involving the identification of a complex system with aliased dynamics, feedback control, and exogenous noise disturbances. And, finally, a short discussion of results will be presented.