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Atanas Popov

Professor of Engineering Dynamics, Faculty of Engineering

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Expertise Summary

Atanas is Professor of Engineering Dynamics in the Department of M3. Previously, he held a fellowship from the Conference of the German Academies of Sciences in Mainz and Foundation Volkswagen, Germany and a Royal Society Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in the Centre for Nonlinear Dynamics at University College London. He has been the principal investigator on two EPSRC-funded grants and one KTP-project in automotive engineering and the supervisor of seven PhD and one MPhil projects in vehicle dynamics, vibration, control and dynamics of structures and machines. Dr Popov has published widely on nonlinear dynamics of shell structures, vehicle dynamics, control and tyre mechanics. He is a member of the editorial board of two journals (Journal of Multi-Body Dynamics and Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering) and the CEng Panel of the Institute of Physics.

Research Summary

Rider-Motorcycle Modelling for Motorcycle Handling and Stability Analysis: The aim of this project is to improve understanding on the interaction between rider and motorcycle in extreme riding… read more

Selected Publications

Current Research

Rider-Motorcycle Modelling for Motorcycle Handling and Stability Analysis: The aim of this project is to improve understanding on the interaction between rider and motorcycle in extreme riding situations, such as instabilities occurring during motorcycle racing. The objective is to implement generic mathematical models and simulations in order to improve the design process and facilitate rapid virtual prototyping. The work on this PhD project started in July 2004.

Modal and Optimal Control of Rotating Machines Using Structure-Preserving Transformations, with Prof. S.D. Garvey, funded by EPSRC and Rolls-Royce plc.: The control of rotordynamic behaviour in aero-engines is entirely passive. The passive methods provide sub-optimal solutions and two main obstacles stand in the way of progress towards effective active control: the provision of controllable actuators in an engine, and the availability of robust and optimal control algorithms. The PhD project is addressing the development of control algorithms, more precisely, the objective is to extend the concept of modal control for undamped structures as fully as possible to systems having significant gyroscopic forces and general non-classical damping. The work started in March 2004.

FP6 IP AFFIX, Aligning, Holding and Fixing of Flexible and Difficult to Handle Components, with Prof. S.M. Ratchev and Dr. P.H. Webb, grant by the E.U., 2006-2010: The project is aimed at reducing the overall costs and lead-time of new fixture development and at verifying efficiently and accurately future fixture design. This will be achieved through new simulation techniques which are capable of predicting the dynamic behaviour of fixture-workpiece systems and are at the same time compatible with the available commercial FEA platforms. Ultimately, this will lead to the application of adaptive fixtures exhibiting some form of automatic feedback control. My input to the project is in the dynamics, vibration and stress behaviour characterisation and the implementation of different control strategies; one PhD student began work under my supervision in August 2006.

Future Research

Modelling and Simulation of Coordinated Control Strategies for Cooperative Vehicle-Highway Systems, long-term plans for participation in consortia: The concept of Cooperative Highway-Vehicle Systems (CHVS) has attracted the attention of government, industry and academia as a strategic approach to improving road network management. Despite significant recent interest in such systems, in particular in the U.S.A., little work has gone beyond initial conceptual design and preliminary testing of feasibility of concept, involving vehicle following of a low number of passenger cars or buses. The overall aims of the research are to obtain deeper understanding of the benefits from the adoption of CHVS and to model and simulate the interaction between vehicles, and vehicles and infrastructure, with the objective to develop in-vehicle intelligent transport systems (ITS) and to facilitate automated close following (platooning) on motorways in the near future.

The Dynamics and Stability of Super-Extended Space Tethered Systems: Since the start of active space exploration it has been widely known that an exploration based on rocket technology is quite expensive, due to rockets consuming large quantities of chemical propellant. On these grounds, the concept of tethered satellite systems, two or more satellites connected by thin and long cables (up to 100 km), has been gradually establishing itself in astronautics circles. The overall aim of the project is to obtain a deeper understanding of the dynamics and stability of super-extended space tethered systems (SESTS) and to investigate their feasibility from the practical viewpoint.

