Brian MacCleery

Agricultural production is one of the main keys to the development of healthy societies. It is anticipated that agricultural systems will increasingly have to contend with temperature, humidity and water stress in the near future. This makes the need to increase the efficiency of land and water use ever more urgent. The control and design of greenhouses allows to increase dramatically the quality of crops and extend the cultivation period year-round. A properly designed autonomous greenhouse based on hydroponics can greatly reduce the amounts of nutrients and energy expended in agricultural production. This book deals with different types of greenhouses, materials, structures, advanced control techniques and tendencies that are needed for designing and controlling an advanced greenhouse. The control system is presented as an integral system which covers the explanation of basic and advanced concepts for a real time controller. Also, structural analysis is introduced, whereby mechanical design is regarded as a key factor. The book incorporates simulations and experimental results, and utilizes LabVIEW and ADAMS software. Finally, it provides a perspective on the present state and future of greenhouses globally. Written in a highly accessible manner, this book will prove useful to horticulturalists, agricultural engineers, greenhouse engineers and designers. Its easy-to-absorb contents are also suitable for (under)graduate students and researchers in agricultural and electronic engineering, horticulture, crop cultivation and soft computing.

Smart grids are linked with smart homes and smart meters. These smart grids are the new topology for generating, distributing, and consuming energy. If these smart devices are not connected in a smart grid, then they cannot work properly; hence, the conventional power systems are swiftly changing in order to improve the quality of electrical energy. This book covers the fundamentals of power systems—which are the pillars for smart grids —with a focus on defining the smart grid with theoretical and experimental electrical concepts. Power System Fundamentals begins by discussing electric circuits, the basic systems in smart grids, and finishes with a complete smart grid concept. The book allows the reader to build a foundation of understanding with basic and advanced exercises that run on simulation before moving to experimental results. It is intended for readers who want to comprehensively cover both the basic and advanced concepts of smart grids.

This book is a comprehensive introduction to LabVIEW FPGA™, a package allowing the programming of intelligent digital controllers in field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) using graphical code. It shows how both potential difficulties with understanding and programming in VHDL and the consequent difficulty and slowness of implementation can be sidestepped. The text includes a clear theoretical explanation of fuzzy logic (type 1 and type 2) with case studies that implement the theory and systematically demonstrate the implementation process. It goes on to describe basic and advanced levels of programming LabVIEW FPGA and show how implementation of fuzzy-logic control in FPGAs improves system responses. A complete toolkit for implementing fuzzy controllers in LabVIEW FPGA has been developed with the book so that readers can generate new fuzzy controllers and deploy them immediately. Problems and their solutions allow readers to practice the techniques and to absorb the theoretical ideas as they arise. Fuzzy Logic Type 1 and Type 2 Based on LabVIEW FPGA™, helps students studying embedded control systems to design and program those controllers more efficiently and to understand the benefits of using fuzzy logic in doing so. Researchers working with FPGAs find the text useful as an introduction to LabVIEW and as a tool helping them design embedded systems.

Smart grids are linked with smart homes and smart meters. These smart grids are the new topology for generating, distributing, and consuming energy. If these smart devices are not connected in a smart grid, then they cannot work properly; hence, the conventional power systems are swiftly changing in order to improve the quality of electrical energy. This book covers the fundamentals of power systems—which are the pillars for smart grids —with a focus on defining the smart grid with theoretical and experimental electrical concepts. Power System Fundamentals begins by discussing electric circuits, the basic systems in smart grids, and finishes with a complete smart grid concept. The book allows the reader to build a foundation of understanding with basic and advanced exercises that run on simulation before moving to experimental results. It is intended for readers who want to comprehensively cover both the basic and advanced concepts of smart grids.

This book is a comprehensive introduction to LabVIEW FPGA™, a package allowing the programming of intelligent digital controllers in field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) using graphical code. It shows how both potential difficulties with understanding and programming in VHDL and the consequent difficulty and slowness of implementation can be sidestepped. The text includes a clear theoretical explanation of fuzzy logic (type 1 and type 2) with case studies that implement the theory and systematically demonstrate the implementation process. It goes on to describe basic and advanced levels of programming LabVIEW FPGA and show how implementation of fuzzy-logic control in FPGAs improves system responses. A complete toolkit for implementing fuzzy controllers in LabVIEW FPGA has been developed with the book so that readers can generate new fuzzy controllers and deploy them immediately. Problems and their solutions allow readers to practice the techniques and to absorb the theoretical ideas as they arise. Fuzzy Logic Type 1 and Type 2 Based on LabVIEW FPGA™, helps students studying embedded control systems to design and program those controllers more efficiently and to understand the benefits of using fuzzy logic in doing so. Researchers working with FPGAs find the text useful as an introduction to LabVIEW and as a tool helping them design embedded systems.

Agricultural production is one of the main keys to the development of healthy societies. It is anticipated that agricultural systems will increasingly have to contend with temperature, humidity and water stress in the near future. This makes the need to increase the efficiency of land and water use ever more urgent. The control and design of greenhouses allows to increase dramatically the quality of crops and extend the cultivation period year-round. A properly designed autonomous greenhouse based on hydroponics can greatly reduce the amounts of nutrients and energy expended in agricultural production. This book deals with different types of greenhouses, materials, structures, advanced control techniques and tendencies that are needed for designing and controlling an advanced greenhouse. The control system is presented as an integral system which covers the explanation of basic and advanced concepts for a real time controller. Also, structural analysis is introduced, whereby mechanical design is regarded as a key factor. The book incorporates simulations and experimental results, and utilizes LabVIEW and ADAMS software. Finally, it provides a perspective on the present state and future of greenhouses globally. Written in a highly accessible manner, this book will prove useful to horticulturalists, agricultural engineers, greenhouse engineers and designers. Its easy-to-absorb contents are also suitable for (under)graduate students and researchers in agricultural and electronic engineering, horticulture, crop cultivation and soft computing.