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At least 1,189 records · Page 66

42: An Open-Source Simulation Tool for Study and Design of Spacecraft Attitude Control Systems

Simulation is an important tool in the analysis and design of spacecraft attitude control systems. The speaker will discuss the simulation tool, called simply 42, that he has developed over the years to support his own work as an engineer in the Attitude Control Systems Engineering Branch at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 42 was intended from the outset to be high-fidelity and powerful, but also fast and easy to use. 42 is publicly available as open source since 2014. The speaker will describe some of 42's models and features, and discuss its applicability to studies ranging from early concept studies through the design cycle, integration, and operations. He will outline 42's architecture and share some thoughts on simulation development as a long-term project.

Stoneking, Eric↗

Optical tools and techniques for aligning solar payloads with the SPARCS control system

The success of a rocket-borne experiment depends not only on the pointing of the attitude control system, but on the alignment of the attitude control system to the payload. To ensure proper alignment, special optical tools and alignment techniques are required. Those that were used in the SPARCS program are described and discussed herein. These tools include theodolites, autocollimators, a 38-cm diameter solar simulator, a high-performance 1-m heliostat to provide a stable solar source during the integration of the rocket payload, a portable 75-cm sun tracker for use at the launch site, and an innovation called the Solar Alignment Prism. Using the real sun as the primary reference under field conditions, the Solar Alignment Prism facilitates the coalignment of the attitude sun sensor with the payload. The alignment techniques were developed to ensure the precise alignment of the solar payloads to the SPARCS attitude sensors during payload integration and to verify the required alignment under field conditions just prior to launch.

Thomas, N. L.↗

Flight Test Results for the F-16XL With a Digital Flight Control System

In the early 1980s, two F-16 airplanes were modified to extend the fuselage length and incorporate a large area delta wing planform. These two airplanes, designated the F-16XL, were designed by the General Dynamics Corporation (now Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems) (Fort Worth, Texas) and were prototypes for a derivative fighter evaluation program conducted by the United States Air Force. Although the concept was never put into production, the F-16XL prototypes provided a unique planform for testing concepts in support of future high-speed supersonic transport aircraft. To extend the capabilities of this testbed vehicle the F-16XL ship 1 aircraft was upgraded with a digital flight control system. The added flexibility of a digital flight control system increases the versatility of this airplane as a testbed for aerodynamic research and investigation of advanced technologies. This report presents the handling qualities flight test results covering the envelope expansion of the F-16XL with the digital flight control system.

Stachowiak, Susan J.↗

Control system renewal for efficient operation in RIKEN 18 GHz electron cyclotron resonance ion source

A RIKEN 18 GHz electron cyclotron resonance ion source (18 GHz ECRIS) is used as an external ion source at the Radioactive Ion Beam Factory (RIBF) accelerator complex to produce an intense beam of medium-mass heavy ions (e.g., Ca and Ar). In most components that comprise the RIBF, the control systems (CSs) are integrated by the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS). On the other hand, a non-EPICS-based system has hardwired controllers, and it is used in the 18 GHz ECRIS CS as an independent system. In terms of efficient and effective operation, the 18 GHz ECRIS CS as well as the RIBF CS should be renewed using EPICS. Therefore, we constructed an 18 GHz ECRIS CS by using programmable logic controllers with embedded EPICS technology. In the renewed system, an operational log system was developed as a new feature, for supporting of the 18 GHz ECRIS operation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Integrity in flight control systems

In connection with advances in technology, mainly in the electronic area, aircraft flight control applications have evolved from simple pilot-relief autopilots to flight-critical and redundant fly-by-wire and active control systems. For flight-critical implementations which required accommodation of inflight failures, additional levels of redundancy were incorporated to provide fail-safe and fail-operative performance. The current status of flight control systems reliability is examined and high-reliability approaches are discussed. Attention is given to the design of ring laser gyros and magnetohydrodynamic rate sensors, redundancy configurations for component failure protection, improvements of hydraulic actuators made on the component level, integrated actuators, problems of software reliability, lightning considerations, and failure detection methods for component and system failures.

Kurzhals, P. R.↗

A Bernoulli Gaussian Watermark for Detecting Integrity Attacks in Control Systems

We examine the merit of Bernoulli packet drops in actively detecting integrity attacks on control systems. The aim is to detect an adversary who delivers fake sensor measurements to a system operator in order to conceal their effect on the plant. Physical watermarks, or noisy additive Gaussian inputs, have been previously used to detect several classes of integrity attacks in control systems. In this paper, we consider the analysis and design of Gaussian physical watermarks in the presence of packet drops at the control input. On one hand, this enables analysis in a more general network setting. On the other hand, we observe that in certain cases, Bernoulli packet drops can improve detection performance relative to a purely Gaussian watermark. This motivates the joint design of a Bernoulli-Gaussian watermark which incorporates both an additive Gaussian input and a Bernoulli drop process. We characterize the effect of such a watermark on system performance as well as attack detectability in two separate design scenarios. Here, we consider a correlation detector for attack recognition. We then propose efficiently solvable optimization problems to intelligently select parameters of the Gaussian input and the Bernoulli drop process while addressing security and performance trade-offs. Finally, we provide numerical results which illustrate that a watermark with packet drops can indeed outperform a Gaussian watermark.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Large space structure model reduction and control system design based upon actuator and sensor influence functions

A model reduction procedure based on aggregation with respect to sensor and actuator influences rather than modes is presented for large systems of coupled second-order differential equations. Perturbation expressions which can predict the effects of spillover on both the aggregated and residual states are derived. These expressions lead to the development of control system design constraints which are sufficient to guarantee, to within the validity of the perturbations, that the residual states are not destabilized by control systems designed from the reduced model. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the application of the aggregation and control system design method.

