A brushless direct-current (BLDC) and permanent-magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) with permanent magnets are characterised by the highest operating parameters among all electric motors. High dynamics and the possibility of controlling their work improves the operating parameters of the drive system and reduces the operating costs of such a device. The high cost of these machines associated with the complexity of their construction is a serious barrier to increasing their range in small propulsion systems, where lower energy consumption does not give such spectacular financial profits. To reduce costs, manufacturers often limit the variety of manufactured engines so that by increasing the volume, the unit cost of the device can be minimised. This is often hindered by the implementation of projects deviating from standards where it is necessary to use drive systems of different power. The solution to this problem could be the use of two independent drive systems working in strict correlation to ensure sufficient operating parameters of the device. The article presents a method of controlling a drive system in which two propulsion systems with PMSM engines were used. These devices are communicated with each other by a serial bus, by means of which data necessary for the correct operation of motors connected by a drive belt are transmitted. Since these machines affect both the working machine and each other, it is necessary to optimise such a system so as to avoid excessive oscillation of the drive torque in the system.

The paper presents a theoretical analysis of the effect of electric car performance characteristics on vehicle energy consumption and driving range. The test object was a Nissan Leaf electric vehicle. The characteristic curves of basic and additional resistance to motion (sum of rolling resistance and air resistance and inertia resistance or grade resistance, respectively) were applied to the model characteristic curve of electric motor torque of the tested vehicle. Based on that, the graphs describing the relationships between vehicle energy consumption and vehicle speed were made (for specific values of car acceleration / acclivity grade) as well as the relations between vehicle driving range and its traction properties. It was concluded that the use of performance characteristics significantly increased the vehicle’s energy consumption and decreased the available vehicle’s driving range.

Sound processing with loudspeaker driving depends critically on high quality electroacoustic transducers together with their relevant amplifiers. In this paper, the nonlinear effects of electrodynamic loudspeakers are investigated as regard the influence of the changes of their main descriptive parameters values. Indeed, while being operated nonlinear effects observed with loudspeakers are due to changes of such constitutive parameters. Regarding either current or voltage-drive, an original model based on Simulink R is presented, taking account of all the electrical and mechanical properties closely associated with nonlinear behaviours. Moreover, as such a Simulink R model may be combined with the PSpice R advanced software, the behaviour of both loudspeaker and amplifier can be exhaustively investigated and optimized. To this end, the amplifier is simulated thanks to the Orcad-Capture-PSpiceR software prior to match with the loudspeaker model with the so-called SLPS co-simulator. Then, values of the current flowing through the loudspeaker can be determined and plotted considering voltage controlling. Obviously in this case current-drive has not to be assessed. This way to proceed allows us to highlight any critical information especially due to the voice coil displacement, yielded velocity, and acceleration of the diaphragm. Indeed our approach testifies to the imperative necessity of mechanical measurements together with electrical ones. Then, considering a given amplifier-loudspeaker association with specific parameters changes of the latter, the entailed nonlinear distortion allows us to qualify and criticize the whole design. Such an original approach should be most valuable so as to match the best fitted amplifier with a given electrodynamic loudspeaker. Then non linear effects due to voltage and current-drive are compared highlighting the advantages of an apt currentcontroled policy.

The paper presents a method for wireless measurement of car wheel air pressure and temperature using the Tire Pressure Monitoring System, or TPMS module - one of the latest safety systems introduced by the automotive industry - with readings taken on a specifically designed test bench. The paper describes the structure and operating principle of the test bench key elements and how they work with the sensors, the TPMS module, and reference instruments, as well as the data format and accuracy of data transmission between TPMS and the host computer. The software designed for an embedded system emulating the real on-board computer allows for observing raw sensor readings and the effect of calibration in two points of the characteristics.

The paper encompasses the overview of hardware architecture and the systems characteristics of the Fraunhofer driving simulator. First, the requirements of the real-time model and the real-time calculation hardware are defined and discussed in detail. Aspects like transport delay and the parallel computation of complex real-time models are presented. In addition, the interfacing of the models with the simulator system is shown. Two simulator driving tests, including a fully interactive rough terrain driving with a wheeled excavator and a test drive with a passenger car, are set to demonstrate system characteristics. Furthermore, the simulator characteristics of practical significance, such as simulator response time delay, simulator acceleration signal bandwidth obtained from artificial excitation and from the simulator driving test, will be presented and discussed.

