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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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NASA NTRS1992

Lyapunov function-based control laws for revolute robot arms - Tracking control, robustness, and adaptive control

A new class of joint level control laws for all-revolute robot arms is introduced. The analysis is similar to a recently proposed energy-like Liapunov function approach, except that the closed-loop potential function is shaped in accordance with the underlying joint space topology. This approach gives way to a much simpler analysis and leads to a new class of control designs which guarantee both global asymptotic stability and local exponential stability. When Coulomb and viscous friction and parameter uncertainty are present as model perturbations, a sliding mode-like modification of the control law results in a robustness-enhancing outer loop. Adaptive control is formulated within the same framework. A linear-in-the-parameters formulation is adopted and globally asymptotically stable adaptive control laws are derived by simply replacing unknown model parameters by their estimates (i.e., certainty equivalence adaptation).

Wen, John T.↗

NASA NTRS1990

A singular perturbation approach to pitch-loop design

It is shown that it is possible to construct a controller for the inner loop which is consistent with the performance index used in shaping the trajectory. Although the complete analysis has been carried out only for a model without an RCS, the resulting pitch-loop control is of interest. The gains depend on the system only through the parameter Omega and do not depend on the outer performance index in any way.

Cliff, Eugene M.↗

NASA NTRS1992

ROM/RMF control of the flexible, articulated-truss space crane

The large size and extreme flexibility of an articulated space crane entail great difficulties in precision positioning. Control strategies for the flexible multibody system are here developed using a Timoshenko-beam finite-element model (FEM) which captures the system's low frequency characteristics. From the FEM, a reduced-order model (ROM) controller is designed which rotates the fixed shape crane about the base alpha joint to actuate positioning control. Eigenvalue analysis of the closed-loop system shows the destabilizing effect of controller-structure interaction (CSI). Making use of a parallel bank of residual mode filters (RMFs) compensated for CSI, restoring system stability and performance. The linear control law is simulated in closed-loop with the beam model. The ROM-based control law with RMF compensation is an effective, low-order controller.

Reisenauer, Brian T.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Use of anomolous thermal imaging effects for multi-mode systems control during crystal growth

Real time image processing techniques, combined with multitasking computational capabilities are used to establish thermal imaging as a multimode sensor for systems control during crystal growth. Whereas certain regions of the high temperature scene are presently unusable for quantitative determination of temperature, the anomalous information thus obtained is found to serve as a potentially low noise source of other important systems control output. Using this approach, the light emission/reflection characteristics of the crystal, meniscus and melt system are used to infer the crystal diameter and a linear regression algorithm is employed to determine the local diameter trend. This data is utilized as input for closed loop control of crystal shape. No performance penalty in thermal imaging speed is paid for this added functionality. Approach to secondary (diameter) sensor design and systems control structure is discussed. Preliminary experimental results are presented.

Wargo, Michael J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Real Km-synthesis via generalized Popov multipliers

The authors refine their H-infinity control designs presented at the 1990 and 1991 American Control Conference by introducing a new real Km-synthesis technique involving the use of generalized Popov multipliers. This multiplier technique substantially reduces, and in some cases may even eliminate altogether, the conservativeness associated with traditional Km-synthesis solutions in which all uncertainties are treated as complex, even when they arise from real parameters such as the masses and spring constants in the benchmark problem. The design results demonstrate how this approach permits a very precise analysis of the intrinsic tradeoffs between robustness, performance, and control energy requirements. Also included is an open-loop H-infinity prefilter design that makes it possible to address the command response shaping issue. The design concept has been applied to the benchmark problem no. 4 and successfully removes the initial undesired transient and cuts down the percent overshoot.

Chiang, R. Y.↗

NASA NTRS1974

Study of design and control of remote manipulators. Modeling manipulator arms with distributed flexibility for design and control

The interactions of control system and distributed flexible structural dynamics is explored for mechanical arms. A modeling process using 4 x 4 transfer matrices is described which permits the closed loop response of many current arm configurations to be evaluated. Root locus, frequency response, modal shapes, and time impulse response have all been obtained from the digital computer implementation of this model, which is oriented to arm design and allows for easy variation of the arm configuration through data cards. The model corresponds with experimentally observed natural frequencies with an average error of less than 5% in the first three flexible modes in the seven cases considered. The model was used to explore the limits imposed by structural flexibility on a nondimensionalized two link arm with one and two joints for planar motion.

