Dr Xu Xu BEng, MSc, PhD, FHEA, MIET
Reader in Control Systems Engineering and Nonlinear Systems Modelling
Summary
Xu graduated from Xidian University, Xi’an, China after completing a BEng course in Automation. She studied an MSc in Control Systems Engineering (with Distinction) and subsequently a PhD covering the areas of nonlinear dynamical systems, cellular automata, optimal control and sliding mode control engineering at the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering, the University of Sheffield.
Xu carried out research on an EPSRC funded project as a Postdoctoral Research Associate on cellular automata for micro-structural modelling at the University of Sheffield between 2009 and 2011. Her past work experience also includes working as an Associate Lecturer in Sheffield Hallam University and an Academic Tutor in Sheffield International College.
Xu worked as a Lecturer and then a Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University between 2015 and 2019. She was previously the Course Leader for MSc Automation, Control and Robotics between 2016 and 2019, but has since stepped down to take on a new role of Postgraduate Research Tutor for the Materials and Engineering Research Institute & the Department of Engineering and Mathematics in October 2019. Xu has been promoted to Reader in January 2020.
Teaching
Department of Engineering and Mathematics
Business, Technology and Engineering
Subject area/group
Power, Electrical and Control Engineering
Modules
- Control of Linear Systems, Level 7
- Automation and Robotics, Level 6
- Control Systems Engineering, Level 6
- Maths and Control, Level 5
- Control and Instrumentation, Level 5
- Introduction to Programming, Level 4
Research
Xu actively researches in the areas of multi-component lattice Boltzmann (LB) fluid dynamics simulation methods and their applications, in particular, in modelling blood flow. As a control engineer, Xu is also interested in nonlinear control techniques and related control engineering applications. Her current research interest further extends to theoretical studies of cellular automata as nonlinear dynamical systems and the wide range of dynamical behaviours existed in cellular systems.
Xu is currently the early career researcher (ECR) representative for the College of BTE on the University Researcher Concordat Operations Group and is a member of the Engineering Unit of Assessment Mini-REF reading panel. She is also a member of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Associate Peer Review College.
Publications
Journal articles
Oluwole-Ojo, O.N., Zhang, H., Howarth, M., & Xu, X. (2023). Energy Consumption Analysis of a Continuous Flow Ohmic Heater with Advanced Process Controls. Energies, 16 (2). http://doi.org/10.3390/en16020868
Kokkrathoke, S., Rawsthorne, A., Zhang, H., & Xu, X. (2022). Nonlinear Optimal Stabilising Control of a Two-wheel Robot. International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control, 38 (2), 175-189. http://doi.org/10.1504/IJMIC.2021.122501
Oluwole-Ojo, O., Zhang, H., Howarth, M., & Xu, X. (2021). Model based design and validation of a batch ohmic heating system. Modelling, 2 (4), 641-658. http://doi.org/10.3390/modelling2040034
Spendlove, J., Xu, X., Schenkel, T., Seaton, M., Halliday, I., & Gunn, J. (2021). Three-dimensional single framework multi-component lattice Boltzmann equation method for vesicle hydrodynamics. Physics of Fluids, 33 (7), 077110. http://doi.org/10.1063/5.0055535
Spendlove, J., Xu, X., Halliday, O.J., Schenkel, T., & Halliday, I. (2020). Chromodynamic multirelaxation-time lattice Boltzmann scheme for fluids with density difference. Physical Review E (PRE), 102 (1). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.102.013309
Spendlove, J., Xu, X., Schenkel, T., Seaton, M., & Halliday, I. (2020). Chromo-dynamic multi-component lattice Boltzmann equation scheme for axial symmetry. Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical, 53 (14), 145001. http://doi.org/10.1088/1751-8121/ab777f
Talamali, M.S., Bose, T., Haire, M., Xu, X., Marshall, J.A.R., & Reina, A. (2020). Sophisticated collective foraging with minimalistagents: a swarm robotics test. Swarm Intelligence, 14 (1), 25-56. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11721-019-00176-9
Burgin, K., Spendlove, J., Xu, X., & Halliday, I. (2019). Kinematics of chromodynamic multicomponent lattice Boltzmann Simulation with a large density contrast. Physical Review E, 100 (4), 043310. http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.100.043310
Xu, X. (2019). Real Linear Automata with a Continuum of Periodic Solutions for Every Period. International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos, 29 (6). http://doi.org/10.1142/S0218127419300167
Xu, X., Burgin, K., Ellis, M., & Halliday, I. (2017). Benchmarking of three-dimensional multicomponent lattice Boltzmann equation. Physical Review E (PRE), 96 (5), 053308. http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.96.053308
Halliday, I., Xu, X., & Burgin, K. (2017). The shear viscosity of a two-dimensional emulsion of drops using a multiple-relaxation-time-step lattice Boltzmann method. Physical Review E (PRE), 95 (2-1). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.95.023301
Vertyagina, Y., Mahfouf, M., & Xu, X. (2013). 3D modelling of ferrite and austenite grain coarsening using real-valued cellular automata based on transition function. Journal of Materials Science, 48 (16), 5517-5527. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-013-7346-1
Xu, X., Banks, S.P., & Mahfouf, M. (2011). On the structure of real-valued one-dimensional cellular automata. International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos, 21 (05), 1265-1279. http://doi.org/10.1142/S0218127411029240
Du, C., Xu, X., Banks, S.P., & Wu, A. (2009). Control of nonlinear functional differential equations. Nonlinear Analysis: Theory, Methods & Applications, 71 (12), e1850-e1857. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.na.2009.02.094
Xu, X., Song, Y., & Banks, S.P. (2009). On the dynamical behaviour of cellular automata. International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos, 19 (04), 1147-1156. http://doi.org/10.1142/S021812740902355X
Spendlove, J., Xu, X., Schenkel, T., Gunn, J., & Halliday, I. (n.d.). Chromodynamic lattice Boltzmann method for the simulation of drops, erythrocytes, and other vesicles. Communications in computational physics.