Adsorption experiments of nitric oxide in nitrogen carrier gas were held on activated carbon in a fixed bed flow system. Breakthrough curves describing the dependence of exit concentrations of nitric oxide on time were matched with theoretical response curves calculated from the linear driving force model (LDF). The model assumes Langmuir adsorption isotherm for the description of non-linear equilibrium and overall mass transfer coefficient for mass transfer mechanism. Overall mass transfer coefficients were obtained by the method of least squares for fitting numerically modelled breakthrough curves with experimental breakthrough curves. It was found that LDF model fits all the breakthrough curves and it is a useful tool for modelling purposes.

Current drive control systems tend to push control loops to the limits of their performance. One of the ways of doing so is to use advanced optimization algorithms, usually related to model-based off-line calculations, such as genetic algorithms, the particle swarmoptimisation or the others. There is, however, a simpler way, namely to use predictive control formalism and by formulation of a simple linear programming problem which is easy to solve using powerful solvers, without excessive computational burden, what is a reliable solution, as whenever the optimization problem has a feasible solution, a global minimizer can be efficiently found. This approach has been deployed for a servo drive system operated by a real-time sampled-data controller, verified between model-in-the-loop and hardwarein- the-loop configurations, for a range of prediction horizons, as an attractive alternative to classical quadratic programming-related formulation of predictive control task.

The paper presents a methodology for creating dynamic characteristics of fuel consumption and intensity of emission of toxic components of exhaust gas. The source of data is the result of modal analysis of fuel consumption and emission intensity obtained from experimental drive tests. Two certified tests have been used: European NEDC and American Ff P- 75. A general algorithm for obtaining dynamic characteristics in the form of approximated functions is formulated on the basis of measured data. Examples of characteristics obtained for a real car with spark ignition engine are presented. The results obtained from experimental measurements and numerical simulations are compared and discussed.

The paper presents a model of a car with special attention given to the drive system. Two possible drive systems were considered: with standard differential and independent drive of each wheel by means of an electric motor. In both cases, flexibilities of live axle shafts have been taken into consideration. A 3D model of the car was assumed. The model consists of a system of rigid bodies connected one with another by means of elastic-damping elements. The phases of static and kinetic friction were considered in the steering and drive systems. The method of homogenous transformations was used in the mathematical description. The results of computer simulations are presented.

Acoustical Driving Forces (ADF), induced by propagating waves in a homogeneous and inhomogeneous lossy fluid (suspension), are determined and compared depending on the concentration of suspended particles. Using integral equations of the scattering theory, the single particle (inclusion) ADF was calculated as the integral of the flux of the momentum density tensor components over the heterogeneity surface. The possibility of negative ADF was indicated. Originally derived, the total ADF acting on inclusions only, stochastically distributed in ambient fluid, was determined as a function of its concentration. The formula for the relative increase in ADF, resulting from increased concentration was derived. Numerical ADF calculations are presented. In experiments the streaming velocities in a blood-mimicking starch suspension (2 μm radius) in water and Bracco BR14 contrast agent (SF6 gas capsules, 1 μm radius) were measured as the function of different inclusions concentration. The source of the streaming and ADF was a plane 2 mm diameter 20 MHz ultrasonic transducer. Velocity was estimated from the averaged Doppler spectrum obtained from originally developed pulsed Doppler flowmeter. Numerical calculations of the theoretically derived formula showed very good agreement with the experimental results.

This paper investigates the application of a novel Model Predictive Control structure for the drive system with an induction motor. The proposed controller has a cascade-free structure that consists of a vector of electromagnetics (torque, flux) and mechanical (speed) states of the system. The long-horizon version of the MPC is investigated in the paper. In order to reduce the computational complexity of the algorithm, an explicit version is applied. The influence of different factors (length of the control and predictive horizon, values of weights) on the performance of the drive system is investigated. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated by some experimental tests.

In this paper, we propose sensorless backstepping control of a double-star induction machine (DSIM). First, the backstepping approach is designed to steer the flux and speed variables to their references and to compensate uncertainties. Lyapunov”s theory is used and it demonstrates that the dynamic tracking of trajectories tracking is asymptotically stable. Second, unfortunately, this law control called sophisticated is a major problem which leads to the necessity of using a mechanical sensor (speed, load torque). This imposes an additional cost and increases the complexity of the montage. In practice, this variable is unknown and its measurement is expensive. To restrain this problem we estimate speed and load torque by using a Luenberger observer (LO). Simulation results are provided to illustrate the performance of the proposed approach in high and low variable speeds and load torque disturbance.

The purpose of this paper is to show possibility and advantages of initial control plane reproduction for an adaptive fuzzy controller. Usually the fuzzy control is used when the object is not very well known. Yet the truth is, however, that some, at least general information about the object, is available. Usually, in such a case, optimization algorithms are used to tune the control structure. The purpose of this article is to show how to find a starting point that is closer to optimum than a statistically random point, and this way to obtain better results in a shorter time.