  • AFAZOV, S.M., RATCHEV, S.M., SEGAL, J. and POPOV, A.A., 2012. Chatter Modelling in Micro-Milling by Considering Process Nonlinearities International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture. 56(1), 28-38
  • CHOUVION, B., MCWILLIAM, S., POPOV, A.A. and FOX, C.H.J., 2012. Review and Comparison of Different Support Loss Models for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems Resonators Undergoing In-Plane Vibration Proceeding of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers,: Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science. 226(1), 283-295
  • MAK, K.H., POPOV, A.A. and MCWILLIAM, S., 2012. Experimental Model Validation for a Nonlinear Energy Harvester Incorporating a Bump Stop Journal of Sound and Vibration. 331(11), 2602–2623
  • Z. YANG, A.A. POPOV and S. MCWILLIAM, 2012. Variation propagation control in mechanical assembly of cylindrical components Journal of Manufacturing Systems. 31, 162– 176
  • BAKKER, O.J, POPOV, A.A, SALVI, E, MERLO, A. and RATCHEV, S.M., 2011. Model-Based Control of an Active Fixture for Advanced Aerospace Components Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture. 225(1), 35-51
  • ZIGNOLI, A., BIRAL, F. and POPOV, A.A., 2011. Application of Non-Linear Model Predictive Control to the Driving Task, 20117324 In: 1st Int. Symp. Future Active Safety Technology (FAST-zero' 11), Sept. 5-9, Tokyo, Japan. 1-8
  • HUSSAIN, T., YANG, Z., POPOV, A.A. and MCWILLIAM, S., 2011. Straight-Build Assembly Optimization: A Method to Minimize Stage-by-Stage Eccentricity Error in the Assembly of Axisymmetric Rigid Components (Two-Dimensional Case Study) Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering-Transactions of the ASME. 133(3), 031014
  • YANG, Z., HUSSAIN, T., POPOV, A.A. and MCWILLIAM, S., 2011. Novel Optimization Technique for Variation Propagation Control in an Aero-Engine Assembly Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture. 225(1), 100-111
  • CHOUVION, B., POPOV, A.A., MCWILLIAM, S. and FOX, C.H.J., 2011. Vibration Modelling of Complex Waveguide Structures Computers & Structures. 89(11-12), 1253-1263
  • PATEL, R., MCWILLIAM, S. and POPOV, A.A., 2011. A Geometric Parameter Study of Piezoelectric Coverage on a Rectangular Cantilever Energy Harvester Smart Materials & Structures. 20(8), 085004
  • MAK, K.H., MCWILLIAM, S., POPOV, A.A. and FOX, C.H.J., 2011. Performance of a Cantilever Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Impacting a Bump Stop Journal of Sound and Vibration. 330(25), 6184-6202
  • B. CHOUVION, A. POPOV, S. RATCHEV, C. MASON and M. SUMMERS, 2011. Interface Management in Wing-Box Assembly In: SAE 2011 AeroTech Congress & Exhibition, Toulouse, France, October 2011. 1-10
  • N. JAYAWEERA, O. J. BAKKER, T. SMITH, A. POPOV, S. RATCHEV, A. TURNOCK, P. HELGOSSON, D. TOMLINSON, J. WRIGHT and M. SUMMERS, 2011. Flexible Tooling for Wing Box Rib Clamping and Drilling In: SAE 2011 AeroTech Congress & Exhibition, Toulouse, France, October 2011. 1-9
  • O. J. BAKKER, N. JAYAWEERA, O. MARTIN, A. TURNOCK, P. HELGOSSON, T. SMITH, A. POPOV, S. RATCHEV, D. TOMLINSON, J. WRIGHT and M. SUMMERS, 2011. Fixturing and Tooling for Wing Assembly with Reconfigurable Datum System Pickup In: SAE 2011 AeroTech Congress & Exhibition, Toulouse, France, October 2011. 1-8
  • Z. YANG, T. HUSSAIN, A.A. POPOV and S. MCWILLIAM, 2011. A Comparison of Different Optimization Techniques for Variation Propagation Control in Mechanical Assembly. In: Trends in Aerospace Manufacturing 2009 International Conference: 2011 IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 26 012017
  • JAYAWEERA, N., BAKKER, O.J., SMITH, T., POPOV, A.A., RATCHEV, S., TURNOCK, A., HELGOSSON, P., TOMLINSON, D., WRIGHT, J. and SUMMERS, M., 2011. Flexible Tooling for Wing Box Rib Clamping and Drilling SAE Int. Journal of Aerospace. 4(2), 1048-1056
  • CHOUVION, B., FOX, C.H.J., MCWILLIAM, S. and POPOV, A.A., 2010. In-Plane Free Vibration Analysis of Combined Ring-Beam Structural Systems by Wave Propagation Journal of Sound and Vibration. 329(24), 5087–5104
