pwc-archive/papers-with-abstracts huggingface dataset:
Data-driven Estimation, Tracking, and System Identification of Deterministic and Stochastic Optical Spot Dynamics
Authors: Aleksandar Haber, Michael Krainak
Date: 2023-01-29 00:00:00

Stabilization, disturbance rejection, and control of optical beams and optical spots are ubiquitous problems that are crucial for the development of optical systems for ground and space telescopes, free-space optical communication terminals, precise beam steering systems, and other types of optical systems. High-performance disturbance rejection and control of optical spots require the development of disturbance estimation and data-driven Kalman filter methods. Motivated by this, we propose a unified and experimentally verified data-driven framework for optical-spot disturbance modeling and tuning of covariance matrices of Kalman filters. Our approach is based on covariance estimation, nonlinear optimization, and subspace identification methods. Also, we use spectral factorization methods to emulate optical-spot disturbances with a desired power spectral density in an optical laboratory environment. We test the effectiveness of the proposed approaches on an experimental setup consisting of a piezo tip-tilt mirror, piezo linear actuator, and a CMOS camera.
Data-Driven Load-Current Sharing Control for Multi-Stack Fuel Cell System with Circulating Current Mitigation
Authors: Yiqiao Xu, XIAOYU GUO, Zhen Dong, Zhengtao Ding, Alessandra Parisio
Date: 2023-01-29 00:00:00

The global trend toward renewable power generation has drawn great attention to hydrogen Fuel Cells (FCs), which have a wide variety of applications, from utility power stations to laptops. The Multi-stack Fuel Cell System (MFCS), which is an assembly of FC stacks, can be a remedy for obstacles in high-power applications. However, the output voltage of FC stacks varies dramatically under variable load conditions; hence, in order for MFCS to be efficiently operated and guarantee an appropriate load-current sharing among the FC stacks, advanced converter controllers for power conditioning need to be designed. An accurate circuit model is essential for controller design, which accounts for the fact that the parameters of some converter components may change due to aging and repetitive stress in long-term operations. Existing control frameworks and parametric and non-parametric system identification techniques do not consider the aforementioned challenges. Thus, this paper investigates the potential of a data-driven method that, without system identification, directly implements control on paralleled converters using raw data. Based on pre-collected input/output trajectories, a non-parametric representation of the overall circuit is produced for implementing predictive control. While approaching equal current sharing within the MFCS, the proposed method considers the minimization of load-following error and mitigation of circulating current between the converters. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.
MRAC with Memory for Switched Linear Systems
Authors: Pritesh Patel, Sayan Basu Roy, Shubhendu Bhasin
Date: 2023-01-28 00:00:00
Tasks: parameter estimation

This work proposes a switched model reference adaptive control (S-MRAC) architecture for a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) switched linear system with memory for enhanced learning. A salient feature of the proposed method that separates it from most previous results is the use of memory that store the estimator states at switching and facilitate parameter learning during both active and inactive phases of a subsystem, thereby improving the tracking performance of the overall switched system. Specifically, the learning experience from the previous active duration of a subsystem is retained in the memory and reused when the subsystem is inactive and when the subsystem becomes active again. Parameter convergence is shown based on an intermittent initial excitation (IIE), which is significantly relaxed than the classical persistence of excitation (PE) condition. A common Lyapunov function is considered to ensure closed-loop stability with S-MRAC. Further under IIE, the exponential stability of tracking and parameter estimation error dynamics are guaranteed.
Path Loss Analysis for Low-Altitude Air-to-Air Millimeter-Wave Channel in Built-Up Area
Authors: Zhuangzhuang Cui, Abdul Saboor, Achiel Colpaert, Sofie Pollin
Date: 2023-01-28 00:00:00

