Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Sciences Technical Sciences

Is the world’s power engineering at a crossroads? Will ongoing climate changes and rise of new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Smart City or e-mobility give us a completely different perspective on the world’s future energy? What are our actual visions and development forecasts in this matter? Who is right concerning this matter, large energy companies and some politicians, environmentalists, climate researchers and all kinds of visionaries? Is transformation based on solar energy and hydrogen a holy grail for the energy sector? The author of this article tries to find answers to these and many other questions. Today we can already accept as a proven thesis that rapid and dangerous climate changes for our civilisation can also be attributed to high carbon and low-efficient power engineering. Power engineering and climate neutrality are no longer just problems for politicians, companies, and scientists, but have become a challenge for our civilisation. If we are to save the Earth, our civilisation has to change its mentality and develop ideas that will not prioritise economic growth and high consumption but sustainable growth in harmony with nature. For this to happen, the way people think about energy and global transformation must also change. The foregoing general remarks, but also the fact that a gradual transition from traditional large-scale fossil fuel-based energy generation to distributed energy generation based on renewable resources is inevitable, constitute the main message of this article. The article also aims to discuss the role of the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IMP PAN) in Gdańsk in the process of energy transformation in our country. The institute, as the coordinating entity of over a dozen of high-budgeted national and European projects in the field of environmentally-friendly power engineering, has contributed to some extent to the creation of conditions required for the development of prosumer power engineering (or more broadly: civic power engineering) in our country.

The effectiveness of lightning protection on the power and distribution grid is a significant factor, which influences the power distribution reliability and the failure rate of system elements. As part of this article, a mathematical model will be presented, taking into account selected parameters that affect the assessment of the lightning hazard of an overhead line. The proposed model will consider the location of the object near the line and the adjustment of line conductor overhangs. Moreover, the mentioned mathematical model allows for analyzing the impact of considered parameters on the protection level of the power system, and transient overvoltages that occur in this system. The article contains also a detailed description of an effective and fast method to assess the lightning discharge impact on the power system with insufficient data. The introduced model was tested to verify the correctness of its operation by comparison of calculation results and functional data. High convergence of calculated and functional data and uncomplicated model structure ensure a wide range of applications for the proposed solution to easily prevent emergency situations in the power system. Furthermore, the described model gives the opportunity to assess the reduction of the range of selectivity zone associated with the power line, in conjunction with the impact of constructional peculiarities and a near object.

In this paper, a novel Power-Frequency Droop Control (PFDC) is introduced to perfectly bring back the system frequency and share the reactive power in isolated microgrid with virtual power plant (VPP). The frequency-based power delivery must be essentially implemented in VPP which can operate as a conventional synchronous generator. It has been attained by enhancing the power processing unit of each VPP to operate as an active generator. The inverter coupling impedance which has been assigned by the virtual impedance technique has reduced the affected power coupling resulting from line resistance. The reference has been subsequently adjusted to compensate the frequency deviation caused by load variation and retrieve the VPP frequency to its nominal value. In addition, the line voltage drop has compensated the voltage drop and load sharing error to obliterate the reactive power sharing imprecision resulting from the voltage deviation. The voltage feedback confirms the correct voltage after compensating the voltage drop. As an illustration, conventional PFDC after a load change cannot restore the system frequency which is deviated from 50 Hz and rested in 49.9 Hz while, proposed PFDC strategy fades away the frequency deviation via compensating the variation of the frequency reference. Likewise, the frequency restoration factor ( γ) has an effective role in retrieving the system frequency, i.e., the restoration rate of the system frequency is in proportion with γ. As a whole, the simulation results have pointed to the high performance of proposed strategy in an isolated microgrid.

This paper is focusing on 3D Finite Elements Analysis (FEA) based modelling of protrusions as defects or imperfections in the XLPE high voltage cable. This study is aiming to examine the impact, protrusions have on the initiation of partial discharges. Spherical and ellipsoidal protrusions with different sizes at the conductor screen of the high voltage cable is an essential content of this paper. In addition, a spherical gas-filled void is placed inside and outside the protrusions, and a water tree produced from protrusions is under consideration. The partial discharge influence taking place at the protrusions and the stress enhancement factor is determined for all the variations mentioned to quantify the rise in the inception of partial discharges due to the protrusions.

