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At least 37 records · Page 2

LQG and direct rate feedback control with model reduction on a flexible laboratory grid structure

This paper presents experimental and theoretical comparisons of three control laws applied to a complex laboratory structure. A reduced finite element model was generated for designing the control systems and then corrected based on measured mode shapes and frequencies. A standard time-invariant linear quadratic regulator with state estimation was investigated first. Two simple direct rate feedback control laws both guaranteeing stability were also designed using the reduced model. One minimizes the maximum control force and the other minimizes the same quadratic performance index as the linear quadratic regulator. The three control laws have comparable performance indices with the direct rate feedback designs having better spillover properties. Experimental results for all designs were obtained with digital implementation. It was shown that the performance of the control system designed on the basis of the corrected finite element model agreed better with experimental results than the performance of the control system designed on the basis of the uncorrected model.

Schamel, G. C., II↗

Optimization of the structural and control system for LSS with reduced-order model

The objective is the simultaneous design of the structural and control system for space structures. The minimum weight of the structure is the objective function, and the constraints are placed on the closed loop distribution of the frequencies and the damping parameters. The controls approach used is linear quadratic regulator with constant feedback. A reduced-order control system is used. The effect of uncontrolled modes is taken into consideration by the model error sensitivity suppression (MESS) technique which modified the weighting parameters for the control forces. For illustration, an ACOSS-FOUR structure is designed for a different number of controlled modes with specified values for the closed loop damping parameters and frequencies. The dynamic response of the optimum designs for an initial disturbance is compared.

Khot, N. S.↗

Performance of the 12GHz, 200 watt transmitter experiment package for the Hermes satellite

Performance characteristics from on-orbit tests of the Transmitter Experiment Package (TEP) for the Hermes Satellite are presented. The TEP consists of a Power Processing System (PPS), an Output Stage Tube (OST) and a Variable Conductance Heat Pipe System (VCHPS), all of which are described. The OST is a coupled-cavity Traveling Wave Tube (TWT) with a Multistage Depressed Collector (MDC) and a stepped velocity-tapered slow wave structure for efficiency enhancement. It has an RF output power of 233 watts and overall efficiency of 50.75 percent at a center band frequency of 12.080 GHz. The PPS provides the required operating voltages, regulation, control and protection for the OST. The VCHPS consists of a fin radiator and three dual-artery stainless steel heat pipes using methanol and a mixture of inert gases. Test results presented include efficiencies, RF output power and body current. A discussion of thermal anomalies which occurred is presented.

Alexovich, R. E.↗

Performance of the 12 GHz, 200 watt Transmitter Experiment Package for the Hermes Satellite

Performance characteristics from on-orbit tests of the Transmitter Experiment Package (TEP) for the Hermes Satellite are presented. The tests were conducted from February 8, 1976 through August 8, 1977. The TEP consists of a Power Processing System (PPS), an Output Stage Tube (OST) and a Variable Conductance Heat Pipe System (VCHPS), all of which are described. The OST is a coupled-cavity traveling wave tube with a multistage depressed collector and a stepped velocity-tapered slow wave structure for efficiency enhancement. It has an RF output power of 233 W and overall efficiency of 50.75% at a center band frequency of 12.080 GHz. The PPS provides the required operating voltages, regulation, control and protection for the OST. The VCHPS consists of a fin radiator and three dual-artery stainless steel heat pipes using methanol and a mixture of inert gases. Test results presented include efficiencies, RF output power and body current. A discussion of thermal anomalies which occurred is presented.

Alexovich, R. E.↗

Active vibration control with model correction on a flexible laboratory grid structure

This paper presents experimental and computational comparisons of three active damping control laws applied to a complex laboratory structure. Two reduced structural models were used with one model being corrected on the basis of measured mode shapes and frequencies. Three control laws were investigated, a time-invariant linear quadratic regulator with state estimation and two direct rate feedback control laws. Experimental results for all designs were obtained with digital implementation. It was found that model correction improved the agreement between analytical and experimental results. The best agreement was obtained with the simplest direct rate feedback control.

Schamel, George C., II↗

Electrical performance characteristics of high power converters for space power applications

The first goal of this project was to investigate various converters that would be suitable for processing electric power derived from a nuclear reactor. The implementation is indicated of a 20 kHz system that includes a source converter, a ballast converter, and a fixed frequency converter for generating the 20 kHz output. This system can be converted to dc simply by removing the fixed frequency converter. This present study emphasized the design and testing of the source and ballast converters. A push-pull current-fed (PPCF) design was selected for the source converter, and a 2.7 kW version of this was implemented using three 900 watt modules in parallel. The characteristic equation for two converters in parallel was derived, but this analysis did not yield any experimental methods for measuring relative stability. The three source modules were first tested individually and then in parallel as a 2.7 kW system. All tests proved to be satisfactory; the system was stable; efficiency and regulation were acceptable; and the system was fault tolerant. The design of a ballast-load converter, which was operated as a shunt regulator, was investigated. The proposed power circuit is suitable for use with BJTs because proportional base drive is easily implemented. A control circuit which minimizes switching frequency ripple and automatically bypasses a faulty shunt section was developed. A nonlinear state-space-averaged model of the shunt regulator was developed and shown to produce an accurate incremental (small-signal) dynamic model, even though the usual state-space-averaging assumptions were not met. The nonlinear model was also shown to be useful for large-signal dynamic simulation using PSpice.