Communications between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) play an important role in deploying aerial networks. Although some studies reveal that drone-based air-to-air (A2A) channels are relatively clear and thus can be modeled as free-space propagation, such an assumption may not be applicable to drones flying in low altitudes of built-up environments. In practice, low-altitude A2A channel modeling becomes more challenging in urban scenarios since buildings can obstruct the line-of-sight (LOS) path, and multipaths from buildings lead to additional losses. Therefore, we herein focus on modeling low-altitude A2A channels considering a generic urban deployment, where we introduce the evidence of the small-size first Fresnel zone at the millimeter-wave (mmWave) band to approximately derive the LOS probability. Then, the path loss under different propagation conditions is investigated to obtain an integrated path loss model. In addition, we incorporate the impact of imperfect beam alignment on the path loss, where the relation between path loss fluctuation and beam misalignment level is modeled as an exponential form. Finally, comparisons with the 3GPP model show the effectiveness of the proposed analytical model. Numerical simulations in different environments and heights provide practical deployment guidance for aerial networks.
The Domain of Attraction of the Desired Path in Vector-field Guided Path Following
Authors: Weijia Yao, Bohuan Lin, Brian D. O. Anderson, Ming Cao
Date: 2023-01-28 00:00:00

In the vector-field guided path-following problem, a sufficiently smooth vector field is designed such that its integral curves converge to and move along a one-dimensional geometric desired path. The existence of singular points where the vector field vanishes creates a topological obstruction to global convergence to the desired path and some associated topological analysis has been conducted in our previous work. In this paper, we strengthen the result in our previous work by showing that the domain of attraction of the desired path, which is a compact asymptotically stable one-dimensional embedded submanifold of an $n$-dimensional ambient manifold $\mathcal{M}$, is homeomorphic to $\mathbb{R}^{n-1} \times \mathbb{S}^1$, and not just homotopy equivalent to $\mathbb{S}^1$. This result is extended for a $k$-dimensional compact manifold for $k \ge 2$.
Hybrid Cognition for Target Tracking in Cognitive Radar Networks
Authors: William W. Howard, R. Michael Buehrer
Date: 2023-01-28 00:00:00
Tasks: channel selection

This work investigates online learning techniques for a cognitive radar network utilizing feedback from a central coordinator. The available spectrum is divided into channels, and each radar node must transmit in one channel per time step. The network attempts to optimize radar tracking accuracy by learning the optimal channel selection for spectrum sharing and radar performance. We define optimal selection for such a network in relation to the radar observation quality obtainable in a given channel. This is a difficult problem since the network must seek the optimal assignment from nodes to channels, rather than just seek the best overall channel. Since the presence of primary users appears as interference, the approach also improves spectrum sharing performance. In other words, maximizing radar performance also minimizes interference to primary users. Each node is able to learn the quality of several available channels through repeated sensing. We define hybrid cognition as the condition where both the independent radar nodes as well as the central coordinator are modeled as cognitive agents, with restrictions on the amount of information that can be exchanged between the radars and the coordinator. Importantly, each part of the network acts as an online learner, observing the environment to inform future actions. We show that in interference-limited spectrum, where the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio varies by channel and over time for a target with fixed radar cross section, a cognitive radar network is able to use information from the central coordinator in order to reduce the amount of time necessary to learn the optimal channel selection. We also show that even limited use of a central coordinator can eliminate collisions, which occur when two nodes select the same channel.
Decentralized Energy Market Integrating Carbon Allowance Trade and Uncertainty Balance in Energy Communities
Authors: Yuanxi Wu, Zhi Wu, Wei Gu, Zheng Xu, Shu Zheng, Qirun Sun
Date: 2023-01-28 00:00:00
Tasks: energy trading