The paper presents a multi-phase doubly fed induction machine operating as a DC voltage generator. The machine consists of a six-phase stator circuit and a three-phase rotor circuit. Two three-phase six-pulse diode rectifiers are connected to each three-phase machine section on the stator side and in parallel to the common DC circuit feeding the isolated load. The same DC bus is also common for the rotor side power electronics converter responsible for machine control. Two methods – direct torque control DTC and field oriented control FOC – were implemented for machine control and compared by means of simulation tests. Field oriented control was implemented in the laboratory test bench.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a model of a novel quasi-resonant boost converter with a tapped inductor. This converter combines the advantages of zero voltage quasi-resonant techniques and different conduction modes with the possibility of obtaining a high voltage conversion ratio by using a tapped inductor, which results in high converter efficiency and soft switching in the whole output power range. The paper contains an analysis of converter operation, a determination of voltage conversion ratio and the maximum voltage across power semiconductor switches as well as a discussion of control methods in discontinuous, critical, and continuous conduction modes. In order to verify the novelty of the proposed converter, a laboratory prototype of 300 W power was built. The highest efficiency η  = 94.7% was measured with the output power P_o =  260 W and the input voltage V_in = 50 V. The lowest efficiency of 90.7% was obtained for the input voltage V_in  = 30 V and the output power P_o = 75 W. The model was tested at input voltages (30–50) V, output voltage 380 V and maximum switching frequency 100 kHz.

The paper presents an analytical solution of levitation problem for conductive, dielectric and magnetically anisotropic ball. The levitation exerts either an AC or impulse magnetic field. Both the Lorentz and material electromagnetic forces (of magnetic matter) could lift the ball in a gravitational field. The electromagnetic field distribution is derived by means of variables separation method. The total force is evaluated by Maxwell stress tensor (generalized), co-energy and Lorentz methods. Additionally, power losses are calculated by means of Joule density and the Poynting vector surface integrals. High frequency asymptotic formulas for the Lorentz force and power losses are presented. All analytical solutions derived could be useful for rapid analysis and design of levitations systems. Finally, some remarks about considered levitations are formulated.

Short-circuit analysis is conducted based on the nodal impedance matrix, which is the inversion of the nodal admittance matrix. If analysis is conducted for sliding faults, then for each fault location four elements of the nodal admittance matrix are subject to changes and the calculation of the admittance matrix inversion needs to be repeated many times. For large-scale networks such an approach is time consuming and unsatisfactory. This paper proves that for each new fault location a new impedance matrix can be found without recalculation of the matrix inversion. It can be found by a simple extension of the initial nodal impedance matrix calculated once for the input model of the network. This paper derives formulas suitable for such an extension and presents a flowchart of the computational method. Numerical tests performed for a test power system confirm the validity and usefulness of the proposed method.

Load profiles of residential consumers are very diverse. This paper proposes the usage of a continuous wavelet transform and wavelet coherence to perform analysis of residential power consumer load profiles. The importance of load profiles in power engineering and common shapes of profiles along with the factors that cause them are described. The continuous wavelet transform and wavelet coherence has been presented. In contrast with other studies, this research has been conducted using detailed (not averaged) load profiles. Presented load profiles were measured separately on working day and weekend during winter in two urban households. Results of applying the continuous wavelet transform for load profiles analysis are presented as coloured scalograms. Moreover, the wavelet coherence was used to detect potential relationships between two consumers in power usage patterns. Results of coherence analysis are also presented in a colourful plots. The conducted studies show that the Morlet wavelet is slightly better suitable for load profiles analysis than the Meyer’s wavelet. Research of this type may be valuable for a power system operator and companies selling electricity in order to match their offer to customers better or for people managing electricity consumption in buildings.

