Search Results (397)

Sensor fusion in intelligent suspension systems constitutes a fundamental technology for optimizing vehicle dynamic stability, ride comfort, and occupant safety. By integrating data from multiple sensor modalities, this study proposes a hierarchical multi-sensor fusion framework for active suspension control, aiming to enhance control precision. Initially, a binocular vision system is employed for target detection, enabling the identification of lane curvature initiation points and speed bumps, with real-time distance measurements. Subsequently, the integration of Global Positioning System (GPS) and inertial measurement unit (IMU) data facilitates the extraction of road elevation profiles ahead of the vehicle. A BP-PID control strategy is implemented to formulate mode-switching rules for the active suspension under three distinct road conditions: flat road, curved road, and obstacle road. Additionally, an ant colony optimization algorithm is utilized to fine-tune four suspension parameters. Utilizing the hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation platform, the observed reductions in vertical, pitch, and roll accelerations were 5.37%, 9.63%, and 11.58%, respectively, thereby substantiating the efficacy and robustness of this approach. Full article

The increasing complexity of modern automotive lighting systems requires advanced validation strategies that ensure both functional performance and regulatory compliance. This study presents a structured integration of Software-in-the-Loop (SiL) and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) testing within a digital twin (DT) framework for validating headlamp systems. A gated validation process (G10–G120) is proposed, aligning each development phase with corresponding simulation stages from early requirements and concept validation to real-world scenario testing and continuous integration. A key principle of this approach is the adoption of a framework built upon the V-Cycle, adapted to integrate DT technology with SiL and HiL workflows. This architectural configuration ensures a continuous data flow between the physical system, the digital twin, and embedded software components, enabling real-time feedback, iterative model refinement, and traceable system verification throughout the development lifecycle. The paper also explores strategies for effective DT integration, such as digital twin-as-a-service, which combines virtual testing with physical validation to support earlier fault detection, streamlined simulation workflows, and reduced dependency on physical prototypes during lighting system development. Unlike the existing literature, which often treats SiL, HiL, and DTs in isolation, this work proposes a unified, domain-specific validation framework. The methodology addresses a critical gap by aligning simulation-based testing with development milestones and regulatory standards, offering a foundation for industrial adoption. Full article

The properties of Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) for the development of controllers, together with electronic emulation of physical process by Digital Twins (DT) significantly enhance the optimization of design and implementation in nonlinear control applications. The study emphasizes the use of the Raspberry Pi (RBP), a low-cost and portable electronic board for two interrelated goals: (a) the Electronic Control Unit (ECU-RBP) implementing a Lyapunov-based Controller (LBC) for nonlinear trajectory tracking of P3DX wheeled robots, and (b) the Digital Twin (DT-RPB) emulating the real robot behavior, which is remotely connected to the control unit. ECU-RBP, DT-RBP and real robot are connected as nodes within the same wireless network, enhancing interaction between the three physical elements. The development process is supported by the Matlab/Simulink environment and the associated packages for the specified electronic board. Following testing of the real robot from the ECU-RBP in an open loop, the model is identified and integrated into the DT-RBP to replicate its functionality. The LBC solution, which has also been validated through simulation, is implemented in the ECU-RBP to examine the closed-loop control according to the HIL strategy. Finally, the study evaluates the effectiveness of the HIL approach by comparing the results obtained from the application of the LBC, as implemented in the ECU-RBP to both the real robot and its DT. Full article

The quality of a grid-injected current in LCL-type grid-connected inverters (GCI) degrades under ultra-weak grid conditions, posing serious challenges to the stability of the GCI system. For this purpose, the sliding mode control (SMC) approach has been utilized to integrate DC energy seamlessly into the grid. The control performance of a GCI equipped with an LCL filter is greatly reduced when it is operating in a power grid with varying impedance and fluctuating grid voltages, which may result in poor current quality and possible instability in the system. A non-singular double integral terminal sliding mode (DIT-SMC) control is presented in this paper for a three-phase GCI with an LCL filter. The proposed method is presented in the α, β frame of reference without adopting an active or passive damping approach, reducing the computational burden. MATLAB/Simulink Version R2023b is leveraged to simulate the mathematical model of the proposed control system. The capability of the DIT-SMC method is validated through the OPAL-RT hardware-in-loop (HIL) platform. The effectiveness of the proposed method is first compared with SMC and integral terminal SMC, and then the DIT-SMC method is rigorously analyzed under resonance frequency events, grid impedance variation, and grid voltage distortions. It is demonstrated by the experimental results that the proposed control is highly effective in delivering a high-quality current into the grid, in spite of the simultaneous occurrence of power grid impedance variations in 6 mH and large voltage distortions. Full article