Cells of a prototype powered wheelchair can be designed in various connections to provide different supply voltages which has impact on the efficiency of other wheelchair drive elements. The impact of cell configuration and resulting battery voltage on overall efficiency of power elements have been studied to determine the optimal configuration and voltage of the pack. A brief description of a battery energy storage system was given, and main requirements and variables were introduced to reveal the flexibility of the battery design. The efficiency versus supply voltage plots of a drive converter and battery charger were presented and discussed to find the optimal battery voltage. The motor design was analyzed from the fill factor perspective. The calculated efficiency parameters of all drive power elements were used to discuss and select an optimal battery cell configuration.

Accurate information on Induction Motor (IM) speed is essential for robust operation of vector controlled IM drives. Simultaneous estimation of speed provides redundancy in motor drives and enables their operation in case of a speed sensor failure. Furthermore, speed estimation can replace its direct measurement for low-cost IM drives or drives operated in difficult environmental conditions. During torque transients when slip frequency is not controlled within the set range of values, the rotor electromagnetic time constant varies due to the rotor deep-bar effect. The model-based schemes for IM speed estimation are inherently more or less sensitive to variability of IM electromagnetic parameters. This paper presents the study on robustness improvement of the Model Reference Adaptive System (MRAS) based speed estimator to variability of IM electromagnetic parameters resulting from the rotor deep-bar effect. The proposed modification of the MRAS-based speed estimator builds on the use of the rotor flux voltage-current model as the adjustable model. The verification of the analyzed configurations of the MRAS-based speed estimator was performed in the slip frequency range corresponding to the IM load adjustment range up to 1.30 of the stator rated current. This was done for a rigorous and reliable assessment of estimators’ robustness to rotor electromagnetic parameter variability resulting from the rotor deep-bar effect. The theoretical reasoning is supported by the results of experimental tests which confirm the improved operation accuracy and reliability of the proposed speed estimator configuration under the considered working conditions in comparison to the classical MRAS-based speed estimator.

The paper presents an experimental stand for testing the front car camera S-CAM with embedded image recognition systems. The camera sends CAN messages these are converted to USART messages by microprocessor based system. The messages are interpreted by MATLAB script on the basis of database of traffic signs in accordance with Polish Road Code. The testing stand is mainly aimed for educating students interested in the fields of electronics and technologies related to automotive branch, as well. The second objective is a research on efficiency of traffic sign recognition system being one of functionalities of S-CAM camera. The technical specification of testing stand, its functionality and limitations were also discussed. The bench operation was illustrated with examples of stiff images, animation and real movies.

Short-term contact losses between a pantograph and a contact wire are not included in the standards nor are they taken into account in evaluating pantograph-contact wire interaction. These contact losses, however, accelerate wear and tear as well as disturb operation of vehicles’ drive systems. The article presents the effects of short-term contact breaks as well as an analysis of impact of contact breakages on a vehicle’s current at 3 kV DC power supply. Results of voltage and current oscillations measured in real conditions when pantograph of a DC driven chopper vehicle was running under isolators were presented. Then a simulation model of a vehicles with ac motors and voltage inverters was derived to undertake simulation experiments verifying operation of such a vehicle in condition similar to those measured in real condition.

One of the little described problems in hydrostatic drives is the fast changing runs in the hydraulic line of this drive affecting the nature of the formation and intensity of pressure pulsation and flow rate occurring in the drive. Pressure pulsation and flow rate are the cause of unstable operation of servos, delays in the control system and other harmful phenomena. The article presents a flow model in a hydrostatic drive line based on fluid continuity equations (mass conservation), maintaining the amount of Navier-Stokes motion in the direction of flow (x axis), energy conservation (liquid state). The movement of liquids in a hydrostatic line is described by partial differential equations of the hyperbolic type, so modeling takes into account the wave phenomena occurring in the line. The hydrostatic line was treated as a cross with two inputs and two outputs, characterized by a specific transmittance matrix. The product approximation was used to solve the wave equations. An example of the use of general equations is presented for the analysis of a miniaturized hydrostatic drive line fed from a constant pressure source and terminated by a servo mechanism.

The paper presents a method for designing a neural speed controller with use of Reinforcement Learning method. The controlled object is an electric drive with a synchronous motor with permanent magnets, having a complex mechanical structure and changeable parameters. Several research cases of the control system with a neural controller are presented, focusing on the change of object parameters. Also, the influence of the system critic behaviour is researched, where the critic is a function of control error and energy cost. It ensures long term performance stability without the need of switching off the adaptation algorithm. Numerous simulation tests were carried out and confirmed on a real stand.