Book, W. J.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Optimal Recursive Digital Filters for Active Bending Stabilization

In the design of flight control systems for large flexible boosters, it is common practice to utilize active feedback control of the first lateral structural bending mode so as to suppress transients and reduce gust loading. Typically, active stabilization or phase stabilization is achieved by carefully shaping the loop transfer function in the frequency domain via the use of compensating filters combined with the frequency response characteristics of the nozzle/actuator system. In this paper we present a new approach for parameterizing and determining optimal low-order recursive linear digital filters so as to satisfy phase shaping constraints for bending and sloshing dynamics while simultaneously maximizing attenuation in other frequency bands of interest, e.g. near higher frequency parasitic structural modes. By parameterizing the filter directly in the z-plane with certain restrictions, the search space of candidate filter designs that satisfy the constraints is restricted to stable, minimum phase recursive low-pass filters with well-conditioned coefficients. Combined with optimal output feedback blending from multiple rate gyros, the present approach enables rapid and robust parametrization of autopilot bending filters to attain flight control performance objectives. Numerical results are presented that illustrate the application of the present technique to the development of rate gyro filters for an exploration-class multi-engined space launch vehicle.

Orr, Jeb S.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Frequency-shaped large-angle maneuvers

The paper considers the problem of maneuvering a flexible spacecraft through large angles in finite time. The basic control problem is divided into two parts. The first part consists of generating a frequency-shaped open-loop solution for the nonlinear rigid body as the nominal solution. The resulting two-point boundary-value problem is solved by introducing a continuation method for altering the mass distribution and boundary conditions for the spacecraft. For the second part, a feedback control is designed by linearizing the flexible body response about several points along the rigid body nominal solution. The perturbation gains are designed by using a frequency-shaped cost functional approach. The gains are linearly interpolated to produce smooth control time-histories as the linear piecewise constant plant models change during the maneuver.

Chun, Hon M.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Integrated active and passive control design methodology for the LaRC CSI evolutionary model

A general design methodology to integrate active control with passive damping was demonstrated on the NASA LaRC CSI Evolutionary Model (CEM), a ground testbed for future large, flexible spacecraft. Vibration suppression controllers designed for Line-of Sight (LOS) minimization were successfully implemented on the CEM. A frequency-shaped H2 methodology was developed, allowing the designer to specify the roll-off of the MIMO compensator. A closed loop bandwidth of 4 Hz, including the six rigid body modes and the first three dominant elastic modes of the CEM was achieved. Good agreement was demonstrated between experimental data and analytical predictions for the closed loop frequency response and random tests. Using the Modal Strain Energy (MSE) method, a passive damping treatment consisting of 60 viscoelastically damped struts was designed, fabricated and implemented on the CEM. Damping levels for the targeted modes were more than an order of magnitude larger than for the undamped structure. Using measured loss and stiffness data for the individual damped struts, analytical predictions of the damping levels were very close to the experimental values in the (1-10) Hz frequency range where the open loop model matched the experimental data. An integrated active/passive controller was successfully implemented on the CEM and was evaluated against an active-only controller. A two-fold increase in the effective control bandwidth and further reductions of 30 percent to 50 percent in the LOS RMS outputs were achieved compared to an active-only controller. Superior performance was also obtained compared to a High-Authority/Low-Authority (HAC/LAC) controller.

Voth, Christopher T.↗

NASA NTRS2015

Requirements and Design Reference Mission for the WFIRST-AFTA Coronagraph Instrument