Thermal control in rolling mills motors is gaining importance as more and more hard-to-deform steel grades are rolled. The capabilities of diagnostics monitoring also expand as digital IIoT-based technologies are adopted. Electrical drives in modern rolling mills are based on synchronous motors with frequency regulation. Such motors are expensive, while their reliability impacts the metallurgical plant output. Hence, developing the on-line temperature monitoring systems for such motors is extremely urgent. This paper presents a solution applying to synchronous motors of the upper and lower rolls in the horizontal roll stand of plate mill 5000. The installed capacity of each motor is 12 MW. According to the digitalization tendency, on-line monitoring systems should be based on digital shadows (coordinate observers) that are similar to digital twins, widely introduced at metallurgical plants. Modern reliability requirements set the continuous temperature monitoring for stator and rotor windings and iron core. This article is the first to describe a method for calculating thermal loads based on the data sets created during rolling. The authors have developed a thermal state observer based on four-mass model of motor heating built using the Simscape Thermal Models library domains that is part of the MATLAB Simulink. Virtual adjustment of the observer and of the thermal model was performed using hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation. The authors have validated the results by comparing the observer’s values with the actual values measured at control points. The discrete masses heating was studied during the rolling cycle. The stator and rotor winding temperature was analysed at different periods. The authors have concluded that the motors of the upper and lower rolls are in a satisfactory condition. The results of the study conducted generally develop the idea of using object-oriented digital shadows for the industrial electrical equipment. The authors have introduced technologies that improve the reliability of the rolling mills electrical drives which accounts for the innovative development in metallurgy. The authors have also provided recommendations on expanded industrial applications of the research results. Full article

Dual-motor electric vehicles enhance power performance and overall output capabilities by enabling the real-time control of the torque distribution between the front and rear wheels, thereby improving handling, stability, and safety. In addition to increased energy efficiency, a dual-motor system provides redundancy: if one motor fails, the other can still supply partial power, further enhancing driving safety. This study aimed to optimize the energy management strategies of the front- and rear-axis motors, examining the application effects of rule-based control (RBC), global grid search (GGS), and the whale optimization algorithm (WOA). A simulation platform based on MATLAB/Simulink^® (R2021b, MATLAB, Natick, MA, USA) was constructed and validated through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing to ensure the authenticity and reliability of the simulation results. Detailed tests and analyses of the dual-motor system were conducted under FTP-75 driving cycles. Compared to the RBC strategy, GGS and WOA achieved energy efficiency improvements of 9.1% and 8.9%, respectively, in the pure simulation, and 4.2% and 3.8%, respectively, in the HIL simulation. Compared to the pure RBC strategy, the RBC and GGS strategies incorporating regenerative braking achieved energy efficiency improvements of 26.1% and 29.4%, respectively, in the HIL simulation. Overall, GGS and WOA each present distinct advantages, with WOA emerging as a highly promising alternative energy management strategy. Future research should further explore WOA applications to enhance energy savings in real-world vehicle operations. Full article

Human Interleukin-6 (hIL-6) is a pro inflammatory cytokine that binds to its receptor, IL-6Rα followed by binding to gp130 and subsequent dimerization to form a hexamer signaling complex. As a critical inflammation mediator, hIL-6 is associated with a diverse range of diseases and monoclonal antibodies in clinical use that either target IL-6Rα or hIL-6 to inhibit signaling. Here, we perform high-throughput structure-based computational screening using ensemble docking for small-molecule antagonists for which the target conformations were taken from 600 ns long molecular dynamics simulations of the apo protein. Prior knowledge of the contact sites from binary complex studies and experimental work was incorporated into the docking studies. The top 20 scoring ligands from the in silico studies after post analysis were subjected to in vitro functional assays. Among these compounds, the ligand with the second-highest calculated binding affinity experimentally showed an ~84% inhibitory effect on IL6-induced STAT3 reporter activity at 10 μM concentration. This finding may pave the way for designing small-molecule inhibitors of hIL-6 of therapeutic significance. Full article