This paper presents a concept of a shunt active power filter, which is able to provide more precise mapping of its input current drawn from a power line in a reference signal, as compared to a typical filter solution. It can be achieved by means of an interconnection of two separate power electronics converters making, as a whole, a controlled current source, which mainly determines the quality of the shunt active filter operation. One of these power devices, the “auxiliary converter”, corrects the total output current, being a sum of output currents of both converters, toward the reference signal. The rated output power of the auxiliary converter is much lower than the output power of the main one, while its frequency response is extended. Thanks to both these properties and the operation of the auxiliary converter in a continuous mode, pulse modulation components in the filter input current are minimized. Benefits of the filter are paid for by a relatively small increase in the complexity and cost of the system. The proposed solution can be especially attractive for devices with higher output power, where, due to dynamic power loss in power switches, a pulse modulation carrier frequency must be lowered, leading to the limitation of the “frequency response” of the converter. The concept of such a system was called the “hybrid converter topology”. In the first part of the paper, the rules of operation of the active filter based on this topology are presented. Also, the results of comparative studies of filter simulation models based on both typical, i.e. single converter, and hybrid converter topologies, are discussed.

The article presents an identification method of the model of the ball-and-race coal mill motor power signal with the use of machine learning techniques. The stages of preparing training data for model parameters identification purposes are described, as well as these aimed at verifying the quality of the evaluated model. In order to meet the tasks of machine learning, additive regression model was applied. Identification of the additive model parameters was performed on the basis of iterative backfitting algorithm combined with nonparametric estimation techniques. The proposed models have predictive nature and are aimed at simulation of the motor power signal of a coal mill during its regular operation, startup and shutdown. A comparative analysis has been performed of the models structured differently in terms of identification quality and sensitivity to the existence of an exemplary disturbance in the form of overhangs in the coal bunker. Tests carried out on the basis of real measuring data registered in the Polish power unit with a capacity of 200 MW confirm the effectiveness of the method.

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have achieved huge popularity in solving problems in image analysis and in text recognition. In this work, we assess the effectiveness of CNN-based architectures where a network is trained in recognizing handwritten characters based on Latin script. European languages such as Dutch, French, German, etc., use different variants of the Latin script, so in the conducted research, the Latin alphabet was extended by certain characters with diacritics used in Polish language. To evaluate the recognition results under the same conditions, a handwritten Latin dataset was also developed. The proposed CNN architecture produced an accuracy of 96% for the extended character set. This is comparable to state-of-the-art results found in the domain of identifying handwritten characters. The presented approach extends the usage of CNN-based recognition to different variants of the Latin characters and shows it can be successfully used for a set of languages based on that script. It seems to be an effective technique for a set of languages written using the Latin script.

The binary classifiers are appropriate for classification problems with two class labels. For multi-class problems, decomposition techniques, like one-vs-one strategy, are used because they allow the use of binary classifiers. The ensemble selection, on the other hand, is one of the most studied topics in multiple classifier systems because a selected subset of base classifiers may perform better than the whole set of base classifiers. Thus, we propose a novel concept of the dynamic ensemble selection based on values of the score function used in the one-vs-one decomposition scheme. The proposed algorithm has been verified on a real dataset regarding the classification of cutting tools. The proposed approach is compared with the static ensemble selection method based on the integration of base classifiers in geometric space, which also uses the one-vs-one decomposition scheme. In addition, other base classification algorithms are used to compare results in the conducted experiments. The obtained results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.

Speech emotion recognition (SER) is a complicated and challenging task in the human-computer interaction because it is difficult to find the best feature set to discriminate the emotional state entirely. We always used the FFT to handle the raw signal in the process of extracting the low-level description features, such as short-time energy, fundamental frequency, formant, MFCC (mel frequency cepstral coefficient) and so on. However, these features are built on the domain of frequency and ignore the information from temporal domain. In this paper, we propose a novel framework that utilizes multi-layers wavelet sequence set from wavelet packet reconstruction (WPR) and conventional feature set to constitute mixed feature set for achieving the emotional recognition with recurrent neural networks (RNN) based on the attention mechanism. In addition, the silent frames have a disadvantageous effect on SER, so we adopt voice activity detection of autocorrelation function to eliminate the emotional irrelevant frames. We show that the application of proposed algorithm significantly outperforms traditional features set in the prediction of spontaneous emotional states on the IEMOCAP corpus and EMODB database respectively, and we achieve better classification for both speaker-independent and speaker-dependent experiment. It is noteworthy that we acquire 62.52% and 77.57% accuracy results with speaker-independent (SI) performance, 66.90% and 82.26% accuracy results with speaker-dependent (SD) experiment in final.

