Optimal Control Strategies for Imaging Using Formation Flying Spacecraft
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An active control strategy for lateral rotor vibrations using external forces is proposed. An extended state observer is used to reconstruct the full states and the unbalance distribution. An optimal controller which accommodates persistent unbalance excitation is derived with feedback of estimated states and unbalances. Numerical simulations were conducted for two separate four degree of freedom rotor systems. These simulations indicated that the proposed strategy can achieve almost complete vibration cancellation. This was shown to be true even when the number of external control forces was less than the system order so long as coordinate coupling was present. Both steady state and transient response at a constant speed are presented.
Variable-speed pursuit-evasion and interception for two aircraft moving in a horizontal plane are analyzed in terms of a coordinate frame fixed in the plane at termination. Each participant's optimal motion can be represented by extremal trajectory maps. These maps are used to discuss sub-optimal approximations that are independent of the other participant. A method of constructing sections of the barrier, dispersal, and control-level surfaces and thus determining feedback strategies is described. Some examples are shown for pursuit-evasion and the minimum-time interception of a straight-flying target.
The control of stochastic dynamic systems is studied with particular emphasis on those which influence the quality or nature of the measurements which are made to effect control. Four main areas are discussed: (1) the meaning of stochastic optimality and the means by which dynamic programming may be applied to solve a combined control/measurement problem; (2) a technique by which it is possible to apply deterministic methods, specifically the minimum principle, to the study of stochastic problems; (3) the methods described are applied to linear systems with Gaussian disturbances to study the structure of the resulting control system; and (4) several applications are considered.
Optimal discrete control strategy for terminal guidance using computation procedure based on theory of dynamic programming
The problem of minimum-time interception of a target moving in a horizontal plane is studied. The target may fly a trajectory that is known at the start of the interception or try to evade the intercepting aircraft. The interceptor's optimal motion is described independently of the target in terms of an extremal trajectory map. The latter is used to develop guidelines for suboptimal approximations to the extremals. A method of constructing the feedback solution by drawing isochrones (constant minimum-time loci) is developed. Sections of the feedback solution for the interception of a straight-flying target are presented, and the construction of an isochrone for the interception of an actively evading target is demonstrated.
An algorithm is presented for the recognition and localization of thre-dimensional polyhedral objects based on an optical proximity sensor system capable of measuring the depth and orientation of a local area of an object surface. Emphasis is given to the determination of an optimal sensor trajectory or an optimal probing, for efficient discrimination among all the possible interpretations. The determination of an optimal sensor trajectory for the next probing consists of the selection of optimal beam orientations based on the surface normal vector distribution of the multiple interpretation image (MII) and the selection of an optimal probing plane by projecting the MII onto the projection plane perpendicular to a selected beam orientation and deriving the optimal path on the projection plane. The selection of optimal beam orientation and probing plane is based on the measure of discrimination power of a cluster of surfaces of an MII. Simulation results are shown.
Some authors take a classical approach to the simultaneous structure/control optimization by attempting to simultaneously minimize the weighted sum of the total mass and a quadratic form, subject to all of the structural and control constraints. Here, the optimization will be based on the dynamic response of a structure to an external unknown stochastic disturbance environment. Such a response to excitation approach is common to both the structural and control design phases, and hence represents a more natural control/structure optimization strategy than relying on artificial and vague control penalties. The design objective is to find the structure and controller of minimum mass such that all the prescribed constraints are satisfied. Two alternative solution algorithms are presented which have been applied to this problem. Each algorithm handles the optimization strategy and the imposition of the nonlinear constraints in a different manner. Two controller methodologies, and their effect on the solution algorithm, will be considered. These are full state feedback and direct output feedback, although the problem formulation is not restricted solely to these forms of controller. In fact, although full state feedback is a popular choice among researchers in this field (for reasons that will become apparent), its practical application is severely limited. The controller/structure interaction is inserted by the imposition of appropriate closed-loop constraints, such as closed-loop output response and control effort constraints. Numerical results will be obtained for a representative flexible structure model to illustrate the effectiveness of the solution algorithms.
