The finite/fixed-time stabilization and tracking control is currently a hot field in various systems since the faster convergence can be obtained. By contrast to the asymptotic stability, the ...finite-time stability possesses the better control performance and disturbance rejection property. Different from the finite-time stability, the fixed-time stability has a faster convergence speed and the upper bound of the settling time can be estimated. Moreover, the convergent time does not rely on the initial information. This work aims at presenting an overview of the finite/fixed-time stabilization and tracking control and its applications in engineering systems. Firstly, several fundamental definitions on the finite/fixed-time stability are recalled. Then, the research results on the finite/fixed-time stabilization and tracking control are reviewed in detail and categorized via diverse input signal structures and engineering applications. Finally, some challenging problems needed to be solved are presented.
This paper explores how AI policy documents mediate the stabilization of socio-technical assemblages. It does so by developing the theory-methods package of ‘discursive infrastructuring’ and applying ...it to the U.K.’s National AI Strategy. By centering the conceptual slipperiness of emerging technologies such as AI, this framework sheds light on how policy documents work to stabilize emerging socio-technical assemblages comprising specific actors, ideologies, flows of capital, and relationships of power. In the context of the National AI Strategy, discursive infrastructuring reveals how the document stabilises: AI as an autonomous and inevitable force; a technical/social dualism which privileges the technical over the social in driving innovation; the ‘heroic engineer’ as an individual, masculine and rational archetype; and, the U.K. as a dominant and modernising player on AI’s global stage. This assemblage does not only exist in the document’s words; it is translated into practice through the funding of institutions, the centring of technical pedagogies of AI, and the opening of visa routes for ‘globally mobile individuals’. The application of ‘discursive infrastructuring’ to the National AI Strategy thus elucidates the constitutive role of policy discourse in stabilising politically situated material-semiotic conceptions of AI.
This paper presents a new technique that can electrically inject stabilizing ions, which can be used to stabilize soil. Other processes also occur simultaneously during treatment such as ...electrolysis, dissociation, sorption, and exchange mechanisms, etc. The aim of the research is to evaluate the effectiveness of the injection of stabilizing ions (Ca2+, CO32-, and HPO42-) in enhancing the shear strength of fine-grained soils. The shear strength of the soil increased up to 127% after treatment when measured near the anode and up to 495% when measured near the cathode. The results show that the proposed method can significantly increase soil strength; hence, it overcomes bearing capacity problems in soft fine-grained soils with low hydraulic conductivity.
Optical imaging systems are one of the most common sensors used for collecting data with small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS). Plenty of research exists which present custom-made optical imaging ...systems for specific missions. However, the research commonly leaves out the explanation of design parameters and considerations taken during the design of the optical imaging system, especially the image stabilization strategy used, which is a significant issue in sUAS imaging missions. This paper surveys useful methodologies for designing a stabilized optical imaging system by presenting an overview of the important aspects that must be addressed in the designing phase and which tools and techniques are available and should be chosen according to the design requirements.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
This paper examines the bio-derived stabilization of sand-only or sand-plus-silt soils using an extracted bacterial enzyme application to achieve induced calcite precipitation (ICP). As compared to ...conventional microbial induced calcite precipitation (MICP) methods, which use intact bacterial cells, this strategy that uses free urease catalysts to secure bacterial enzyme–induced calcite precipitation (BEICP) appears to offer an improved means of bio-stabilizing silty-sand soils as compared to that of MICP processing. Several benefits may possibly be achieved with this BEICP approach, including bio-safety, environmental, and geotechnical improvements. Notably, the BEICP bio-stabilization results presented in this paper demonstrate (i) higher rates of catalytic urease activity, (ii) a wider range of application with sand-plus-silt soil applications bearing low-plasticity properties, and (iii) the ability to retain higher levels of soil permeability after BEICP processing. Comparative BEICP versus MICP results for sand-only systems are presented, along with BEICP-based results for stabilized soil mixtures at 90:10 and 80:20 percentile sand:silt ratios. This BEICP method’s ability to obtain unconfined compressive strength results in excess of 1000 kPa with sand-plus-silt soil mixtures is particularly noteworthy.