Stuart, Thomas A.↗

Spool valve cycles at controlled frequency

Spool valve accurately controls the cycle of a pneumatically-actuated system over long periods. Regulation of pressure from the external source, positioning of the adjusting plugs, and magnet selection, together afford wide variation in cyclic timing and speed of closure in either direction.

Charlton, K. W.↗

Frequency response modeling and control of flexible structures: Computational methods

The dynamics of vibrations in flexible structures can be conventiently modeled in terms of frequency response models. For structural control such models capture the distributed parameter dynamics of the elastic structural response as an irrational transfer function. For most flexible structures arising in aerospace applications the irrational transfer functions which arise are of a special class of pseudo-meromorphic functions which have only a finite number of right half place poles. Computational algorithms are demonstrated for design of multiloop control laws for such models based on optimal Wiener-Hopf control of the frequency responses. The algorithms employ a sampled-data representation of irrational transfer functions which is particularly attractive for numerical computation. One key algorithm for the solution of the optimal control problem is the spectral factorization of an irrational transfer function. The basis for the spectral factorization algorithm is highlighted together with associated computational issues arising in optimal regulator design. Options for implementation of wide band vibration control for flexible structures based on the sampled-data frequency response models is also highlighted. A simple flexible structure control example is considered to demonstrate the combined frequency response modeling and control algorithms.

Bennett, William H.↗

System identification of the Large-Angle Magnetic Suspension Test Fixture (LAMSTF)

The Large-Angle Magnetic Suspension Test Fixture (LAMSTF), a laboratory-scale research project to demonstrate the magnetic suspension of objects over wide ranges of attitudes, has been developed. This system represents a scaled model of a planned Large-Gap Magnetic Suspension System (LGMSS). The LAMSTF consists of a small cylindrical permanent magnet suspended element which is levitated above a planar array of five electromagnets mounted in a circular configuration. The cylinder is a rigid body and can be controlled to move in five independent degrees of freedom. Six position variables are sensed indirectly by using infrared light-emitting diodes and light-receiving phototransistors. The motion of the suspended cylinder is in general nonlinear and hence only the linear, time-invariant perturbed motion about an equilibrium state is considered. One of the main challenges in this project is the control of the suspended element over a wide range of orientations. An accurate dynamic model plays an essential role in controller design. The analytical model is first derived and open-loop characteristics discussed. The system is shown to be highly unstable and requires feedback control for system identification. Projection filters are first proposed to identify the state space model from closed-loop input/output test data in the time domain. This method is then extended to identify linear systems from the frequency test data. A canonical transformation matrix is also derived to transform the identified state space model into the physical coordinate. The LAMSTF system is stabilized by using a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) feedback controller for closed-loop identification. The rate information is obtained by calculating the back difference of the sensed position signals. Only the closed-loop random input/output data are recorded. Preliminary results from numerical simulations demonstrate that the identified system model is fairly accurate from either time domain or frequency-domain data. Experiments will be performed to validate the proposed closed-loop identification algorithms.

Huang, Jen-Kuang↗

Modified LTR robust control for flexible structures

A procedure is developed for dealing with performance and robustness issues in the design of multi-input multi-output compensators for lightly damped flexible structures. The procedure is based upon representing errors in the plant design model as structured uncertainties, and applying a modified version of the Loop Transfer Recovery (LTR) design method. Real parameter errors, such as frequency errors, damping errors or modal displacement errors can be treated. The approach involves adjusting the cost function in the regulator problem and the process noise model in the estimator problem in a particular manner which reflects the assumed structure of the modeling errors. Numerical examples dealing with the control of a large flexible space antenna with uncertain frequencies demonstrate a considerable improvement over standard LTR methods. Convenient design parameters can be varied until a satisfactory compromise is achieved between performance and robustness.

Blelloch, P. A.↗

Two controller design approaches for decentralized systems

Two different philosophies for designing the controllers of decentralized systems are considered within a quadratic regulator framework which is generalized to admit decentralized frequency weighting. In the first approach, the total system model is examined, and the feedback strategy for each channel or subsystem is determined. In the second approach, separate, possibly overlapping, and uncoupled models are analyzed for each channel, and the results can be combined to study the original system. The two methods are applied to the example of a model of the NASA COFS Mast Flight System.