  • MAK, K.H., MCWILLIAM, S., POPOV, A.A. and FOX, C.H.J., 2010. Performance of a Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Based on a Cantilever Beam with Impact: Paper 147 In: X International Conference on Recent Advances in Structural Dynamics , 12-14 July 2010 University of Southampton, Southampton, U.K.. 12
  • KHATTAK, A.R., GARVEY, S. and POPOV, A., 2010. Proper Orthogonal Decomposition of the Dynamics in Bolted Joints Journal of Sound and Vibration. 329, 1480-1498
  • ROWELL, S., POPOV, A.A. and MEIJAARD, J.P., 2010. Optimal Control to Modelling Motorcycle Rider Steering: Local Versus Global Coordinate Systems in Rider Preview Vehicle System Dynamics. 48(4), 429-456
  • MAK, K.H., MCWILLIAM, S., POPOV, A.A. and FOX C.H.J., 2010. Vibro-impact dynamics of a piezoelectric energy harvester. In: PROCEEDINGS OF THE IMAC-XXVIII, FEBRUARY 1-4, 2010, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, USA, ed., Society for Experimental Mechanics Inc. 8 pages
  • POPOV, A.A., ROWELL, S. and MEIJAARD, J.P., 2010. A Review on Motorcycle and Rider Modelling for Steering Control Vehicle System Dynamics. 48(6), 775–792
  • ROWELL, S., POPOV, A.A. and MEIJAARD, J.P., 2010. Predictive Control to Modelling Motorcycle Rider Steering International Journal of Vehicle Systems Modelling and Testing. 5(2/3), 124-160
  • POPOV, A.A., CHOUVION, B., BAKKER, O.J. and PATEL, R., 2009. Some Recent Trends and Contemporary Applications of Structural Dynamics Annuaire de l'Université d'Architecture, de Génie Civil et de Géodésie, Sofia. 44(5), 165-176
  • CHOUVION, B., MCWILLIAM, S., FOX, C. and POPOV, A., 2009. Vibration analysis of a MEMS ring-based rate sensor by the ray tracing method In: International Congress on Sound and Vibration ICSV16, Krakow, Poland, June 2009. 1-8
  • BAKKER, O.J., POPOV, A.A. and RATCHEV S.M, 2009. Model-Based Control of an Advanced Actuated Part-Fixture System In: ASME 2009 International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference, October 4-7, 2009, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. 1-13
  • BAKKER, O.J., POPOV, A.A. and RATCHEV, S.M., 2009. Fixture Control by Hydraulic Actuation Using a Reduced Workpiece Model Proc. IMechE Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture. 223(12), 1553-1566
  • PATEL, R., POPOV, A.A. and MCWILLIAM, S., 2009. Vibrational energy harvesting devices Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering. 2(2), 80-92
  • PATEL, R., POPOV, A.A. and MCWILLIAM S., 2009. Parametric study of a cantilevered piezoelectric energy harvester In: Proceedings PowerMEMS 2009, Washington DC, U.S.A., 1-4 December 2009. 376-379
  • BAKKER, O.J., POPOV, A. and RATCHEV S., 2008. Control of a Workpiece Holder with Piezo-Electric-Mechanical Actuation Journal of Machine Engineering. 8(3), 17-28
  • BAKKER O.J., POPOV A.A. and RATCHEV S.M., 2008. Investigation into feedback control of part-fixture systems undergoing dynamic machining forces In: ISMA2008 International Conference on Noise and Vibration Engineering, Leuven, Belgium.. 131-140
  • ROWELL, S., POPOV, A.A. and MEIJAARD, J.P., 2008. Parameter study of motorcycle riding by model predictive control. In: , ed., 9th International Symposium on Advanced Vehicle Control Vol. 2. Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc.. 770-775
  • MEIJAARD, J.P. and POPOV, A.A., 2008. Practical Stability Analysis for Transient System Dynamics Proc. IMechE Part C, Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science. 222(11), 2123-2135
  • ROWELL, S., POPOV, A.A. and MEIJAARD, J.P., 2008. Application of predictive control strategies to the motorcycle riding task Vehicle System Dynamics. 46(SUPP), 805–814
  • MEIJAARD, J. and POPOV, A., 2007. Multi-body modelling and analysis into the non-linear behaviour of modern motorcycles Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part K, Journal of Multi-Body Dynamics. 221(1), 63-76
  • HOULSTON, P.R., GARVEY, S.D. and POPOV, A.A., 2007. Modal Control of Vibration in Rotating Machines and Other Generally-Damped Systems Journal of Sound and Vibration. 302(1-2), 104-116