Sharing research data from public funding is an important topic, especially now, during times of global emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, when we need policies that enable rapid sharing of research data. Our aim is to discuss and review the revised Draft of the OECD Recommendation Concerning Access to Research Data from Public Funding. The Recommendation is based on ethical scientific practice, but in order to be able to apply it in real settings, we suggest several enhancements to make it more actionable. In particular, constant maintenance of provided software stipulated by the Recommendation is virtually impossible even for commercial software. Other major concerns are insufficient clarity regarding how to finance data repositories in joint private-public investments, inconsistencies between data security and user-friendliness of access, little focus on the reproducibility of submitted data, risks related to the mining of large data sets, and sensitive (particularly personal) data protection. In addition, we identify several risks and threats that need to be considered when designing and developing data platforms to implement the Recommendation (e.g., not only the descriptions of the data formats but also the data collection methods should be available). Furthermore, the non-even level of readiness of some countries for the practical implementation of the proposed Recommendation poses a risk of its delayed or incomplete implementation.

In this present study, the effect of the shot peening process on fatigue life, surface hardness and corrosion properties of a low carbon alloy steel is examined at room temperature. The research article addresses the effect of shot peening by varying the process parameters such as peening distance and pressure with amachrome as shots. The experiment is designed by means of full factorial design. The experimental result reveals that the pressure and distance are the most significant factors in the shot peening process. The results illustrate that the average pressure of 7 bar and distance of 100 mm improves fatigue life by 1.5% of unpeened material under 20 Hz frequency while corrosion resistance improves by 4% with unpeening of the low carbon alloy steel by using amachrome as a shot.

In the present research, the wear behaviour of magnesium alloy (MA) AZ91D is studied and optimized. MA AZ91D is casted using a die-casting method. The tribology experiments are tested using pin-on-disc tribometer. The input parameters are sliding velocity (1‒3 m/s), load (1‒5 kg), and distance (0.5‒1.5 km). The worn surfaces are characterized by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The response surface method (RSM) is used for modelling and optimising wear parameters. This quadratic equation and RSM-optimized parameters are used in genetic algorithm (GA). The GA is used to search for the optimum values which give the minimum wear rate and lower coefficient of friction. The developed equations are compared with the experimental values to determine the accuracy of the prediction.

Activated tungsten inert gas (ATIG) welding has a good depth of penetration (DOP) as compared to the conventional tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding. This paper is mainly focused on ATIG characterization and mechanical behavior of aluminum alloy (AA) 6063-T6 using SiO₂ flux. The characterization of the base material (BM), fusion zone (FZ), heat affected zone (HAZ) and, partially melted zone is carried out using the suitable characterization methods. The weld quality is characterized using ultrasonic-assisted non-destructive evaluation. A-scan result confirms that the ATIG welded samples have more DOP and less bead width as compared to conventional TIG. The recorded tensile strength of ATIG with SiO₂ is better than the conventional TIG welding. The failure mode is ductile for ATIG welding with larger fracture edges and is brittle in the case of conventional TIG welding.