Conference papers
Tristano, M., Lenzo, B., Xu, X., Forrier, B., D'Hondt, T., Risaliti, E., & Wilhelm, E. (2023). Real-time implementation of yaw rate and sideslip control through individual wheel torques. 2022 IEEE Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference (VPPC). http://doi.org/10.1109/vppc55846.2022.10003363
Alwafi, F., Xu, X., & Alboul, L. (2022). Visibility Graph (VG) – based path planning method for multi-robot systems. UKRAS22 Conference "Robotics for Unconstrained Environments" Proceedings. http://doi.org/10.31256/ye1dq6j
Kokkrathoke, S., & Xu, X. (2022). Controllability Study of Two-Wheel Robot for Nonlinear Optimal Control and Implementation. Proceeding - 2021 IEEE 9th Conference on System, Process and Control, ICSPC 2021, 13-18. http://doi.org/10.1109/ICSPC53359.2021.9689177
Kokkrathoke, S., & Xu, X. (2021). Implementation of Nonlinear Optimal Control of Two-wheel Robot with Extended Kalman Filter. In 2021 IEEE International Conference on Automatic Control & Intelligent Systems, 26 June 2021 (pp. 19-25). IEEE: http://doi.org/10.1109/I2CACIS52118.2021.9495859
Haire, M., Xu, X., Alboul, L., Penders, J., & Zhang, H. (2019). Ship Hull Repair Using A Swarm Of Autonomous Underwater Robots: A Self-Assembly Algorithm. ECMR 2019 (European Conference on Mobile Robotics). http://doi.org/10.1109/ECMR.2019.8870910
Haire, M., Xu, X., Alboul, L., Penders, J., & Zhang, H. (2019). Ship hull inspection using a swarm of autonomous underwater robots: a Search algorithm. 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics (SSRR). http://doi.org/10.1109/SSRR.2019.8848963
Font Llenas, A., Talamali, M.S., Xu, X., Marshall, J.A.R., & Reina, A. (2018). Quality-sensitive foraging by a robot swarm through virtual pheromone trails. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 11172 (11172), 135-149. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00533-7_11
Book chapters
Xu, X., Zhang, H., & Carbone, G. (2017). Case studies on nonlinear control theory of the inverted pendulum. In Boubaker, O., & Iriarte, R. (Eds.) The inverted pendulum in control theory and robotics. From theory to new innovations. (pp. 225-262). London: IET: http://doi.org/10.1049/PBCE111E_ch
Xu, X., & Banks, S.P. (2006). Nonlinear systems: Global theory of attractors and their topology. In Transactions of the VŠB - Technical University of Ostrava. (pp. 243-248). VŠB–Technical University of Ostrava: Ostrava: http://doi.org/10.22223/tr
Theses / Dissertations
Kokkrathoke, S. (2022). Nonlinear Optimal Control and Its Application to a Two-Wheeled Robot. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Xu, X.
Spendlove, J. (2021). Enhanced chromodynamic multi-component lattice boltzmannmethod for drop and vesicle modelling. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Xu, X. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00431
Haire, M.S. (2021). Search and restore: a study of cooperative multi-robot systems. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Xu, X. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00395
Ali, R. (2019). Bone Vibration Analysis as a Novel Screening Tool for Long Bone Fractures. (Doctoral thesis). Supervised by Alboul, L. http://doi.org/10.7190/shu-thesis-00223
Presentations
Zhang, H., Oluwole-Ojo, O.N., Howarth, M., & Xu, X. (2022). Implementation of advanced real-time process control on a continuous flow ohmic heater. Presented at: The 15th Conference of Food Engineering, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, 2022
Yubonbanditkun, P., Xu, X., Lenzo, B., & Kissai, M. (2021). Nonlinear Optimal Control of Electric Vehicle Lateral Dynamics. Presented at: IFToMM for Sustainable Development Goals
Spendlove, J., Xu, X., Schenkel, T., & Halliday, I. (2021). A Single-Framework Approach To Modelling Fluid Filled Vesicles Using Chromodynamic Multi-Component Lattice Boltzmann Method. Presented at: 30th International Conference on Discrete Simulation of Fluid Dynamics (DSFD2021)
Postgraduate supervision
Current PhD students
September 2018 - present: Biomedical Applications of Multi-Component Lattice Boltzmann Fluid Dynamics Simulation - J. Spendlove
Dr Xu is working in collaboration with SHU co-supervisors Dr Ian Halliday and Dr Torsten Schenkel, advisor Dr Tim Spencer and external supervisors/advisors Prof. Paul Evans, Prof. Julian Gunn at the University of Sheffield (UoS) and Dr Michael Seaton at STFC Daresbury Laboratory.
May 2018 - present: Nonlinear Control Techniques and Robotic Applications - S. Kokkrathoke
Working together with Emeritus professor Prof. Stephen Banks from UoS, Dr Halliday, Dr Alex Shenfield, Dr Hongwei Zhang and Andy Rawsthorne at SHU, Dr Xu leads the supervision team for Surapong’s PhD project in analysing and applying global control methods, such as nonlinear freezing and iteration control techniques.
September 2016 - present: Robotic Applications of Artificial Swarm Intelligence - M. Haire
This project investigates a swarm of robots for emergency ship hull repair and the supervision team also includes Dr Lyuba Alboul and Dr Hongwei Zhang.