The WFIRST-AFTA coronagraph instrument take s advantage of AFTA s 2.4 -meter aperture to provide novel exoplanet imaging science at approximately the same instrument cost as an Explorer mission. The AFTA coronagraph also matures direct imaging technologies to high TRL for an Exo-Earth Imager in the next decade. The coronagraph Design Reference Mission (DRM) optical design is based on the highly successful High Contrast Imaging Testbed (HCIT), with modifications to accommodate the AFTA telescope design, service-ability, volume constraints, and the addition of an Integral Field Spectrograph (IFS). In order to optimally satisfy the three science objectives of planet imaging, planet spectral characterization and dust debris imaging, the coronagraph is designed to operate in two different modes : Hybrid Lyot Coronagraph or Shaped Pupil Coronagraph. Active mechanisms change pupil masks, focal plane masks, yot masks, and bandpass filters to shift between modes. A single optical beam train can thus operate alternatively as two different coronagraph architecture s. Structural Thermal Optical Performance (STOP) analysis predict s the instrument contrast with the Low Order Wave Front Control loop closed. The STOP analysis was also used to verify that the optical/structural/thermal design provides the extreme stability required for planet characterization in the presence of thermal disturbances expected in a typical observing scenario. This paper describes the instrument design and the flow down from science requirements to high level engineering requirements.

contrast↗

NASA NTRS2013

Modal Filtering for Control of Flexible Aircraft

Modal regulators and deformation trackers are designed for an open-loop fluttering wing model. The regulators are designed with modal coordinate and accelerometer inputs respectively. The modal coordinates are estimated with simulated fiber optics. The robust stability of the closed-loop systems is compared in a structured singular-value vector analysis. Performance is evaluated and compared in a gust alleviation and flutter suppression simulation. For the same wing and flight condition two wing-shape-tracking control architectures are presented, which achieve deformation control at any point on the wing.

Shape Control↗

NASA NTRS1998

Liquid-Vapor Interface Configurations Investigated in Low Gravity

The Interface Configuration Experiment (ICE) is part of a multifaceted study that is exploring the often striking behavior of liquid-vapor interfaces in low-gravity environments. Although the experiment was posed largely as a test of current mathematical theory, applications of the results should be manifold. In space almost every fluid system is affected, if not dominated, by capillarity (the effects of surface tension). As a result, knowledge of fluid interface behavior, in particular an equilibrium interface shape from which any analysis must begin, is fundamental--from the control of liquid fuels and oxygen in storage tanks to the design and development of inspace thermal systems, such as heat pipes and capillary pumped loops. ICE has increased, and should continue to increase, such knowledge as it probes the specific peculiarities of current theory upon which our present understanding rests. Several versions of ICE have been conducted in the drop towers at the NASA Lewis Research Center, on the space shuttles during the first and second United States Microgravity Laboratory missions (USML-1 and USML-2), and most recently aboard the Russian Mir space station. These studies focused on interfacial problems concerning the existence, uniqueness, configuration, stability, and flow characteristics of liquid-vapor interfaces. Results to date have clearly demonstrated the value of the present theory and the extent to which it can predict the behavior of capillary systems.

Concus, Paul↗

NASA NTRS1985

The design of a precision pointing contol system for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility

The design and performance simulation of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility pointing and control system are described. The system design is constrained by such considerations as image stability, maneuver capability, cryogen lifetime, and structural flexibility. The primary design driver is the requirement to rapidly execute small angle reorientations of the telescope's optical axis. The flexibility of the spacecraft was simulated using a simplified multibody model which provided an approximation of the primary bending modes. The rather conventional attitude control system design of PID type with a 0.5 Hz bandwidth was enhanced to meet the small angle maneuver requirements by the use of three techniques: (1) a feedforward loop to improve the time response; (2) torque shaping to minimize structural excitation; and (3) active image stabilization to remove residual pointing error and jitter. Simulation results indicate that the system has the desired performance and can be designed using techniques and hardware well within the state-of-the-art.

Sridhar, B.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Accommodating Actuator Failures in Flight Control Systems

A technique for the design of flight control systems that can accommodate a set of actuator failures is presented. As employed herein, an actuator failure is defined as any change in the parametric model of the actuator which can adversely affect actuator performance. The technique is based upon the formulation of a fixed feedback topology which ensures at least stability in the presence of the failures in the set. The fixed compensation is obtained from a loop-shaping design procedure similar to Quantitative Feedback Theory and provides stability robustness in the presence of uncertainty in the vehicle dynamics caused by the failures. System adaptation to improve performance after actuator failure(s) occurs through a static gain adjustment in the compensator followed by modification of the system prefilter. Precise identification of the vehicle dynamics is unnecessary. Application to a single-input, single-output design using a simplified model of the longitudinal dynamics of the NASA High Angle of Attack Research Vehicle is discussed. Non-real time simulations of the system including a model of the pilot demonstrate the effectiveness and limitations of the approach.