Ozguner, U.↗

Frequency and Phase-lock Control of a 3 THz Quantum Cascade Laser

We have locked the frequency of a 3 THz quantum cascade laser (QCL) to that of a far-infrared gas laser with a tunable microwave offset frequency. The locked QCL line shape is essentially Gaussian, with linewidths of 65 and 141 kHz at the -3 and -10 dB levels, respectively. The lock condition can be maintained indefinitely, without requiring temperature or bias current regulation of the QCL other than that provided by the lock error signal. The result demonstrates that a terahertz QCL can be frequency controlled with l-part-in-lO(exp 8) accuracy, which is a factor of 100 better than that needed for a local oscillator in a heterodyne receiver for atmospheric and astronomic spectroscopy.

Betz, A. L.↗

Considerations of open-loop, closed-loop, and adaptive multicyclic control systems

Four different types of self-tuning regulators were studied for multicyclic control of helicopter vibration. A numerical simulation of the helicopter is made, using a multivariable frequency-domain model, in terms of transfer function with six input control harmonics and six output harmonics. The model characteristics vary with flight speed. An off-line identification of model characteristics is made, using the least-squared-error method and using a succession of input and output measurements. The on-line identification of model characteristics is made using the Kalman filter solution. The optimal controls are calculated from the minimization of quadratic performance function based on response and multicyclic inputs. The performance of various regulators or controllers is judged from the stability, transient response, convergence time, and amplitude of the steady state.

Chopra, I.↗

Static inverter with synchronous output waveform synthesized by time-optimal-response feedback

Time-optimal-response 'bang-bang' or 'bang-hang' technique, using four feedback control loops, synthesizes static-inverter sinusoidal output waveform by self-oscillatory but yet synchronous pulse-frequency-modulation (SPFM). A single modular power stage per phase of ac output entails the minimum of circuit complexity while providing by feedback synthesis individual phase voltage regulation, phase position control and inherent compensation simultaneously for line and load disturbances. Clipped sinewave performance is described under off-limit load or input voltage conditions. Also, approaches to high power levels, 3-phase arraying and parallel modular connection are given.

Kernick, A.↗

Self-tuning regulators for multicyclic control of helicopter vibration

A class of algorithms for the multicyclic control of helicopter vibration and loads is derived and discussed. This class is characterized by a linear, quasi-static, frequency-domain model of the helicopter response to control; identification of the helicopter model by least-squared-error or Kalman filter methods; and a minimum variance or quadratic performance function controller. Previous research on such controllers is reviewed. The derivations and discussions cover the helicopter model; the identification problem, including both off-line and on-line (recursive) algorithms; the control problem, including both open-loop and closed-loop feedback; and the various regulator configurations possible within this class. Conclusions from analysis and numerical simulations of the regulators provide guidance in the design and selection of algorithms for further development, including wind tunnel and flight tests.

Johnson, W.↗

Cardiovascular regulation in humans in response to oscillatory lower body negative pressure

The frequency response characteristics of human cardiovascular regulation during hypotensive stress have not been determined. We therefore exposed 10 male volunteers to seven frequencies (0.004-0.1 Hz) of oscillatory lower body negative pressure (OLBNP; 0-50 mmHg). Fourier spectra of arterial pressure (AP), central venous pressure (CVP), stroke volume (SV), cardiac output (CO), heart rate (HR), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were determined and first harmonic mean, amplitude, and phase angles with respect to OLBNP are presented. AP was relatively well regulated as demonstrated by small oscillations in half amplitude (3.5 mmHg) that were independent of OLBNP frequency and similar to unstressed control spectra. Due to the biomechanics of the system, the magnitudes of oscillations in calf circumference (CC) and CVP decreased with increasing frequency; therefore, we normalized responses by these indexes of the fluid volume shifted. The ratios of oscillations in AP to oscillations in CC increased by an order of magnitude, whereas oscillations in CVP to oscillations in CC and oscillations in AP to oscillations in CVP both tripled between 0.004 and 0.1 Hz. Therefore, even though the amount of fluid shifted by OLBNP decreased with increasing frequency, the magnitude of both CVP and AP oscillations per volume of fluid shifted increased (peaking at 0.08 Hz). The phase relationships between variables, particularly the increasing lags in SV and TPR, but not CVP, indicated that efferent responses with lags of 5-6 s could account for the observed responses. We conclude that, at frequencies below 0.02 Hz, the neural system of humans functioned optimally in regulating AP; OLBNP-induced decreases in SV (by as much as 50%) were counteracted by appropriate oscillations in HR and TPR responses. As OLBNP frequency increased, SV, TPR, and HR oscillations increasingly lagged the input and became less optimally timed for AP regulation.

NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary↗