Abstract

Abstract
Pressurised networks are widely used to transport gas through extensive distances. To secure the gas transport at safety levels and also economic viability, the networks are thoroughly monitored. Paramount to network control and analysis is the modelling of the gas dynamics in the pipelines and its consequent simulation. In this work, the pipeline is represented by a quasi-hyperbolic PDE, whose exact solution is not easy to withdraw, and in alternative we opt for an approximation. The construction of the initial function, very important to obtain a good approximation, is done using a separation of variables. Special relevance is given to issues as consistency, stability and convergence in order to evaluate a class of FD methods for the solution of gas network models, in particular the quasi-hyperbolic equation. Horizontal pipelines are considered as well as some particular centred schema for an inclined pipeline.

Abstract

Abstract
This article revisits the inverted pendulum-in particular, analyses a simplified model of a Segway, with a view to exploring its capabilities in Control Systems Engineering education. The integration between the theoretic and practical side is achieved through simulation, and in particular by using MathWorks software. We also present a structure for the work to be done in the Laboratory class and propose a solution for the problem. © 2018 IEEE.

Abstract
In this article, an algorithm to identify LPV State Space models for both continuous-time and discrete-time systems is proposed. The LPV state space system is in the Companion Reachable Canonical Form. The output vector coefficients are linear combinations of a set of a possibly infinite number of nonlinear basis functions dependent on the scheduling signal, the state matrix is either time invariant or a linear combination of a finite number of basis functions of the scheduling signal and the input vector is time invariant. This model structure, although simple, can describe accurately the behaviour of many nonlinear SISO systems by an adequate choice of the scheduling signal. It also partially solves the problems of structural bias caused by inaccurate selection of the basis functions and high variance of the estimates due to over-parameterisation. The use of an infinite number of basis functions in the output vector increases the flexibility to describe complex functions and makes it possible to learn the underlying dependencies of these coefficients from the data. A Least Squares Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) approach is used to address the infinite dimension of the output coefficients. Since there is a linear dependence of the output on the output vector coefficients and, on the other hand, the LS-SVM solution is a nonlinear function of the state and input matrix coefficients, the LPV system is identified by minimising a quadratic function of the output function in a reduced parameter space; the minimisation of the error is performed by a separable approach where the parameters of the fixed matrices are calculated using a gradient method. The derivatives required by this algorithm are the output of either an LTI or an LPV (in the case of a time-varying SS matrix) system, that need to be simulated at every iteration. The effectiveness of the algorithm is assessed on several simulated examples.

Abstract
This article presents an optimal estimator for discrete-time systems disturbed by output white noise, where the proposed algorithm identifies the parameters of a Multiple Input Single Output LPV State Space model. This is an LPV version of a class of algorithms proposed elsewhere for identifying LTI systems. These algorithms use the matchable observable linear identification parameterization that leads to an LTI predictor in a linear regression form, where the ouput prediction is a linear function of the unknown parameters. With a proper choice of the predictor parameters, the optimal prediction error estimator can be approximated. In a previous work, an LPV version of this method, that also used an LTI predictor, was proposed; this LTI predictor was in a linear regression form enablin, in this way, the model estimation to be handled by a Least-Squares Support Vector Machine approach, where the kernel functions had to be filtered by an LTI 2D-system with the predictor dynamics. As a result, it can never approximate an optimal LPV predictor which is essential for an optimal prediction error LPV estimator. In this work, both the unknown parameters and the state-matrix of the output predictor are described as a linear combination of a finite number of basis functions of the scheduling signal; the LPV predictor is derived and it is shown to be also in the regression form, allowing the unknown parameters to be estimated by a simple linear least squares method. Due to the LPV nature of the predictor, a proper choice of its parameters can lead to the formulation of an optimal prediction error LPV estimator. Simulated examples are used to assess the effectiveness of the algorithm. In future work, optimal prediction error estimators will be derived for more general disturbances and the LPV predictor will be used in the Least-Squares Support Vector Machine approach.