Hess, R. A.↗

NASA NTRS2010

Challenges and Lessons Learned From Resurrecting a Legacy Research Flight Controller

Resurrecting the legacy Inner Loop Thrust Vectoring research flight controller to investigate the tail shock region brought unique challenges. This report documents these challenges and lessons learned from a stability and controls perspective. The flight test approach for flight envelope expansion and probing tests, as well as limited flight test results, are presented. Recent advances in sonic boom reduction technology have contributed to a resurgent interest in civilian supersonic cruise flight. These advances have focused only on fore body shaping, however, and little, if any, experimental flight data are available to develop and validate design tools for the tail shock region. In January of 2009, the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center completed research flights to investigate the tail shock region of a highly modified F-15 aircraft by probing the shock waves around it, using another F-15 aircraft. To adjust the lift distribution and plume shape, a decade-old research flight controller from the Inner Loop Thrust Vectoring project was required. To investigate the tail shock region, the lift distribution was changed by adjusting the canard position, and the plume shape was changed by adjusting the nozzle area and thrust vectoring.

Dees, Ray A.↗

NASA NTRS1987

A linear quadratic Gaussian with loop transfer recovery proximity operations autopilot for spacecraft

An automatic control scheme for spacecraft proximity operations is presented. The controller is capable of holding the vehicle at a prescribed location relative to a target, or maneuvering it to a different relative position using straight line-of-sight translations. The autopilot uses a feedforward loop to initiate and terminate maneuvers, and for operations at nonequilibrium set-points. A multivariate feedback loop facilitates precise position and velocity control in the presence of sensor noise. The feedback loop is formulated using the Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) with Loop Transfer Recovery (LTR) design procedure. Linear models of spacecraft dynamics, adapted from Clohessey-Wiltshire Equations, are augmented and loop shaping techniques are applied to design a target feedback loop. The loop transfer recovery procedure is used to recover the frequency domain properties of the target feedback loop. The resulting compensator is integrated into an autopilot which is tested in a high fidelity Space Shuttle Simulator. The autopilot performance is evaluated for a variety of proximity operations tasks envisioned for future Shuttle flights.

Chen, George T.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Decentralized Control of Sound Radiation Using Iterative Loop Recovery

A decentralized model-based control strategy is designed to reduce low-frequency sound radiation from periodically stiffened panels. While decentralized control systems tend to be scalable, performance can be limited due to modeling error introduced by the unmodeled interaction between neighboring control units. Since bounds on modeling error are not known in advance, it is difficult to ensure the decentralized control system will be robust without making the controller overly conservative. Therefore an iterative approach is suggested, which utilizes frequency-shaped loop recovery. The approach accounts for modeling error introduced by neighboring control loops, requires no communication between subsystems, and is relatively simple. The control strategy is evaluated numerically using a model of a stiffened aluminum panel that is representative of the sidewall of an aircraft. Simulations demonstrate that the iterative approach can achieve significant reductions in radiated sound power from the stiffened panel without destabilizing neighboring control units.

Schiller, Noah H.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Integrated modeling and analysis of a space-truss article

MSC/NASTRAN is being used in the Controls-Structures Interaction (CSI) program at NASA Langley Research Center as a key analytical tool for structural analysis as well as the basis for control law development, closed-loop performance evaluation, and system safety checks. Guest investigators from academia and industry are performing dynamics and control experiments on a flight-like deployable space truss called Mini-Mast to determine the effectiveness of various active-vibration control laws. MSC/NASTRAN was used to calculate natural frequencies and mode shapes below 100 Hz to describe the dynamics of the 20-meter-long lightweight Mini-Mast structure. Gravitational effects contribute significantly to structural stiffness and are accounted for through a two-phase solution in which the differential stiffness matrix is calculated and then used in the eigensolution. Reduced modal models are extracted for control law design and evaluation of closed-loop system performance. Predicted actuator forces from controls simulations are then applied to the extended model to predict member loads and stresses. These pre-test analyses reduce risks associated with the structural integrity of the test article, which is a major concern in closed-loop control experiments due to potential instabilities.

Alan E Stockwell↗