CAREER: A Mechatronic Framework for Magnetic Suspension Technology

该学院早期职业发展（Career）奖支持磁悬浮技术机电框架的开发，该技术通过提供具有几个吸引人的优势的驱动原理，有可能对制造和运输系统产生重大影响：运动部件的无摩擦相互作用，高速高精度定位，高分辨率和可重复性，以及无尘操作。这些系统几乎无需维护，因为它们不受磨损，机械简单，易于组装和制造，并且可以提供比其他传统执行器技术更高的加速度和速度。一些尚未解决的问题已经将磁悬浮技术降至少数实际应用。磁伺服悬浮作为一种基于电磁力的驱动系统，具有固有的不稳定性、高度非线性、难以建模和控制等特点。本课题旨在为该作动原理的精确鲁棒控制提供理论依据。所提出的方法是研究者最近的实验结果的扩展，该结果表明实现这些系统的鲁棒和精确控制涉及两个关键要素：最大限度地减少近似电磁关系的使用，以及使用一种新的非线性控制算法，该算法对模型不确定性具有鲁棒性，并且不要求系统在控制输入中是仿射的。该技术将用于开发两种具有广泛影响的应用领域：用于半导体制造的多自由度高精度定位机，以及用于运输系统超导悬浮主动控制的设计试验台。悬浮定位机械有望成为半导体制造的下一代定位技术。另一方面，磁悬浮运输系统是美国国家航空航天局目前正在研究的技术核心，目的是发展航天飞机运行的航天港能力。所提出的工作还将有助于开发一个框架，用于分析和设计一系列输入中非仿射的非线性问题，如汽车主动悬架系统、自主水下航行器等。磁悬浮技术集成了多个领域的知识：物理学、机械设计、电力电子、控制理论、仪器仪表、数据采集和计算机编程。这使得它成为一个理想的基础，为本科生和研究生在几个领域提供一个新颖的，跨学科的，综合的教育经验：机械和电气工程，物理和计算机工程。本奖学金之教育计划以培养学生在多学科环境中解决问题的能力，以提高学生整合知识的能力为中心。

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award supports the development of a mechatronic framework for magnetic suspension technology, which has the potential to significantly impact both manufacturing and transportation systems by providing an actuation principle with several attractive advantages: frictionless interaction of moving parts, high precision positioning at high speeds, high resolution and repeatability, and dust-free operation. These systems are virtually maintenance-free because they are not subject to wear, are mechanically simple and easy to assemble and manufacture, and can provide higher accelerations and velocities than other conventional actuator technologies. Several unresolved issues have relegated magnetic suspension technology to a few practical applications. Magnetic servo levitation (SML), the actuation principal based on electromagnetic attractive forces, is inherently unstable, highly nonlinear, and difficult to model and control. This project is devoted to provide the theoretical basis for accurate and robust control of this actuation principle. The proposed approach is an extension of recent experimental results by the investigator that suggest two key elements involved in achieving robust and accurate control of these systems: to minimize the use of approximate electromagnetic relationships, and the use of a novel nonlinear control algorithm that is robust to model uncertainties and does not require the system to be affine in the control input.The technology will be used to develop two applications in areas of broad impact: a multi-DOF high-precision positioning machine for semiconductor manufacturing, and a design test bench for active control of superconductive levitation for transportation systems. Levitated positioning machinery is expected to be the next generation of positioning technology for semiconductor manufacturing. On the other hand, magnetically levitated transportation systems are at the core of technology currently under investigation by NASA to develop spaceport capabilities for the operation of space shuttles. The proposed work will also contribute to develop a framework for analysis and design of a family of nonlinear problems that are nonaffine in the input, such as automotive active suspension systems, autonomous underwater vehicles, etc. Magnetic suspension technology integrates knowledge from several areas: physics, mechanical design, power electronics, control theory, instrumentation, data acquisition and computer programming. This makes it an ideal ground for a novel, interdisciplinary, integrative educational experience for undergraduate and graduate students across several fields: mechanical and electrical engineering, physics and computer engineering. The educational plan of this grant is centered on providing students increasing degrees of competency in knowledge integration by cultivating problem-solving skills in a multidisciplinary environment.