  • GENG, Z., POPOV, A.A and COLE D.J., 2007. Measurement, Identification and Modelling of Damping in Pneumatic Tyres International Journal of Mechanical Sciences. 49(10), 1077-1094
  • ROWELL, S., POPOV, A.A. and MEIJAARD, J.P, 2007. Model predictive control techniques for motorcycle rider control In: Fifth IFAC Symposium on Advances in Automotive Control, Monterey Coast, California, U.S.A.. 587-594
  • KHATTAK, A.R., GARVEY, S.D. and POPOV, A.A., 2006. Repeated resonances in folded-back beam structures Journal of Sound and Vibration. 290(1-2), 309-320
  • ROWELL, S., POPOV, A.A. and MEIJAARD, J.P., 2006. Modelling the Control Tasks for Riding a Motorcycle In: ISMA2006 International Conference on Noise and Vibration Engineering. 1367-1378
  • ZAIDI, N., POPOV, A.A. and GARVEY, S.D., 2006. Influence of Suspension and Tyre Dynamics on Driveline NVH In: ISMA2006 International Conference on Noise and Vibration Engineering. 4477-4484
  • HOULSTON, P., GARVEY, S.D. and POPOV, A.A., 2006. Optimal Controller Design for Rotating Machines - Penalising the Rate of Change of Control Forcing In: IFToMM 7th International Conference on Rotor Dynamics. 8, Paper-ID 141
  • HOULSTON, P., GARVEY, S.D. and POPOV, A.A., 2006. Modal Control of Vibration in Rotating Machines and Other Generally-Damped Systems In: ISMA2006 International Conference on Noise and Vibration Engineering. 3467-3474
  • MEIJAARD, J.P. and POPOV, A.A., 2006. Influences of Aerodynamic Drag, the Suspension System and Rider's Body Position on Instabilities in a Modern Motorcycle Vehicle System Dynamics. S44, 690-697
  • MIÈGE, A.J.P. and POPOV, A.A., 2005. Truck tyre modelling for rolling resistance calculations under a dynamic vertical load Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part D, Journal of Automobile Engineering. 219(4), 441-456
  • ROWELL, S., POPOV, A.A. and MEIJAARD, J.P., 2005. Modelling the Control Tasks for Riding a Motorcycle In: 19th Symposium of the International Association for Vehicle System Dynamics (IAVSD)- Poster Papers.
  • POPOV, A. A. and GENG, Z., 2005. Modelling of vibration damping in pneumatic tyres Vehicle System Dynamics. VOL 43(SUPP), 145-155
  • MEIJAARD, J.P. and POPOV, A.A., 2005. Practical Stability Analysis of Multibody Systems with Application to the Braking of a Motorcycle In: Fifth EUROMECH Nonlinear Dynamics Conference (ENOC). 541-548
  • MIEGE, A. J. P. and POPOV, A. A., 2005. The rolling resistance of truck tyres under a dynamic vertical load Vehicle System Dynamics. VOL 43(SUPP), 135-144
  • MEIJAARD, J. P. and POPOV, A. A., 2005. Tyre modelling for motorcycle dynamics Vehicle System Dynamics. VOL 43(SUPP), 187-198
  • MEIJAARD, J.P. and POPOV, A.A., 2005. An Enhanced String Model for Motorcycle Tires
  • ZAIDI, N., POPOV, A.A. and GARVEY, S.D., 2005. Influence of Suspension and Tyre Dynamics on Driveline NVH In: 19th Symposium of the International Association for Vehicle System Dynamics (IAVSD)- Poster Papers.
  • LIN, M., POPOV, A. A. and MCWILLIAM, S., 2004. Stability and performance studies of driver-vehicle systems with electronic chassis control Vehicle System Dynamics. VOL 41(SUPP), 477-486
  • POPOV, A.A., 2004. The application of Hamiltonian dynamics and averaging to nonlinear shell vibration Computers & Structures. 82(31-32), 2659-2670
  • PARK, S., POPOV, A. A. and COLE, D. J., 2004. Influence of soil deformation on off-road heavy vehicle suspension vibration Journal of Terramechanics. VOL 41(NUMBER 1), 41-68
  • POPOV, A.A., 2004. Auto-parametric resonance in thin cylindrical shells using the slow fluctuation method Thin-Walled Structures. 42(3), 475-495
  • MEIJAARD, J. P. and POPOV, A. A., 2004. Application of non-linear dynamics to instability phenomena in motorcycles Vehicle System Dynamics. VOL 41(SUPP), 567-576
  • PARK, S., POPOV, A. A. and COLE, D. J., 2004. Vehicle suspension optimization for heavy vehicle on deformable ground Vehicle System Dynamics. VOL 41(SUPP), 3-12
