Recently, formation flying of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) found numerous applications in various areas such as surveillance, industrial automation and disaster management. The accuracy and reliability for performing group tasks by multiple UAVs is highly dependent on the applied control strategy. The formation and trajectories of multiple UAVs are governed by two separate controllers, namely formation and trajectory tracking controllers respectively. In presence of environmental effects, disturbances due to wind and parametric uncertainties, the controller design process is a challenging task. This article proposes a robust adaptive formation and trajectory tacking control of multiple quad-rotor UAVs using super twisting sliding mode control method. In the proposed design, Lyapunov function-based adaptive disturbance estimators are used to compensate for the effects of external disturbances and parametric uncertainties. The stability of the proposed controllers is guaranteed using Lyapunov theorems. Two variants of the control schemes, namely fixed gain super twisting SMC (STSMC) and adaptive super twisting SMC (ASTSMC) are tested using numerical simulations performed in MATLAB/Simulink. From the results presented, it is verified that in presence of disturbances, the proposed ASTSMC controller exhibits enhanced robustness as compared to the fixed gain STSMC.

Vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) are a source of renewable energy and are used for both industrial and domestic purposes. The study of noise characteristics of a VAWT is an important performance parameter for the turbine. This study focuses on the development of a linear microphone array and measuring acoustic signals on a cambered five-bladed 45 W VAWT in an anechoic chamber at different tip speed ratios. The sound pressure level spectrum of VAWT shows that tonal noises such as blade passing frequencies dominate at lower frequencies whereas broadband noise corresponds to all audible ranges of frequencies. This study shows that the major portion of noise from the source is dominated by aerodynamic noises generated due to vortex generation and trailing edge serrations. The research also predicts that dynamic stall is evident in the lower Tip speed ratio (TSR) region making smaller TSR values unsuitable for a quiet VAWT. This paper compares the results of linear aeroacoustic array with a 128-MEMS acoustic camera with higher resolution. The study depicts a 3 dB margin between two systems at lower TSR values. The research approves the usage of the 8 mic linear array for small radius rotary machinery considering the results comparison with a NORSONIC camera and its resolution. These observations serve as a basis for noise reduction and blade optimization techniques.

Surface texturing is considered a potential solution for improving the tribological properties of in-contact surfaces. It offers several benefits, including reduction of contact area, enhanced load-bearing capacity, lubricant and debris storage, and governing change between lubrication regimes. In recent advancement in the field, several surface texturing techniques have emerged. Among these methods, laser surface texturing (LST) has garnered considerable interest due to its high flexibility, superior texturing accuracy, and good controllability. This paper reviews the strategies and influential parameters to reduced friction by surface texturing and presents overview of the laser surface texturing mechanism and environment of laser ablation, texture shape, depth, density, lubricants, and factors effecting friction performance. Further the present challenges, applications and prospects are discussed.

Skid-steered vehicles (SSV) are gaining huge importance in the market due to their applications like construction, agricultural work, material handling etc. The accuracy of performing such tasks require a robust control algorithm. The design of such controller is very challenging task due to external disturbances caused by wheel-ground interaction and aerodynamic effects. This paper proposes robust fractional and integral order fuzzy sliding mode controllers (FSMC, FFSMC) for a skid-steered vehicles with varying coefficient of friction and a displaced center of gravity (CG). FFSMC controller reduces the outcome of forces generated as a result of ground tire interaction during skidding and friction variations. The proposed controllers are implemented for a four-wheel SSV under high-speed turning motion. A simulation environment is constructed by implementing the SSV dynamics with wheel-road model and the performance of the proposed algorithms is tested. The simulation test is conducted for a Pioneer-3AT (P-3AT) robot SSV vehicle with displaced CG and variable coefficient of tires friction. Simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed FFSMC algorithm in term of reduced state errors and minimum chattering. The proposed controller compensates the effect of different responses of the wheels generated as a result of variable CG. The chattering phenomenon generated by conventional SMCs is also minimized by fuzzy tuning approach.