Experimental on-line identification of an electromechanical system

Identification of electromechanical systems operating in open-loop or closed-loop conditions has long been of prime interest in industrial applications. This paper presents experimental on-line identification of an electromechanical system represented by a digital input/output model. The paper also bridges the theory and practice gap for applied researchers. Studies are carried out by formulating the mathematical model using differential equations and experimental discrete-time identification using on-line plant input-output data. A recursive least-squares method is used to estimate the unknown parameters of the system. Discrete-time data for the parameter identification are obtained experimentally from a setup constructed in the laboratory. A root-mean-square error criterion is used for model validation. Results are presented which show variations in parameters of the electromechanical system. It is demonstrated that identified model output and actual system output match. All tests are performed with no previous results from finite element simulations.