An expert systems approach to computer-aided design of multivariable systems (Q580252)

Today's expert and knowledge-based systems receive increasing attention from organizations and are being successfully applied in a growing number of areas. Because no generally applicable method exists, experience of the knowledge engineer and quality of the tools are important factors in building knowledge systems. The work presented in this book is concerned with the investigation of expert system techniques for the design of linear multivariable feedback control systems. The book is divided into nine chapters. In chapter 1 a brief discussion is given about the interactive design process and analytical, procedural and experimental modes of design. Chapter 2 gives a summary of some previous work about the use of expert systems for designing control systems. Any graph generated by the computer and presented to the designer, indicating some aspects of the system behaviour, is termed an indicator. The indicators required to assess the three key aspects of the feedback design problem - stability, performance and robustness - are discussed in chapter 3. In chapter 4, a complete set of primary and secondary indicators, which can be used for interactive design, is described. Chapter 5-7 deal with a systematic approach to three design techniques which represent three hierarchically organized design levels. The design problems are divided into three separate frequency regions: high, intermediate and low frequency regions. The approach is based on a systematic manipulation of a set of gains and phases associated with an open-loop transfer function matrix. In chapter 8, an expert system using the systematic design approach is developed and a modular knowledge base is elaborated upon. Finally, chapter 9 contains some conclusions about the work done and some suggestions for future work.