  • MEIJAARD, J.P. and POPOV, A.A., 2004. Stability analysis of braked vehicles with application to motorcycles In: International Conference on Braking 2004. 15-24
  • POPOV, A.A., COLE, D.J., WINKLER, C.B. and CEBON, D., 2003. Laboratory measurement of rolling resistance in truck tyres under dynamic loading Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part D, Journal of Automobile Engineering. 217(12), 1071-1079
  • LIN,M., POPOV,A.A. and MCWILLIAM,S., 2003. Sensitivity Analysis of Driver Characteristics in Driver-Vehicle Handling Studies. In: DORN, L., ed., Driver Behaviour and Training Ashgate Publishing Group, Aldershot & London.
  • PARK, S., POPOV, A.A. and COLE, D.J., 2003. Influence of Ground Deformation on Off-Road Heavy Vehicle Vibration In: 9th European Conference of the International Society for Terrain-Vehicle Systems. 376-384
  • POPOV, A. A., 2003. Final undergraduate projects in engineering: towards more efficient and effective tutorials European Journal of Engineering Education. VOL 28(PART 1), 17-26
  • POPOV, A.A., 2003. The application of spring pendulum analogies to the understanding of nonlinear shell vibration In: 2nd MIT Conference on Computational Fluid and Solid Mechanics. 590-594
  • GENG, Z., POPOV, A.A. and COLE, D., 2002. Modelling of Vibration Damping in Pneumatic Tyres In: ISMA2002 International Conference on Noise and Vibration Engineering. 485-494
  • LIN, M., POPOV, A.A. and MCWILLIAM, S., 2002. Handling Studies of Driver-Vehicle Systems with Electronic Chassis Control In: AVEC'2002 International Symposium on Advanced Vehicle Control. 261-266
  • POPOV, A. A., THOMPSON, J. M. T. and MCROBIE, F. A., 2001. Chaotic energy exchange through auto-parametric resonance in cylindrical shells Journal of Sound and Vibration. VOL 248(PART 3), 395-412
  • POPOV, A. A., COLE, D. J., CEBON, D. and WINKLER, C. B., 2000. Energy loss in truck tyres and suspensions Vehicle System Dynamics. VOL 33(SUPP 1), 516-527
  • POPOV,A.A., THOMPSON,J.M. and MCROBIE,F.A., 2000. Parametrically Excited Vibrations and Auto-Parametric Resonance in Cylindrical Shells. In: PAIDOUSSIS, M.P., AMABILI, M. and GONCALVES, P.B., eds., Nonlinear Dynamics of Shells and Plates American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York, USA. 117-128
  • MCROBIE, F.A., POPOV, A.A. and THOMPSON, J.M.T., 1999. Auto-parametric resonance in cylindrical shells using geometric averaging Journal of Sound and Vibration. 227(1), 65-84
  • POPOV, A.A., THOMPSON, J.M.T. and MCROBIE, F.A., 1998. Low dimensional models of shell vibrations. Parametrically excited vibrations of cylinder shells Journal of Sound and Vibration. 209(1), 163-186
  • POPOV, A.A., THOMPSON, J.M.T. and CROLL, J.G.A., 1998. Bifurcation analyses in the parametrically excited vibrations of cylindrical panels Nonlinear Dynamics. 17(3), 205-225
  • POPOV, A., 1998. Symbolic Computation of Potential Energy Functions SIGSAM Bulletin. VOL 32(NUMBER 2), 12-18
  • POPOV,A.A., 1997. Dynamics of Civil Engineering Structures, Kraetzig and Niemann (Eds), book review Journal of Sound and Vibration. 200(5), 761
  • BAUMGARTEN, R., KREUZER, E. and POPOV, A. A., 1997. A Bifurcation Analysis of the Dynamics of a Simplified Shell Model Nonlinear Dynamics. VOL 12(NUMBER 4), 307-317
  • POPOV, A., 1995. Detection of Homoclinic Orbits in Parametrically Excited Oscillator Equations by the Melnikov Method Zeitschrift für angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik. VOL 76(NUMBER SUP//5), 401-403
  • KISLIAKOV, S.D. and POPOV, A.A., 1991. Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of a Piecewise-Linear Symmetrical Oscillator Dynamics and Stability of Systems. 6(1), 51-61
  • KISLIAKOV,S.D. and POPOV,A.A., 1991. Lyapunov exponents and a strange attractor for the damped nonlinear Mathieu equation Archive of Applied Mechanics. 61(1), 49-56
  • KISLIAKOV, S. and POPOV, A., 1989. On the Application of Cell Mapping to Some Nonlinear Parametrically Excited Systems In: Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium on Numerical Methods in Engineering. 319-324

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