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The influence of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) addition on the performance of cement paste was investigated. Our mechanical tests show an increase in the flexural strength of approximately 30% with ...only 0.2% volume of CNCs with respect to cement. Isothermal calorimetry (IC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) show that the degree of hydration (DOH) of the cement paste is increased when CNCs are used. The first mechanism that may explain the increased hydration is the steric stabilization, which is the same mechanism by which many water reducing agents (WRAs) disperse the cement particles. Rheological, heat flow rate measurements, and microscopic imaging support this mechanism. A second mechanism also appears to support the increased hydration. The second mechanism that is proposed is referred to as short circuit diffusion. Short circuit diffusion appears to increase cement hydration by increasing the transport of water from outside the hydration product shell (i.e., through the high density CSH) on a cement grain to the unhydrated cement cores. The DOH and flexural strength were measured for cement paste with WRA and CNC to evaluate this hypothesis. Our results indicate that short circuit diffusion is more dominant than steric stabilization.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Summary
This paper discusses the observer‐based finite‐time stabilization for discrete‐time switched singular systems with quadratically inner‐bounded nonlinear terms. Firstly, based on the ...Luenberger‐like observer, by using the average dwell time approach, sufficient conditions are proposed to make closed‐loop systems be regular, be causal, as having a unique solution, and be uniformly finite‐time bounded. Then, a new linear matrix inequality sufficient condition for the existence of an observer‐based controller is obtained by using certain matrix decoupling techniques, and the controller is designed. In this paper, the conditions proposed not only give the observer‐based controller design methods but also guarantee the existence and uniqueness of solution for the systems. Since the quadratically inner‐bounded nonlinearities are more general than Lipschitz nonlinearities and one‐sided Lipschitz nonlinearities, compared with previous works, the proposed controller design methods in this paper are also more general than the existing ones. Finally, numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the methods proposed in this paper.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The use of enzymes in industrial processes requires the improvement of their features in many instances. Enzyme immobilization, a requirement to facilitate the recovery and reuse of these ...water-soluble catalysts, is one of the tools that researchers may utilize to improve many of their properties. This review is focused on how enzyme immobilization may improve enzyme stability. Starting from the stabilization effects that an enzyme may experience by the mere fact of being inside a solid particle, we detail other possibilities to stabilize enzymes: generation of favorable enzyme environments, prevention of enzyme subunit dissociation in multimeric enzymes, generation of more stable enzyme conformations, or enzyme rigidification via multipoint covalent attachment. In this last point, we will discuss the features of an “ideal” immobilization protocol to maximize the intensity of the enzyme-support interactions. The most interesting active groups in the support (glutaraldehyde, epoxide, glyoxyl and vinyl sulfone) will be also presented, discussing their main properties and uses. Some instances in which the number of enzyme-support bonds is not directly related to a higher stabilization will be also presented. Finally, the possibility of coupling site-directed mutagenesis or chemical modification to get a more intense multipoint covalent immobilization will be discussed.
•Enzyme immobilization in a porous structure may protect the enzyme from some inactivating causes•Enzyme immobilization may freeze some stable enzyme conformation•Multi-subunit enzyme immobilization may prevent enzyme subunit dissociation•Enzyme immobilization may enhance enzyme stability by generating special environments•Enzyme multipoint covalent attachment should increase enzyme rigidity
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The finite-time stabilization of discontinuous switched systems is a highly challenging problem. To address this problem, this article proposes a unified controller that achieves fixed-time and ...preassigned-time stabilization of discontinuous switched systems with time-varying delays, which is superior to finite-time stabilization. Compared with finite-time stabilization results, the settling time for fixed-time stabilization is independent of the initial state of the system. For preassigned-time stabilization, the settling time can be set in advance regardless of the initial state and controller parameters. Also, the fixed-time and preassigned-time stabilization methods proposed in this article are general and can be extended for applications to other nonlinear discontinuous systems with time delays.
•A unified control framework is proposed to achieve both fixed-time and preassigned-time stabilization.•Achieve fixed-time stabilization of discontinuous switched systems and obtain more accurate settling times.•Different from finite-time stabilization, the settling time for fixed-time stabilization is independent of the initial state.•The settling time for preassigned-time stabilization can be set ready despite the initial state and controller parameters.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP