Flutter control for a fluid conveying beam using LQR method

Tanmay Mathur, Kyle Reigh and Manda Yang

Pennsylvania State University,
State College, PA



AbstractStability analysis of a fluid conveying beam with
pinned ends is done and a control law using LQR method has been
suggested in this paper. Domain discretization for the beam is done
using assumed modes method and thereafter, a state space model is
obtained to describe the system dynamics. Critical velocity of the
fluid at which the system becomes unstable has been found and
feedback gain matrix is then found using LQR approach.
KeywordsFluid conveying beams, Assumed modes, LQR

I. INTRODUCTION

The research on pipe conveying fluid is abundant because of
the existence of critical velocity. When the pipe conveys fluid
in low speed, disturbance applied to the pipe will decay over
time. When the speed is higher than critical velocity, a small
disturbance can make the system unstable. This analysis is
important because pipe conveying fluid is a common
mechanical part in many systems, including piping system and
nuclear reactor components, where large disturbance exists. In
this paper the stability and control of pipe with flexible
supports on both ends will be discussed.

Since the system is continuous with respect to both velocity
and displacement, we need to discretize the system first.
Methods available in literature include Galerkin method, finite
element method transfer matrix method [1] and generalized
differential quadrature method [2]. In this paper we use yet
another domain discretization technique called assumed
modes method.

Discretized systems dynamic behavior can be described using
finite number of element, which is essential in the design of
controller. Y. H. Lin [3] uses optimal independent model
space control technique to stabilize the tube. Y.K Tsai [4]
applies model reference adaptive control, which is more
robust than uses optimal independent model space control in
terms of flow speed variations, and can tolerate more flow
speed uncertainties. In the follow up work, Y.H.Lin [5] uses
successive co-ordinate transformations so that the solution of
linear differential equations can be used in the design of
controller for non-linear system. By minimizing an objective
function at each time constant, they developed an
instantaneous optimal closed loop control method. This
approach works when the system has random base excitations.
The same author [6] also develops active modal control
technique when analyzing system with fluid velocity
exceeding critical velocity since systems eigenvalues have
both real roots and complex ones, which requires a different
approach with that in previous literature.
In this paper, we control the system at critical speed using
linear quadratic regulator (LQR) approach. By tuning the
weight matrices, we can get an optimal controller in terms of
amplitude of oscillation and the speed of stabilizing. The
influence of each coefficient in weight matrices on the
behavior of the close loop system is also analyzed.

II. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

Fig (1) shows a schematic of a pinned-pinned beam with a
mass per unit length , flexural rigidity EI, and length L,
conveying a fluid of mass per unit length
f

at a velocity

v.
The beam vibration from equilibrium position is given by
w(x,t); where x is the coordinate along length of the beam.






Fig (1): Schematic of beam conveying fluid with pinned ends
The expressions for kinetic energy, potential energy and the
field equation can be written as:
T=

{ (
)

} {

(
)

}

V =

{ (

}

Field Equation:

Boundary Conditions:

f
, v
, EI, L
w(t,x)

f
, v

)

III. DOMAIN DICRETIZATION- ASSUMED MODES METHOD

Assumed modes method is a powerful domain discretization
technique very similar to finite element method wherein, the
net displacement as a function of x and t is approximated as
multiplication of a shape function with the state at a given
point in time.
Any continuous structure will have an infinite number of
modes. In this method we approximate this as a system with a
finite number of modes (n) and the displacement w can be
separated into a function of time and x:
) )

Where,
W
r
(x) is the r
th
shape function that satisfies the geometric
boundary conditions mentioned above and q(t) is the
displacement at time t. Thus,

)
The Hamiltonian principle states that:
)

Where, VW stands for virtual work of the system and is given
by force times displacement/moment times angle.
When the expressions for ) are plugged in this
equation the following equation of motion is obtained:

Where,
(

is Shape functions/derivative of shape functions at points
of inputs depending on a force or moment as input (u)
The system becomes unstable when the matrix [K] is no
longer positive definite. The value of v at which this transition
takes place is called the critical velocity of the fluid flowing
inside the tube.
At lower velocities the coriolis term provides a damping that
gives the system stability. As velocity increases the centrifugal
term dominates the coriolis term and the system becomes
unstable.
To check the validity of this method [M] and [K] matrices
obtained by taking n=3 were used to find the mode shapes of
the non-dimensionalized system.
Fig (2) illustrates the first three mode shapes of the system.
The first two mode shapes are accurate and similar to results
from solving analytical equation of motion. The third mode is
shows some deviation from analytical results.
Fig (2): First three modes of the system


IV. STATE-SPACE REALIZATION AND STABILITY ANALYSIS

From the equation of motion obtained before a state space
model for the system can be obtained.

States: )

Inputs: Moments/ Forces at specified locations.
The number of inputs is the same as the number of
assumed modes for reasons discussed later.

Output: The displacement at the center of beam

State Matrices:

[


]

=[

Where, the subscript ss stands for state-space
S is matrix of shape functions/ derivative of shape functions at
the point of application of forces/moments;
W
d
is the matrix of shape functions at the center of the beam

Stability: As long as the eigen-values of the matrix [A] all
have negative real parts the system is stable. At some velocity
this will no longer hold true and that would be the critical
velocity. Fig (3) shows this transition for a mass ratio (
f
/) =
1. The critical velocity is approximately 3.2 m/s.
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
-1
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
x/L
W
(
x
)
First three Mode Shapes

Fig (3): Transition from stable to unstable

V. OBSERVABILITY AND CONTROLLABILITY

Before the system can be successfully controlled,
controllability and observability must be guaranteed. This can
be done by verifying the test matrices for each of these
conditions are full row rank.

Using the control input of a moment applied at a particular
location on the beam, the necessary number of inputs and their
locations to guarantee controllability can be found. It has been
found that these factors are dependent on the number of modes
assumed, and thus the number state variables. In general, one
moment input is not capable of controlling the motion of
multiple mode shapes. For a number of modes less than four,
it was found that the test matrix achieves full rank as long as
the number of inputs is at least equal to the number of
assumed modes. However, the test matrix became rank
deficient when the number of modes exceeded 4. Attempts to
increase the number of inputs above the number of modes
were met with mixed success, often remaining uncontrollable.
Varying the locations of these forces did not aid in correcting
this either.

For this reason, rest of the analysis has been done with three
assumed modes, and thus three control inputs.

The impact of measurement of the output on the observability
of the system was then observed. The output in this system is
the total displacement of a given point, which is the linear
combination of the displacement state variables governed by
the shape function of each mode at that point.

The test matrix became rank deficient as the number of modes
was increased and the number of outputs was kept constant.

However, for a number of modes assumed to be three, we only
need a single output to ensure observability.
VI. CONTROLLER DESIGN

Now that observability and controllability are guaranteed for
three assumed modes, a controller can be designed that
stabilizes the unstable system at critical velocity.

To do this, an objective function is generated that needs to be
minimized while keeping the original state equations as a
constraint. The cost function used is:

Fig (4): Closed-Loop system

This linear quadratic regulator problem balances the
performance of the system with the limiting of energy
expenditures based on the selected weighting matrices [Q] and
[R]. The weighting matrices used as follows:

[

The Q-matrix is a 6x6 diagonal where the first three terms
correspond to the displacement states of the system, while the
last three represent the weights on the velocity states. The first
term is a 3x3 identity matrix that imposes a penalty on
displacement.

The velocity terms are weighted more heavily because their
impact on the performance of the system is much more
significant and a low velocity is crucial to a good design for
the system. Each velocity term is equally weighted in this
case, though particular modes could be adjusted as necessary.
The R-matrix is developed similarly in that it is a constant
diagonal matrix. The constant in this case represents how
much importance is given to minimizing the energy utilized
by the control inputs.

This minimization problem can be solved using the known
Algebraic Ricatti Equation:

1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
Velocity of the fluid
m
a
x

r
e
a
l

p
a
r
t

o
f

A

m
a
t
r
i
x

e
i
g
e
n

V
a
l
u
e
s
transformation from stable to unstable at mass ratio=1
This equation can be solved for the matrix S, which gives an
expression for our optimized control input:

)

)

This results in a closed-loop system that resembles:

)

)

By varying the constants c
1
and c
2
the matrices [Q] and [R]
can be designed to produce a stable system that has what is
considered a satisfactory performance.

VII. RESULTS

Critical speed variation with mass ratio

Changing the system parameters like fluid density, rigidity etc.
can significantly change the point at which instability is
introduced in the system.

Fig (5): Effect of increasing fluid density on critical speed

Fig (5) shows that the critical velocity decreases with an
increase in the density of the fluid. This matches with the
expected result of increasing inertia in the fluid resulting in
lower critical speed.

Unstable system response

The response of the unstable system operating at critical speed
was plotted for impulse input and an initial displacement
condition in Fig (6a) and (6b) respectively.

Response with LQR implemented

The response of the system stabilized using LQR was plotted
for different weighting matrices [Q] and [R].

The performance of the controller, and thus the closed loop
system, varies significantly based on the selected weighting


Fig (6-a): Impulse response of the center point of beam


Fig (6-b): Response to a non-zero initial condition

The performance of the controller, and thus the closed loop
system, varies significantly based on the selected weighting
matrices in the cost minimization function. The values of these
matrices directly magnify the magnitude of the state or input
associated with them. This means that increasing individual
values has the effect of making it more important for the
associated state or input to be close to zero.

The effects of varying the weight assigned to the velocity
states in the objective function were studied. These terms are
scaled by a factor of c
1
in the description of the Q-matrix. An
increase in this value corresponds with an increased strictness
on the state of all three modes, as can be seen in Fig (7a). This
graph represents the systems response to an initial
displacement.

1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8
2
2.2
2.4
2.6
2.8
3
3.2
mass ratio of fluid to beam
C
r
i
t
i
c
a
l

S
p
e
e
d
Critical Speed Variation with Mass Ratios
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Response of centre point to an impulse at critical speed
time
d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

o
f

c
e
n
t
e
r
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
0
5
10
15
20
25
Beam flutter due to an initial disturbance from center
time
d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

o
f

c
e
n
t
e
r

Fig (7-a): Effect of varying the velocity cost on system performance

Here, with c
1
at 1 or 2, the system is relatively unchanged,
though it is now stable where before it was not. However,
once c
1
increases to 3, the performance changes significantly.
The displacement decays at a much faster rate, and high
frequency oscillations are significantly diminished. This
marked jump in response between these values can be
attributed to the fact that the term is squared in the definition
of [Q].

It must be noted that this increase in response comes at the
cost of input energy. In this particular case, however, a slight
increase in energy consumption is not a concern as much as
the damage that oscillations can do to the pipe in question.

If the magnitude of the input was of significant concern, the
effects of adjusting the R-matrix have also been studied. This
is represented by c
2
in the definition of the matrix [R]. An
increase in this value can be seen as a desire to keep all the
inputs as low as possible while still retaining stability as
described by fig (8-a).

Here, the system displacement decays at a similar rate and is
governed more by the Q-matrix. A slight difference can be
noted in the three paths can be seen in the oscillations about
this decay. This feature is magnified by separating the
oscillations from the rest of the response, as can be seen in fig
(8-b). This was done using a high-pass filter.

Increasing the value of c
2
results in significantly high
frequency oscillations. This matches with expectations, as
these larger amplitudes are indicative of a decrease in control
input.

VIII. CONCLUSION

The stability of a fluid conveying beam with pinned ends
system was analyzed. Effect of mass ratio of fluid to beam on
critical speed is discussed. The result shows that as the mass
ratio increases, the critical speed decreases.



Fig (8-a): Effect of varying the input cost on system performance


Fig (8-b): Effect of varying input cost on high frequency oscillations

was discretized into spatial part and temporal part with a finite
number of modes. It was found that the number of modes has
an influence on observability and controllability. When the
number of assumed modes exceeds 4, it was difficult to
maintain observability even if the number of outputs is
increased. The same doesnt hold for controllability as long as
the actuators are placed correctly across the beam length.

The linear quadratic regular (LQR) method was then used to
control the unstable system. States are divided in two
categories, displacements and velocities. By varying the
weight in weighting matrices on them, different controllers
can be obtained. As the weight on velocity increases, more
importance is attached to tracking; which results in a more
aggressive controller, which is confirmed by the result that
states decay faster. Putting more weight on input doesnt
change decay rate a lot; it has an effect on amplitude of
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
time
d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

o
f

c
e
n
t
e
r
Beam displacement with different weights for Q matrix-(LQR Controlled)


c1=3
c1=2
c1=1
0 0.5 1 1.5
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
time
d
i
s
p
l
a
c
e
m
e
n
t

o
f

c
e
n
t
e
r
Beam displacement with different weights for R matrix-(LQR Controlled)


c2=1
c2=3
c2=5
oscillation, which shows more clearly after subtracting the
average component using high-pass filter.











REFERENCES

[1] Yu, D., et al., Dynamic Stability of Periodic Pipes Conveying Fluid.
Journal of Applied Mechanics, 2013. 81: p. 011008.
[2] Tornabene, F., et al., Critical Flow Speeds of Pipes Conveying Fluid
Using the Generalized Differential Quadrature Method. m-hikari.com,
2010. 3: p. 121-138.
[3] Lin, Y.-H. and C.-L. Chu, ACTIVE FLUTTER CONTROL OF A
CANTILEVER TUBE CONVEYING FLUID USING
PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATORS. Journal of Sound and Vibration,
1996. 196: p. 97-105.
[4] Tsai, Y. and Y. Lin, Adaptive modal vibration control of a fluid-
conveying cantilever pipe. Journal of fluids and structures, 1997: p. 535-
547.
[5] Lin, Y. and Y. Tsai, Non-linear active vibration control of a cantilever
pipe conveying fluid. Journal of sound and vibration, 1997. 202: p. 477-
490.
[6] Lin, Y.-H., R.-C. Huang, and C.-L. Chu, Optimal modal vibration
suppression of a fluid-conveying pipe with a divergent mode. Journal of
Sound and Vibration, 2004. 271: p. 577-597.





































CODE APPENDIX

clc;
close all;
clear all;

% ME 555 FINAL PROJECT %
% TEAM CENTURIONS %

colormatrix=['r' 'g' 'b'];
Nmax = 3;
syms x
M = zeros(Nmax,Nmax); K = zeros(Nmax,Nmax); C=zeros(Nmax,Nmax);

eA=[]; % stores the maximum of the real part of A
Vt=[]; % temporary matrix for storing v>Vcr 1st element of Vt gives Vcr
Vcr=[];% stores critical velocities for varying parameters
vf=1:.1:3.5;
rho=1; %mass per unit length of beam
rhof=1; %mass per unit length of fluid
VarRange=1:.2:3; %Range of variable to be varied (rho, EI, rhof)
EI=1; %flexural rigidity of beam


for v = vf
for r = 1:Nmax
for s = 1:Nmax
rs=r+s;
M(r,s) = -(rhof+rho)*(int((x^rs)*(1-x)*(1-x),0,1));

K(r,s)= -EI*int( r*s*x^(r+s-4.0)*(-r+x+r*x+1.0)*(-s+x+s*x+1.0),0,1)+rhof*(v^2)*int(x^(r+s-2.0)*(-r+x+r*x)*(-
s+x+s*x),0,1);

C(r,s)= 2*rhof*v*int(x^(r+s-1.0)*(x-1.0)*(-s+x+s*x),0,1);
end
% We need the number of actuators = number of assumed modes
% We need moments that are equidistant from eachother and the ends -->
% location of actuators are at Arithmetic Means
L(r,1)=(r)*1/(Nmax+1);

% Shape Functions for Moments at Location L
for i1=1:Nmax
SM(i1,r)=(-1)^i1*L(r)^(i1 - 1)*(L(r) - i1 + i1*L(r));
end
% Point of interest
Ldesired=.5*1; %where 1 is length of pipe

Sw(1,r)= Ldesired^r*(1-Ldesired);
end

At=[zeros(Nmax,Nmax),eye(Nmax);
-M\K, -M\C];
eA=[eA;max(real(eig(At)))];

if max(real(eig(At)))>0.001
Vcr=v
break
end
end

A=[zeros(Nmax,Nmax),eye(Nmax);
-M\K, -M\C];
B = [zeros(Nmax,Nmax); M\(.01*SM)];
Cs = [Sw, zeros(1,Nmax) ];
D = zeros(1,Nmax);
ModalSYS = ss(A,B,Cs,D);

%Mode Shapes

[V,D]=eig(M\K);
l=0:.01:1;
k=1;
figure(1)
Mode=zeros(length(l),Nmax);
for x=l
for r=1:Nmax
Mode(k,r)=x^r*(1-x);
end
k =k+1;
end

for n=1:Nmax
plot(l,Mode*V(:,n)/max(abs(Mode*V(:,n))),colormatrix(n),'LineWidth',2);
hold on;
end
xlabel('x/L');
ylabel('W(x)');
title('First three Mode Shapes');

% Initial and impulse response(ModalSYS) for uncontrolled system
x01 = [ones(1,2*Nmax)];

t=0:.01:10;
y1=initial(ModalSYS,x01);
y2=impulse(ModalSYS,t);

figure(2)

plot(t,y2(:,1,1),'r','LineWidth',3);
title('Response of centre point to an impulse at critical speed');
xlabel('time');
ylabel('displacement of center');

figure(3)

plot(t(1:length(y1)/10),y1((1:length(y1)/10)),'g','LineWidth',3);
title('Beam flutter due to an initial disturbance from center');
xlabel('time');
ylabel('displacement of center');


% Implement LQR control %
% Variation with weighting constant in Q matrix %
figure(4)
c2=2;

for c1=1:1:3;

Q=[eye(Nmax),zeros(Nmax,Nmax);zeros(Nmax,Nmax), c1^2.*eye(Nmax)];
R=[c2.*eye(Nmax)];
[K2,S,e]= lqr(A,B,Q,R);
Anew= A-(B*K2);
x0 = [ones(1,2*Nmax)];

sys = ss(Anew,[],Cs,[]);
y3=initial(sys,x0);

plot(t(1:length(y3)),y3,colormatrix(c1),'LineWidth',2);
hold on;

end
legend('c1=3','c1=2','c1=1');
title('Beam displacement with different weights for Q matrix-(LQR Controlled)');
xlabel('time');

ylabel('displacement of center');









% Variation with weighting constant in R matrix %
figure(5)
c1=1;
k=0;
for c2=1:2:5;
k=k+1;
Q=[eye(Nmax),zeros(Nmax,Nmax);zeros(Nmax,Nmax), c1^2.*eye(Nmax)];
R=[c2.*eye(Nmax)];
[K2,S,e]= lqr(A,B,Q,R);
Anew= A-(B*K2);
x0 = [ones(1,2*Nmax)];

sys = ss(Anew,[],Cs,[]);
y3=initial(sys,x0);

plot(t(1:length(y3)),y3,colormatrix(k),'LineWidth',2);
hold on;

end
legend('c2=1','c2=3','c2=5');
title('Beam displacement with different weights for R matrix-(LQR Controlled)');
xlabel('time');

ylabel('displacement of center');