Event Details
Control Systems Research at the National Research Council of Canada, Innovation Centre
Presenter: Dr. George Wang - Group Leader, Control & Diagnostics Group, NRC - Adjunct Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UVic
Supervisor:
Date: Tue, September 11, 2001
Time: 14:00:00 - 00:00:00
Place: EOW 430
ABSTRACT
Abstract:
In this talk, research on control systems and their applications, carried out by the Control and Diagnostics group at NRC, are presented. The group's research activities span from theoretical research in adaptive control, predictive control, intelligent control and nonlinear control, to industrial applications of lumber drying, saw blade active vibration control, control of heavy pneumatic machines, hydraulic control, and fuel cell control systems.
One of the projects, Self-Tuning Control of Pneumatic Log Positioning System, will be discussed in details. The project presented a significant technical challenge. Accurate position control for heavy machinery is an unsolved problem worldwide. Both the non-linearity induced by friction in the pneumatic system and the variation of dynamics due to sponginess of air and load variation impose technical difficulties.
In this work, optimal self-tuning control algorithms for controlling nonlinear systems with a particular emphasis on pneumatic systems have been developed. The new control techniques have given our industrial collaborator considerable competitive advantage in reducing production costs and improving system performance. The developed system has been in successful operation at three BC sawmill, and displayed at two major industrial shows.