Offshore cranes equipped with active motion compensation (AMC) systems play a vital role in marine engineering tasks such as offshore wind turbine maintenance, subsea operations, and dynamic load positioning under wave-induced disturbances. These systems rely on complex hydraulic actuators whose strongly nonlinear dynamics—often described by differential-algebraic equations (DAEs)—impose significant computational burdens, particularly in real-time applications like hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation, digital twins, and model predictive control. To address this bottleneck, we propose a neural network-based surrogate model that approximates the actuator dynamics with high accuracy and low computational cost. By approximately reducing the original DAE model, we obtain a lower-dimensional ordinary differential equations (ODEs) representation, which serves as the foundation for training. The surrogate model includes three hidden layers, demonstrating strong fitting capabilities for the highly nonlinear characteristics of hydraulic systems. Bayesian regularization is adopted to train the surrogate model, effectively preventing overfitting. Simulation experiments verify that the surrogate model reduces the solving time by 95.33%, and the absolute pressure errors for chambers $p_1$ and $p_2$ are controlled within 0.1001 MPa and 0.0093 MPa, respectively. This efficient and scalable surrogate modeling framework possesses significant potential for integrating high-fidelity hydraulic actuator models into real-time digital and control systems for offshore applications. Full article

In this paper, an advanced flight simulation model of the ILR-33 AMBER rocket is shown. The model is designed for Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) tests of the rocket control system. It permits us to simulate flight dynamics in a 6DOF environment, with consideration of the variable thrust, mass-inertia, and aerodynamics. It reproduces key functionalities of on-board computer and sensors and allows us to reproduce multiple mission scenarios. Simplifying assumptions concerning the environment and coordinate systems were made, reducing calculation costs while preserving key functionalities of the simulation. The control system consists of four movable canards, actuators, and motion controllers. The process of integration between the simulation model and hardware using a real-time computer is shown. Efficient communication between those elements was developed and tested in simulated flight conditions. In the final part, relevant control system HiL tests were presented. An extensive comparison between unguided and guided flight trajectories was performed. The impact of the control system operation on all analyzed parameters is clearly demonstrated. The results confirmed the usefulness of the simulation model for the task it was developed for. The potential of the HiL method in the design of complex control systems for suborbital rockets is proven. Full article

The electrical grid is undergoing increasing integration of decentralized power sources connected to the low-voltage network. In this context, the concept of a microgrid has emerged as a system comprising small-scale energy sources, loads, and storage devices, coordinated to operate as a single controllable entity capable of functioning in either grid-connected or islanded mode. The microgrid may be organized in a centralized configuration, such as a master-slave scheme, wherein the centralized converter, i.e., the grid-forming converter (GFC), plays a pivotal role in ensuring system stability and control. This paper introduces a plug-in repetitive controller (RC) strategy tuned to even harmonic orders for application in a three-phase GFC, diverging from the conventional approach that focuses on odd harmonics. The proposed control is designed within a synchronous reference frame and is targeted at centralized AC microgrids, particularly during islanded operation. Simulation results are presented to assess the microgrid’s power flow and power quality, thereby evaluating the performance of the GFC. Additionally, the proposed control was implemented on a Texas Instruments TMS320F28335 digital signal processor and validated through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation using the Typhoon HIL 600 platform, considering multiple scenarios with both linear and nonlinear loads. The main results highlight that the RC improves voltage regulation, mitigates harmonic distortion, and increases power delivery capability, thus validating its effectiveness for GFC operation. Full article

Coordinating vehicle handling stability and energy consumption remains a key challenge for distributed driving electric vehicles (DDEVs). In this paper, a hierarchical torque vectoring control strategy is proposed to address this issue. First, a tire road friction coefficient (TRFC) estimator based on the fusion of vision and dynamic is developed to accurately and promptly obtain the TRFC in the upper layer. Second, a direct yaw moment control (DYC) strategy based on the adaptive model predictive control (MPC) is designed to ensure vehicle stability in the middle layer, where tire cornering stiffness is updated dynamically based on the estimated TRFC. Then, the lower layer develops the torque vectoring allocation controller, which comprehensively considers handling stability and energy consumption and distributes the driving torques among the wheels. The weight between stability and economy is coordinated according to the stability boundaries derived from an extended phase-plane correlated with the TRFC. Finally, Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulations are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. The results demonstrate that compared with the conventional stability torque distribution strategy, the proposed control strategy not only reduces the RMSE of sideslip angle by 44.88% but also decreases the motor power consumption by 24.45% under DLC conditions, which indicates that the proposed method can significantly enhance vehicle handling stability while reducing energy consumption. Full article