With the sustained attention on carbon neutrality, the personal carbon trading (PCT) scheme has been embraced as an auspicious paradigm for scaling down carbon emissions. To facilitate the simultaneous clearance of energy and carbon allowance inside the energy community while hedging against uncertainty, a joint trading framework is proposed in this article. The energy trading is implemented in a peer-to-peer (P2P) manner without the intervention of a central operator, and the uncertainty trading is materialized through procuring reserve of conventional generators and flexibility of users. Under the PCT scheme, carbon allowance is transacted via a sharing mechanism. Possible excessive carbon emissions due to uncertainty balance are tackled by obliging renewable agents to procure sufficient carbon allowances, following the consumption responsibility principle. A two-stage iterative method consisting of tightening McCormick envelope and alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is devised to transform the model into a mixed-integer second-order cone program (MISOCP) and to allow for a fully decentralized market-clearing procedure. Numerical results have validated the effectiveness of the proposed market model.
Optimization and scheduling for a large scale urban transportation system in a fast-changing world
Authors: Yi Zhang
Date: 2023-01-28 00:00:00
Tasks: Model Predictive Control, Scheduling

This paper proposes a set of technological solutions to transform existing transport systems into more intelligent, interactive systems by utilizing optimization and control methods that can be implemented in the near future. This will result in improved public services and quality of life for residents. Three application scenes that are closely related to people's daily life are discussed. We first propose a traffic light scheduling strategy using a model predictive control (MPC) method, with the aim of fairly minimizing delays for both pedestrians and vehicles. Then, a combined dispatching-operation system is proposed to increase control flexibility, with a corresponding implementation solution for boarding control. Finally, a possible scheme to combine both public transport and autonomous vehicle systems is proposed to improve existing public transport systems.
Physics-guided Residual Learning for Probabilistic Power Flow Analysis
Authors: Kejun Chen, Yu Zhang
Date: 2023-01-28 00:00:00

Probabilistic power flow (PPF) analysis is critical to power system operation and planning. PPF aims at obtaining probabilistic descriptions of the state of the system with stochastic power injections (e.g., renewable power generation and load demands). Given power injection samples, numerical methods repeatedly run classic power flow (PF) solvers to find the voltage phasors. However, the computational burden is heavy due to many PF simulations. Recently, many data-driven based PF solvers have been proposed due to the availability of sufficient measurements. This paper proposes a novel neural network (NN) framework which can accurately approximate the non-linear AC-PF equations. The trained NN works as a rapid PF solver, significantly reducing the heavy computational burden in classic PPF analysis. Inspired by residual learning, we develop a fully connected linear layer between the input and output in the multilayer perceptron (MLP). To improve the NN training convergence, we propose three schemes to initialize the NN weights of the shortcut connection layer based on the physical characteristics of AC-PF equations. Specifically, two model-based methods require the knowledge of system topology and line parameters, while the purely data-driven method can work without power grid parameters. Numerical tests on five benchmark systems show that our proposed approaches achieve higher accuracy in estimating voltage phasors than existing methods. In addition, three meticulously designed initialization schemes help the NN training process converge faster, which is appealing under limited training time.
Parsimonious System Identification from Fragmented Quantized Measurements
Authors: Omar M. Sleem, Constantino M. Lagoa
Date: 2023-01-28 00:00:00
Tasks: Quantization

Quantization is the process of mapping an input signal from an infinite continuous set to a countable set with a finite number of elements. It is a non-linear irreversible process, which makes the traditional methods of system identification no longer applicable. In this work, we propose a method for parsimonious linear time invariant system identification when only quantized observations, discerned from noisy data, are available. More formally, given a priori information on the system, represented by a compact set containing the poles of the system, and quantized realizations, our algorithm aims at identifying the least order system that is compatible with the available information. The proposed approach takes also into account that the available data can be subject to fragmentation. Our proposed algorithm relies on an ADMM approach to solve a $\ell_{p},(0<p<1),$ quasi-norm objective problem. Numerical results highlight the performance of the proposed approach when compared to the $\ell_{1}$ minimization in terms of the sparsity of the induced solution.
Vehicle-to-Grid Fleet Service Provision considering Nonlinear Battery Behaviors
Authors: Joshua Jaworski, Ningkun Zheng, Matthias Preindl, Bolun Xu
Date: 2023-01-28 00:00:00
Tasks: Management