In this work, conversion coatings based on nitrates Ca(NO 3) 2 and Zn(NO 3) 2 were produced on the surface of MgZn49Ca4 to protect against corrosion. The main aim of this study was to prepare dense and uniform coatings using a conversion method (based on nitrates Ca(NO 3) 2 and Zn(NO 3) 2) for resorbable Mg alloys. The scientific goal of the work was to determine the pathway and main degradation mechanisms of samples with nitrate-based coatings as compared with an uncoated substrate. Determining the effect of the coatings produced on the Mg alloy was required to assess the protective properties of Mg alloy-coating systems. For this purpose, the morphology and chemical composition of coated samples, post corrosion tests and structural tests of the substrate were performed (optical microscopy, SEM/EDS). Immersion and electrochemical tests of samples were also carried out in Ringer’s solution at 37°C. The results of immersion and electrochemical tests indicated lower corrosion resistance of the substrate as compared with coated samples. The hydrogen evolution rate of the substrate increased with the immersion time. For coated samples, the hydrogen evolution rate was more stable. The ZnN coating (based on Zn(NO 3) 2) provides better corrosion protection because the corrosion product layer was uniform, while the sample with a CaN coating (based on Ca(NO 3) 2) displayed clusters of corrosion products. It was found that pitting corrosion on the substrate led to the complete disintegration and non-uniform corrosion of the coated samples, especially the CaN sample, due to the unevenly-distributed products on its surface.

This work attempts to use nitrogen gas as a shielding gas at the cutting zone, as well as for cooling purposes while machining stainless steel 304 (SS304) grade by Computer Numerical Control (CNC) lathe. The major influencing parameters of speed, feed and depth of cut were selected for experimentation with three levels each. Totally 27 experiments were conducted for dry cutting and N₂ gaseous conditions. The major influencing parameters are optimized using Taguchi and Firefly Algorithm (FA). The improvement in obtaining better surface roughness and Material Removal Rate (MRR) is significant and the confirmation results revealed that the deviation of the experimental results from the empirical model is found to be within 5%. A significant improvement of reduction of the specific cutting energy by 2.57 % on average was achieved due to the reduction of friction at the cutting zone by nitrogen gas in CNC turning of SS 304 alloy.

This paper discusses the configuration of a space-effective rack cell for storing a given set of heterogeneous items. Rack cells are the primary components of rack storage areas. A rack cell configuration problem (RCCP) for heterogeneous storage is formulated as a combinatorial mathematical model. An effective heuristic for solving the RCCP in practical cases is presented. The proposed heuristic consists of multistage brute force searching of defined sets of feasible solutions and solving linear integer assignment problems by the branch-and-bound method. The developed algorithm was implemented and tested, and the rack cell obtained meets the modularity requirements in the design and operation of heterogeneous storage areas.

In the paper, a design method of a static anti-windup compensator for systems with input saturations is proposed. First, an anti-windup controller is presented for system with cut-off saturations, and, secondly, the design problem of the compensator is presented to be a non-convex optimization problem easily solved using bilinear matrix inequalities formulation. This approach guarantees stability of the closed-loop system against saturation nonlinearities and optimizes the robust control performance while the saturation is active.

In the paper, maximal values x_e(τ) of the solutions x(t) of the linear differential equations excited by the Dirac delta function are determined. The analytical solutions of the equations and also the maximal positive values of these solutions are obtained. The analytical formulae enable the design of the system with prescribed properties. The complementary case to the earlier paper is presented. In an earlier paper it was assumed that the roots si are different, and now we consider the case when s₁ = s₂  = … = s_n.

In the paper a new, state space, fully discrete, fractional model of a heat transfer process in one dimensional body is addressed. The proposed model derives directly from fractional heat transfer equation. It employes the discrete Grünwald-Letnikov operator to express the fractional order differences along both coordinates: time and space. The practical stability and numerical complexity of the model are analysed. Theoretical results are verified using experimental data.

The subject of this paper is an assessment of the accuracy of a solution based on the linear theory of elasticity describing the interaction of a cylindrical reinforced concrete tank with the subsoil. The subsoil was modeled in the form of an elastic half-space and Winkler springs. The behavior of the shell structure of the RC cylindrical tank, and particularly of the ground slab interacting with the subsoil, depends largely on the distribution of the reactions on the foundation surface. An analysis of this structure with the shell fixed in a circular ground slab was carried out taking into consideration the elastic half-space model using the Gorbunov-Posadov approach and, for comparison, the two-parameter Winkler model. Although the results for both subsoil models proved to be divergent, the conclusions that follow the accuracy assessment of a solution based on the theory of elasticity are fairly important for engineering practice.