Yam, Y.↗

Fiberoptics technology and its application to propulsion control systems

Current work on optical sensors and optically controlled actuators for use in air-breathing engine control systems is reviewed with particular reference to the design and operation of several new fiber-optic devices. These include a tachometer, a rotary position encoder, a Fabry-Perot interferometer and a rare-earth sensor for measuring engine gas temperatures, a high-temperature photoswitch designed for the range -55 to 260 C, and optical cables and connectors. The advantages of optics over conventional wire systems used for sensing and actuator control are briefly discussed.

Baumbick, R. J.↗

Feasibility of EGS Well Control Systems

This report covers the 8th major objective listed in Grant DE-FG36-08GO18185. This objective takes the information and experience gained from the development of 300°C well monitoring system and applies them to concepts envisioned for future geothermal well control systems supporting EGS power production. This report covers a large number of instrumentation and control system engineering issues for EGS wells while also providing a window into existing technology to address those issues.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Fourth NASA Inter-Center Control Systems Conference

Space vehicle control applications are discussed, along with aircraft guidance, control, and handling qualities. System simulation and identification, engine control, advanced propulsion techniques, and advanced control techniques are also included.

Source record↗

A flight-test evaluation of a go-around control system for a twin engine powered-lift STOL airplane

An automatic go-around control system was evaluated on the Augmentor Wing Jet Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) Research Airplane (AWJSRA) as part of a study of an automatic landing system for a powered-lift STOL airplane. The results of the evaluation indicate that the go-around control system can successfully transition the airplane to a climb configuration from any initiation point during the glide-slope track or the flare maneuver prior to touchdown.

Watson, D. M.↗

The development of the DAST I remotely piloted research vehicle for flight testing an active flutter suppression control system

The development of the DAST I (drones for aerodynamic and structural testing) remotely piloted research vehicle is described. The DAST I is a highly modified BQM-34E/F Firebee II Supersonic Aerial Target incorporating a swept supercritical wing designed to flutter within the vehicle's flight envelope. The predicted flutter and rigid body characteristics are presented. A description of the analysis and design of an active flutter suppression control system (FSS) designed to increase the flutter boundary of the DAST wing (ARW-1) by a factor of 20% is given. The design and development of the digital remotely augmented primary flight control system and on-board analog backup control system is presented. An evaluation of the near real-time flight flutter testing methods is made by comparing results of five flutter testing techniques on simulated DAST I flutter data. The development of the DAST ARW-1 state variable model used to generate time histories of simulated accelerometer responses is presented. This model uses control surface commands and a Dryden model gust as inputs. The feasibility of the concept of extracting open loop flutter characteristics from closed loop FSS responses was examined. It was shown that open loop characteristics can be determined very well from closed loop subcritical responses.

Grose, D. L.↗

Integrity in electronic flight control systems

The evolution of the requirements of improved flight control systems, the status of flight control reliability, and highlights of the methods promising integrity of those systems are outlined.

Kurzhals, P. R.↗

Computer-aided-analysis of linear control system robustness

Stochastic robustness is a simple technique used to estimate the stability and performance robustness of linear, time-invariant systems. The use of high-speed graphics workstations and control system design software in stochastic robustness analysis is discussed and demonstrated. It is shown that stochastic robustness makes good use of modern computational and graphic tools, and it is easily implemented using commercial control system design and analysis software.

Stengel, Robert F.↗

Transforming the NAS: The Next Generation Air Traffic Control System

The next-generation air traffic control system must be designed to safely and efficiently accommodate the large growth of traffic expected in the near future. It should be sufficiently scalable to contend with the factor of 2 or more increase in demand expected by the year 2020. Analysis has shown that the current method of controlling air traffic cannot be scaled up to provide such levels of capacity. Therefore, to achieve a large increase in capacity while also giving pilots increased freedom to optimize their flight trajectories requires a fundamental change in the way air traffic is controlled. The key to achieving a factor of 2 or more increase in airspace capacity is to automate separation monitoring and control and to use an air-ground data link to send trajectories and clearances directly between ground-based and airborne systems. In addition to increasing capacity and offering greater flexibility in the selection of trajectories, this approach also has the potential to increase safety by reducing controller and pilot errors that occur in routine monitoring and voice communication tasks.

Erzberger, Heinz↗