Traditional multilevel inverter topologies, such FC, NPC, and CHB, have a few significant disadvantages. They need a great number of parts, which raises the complexity, expense, and switching losses. Furthermore, their intricate control schemes make voltage balancing and synchronization challenging. Lastly, under some circumstances, they experience severe harmonic distortion, necessitating the inclusion of expensive filters to enhance signal quality. This paper proposes a novel multilevel converter topology that uses the phase-disposition PWM (PD-PWM) technique to control a 19-level output. This new configuration maintains performance comparable to the CHB-MLI reference while using fewer switches, simplifying control, and reducing costs. Our approach is based on extensive simulations conducted in the MATLAB Simulink environment, with results compared to the CHB-MLI. A low-pass filter is added to improve the output voltage quality, reducing the THD% to 1.33%. This strategy offers several advantages, including simpler control, lower costs, increased reliability, and higher-quality output. The system was replicated using MATLAB Simulink and validated through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing. The HIL method ensures real-world testing without causing damage to the hardware. The integrated system includes sensors and necessary hardware for a comprehensive energy management solution. Full article

As a core component of the photovoltaic-storage microgrid systems, three-port DC–DC converters have attracted significant attention in recent years. This paper proposes a multi-vector modulated model predictive control (MVM-MPC) method based on vector analysis for a non-isolated three-port DC–DC converter formed by paralleling two bidirectional DC–DC converters. The proposed modulated MPC method utilizes three basic vectors to calculate the optimal switching sequence for minimizing the error vector. It can significantly minimize voltage ripple while maintaining the nonlinear and dynamic performance characteristics of a traditional MPC. MATLAB/Simulink R2024a simulations and hardware-in-loop (HIL) experimental results demonstrate that, compared with finite control set MPC and traditional two-vector modulated MPC methods, the proposed approach achieves remarkable reductions in current ripple and voltage ripple, along with excellent dynamic performance featuring smooth mode-switching. Full article

To validate microgrid systems, precise simulations are necessary beforehand. Traditional Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation (HILS) is used to validate systems by creating a digital twin environment that integrates software and hardware to mimic reality. However, HILS requires high investment costs for hardware, posing a significant hurdle for companies. To address this issue, this study proposes a Software-in-the-Loop Simulation (SILS) framework using SCADA/EMS and MATLAB/Simulink(R2024a). The proposed SILS framework is highly compatible with Energy Management Systems (EMSs) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), allowing near real-time data exchange and scenario-based analysis without relying on physical hardware. According to the simulation results, SILS effectively replicates the dynamic behavior of microgrid components such as solar power generation systems, energy storage systems (ESSs), and diesel generators. Solution providers can quickly conduct feasibility tests through systems that simulate actual power systems. They can test the operation of SCADA/EMS at a lower cost and reduce on-site time, thereby reducing business costs and preemptively addressing potential issues in the field. This paper demonstrates how SILS can contribute to establishing optimal operation strategies and power supply stability through case studies, including daily operation optimization and autonomous operation scenarios for microgrids. This research provides a foundation for the feasibility of microgrid solution construction by enabling software performance evaluations and the verification of economic expected returns in the early stages of a project. Full article

Power-split hybrid electric vehicles (power-split-HEVs) exhibit significant engine torque fluctuations due to their mechanical coupling with the driveline, leading to pronounced torsional vibration issues in the drive shaft. This study investigates an active torsional vibration suppression strategy based on drive motor control. First, a dynamic model of the power-split-HEV driveline is established, and its intrinsic characteristics are analyzed. Subsequently, an engine excitation torque model is developed to identify the dominant response orders, while a vehicle dynamics model is constructed to elucidate the torsional vibration mechanisms in both hybrid and pure electric driving modes. Next, a torsional vibration feedback control framework is proposed, utilizing the electric motor as a secondary-channel torque disturbance compensator. Furthermore, a novel frequency-decoupled dual-loop control framework is proposed, with rigorous derivation of the sufficient conditions for decoupling. Based on this framework, two distinct vibration suppression algorithms are developed for the secondary-loop controller, each tailored for specific operational modes. Finally, the proposed algorithms are validated through simulation and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing. The results demonstrate a torque fluctuation suppression ratio of up to 72.2%, confirming that the active suppression algorithm effectively mitigates driveline torsional vibration induced by engine harmonic torque disturbances. Full article