The paper presents the results of analyses concerning a new approach to approximating trajectory of mining-induced horizontal displacements. Analyses aimed at finding the most effective method of fitting data to the trajectory of mining-induced horizontal displacements. Two variants were made. In the first, the direct least square fitting (DLSF) method was applied based on the minimization of the objective function defined in the form of an algebraic distance. In the second, the effectiveness of differential-free optimization methods (DFO) was verified. As part of this study, the following methods were tested: genetic algorithms (GA), differential evolution (DE) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). The data for the analysis were measurements of on the ground surface caused by the mining progressive work at face no. 698 of the German Prospel-Haniel mine. The results obtained were compared in terms of the fitting quality, the stability of the results and the time needed to carry out the calculations. Finally, it was found that the direct least square fitting (DLSF) approach is the most effective for the analyzed registration data base. In the authors’ opinion, this is dictated by the angular range in which the measurements within a given measuring point oscillated.

The process of historical building conservation includes the repair of mortars eroded due to material and environmental factors. Identification of old mortar constituents is necessary to enable duplicating the material. Information on the binder and aggregate types and contents can be obtained from microscopic observation used in combination with instrumental methods. This paper presents the results of microstructure and mineral composition tests of mortars collected from the walls of thirteenth century buildings. A combination of techniques was used, which included X-ray diffraction, transmitted light optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with micro-area elemental composition analysis. The test results revealed porous lime and sand mortars with a binder-aggregate ratio often beyond the commonly adopted values. The mortars contained sand grains of up to 0.5 mm and larger pieces of limestone, flint, feldspar and brick. Transmitted light optical microscopy and scanning microscopy were found to be essential techniques for mortar characterization in existing buildings and structures.

This paper presents a new form of a mathematical estimation of stochastic bio-hydrodynamic lubrication parameters for real human joint surfaces with phospholipid bilayers. In this work, the authors present the analytical and stochastic considerations, which are based on the measurements of human joint surfaces. The gap is restricted between two cooperating biological surfaces. After numerous experimental measurements, it directly follows that the random symmetrical as well as unsymmetrical increments and decrements of the gap height in human joints influence the hydrodynamic pressure, load-carrying capacity, friction forces, and wear of the cooperating cartilage surfaces in human joints. The main focus of the paper was to demonstrate the influence of variations in the expected values and standard deviation of human joint gap height on the hydrodynamic lubrication parameters occurring in the human joint. It is very important to notice that the new form of apparent dynamic viscosity of synovial fluid formulated by the authors depends on ultra-thin gap height variations. Moreover, evident connection was observed between the apparent dynamic viscosity and the properties of cartilage surface coated by phospholipid cells. The above observations indicate an indirect impact of stochastic changes in the height of the gap and the indirect impact of random changes in the properties of the joint surface coated with the phospholipid layers, on the value of hydrodynamic pressure, load carrying capacity and friction forces. In this paper the authors present a synthetic, comprehensive estimation of stochastic bio-hydrodynamic lubrication parameters for the cooperating, rotational cartilage bio-surfaces with phospholipid bilayers occurring in human joints. The new results presented in this paper were obtained taking into account 3D variations in the dynamic viscosity of synovial fluid, particularly random variations crosswise the film thickness for non-Newtonian synovial fluid properties. According to the authors’ knowledge, the obtained results are widely applicable in spatiotemporal models in biology and health science.

A new method for measurement of sludge blanket height (SBH) based on image analysis is presented. The proposed method uses a histogram back-projection algorithm to distinguish between the settling sludge and supernatant and can be used with sludge possessing different coloring characteristics both in the sludge color and the color of supernatant produced. Individual pixels in the acquired image are compared with a histogram of a representative sludge region. Therefore, the proposed method relies neither on the assumed shape of light intensity profile nor on the dominant sludge or supernatant color. Batch sedimentation tests are presented for different initial sludge concentrations and different background colors to simulate different sludge characteristics. Parameters of a settling velocity function are estimated based on the obtained results. Additionally, an algorithm is proposed that enables the zone settling velocity (ZSV) to be estimated before the batch sedimentation test is completed.