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Designing computer-assisted instruction system for teaching programming languages
A low-thrust guidance algorithm suitable for operational use is formulated. Using linear stochastic control theory, a linear feedback control law is obtained for a minimum terminal miss performance criterion. The control variables are restricted to constant values over specified time intervals and are explicitly limited. Both fixed and variable time-of-arrival guidance are considered. Guidance equations are presented in deterministic (operational) and in statistical form; and computational procedures necessary for implementation are outlined. The performance of the guidance algorithm is evaluated by applying it to the approach phase of the 1980 rendezvous mission with the comet Encke.
A solution to the following problem is presented: Given that an n-component functional system is down, it is required to find a malfunctioning component of the system such that the expected expenditure is minimum.
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Simulated cloud/hole fields as well as Landsat imagery are used in a computer model to evaluate several proposed sampling patterns and shot management schemes for pulsed space-based Doppler lidars. Emphasis is placed on two proposed sampling strategies - one obtained from a conically scanned single telescope and the other from four fixed telescopes that are sequentially used by one laser. The question of whether there are any sampling patterns that maximize the number of resolution areas with vertical soundings to the PBL is addressed.
To develop an innovative yet practically implementable mitigation technique for the most probable impact threat of an asteroid or comet with short warning time (i.e., when we don't have sufficient warning times for a deflection mission).
The NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) Sub-seasonal to Seasonal (S2S) prediction system is being readied for a major upgrade. An important factor in successful extended range forecasting is the definition of the ensemble. Our overall strategy is to run a relatively large ensemble of about 40 members up to 3 months (focusing on the sub-seasonal forecast problem), after which we sub-sample the ensemble, and continue the forecast with about 10 members (up to 12 months). Here we present the results of our testing of various ways to generate the initial perturbations and the validation of a stratified sampling approach for choosing the members of the smaller ensemble. For the initialization of the ensemble we propose a combination of lagged and burst initial conditions. To generate perturbations for the burst ensemble members we used scaled differences of pairs of analysis states (chosen randomly from the corresponding season) separated by 1-10 days. We consider perturbing separately the atmosphere and the ocean, or both. By varying the separation times between the analysis states, we are able to produce perturbations that resemble well-known modes of variability. Focusing on the ENSO SST indices, we found that all types of perturbations are important for the ensemble spread with, however, considerable differences in the timing of the impacts on spread for the atmospheric and oceanic perturbations.Our initial (larger) ensemble size was determined so as to maximize the skill of predicting some of the leading modes of boreal winter atmospheric modes (namely the NAO, PNA and AO). Since it is not feasible for us to run with the larger ensemble beyond about 3 months, we employ a stratified sampling procedure that identifies the emerging directions of error growth to subset the ensemble. By comparing the results from the stratified ensemble with that of the randomly sampled ensemble of the same size, we find that the former provides substantially better estimates the mean of the original large ensemble.
GMAO Sub/Seasonal prediction system (S2S) is being readied for a major upgrade to GEOS-S2S Version 3. An important factor in successful extended range forecast is the definition of an ensemble For initialization of the ensemble we propose a combination of lagged and burst initial conditions. We plan to run a relatively large ensemble of 40 members for sub-seasonal forecast (up to 3 months), at which point we sub-sample the ensemble, and continue the forecast with 10 members (up to 12 months). Here we present the results of the extensive testing of various ways to generate the perturbations to the initial conditions and the validation of the stratified sampling strategy we chose.To generate perturbations for the burst ensemble members we used scaled differences of pairs of analysis states separated by 1-10 days, randomly chosen from a corresponding season. We considered perturbing separately only the atmospheric fields or only the ocean or both of the forecast initial conditions. Considering varying separation times between the analysis states, we were able to produce perturbations sampling various modes of variability. Focusing on the ENSO SST indices, we found that all types of perturbations are important for the ensemble spread.Our ensemble size for sub-seasonal forecasts was determined as to maximize the skill of predicting some of the leading modes of boreal winter atmospheric modes, NAO, PNA and AO. It is not feasible to run equally large ensemble for seasonal forecasts. Using a stratified sampling procedure we can identify the emerging directions of error growth. By comparing the stratified ensemble with randomly sampled ensemble of the same size, we were able to show that the former better estimates the mean of the original large ensemble.