In this work, silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) thin films were deposited on metallic substrates (aluminium and titanium sheets) by the DC reactive sputtering technique using two different silicon targets (n-type and p-type Si wafers) as well as two Ar:N₂ gas mixing ratios (50:50 and 70:30). The electrical conductivity of the metallic (aluminium and titanium) substrates was measured before and after the deposition of silicon nitride thin films on both surfaces of the substrates. The results obtained from this work showed that the deposited films, in general, reduced the electrical conductivity of the substrates, and the thin films prepared from n-type silicon targets using a 50:50 mixing ratio and deposited on both

Active Magnetic Bearings (AMBs) are progressively being implemented in a wide variety of applications. Their exclusive appealing features make them suitable for solving traditional rotor-bearing problems using novel design approaches for rotating machinery.  In this paper, a linearized uncertain model of AMBs is utilized to develop a nonlinear sliding mode controller based on Lyapunov function for the electromechanical system. The controller requires measurements of the rotor displacements and their derivatives. Since the control law is discontinuous, the proposed controller can achieve a finite time regulation but with the drawback of the chattering problem. To reduce the effect of this problem, the gain of the uni

This paper addresses the use of adaptive sliding mode control for the servo actuator system with friction. The adaptive sliding mode control has several advantages over traditional sliding mode control method. Firstly, the magnitude of control effort is reduced to the minimal admissible level defined by the conditions for the sliding mode to exist. Secondly, the upper bounds of uncertainties are not required to be known in advance. Therefore, adaptive sliding mode control method can be effectively implemented. The numerical simulation via MATLAB 2014a for servo actuator system with friction is investigated to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed robust adaptive sliding mode control scheme. The results clarify, after

In this paper, first and second order sliding mode controllers are designed for a single link robotic arm actuated by two Pneumatic Artificial Muscles (PAMs). A new mathematical model for the arm has been developed based on the model of large scale pneumatic muscle actuator model. Uncertainty in parameters has been presented and tested for the two controllers. The simulation results of the second-order sliding mode controller proves to have a low tracking error and chattering effect as compared to the first order one. The verification has been done by using MATLAB and Simulink software.

Abstract

 One of the major components in an automobile engine is the throttle valve part. It is used to keep up with emissions and fuel efficiency low. Design a control system to the throttle valve is newly common requirement trend in automotive technology. The non-smoothness nonlinearity in throttle valve model are due to the friction model and the nonlinear spring, the uncertainty in system parameters and non-satisfying the matching condition are the main obstacles when designing a throttle plate controller.

In this work, the theory of the Integral Sliding Mode Control (ISMC) is utilized to design a robust controller for the Electronic Throttle Valve (ETV) system. From the first in

The goal of this paper is to design a robust controller for controlling a pendulum
system. The control of nonlinear systems is a common problem that is facing the researchers in control systems design. The Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) is the best solution for controlling a nonlinear system. The classical SMC consists from two phases. The first phase is the reaching phase and the second is the sliding phase. The SMC suffers from the chattering phenomenon which is considered as a severe problem and undesirable property. It is a zigzag motion along the switching surface. In this paper, the chattering is reduced by using a saturation function instead of sign function. In spite of SMC is a good method for controlling a nonlinear system b

In this paper, a robust adaptive sliding mode controller is designed for a mobile platform trajectory tracking.  The mobile platform is an example of a nonholonomic mechanical system. The presence of holonomic constraints reduces the number of degree of freedom that represents the system model, while the nonholonomic constraints reduce the differentiable degree of freedom. The mathematical model was derived here for the mobile platform, considering the existence of one holonomic and two nonholonomic constraints imposed on system dynamics. The partial feedback linearization method was used to get the input-output relation, where the output is the error functions between the position of a certain point on the platform

Active vibration control is the main problem in different structure. Smart material like piezoelectric make a structure smart, adaptive and self-controlling so, they are effective in active vibration control. In this paper piezoelectric elements are used as sensors and actuators in flexible structures for sensing and actuating purposes, and to control the vibration of a cantilever beam by using sliding mode control. The sliding mode controller (SMC) is designed to attenuate the vibration induced by initial tip displacement which is equal to 15 mm.  It is designed based on the balance realization reduction method where three states are selected for the reduced model from the 24^th states that describe the c

Position control of servo motor systems is a challenging task because of inevitable factors such as uncertainties, nonlinearities, parametric variations, and external perturbations. In this article, to alleviate the above issues, a practical adaptive fast terminal sliding mode control (PAFTSMC) is proposed for better tracking performance of the servo motor system by using a state observer and bidirectional adaptive law. First, a smooth-tangent-hyperbolic-function-based practical fast terminal sliding mode control (PFTSM) surface is designed to ensure not only fast finite time tracking error convergence but also chattering reduction. Second, the PAFTSMC is proposed for the servo motor, in which a two-way adaptive law is designed to further s