This book covers different, current research directions in the context of variational methods for non-linear geometric data. Each chapter is authored by leading experts in the respective discipline and provides an introduction, an overview and a description of the current state of the art. Non-linear geometric data arises in various applications in science and engineering. Examples of nonlinear data spaces are diverse and include, for instance, nonlinear spaces of matrices, spaces of curves, shapes as well as manifolds of probability measures. Applications can be found in biology, medicine, product engineering, geography and computer vision for instance. Variational methods on the other hand have evolved to being amongst the most powerful tools for applied mathematics. They involve techniques from various branches of mathematics such as statistics, modeling, optimization, numerical mathematics and analysis. The vast majority of research on variational methods, however, is focused on data in linear spaces. Variational methods for non-linear data is currently an emerging research topic. As a result, and since such methods involve various branches of mathematics, there is a plethora of different, recent approaches dealing with different aspects of variational methods for nonlinear geometric data. Research results are rather scattered and appear in journals of different mathematical communities. The main purpose of the book is to account for that by providing, for the first time, a comprehensive collection of different research directions and existing approaches in this context. It is organized in a way that leading researchers from the different fields provide an introductory overview of recent research directions in their respective discipline. As such, the book is a unique reference work for both newcomers in the field of variational methods for non-linear geometric data, as well as for established experts that aim at to exploit new research directions or collaborations. Chapter 9 of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.

In this work we derive asymptotically stabilizing control laws for electrical power systems using two nonlinear control synthesis techniques. For this transient stabilization problem the actuator considered is a power electronic device, a controllable series capacitor (CSC). The power system is described using two different nonlinear models - the second order swing equation and the third order flux-decay model. To start with, the CSC is modeled by the injection model which is based on the assumption that the CSC dynamics is very fast as compared to the dynamics of the power system and hence can be approximated by an algebraic equation. Here, by neglecting the CSC dynamics, the input vector $g(x)$ in the open loop system takes a complex form - the injection model. Using this model, interconnection and damping assignment passivity-based control (IDA-PBC) methodology is demonstrated on two power systems: a single machine infinite bus (SMIB) system and a two machine system. Further, IDA-PBC is used to derive stabilizing controllers for power systems, where the CSC dynamics are included as a first order system. Next, we consider a different control methodology, immersion and invariance (I\&I), to synthesize an asymptotically stabilizing control law for the SMIB system with a CSC. The CSC is described by a first order system. As a generalization of I\&I, we incorporate the power balance algebraic constraints in the load bus to the SMIB swing equation, and extend the design philosophy to a class of differential algebraic systems. The proposed result is then demonstrated on another example: a two-machine system with two load buses and a CSC. The controller performances are validated through simulations for all cases.

Block-oriented Nonlinear System Identification deals with an area of research that has been very active since the turn of the millennium. The book makes a pedagogical and cohesive presentation of the methods developed in that time. These include: iterative and over-parameterization techniques; stochastic and frequency approaches; support-vector-machine, subspace, and separable-least-squares methods; blind identification method; bounded-error method; and decoupling inputs approach. The identification methods are presented by authors who have either invented them or contributed significantly to their development. All the important issues e.g., input design, persistent excitation, and consistency analysis, are discussed. The practical relevance of block-oriented models is illustrated through biomedical/physiological system modelling. The book will be of major interest to all those who are concerned with nonlinear system identification whatever their activity areas. This is particularly the case for educators in electrical, mechanical, chemical and biomedical engineering and for practising engineers in process, aeronautic, aerospace, robotics and vehicles control. Block-oriented Nonlinear System Identification serves as a reference for active researchers, new comers, industrial and education practitioners and graduate students alike.

To understand plasma physics intuitively one need to master the MHD behaviors. As sciences advance, gap between published textbooks and cutting-edge researches gradually develops. Connection from textbook knowledge to up-to-dated research results can often be tough. Review articles can help. This book contains eight topical review papers on MHD. For magnetically confined fusion one can find toroidal MHD theory for tokamaks, magnetic relaxation process in spheromaks, and the formation and stability of field-reversed configuration. In space plasma physics one can get solar spicules and X-ray jets physics, as well as general sub-fluid theory. For numerical methods one can find the implicit numerical methods for resistive MHD and the boundary control formalism. For low temperature plasma physics one can read theory for Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids etc.

This book gives readers in-depth know-how on methods of state estimation for nonlinear control systems. It starts with an introduction to dynamic control systems and system states and a brief description of the Kalman filter. In the following chapters, various state estimation techniques for nonlinear systems are discussed, including the extended, unscented and cubature Kalman filters. The cubature Kalman filter and its variants are introduced in particular detail because of their efficiency and their ability to deal with systems with Gaussian and/or non-Gaussian noise. The book also discusses information-filter and square-root-filtering algorithms, useful for state estimation in some real-time control system design problems. A number of case studies are included in the book to illustrate the application of various nonlinear filtering algorithms. Nonlinear Filtering is written for academic and industrial researchers, engineers and research students who are interested in nonlinear control systems analysis and design. The chief features of the book include: dedicated coverage of recently developed nonlinear, Jacobian-free, filtering algorithms; examples illustrating the use of nonlinear filtering algorithms in real-world applications; detailed derivation and complete algorithms for nonlinear filtering methods, which help readers to a fundamental understanding and easier coding of those algorithms; and MATLAB® codes associated with case-study applications, which can be downloaded from the Springer Extra Materials website.

Papers in this collection partly represent the set of talks that were presented at Texas Tech University on the occasion of Daya’s memorial workshop in the year 2007. Daya had a varied interest in the field of Dynamics and Control Theory and the papers bring out the essence of his involvement in these activities. He also had a large number of collaborators and this collection represent a good fraction of them. The papers included here cover his interest in control theory. Also included are papers from application areas that we believe are of strong interest to him.

Time delays are present in many physical processes due to the period of time it takes for the events to occur. Delays are particularly more pronounced in networks of interconnected systems, such as supply chains and systems controlled over c- munication networks. In these control problems, taking the delays into account is particularly important for performance evaluation and control system’s design. It has been shown, indeed, that delays in a controlled system (for instance, a c- munication delay for data acquisition) may have an “ambiguous” nature: they may stabilize the system, or, in the contrary,they may lead to deteriorationof the clos- loop performance or even instability, depending on the delay value and the system parameters. It is a fact that delays have stabilizing effects, but this is clearly con i- ing for human intuition. Therefore,speci c analysis techniquesand design methods are to be developed to satisfactorily take into account the presence of delays at the design stage of the control system. The research on time delay systems stretches back to 1960s and it has been very active during the last twenty years. During this period, the results have been presented at the main control conferences(CDC, ACC, IFAC), in specialized wo- shops (IFAC TDS series), and published in the leading journals of control engine- ing, systems and control theory, applied and numerical mathematics.

Over the past few years significant progress has been achieved in the field of nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC), also referred to as receding horizon control or moving horizon control. More than 250 papers have been published in 2006 in ISI Journals. With this book we want to bring together the contributions of a diverse group of internationally well recognized researchers and industrial practitioners, to critically assess the current status of the NMPC field and to discuss future directions and needs. The book consists of selected papers presented at the International Workshop on Assessment an Future Directions of Nonlinear Model Predictive Control that took place from September 5 to 9, 2008, in Pavia, Italy.