This paper presents material and technological studies on lab-on-chip (LOC) devices as a first step towards biocompatible and reliable research on microscopic fungi and soil organisms on a microscale. This approach is intended to respond to the growing need for environmental control and protection, by means of modern, miniaturized, portable and dependable microfluidics instrumentation. The authors have presented herein long-term, successful cultivation of different fungi representatives (with emphasis put on Cladosporium macrocarpum) in specially fabricated all-glass LOCs. Notable differences were noted in the development of these creatures on polymer, polydimethylosiloxane (PDMS) cultivation substrates, revealing the uncommon morphological character of the fungi mycelium. The utility of all-glass LOCs was verified for other fungi representatives as well –  Fusarium culmorum and Pencilium expansum, showing technical correspondence and biocompatibility of the devices. On that basis, other future applications of the solution are possible, covering, e.g. investigation of additional, environmentally relevant fungi species. Further development of the LOC instrumentation is also taken into consideration, which could be used for cultivation of other soil organisms and study of their mutual relationships within the integrated microfluidic device.

The longitudinal automatic carrier landing system (ACLS) control law is designed based on nonlinear dynamic inversion (NDI), which can reject air wake, decouple lateral states, and track the dynamic desired touchdown point (DTP). First of all, the nonlinear landing model of F/A−18 aircraft in the final approach is established, in which the parameters of the aerodynamic, control surfaces, and limited states are acquired. Second, the strategy of tracking the desired longitudinal trajectory through pitch angle control is adopted. The automatic power compensation system (APCS), pitch angle rate, pitch angle, and vertical position control loops are developed based on the adaptive NDI. The stable analysis and the principal description are derived in detail. Deck motion compensation (DMC) algorithm is designed by frequency response method. Third, the control parameters are optimized through the genetic algorithm. A fitness function integrated with velocity, angle of attack (AOA), pitch rate, pitch angle, and vertical position of the aircraft are proposed. Finally, integrated simulations are conducted on a semi-physical simulation platform. The results indicate that the adopted automatic landing control law can achieve both excellent performance and the ability to reject the air wake and lateral coupling.

The unmanned underwater tracked bulldozer (UUTB) is an indispensable equipment for dredging and cleaning obstacles on the river bed in the flood season. The investigation on the interaction properties between the UUTB tracks and sediments provides foundation for the evaluation of operation performance when it works on the inland river bed. Based on the current worldwide research, the sediments mixed by sand, bentonite and water with sand content 0%, 10% and 20% were configured in this study to replace the real sediments on the inland river bed in China. The current pressure-sinkage model and shear stress-shear displacement model were discussed. Three different tracks were tested for the pressure-sinkage and the shear stress-shear displacement on the platform. The relationship between pressure and sinkage under sand content 0%, 10% and 20% are revealed based on the experimental results. The modulus of cohesive deformation and friction deformation of the sediments under said sand content are presented. The curves of shear stress and shear displacement are also obtained, which demonstrates the properties between the tracks and configured sediments under sand content 0%, 10% and 20%. The relationship between the tractive force and slip ratio with three different tracks under said sand content is also presented based on the quantitative analysis, which provides reference for the dynamics control and performance evaluation of UUTB on the inland river bed.

This article presents a system of precise navigation for a visually impaired person which uses GPS navigation and an infrared sensor in the form of an infrared matrix. The presented system allows determining the orientation and distance of a blind person relative to a selected object, e.g. a wall or road edge. The application of the above solution facilitates a significant increase in the accuracy of determining the position of a blind person compared to the accuracy offered by commonly used ground satellite devices. The system uses thermal energy accumulated in the environment without the need to generate additional signals. The main parts of the system are a simple infrared matrix, data processing system and vibrating wristband. Messages and navigation warnings are sent to a blind person in the form of a vibration code. The article describes the method of determining the path of a specified width and distance from the wall of a building, curb, etc., along which a blind person should move. The article additionally describes the method of determining the orientation of a blind person depending on the selected object. Such a method facilitates verifying whether the visually impaired person is moving according to the indicated direction. The method can also be used to navigate mobile robots. Due to the use of natural energy for data registration and processing, the mobile navigation system can be operated for a long time without the need to recharge the battery.