PFI-TT: Novel Non-Contacting Position Estimation System for Long-Stroke Actuators

该创新-技术转化合作伙伴关系（PFI-TT）项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力包括满足重大市场需求的新型传感器的技术商业化，未来可能成为一家产生大量收入和就业的大公司，博士后研究员的教育，为他们提供技术开发和技术商业化方面的经验，通过ME大使计划向K-12学校学生推广，并向大量工业公司推广，这些公司可能是开发的传感器技术的潜在客户。本项目将开发一个原型位置测量传感器用于各种各样的活塞缸致动器。该项目将建立在以前的NSF的研究，其中一个位置传感器适用于小冲程非铁致动器的开发。虽然先前的发明已经成功地授权给工业合作伙伴，但它仅适用于小冲程（高达15 cm）的应用。本提案中描述的基础研究将能够增强传感技术，以便在长冲程长度上提供准确的测量。这将为传感器打开一个巨大的市场，包括用于农业和建筑车辆的长行程铁质液压执行器。拟议项目将进行研究，开发技术，使非接触式传感器能够在铁质执行器的长行程应用中工作。这需要解决几个基本的挑战，包括缺乏准确性和缺乏鲁棒性的扩展卡尔曼滤波器依赖于线性化的非线性磁场模型的基础上的先前的估计算法。其他技术挑战包括由于含铁圆柱体由软钢制成而在磁场模型中存在显著的磁滞，所述软钢从内部磁体的振荡运动中真实的实时地被磁化和消磁，以及对于多输出非线性系统的菊花链多个传感器的要求，在所述多输出非线性系统中，仅传感器的子集可以在传感器系统的分段操作区域中被利用。该项目将制定应对这些挑战的解决方案。 所提出的解决方案包括严格开发基于非线性观测器的估计算法，该算法提供全局渐近稳定性以及干扰和噪声的抑制，开发一种新的滞后分析模型，该模型比传统的Preisach模型具有显着优势，和系统的设计方法，以解决传感器切换和传感器的菊花链。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被视为通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project includes technology commercialization of a novel sensor that addresses a significant market need, potential to lead to a future large company that generates significant revenues and employment, education of a postdoctoral fellow providing them experience in both technology development and technology commercialization, outreach to K-12 school students through the ME Ambassadors Program, and outreach to a large number of industrial companies who can be potential customers for the developed sensor technology. This project will develop a prototype position measurement sensor useful for a wide variety of piston-cylinder actuators. The project will build on previous NSF research in which a position sensor suitable for small-stroke non-ferrous actuators was developed. While the previous invention has been successfully licensed to an industrial partner, it works well only for small stroke (up to 15 cm) applications. The fundamental research described in this proposal will enable enhancement of the sensing technology so as to provide accurate measurements over long stroke lengths. This will open up a large market for the sensor, including the long-stroke ferrous hydraulic actuators utilized on agricultural and construction vehicles.The proposed project will conduct research to develop technology that enables the non-contacting sensor to work for long-stroke applications in ferrous actuators. This requires addressing several fundamental challenges, including the lack of accuracy and lack of robustness of previous estimation algorithms based on the extended Kalman filter which relied on linearization of nonlinear magnetic field models. Other technical challenges include the presence of significant hysteresis in the magnetic field model due to the ferrous cylinder being made of soft steel which gets magnetized and demagnetized in real time from the oscillatory motion of the internal magnet, and the requirement to daisy-chain multiple sensors for a multi-output nonlinear system in which only subsets of the sensors can be utilized in piecewise regions of operation of the sensor system. Solutions to address these challenges will be developed in the project. The proposed solutions include rigorous development of nonlinear-observer-based estimation algorithms that provide both global asymptotic stability as well as rejection of disturbances and noise, development of a new analytical model for hysteresis that has significant advantages over the traditional Preisach model, and a systematic design methodology to address sensor switching and daisy chaining of sensors.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.