Chapter 4
Model Development
Selected methods of development of various time-invariant models are presented
in the chapter.
Using algebraic polynomials, approximation methods are reviewed. The
polynomials of Lagrange, Tchebychev, Legendre and Hermite are studied in
detail. These methods are used quite often provided that the number of data points
is not too large. That is because the order of the polynomial is equal to the number
of data. Too large number of data results in an equally high number of the
polynomial order.
When the approximations of functions having irregular waveforms are
considered, it is convenient to apply the cubic splines approximation method. It is
based on splitting the given interval into a collection of subintervals, followed by
the approximation of the data at each subinterval by means of the cubic order
polynomial. The method is described in the following parts of the chapter in
detail.
Another method, which is discussed in the chapter, makes possible a derivation
of a relatively low degree polynomial, which will pass “near” the measured data
points instead of passing through them. It is the least squares approximation
method for which the error being a sum of squares of the differences between the
values of the approximation line and the measured data is at minimum.
Approximation by means of power series, with the use of Maclaurin series, is
presented in the next part of this chapter. This method is particularly useful in the
case of models in dynamic state because Maclaurin series describes a function
near the origin. There is also an additional advantage of the method. Coefficients
of the series can be transformed directly into state equations coefficients or
coefficients of Laplace transfer functions. These two forms are applied most often
in modelling various objects of electrical and control engineering. There are
a couple of other methods, which are discussed in the following parts of the
chapter. The standard nets method, which allows for an easy the determination of
the order of a modelled object, and the optimization method based on Levenberg-
Marguardt algorithm with LabVIEW program application, are presented. Finally,