This work evaluates the influence of gate drive circuitry to cascode GaN device’s switching waveforms. This is done by comparing three PCBs using three double-pulse-test (DPT) with different gate driving loop design. Among important parasitic elements, source-side inductance shows a significant impact to gate-source voltage waveform. A simulation model based on experimental measurement of the cascode GaNFET used in this work is modified by author. The simulation model is implemented in a synchronous buck converter topology and hereby to assess the impact of gate driving loop of cascode GaN device in both continuous conduction mode (CCM) and critical conduction mode (CRM). Apart from simulation, a synchronous buck converter prototype is presented for experimental evaluation, which shows a 99.15% efficiency at 5A under soft-switching operation (CRM) with a 59ns dead-time.

Many industrial rotating machines driven by asynchronous motors are often affected by detrimental torsional vibrations. In this paper, a method of attenuation of torsional vibrations in such objects is proposed. Here, an asynchronous motor under proper control can simultaneously operate as a source of drive and actuator. Namely, by means of the proper control of motor operation, it is possible to suppress torsional vibrations in the object under study. Using this approach, both transient and steady-state torsional vibrations of the rotating machine drive system can be effectively attenuated, and its precise operational motions can be assured. The theoretical investigations are conducted by means of a structural mechanical model of the drive system and an advanced circuit model of the asynchronous motor controlled using two methods: the direct torque control – space vector modulation (DTC-SVM) and the rotational velocity-controlled torque (RVCT) based on the momentary rotational velocity of the driven machine working tool. From the obtained results it follows that by means of the RVCT technique steady-state torsional vibrations induced harmonically and transient torsional vibrations excited by switching various types of control on and off can be suppressed as effectively as using the advanced vector method DTC-SVM.

The aim of the paper is to present the procedure of non-standard road signs and markings implementation in Poland to improve road safety and traffic performance of road infrastructure. The authors investigated the following cases: road and its surroundings’ perception and understanding improvement; warning of increased risk of accidents ; road works; speed management and ITS. The procedure was developed on the basis of interdisciplinary research, including: observation of drivers behaviour in real traffic; comparative crash analysis on sections with and without non-standard signs or markings; surveys on the understanding signs and marking; driving simulator experiments. As a result of the research, an implementation procedure for non-standard signs and markings, in the form of flowchart, was developed. In the designed procedure the following study of non-standard signs can be distinguished: questionnaire studies, eye tracking tests and driving simulator tests. The choice of the test method depends on the preliminary assessment of sign understanding, based on the results of the questionnaires. Moreover, thresholds for the declared understanding level, which determines the selection of additional tests to be done prior to the implementation of the sign, are given. The guidelines for conducting tests, analysis and monitoring of implementation were described as well.

Distracted driving is a significant factor affecting road safety and it can occur as a result of using mobile phones while driving. The aim of the current research is to present the prevalence of mobile phone use by Polish car drivers, based on the roadside and online survey. The field study showed that 11.6% of 1867 drivers were using mobile phones while being in motion and 26.1% of 203 drivers when stopped in front of traffic lights. While moving, 8.9% were manipulating the device by hand and 2.6% – holding it to ear. During the stop, 14.2% of the observed motorists were manipulating it, 3.0% – holding it to the ear, and 8.9% – talking through a hands-free or headset. To determine how many people generally use mobile phones while driving (not only during momentary observation), a questionnaire was also carried out. The vast majority of 252 surveyed drivers (82.9%) admitted to using mobile phones while driving, and an equally large proportion considered this behavior as dangerous for transport safety (81.3%). Most of the motorists reported using cell phones: rarely (44.4%), both when stopped and being in motion (58.9%), in a built-up area (63.6%), holding it in hand (43.5%) and in order to chat or write messages (81.8%). The majority of drivers using cell phones while driving were male and in the 25–44 or 18–24 age group. None of the respondents caused an accident due to the use of these devices, but 1.6% were guilty of a collision caused by this reason.

The main goal of robot path planning is to design an optimal path for a robot to navigate from its starting point to its goal while avoiding obstacles and optimizing certain criteria. A novel method using marine predator algorithm which is used in the field of robot path planning is presented. The proposed method has two steps. First step is to build a mathematical model of path planning while second step is optimization process using marine predator algorithm. Simulation results show that the proposed method works well and has good performance in different situations. Therefore, this method is an effective method for robot path planning and related applications.