The surging adoption of electric vehicles (EV) calls for accurate and efficient approaches to coordinate with the power grid operation. By being responsive to distribution grid limits and time-varying electricity prices, EV charging stations can minimize their charging costs while aiding grid operation simultaneously. In this study, we investigate the economic benefit of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) using real-time price data from New York State and a real-world charging network dataset. We incorporate nonlinear battery models and price uncertainty into the V2G management design to provide a realistic estimation of cost savings from different V2G options. The proposed control method is computationally tractable when scaling up to real-world applications. We show that our proposed algorithm leads to an average of 35% charging cost savings compared to uncontrolled charging when considering unidirectional charging, and bi-directional V2G enables additional 18% cost savings compared to unidirectional smart charging. Our result also shows the importance of using more accurate nonlinear battery models in V2G controllers and evaluating the cost of price uncertainties over V2G.
Dual Control of Exploration and Exploitation for Auto-Optimisation Control with Active Learning
Authors: Zhongguo Li, Wen-Hua Chen, Jun Yang, Yunda Yan
Date: 2023-01-27 00:00:00
Tasks: Active Learning, Point Tracking

The quest for optimal operation in environments with unknowns and uncertainties is highly desirable but critically challenging across numerous fields. This paper develops a dual control framework for exploration and exploitation (DCEE) to solve an auto-optimisation problem in such complex settings. In general, there is a fundamental conflict between tracking an unknown optimal operational condition and parameter identification. The DCEE framework stands out by eliminating the need for additional perturbation signals, a common requirement in existing adaptive control methods. Instead, it inherently incorporates an exploration mechanism, actively probing the uncertain environment to diminish belief uncertainty. An ensemble based multi-estimator approach is developed to learn the environmental parameters and in the meanwhile quantify the estimation uncertainty in real time. The control action is devised with dual effects, which not only minimises the tracking error between the current state and the believed unknown optimal operational condition but also reduces belief uncertainty by proactively exploring the environment. Formal properties of the proposed DCEE framework like convergence are established. A numerical example is used to validate the effectiveness of the proposed DCEE. Simulation results for maximum power point tracking are provided to further demonstrate the potential of this new framework in real world applications.
Oscillating behavior of a compartmental model with retarded noisy dynamic infection rate
Authors: Michael Bestehorn, Thomas M. Michelitsch
Date: 2023-01-29 00:00:00

Our study is based on an epidemiological compartmental model, the SIRS model. In the SIRS model, each individual is in one of the states susceptible (S), infected(I) or recovered (R), depending on its state of health. In compartment R, an individual is assumed to stay immune within a finite time interval only and then transfers back to the S compartment. We extend the model and allow for a feedback control of the infection rate by mitigation measures which are related to the number of infections. A finite response time of the feedback mechanism is supposed that changes the low-dimensional SIRS model into an infinite-dimensional set of integro-differential (delay-differential) equations. It turns out that the retarded feedback renders the originally stable endemic equilibrium of SIRS (stable focus) into an unstable focus if the delay exceeds a certain critical value. Nonlinear solutions show persistent regular oscillations of the number of infected and susceptible individuals. In the last part we include noise effects from the environment and allow for a fluctuating infection rate. This results in multiplicative noise terms and our model turns into a set of stochastic nonlinear integro-differential equations. Numerical solutions reveal an irregular behavior of repeated disease outbreaks in the form of infection waves with a variety of frequencies and amplitudes.
Using uncertainty-aware machine learning models to study aerosol-cloud interactions
Authors: Maëlys Solal, Andrew Jesson, Yarin Gal, Alyson Douglas
Date: 2022-11-30 00:00:00

Aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI) include various effects that result from aerosols entering a cloud, and affecting cloud properties. In general, an increase in aerosol concentration results in smaller droplet sizes which leads to larger, brighter, longer-lasting clouds that reflect more sunlight and cool the Earth. The strength of the effect is however heterogeneous, meaning it depends on the surrounding environment, making ACI one of the most uncertain effects in our current climate models. In our work, we use causal machine learning to estimate ACI from satellite observations by reframing the problem as a treatment (aerosol) and outcome (change in droplet radius). We predict the causal effect of aerosol on clouds with uncertainty bounds depending on the unknown factors that may be influencing the impact of aerosol. Of the three climate models evaluated, we find that only one plausibly recreates the trend, lending more credence to its estimate cooling due to ACI.
At the crossroads of epidemiology and biology: bridging the gap between SARS-CoV-2 viral strain properties and epidemic wave characteristics
Authors: Florian Poydenot, Alice Lebreton, Jacques Haiech, Bruno Andreotti
Date: 2023-01-30 00:00:00
Tasks: Articles, Epidemiology, Virology

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to numerous articles from different scientific fields (epidemiology, virology, immunology, airflow physics...) without any effort to link these different insights. In this review, we aim to establish relationships between epidemiological data and the characteristics of the virus strain responsible for the epidemic wave concerned. We have carried out this study on the Wuhan, Alpha, Delta and Omicron strains allowing us to illustrate the evolution of the relationships we have highlighted according to these different viral strains. We addressed the following questions: 1) How can the mean infectious dose (one quantum, by definition in epidemiology) be measured and expressed as an amount of viral RNA molecules (in genome units, GU) or as a number of replicative viral particles (in plaque-forming units, PFU)? 2) How many infectious quanta are exhaled by an infected person per unit of time? 3) How many infectious quanta are exhaled, on average, integrated over the whole contagious period? 4) How do these quantities relate to the epidemic reproduction rate R as measured in epidemiology, and to the viral load, as measured by molecular biological methods? 5) How has the infectious dose evolved with the different strains of SARS-CoV-2? We make use of state-of-the-art modelling, reviewed and explained in the appendix of the article (Supplemental Information, SI), to answer these questions using data from the literature in both epidemiology and virology. We have considered the modification of these relationships according to the vaccination status of the population. We hope that this work will allow a better integration of data from different fields (virology, epidemiology, and immunology) to anticipate the evolution of the epidemic in the case of COVID-19, but also in respiratory pathologies transmissible in an airborne manner.
Multiscale modelling of heavy metals adsorption on algal-bacterial photogranules
Authors: F. Russo, A. Tenore, M. R. Mattei, L. Frunzo
Date: 2023-01-28 00:00:00

A multiscale mathematical model describing the genesis and ecology of algal-bacterial photogranules and the metals biosorption on their solid matrix within a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) is presented. The granular biofilm is modelled as a spherical free boundary domain with radial symmetry and a vanishing initial value. The free boundary evolution is governed by an ODE accounting for microbial growth, attachment and detachment phenomena. The model is based on systems of PDEs derived from mass conservation principles. Specifically, two systems of nonlinear hyperbolic PDEs model the growth of attached species and the dynamics of free adsorption sites; and two systems of quasi-linear parabolic PDEs govern the diffusive transport and conversion of nutrients and metals. The model is completed with systems of impulsive ordinary differential equations (IDEs) describing the evolution of dissolved substrates, metals, and planktonic and detached biomasses within the granular-based SBR. All main phenomena involved in the process are considered in the mathematical model. Moreover, the dual effect of metal presence on the formation process of photogranules is accounted: metal stimulates the production of EPS by sessile species and negatively affects the metabolic activities of microbial species. To describe the effects related to metal presence, a stimulation term for EPS production and an inhibition term for metal are included in all microbial kinetics. The model is used to examine the role of the microbial species and EPS in the adsorption process, and the effect of metal concentration and adsorption proprieties of biofilm components on the metal removal. Numerical results show that the model accurately describes the photogranules evolution and ecology and confirm the applicability of algal-bacterial photogranules systems for metal-rich wastewater treatment.