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The load control system developed for the shuttle external structural tests is described. The system consists of a load programming/display module, and a load control module along with the following hydraulic system components: servo valves, dump valves, hydraulic system components, and servo valve manifold blocks. One load programming/display subsystem can support multiple load control subsystem modules.
A mathematical model of an active control landing gear (ACOLAG) was developed and programmed for operation on a digital computer. The mathematical model includes theoretical subsonic aerodynamics; first-mode wing bending and torsional characteristics; oleo-pneumatic shock strut with fit and binding friction; closed-loop, series-hydraulic control; empirical tire force-deflection characteristics; antiskid braking; and sinusoidal or random runway roughness. The mathematical model was used to compute the loads and motions for a simulated vertical drop test and a simulated landing impact of a conventional (passive) main landing gear designed for a 2268-kg (5000-lbm) class airplane. Computations were also made for a simply modified version of the passive gear including a series-hydraulic active control system. Comparison of computed results for the passive gear with experimental data shows that the active control landing gear analysis is valid for predicting the loads and motions of an airplane during a symmetrical landing. Computed results for the series-hydraulic active control in conjunction with the simply modified passive gear show that 20- to 30-percent reductions in wing force, relative to those occurring with the modified passive gear, can be obtained during the impact phase of the landing. These reductions in wing force could result in substantial increases in fatigue life of the structure.
A hydraulic control loading system for aircraft simulation was analyzed to find the causes of undesirable low frequency oscillations and loading effects in the output. The hypothesis of mechanical compliance in the control linkage was substantiated by comparing the behavior of a mathematical model of the system with previously obtained experimental data. A compensation scheme based on the minimum integral of the squared difference between desired and actual output was shown to be effective in reducing the undesirable output effects. The structure of the proposed compensation was computed by use of a dynamic programing algorithm and a linear state space model of the fixed elements in the system.
Directed fluid stream for propeller blade loading control
Rotor control systems experience a rapid load growth resulting from retreating blade stall during flight conditions of high blade loading or airspeeds. An investigation was undertaken to determine the effect of changing blade torsional properties over the rotor flight envelope. The results of this study show that reducing the blade stiffness to introduce more blade live twist significantly reduces the large retreating blade control loads, while expanding the flight envelope and reducing retreating blade stall loads.
The results of an evaluation of an active load-control landing gear computer program (ACOLAG) for predicting the landing dynamics of airplanes with passive and active main gears are presented. ACOLAG was used in an analytical investigation of the landing dynamics of a large airplane with both passive and active main gears. It was concluded that the program is valid for predicting the landing dynamics of airplanes with both passive and active main gears. It was shown that the active gear reduces airframe-gear forces and airplane motions following initial impact, and has the potential for significant reductions in structural fatigue damage relative to that which occurs with the passive gear.
Parallel current paths are divided into two groups, with control devices in the current paths of one group each having a current limiting resistor, and the control devices in the other group each having no limiting resistor, so that when the control devices of the second group are turned fully on, a short circuit is achieved by the arrangement of parallel current paths. Separate but coordinated control signals are provided to turn on the control devices of the first group and increase their conduction toward saturation as a function of control input, and when fully on, or shortly before, to turn on the control devices of the second group and increase their conduction toward saturation as a function of the control input as that input continues to increase. Electronic means may be used to generate signals. The system may be used for 1-V characteristic measurements of solar arrays as well as for other load control purposes.
As electrical generation becomes more distributed and volatile, and loads become more uncertain, controllability of distributed energy resources (DERs), regardless of their ownership status, will be necessary for grid reliability. Grid operators lack direct control over end-users' grid interactions, such as energy usage, but incentives can influence behavior -- for example, an end-user that receives a grid-driven incentive may adjust their consumption or expose relevant control variables in response. A key challenge in studying such incentives is the lack of data about human behavior, which usually motivates strong assumptions, such as distributional assumptions on compliance or rational utility-maximization. In this paper, we propose a general incentive mechanism in the form of a constrained optimization problem -- our approach is distinguished from prior work by modeling human behavior (e.g., reactions to an incentive) as an arbitrary unknown function. We propose feedback-based optimization algorithms to solve this problem that each leverage different amounts of information and/or measurements. We show that each converges to an asymptotically stable incentive with (near)-optimality guarantees given mild assumptions on the problem. Finally, we evaluate our proposed techniques in voltage regulation simulations on standard test beds. We test a variety of settings, including those that break assumptions required for theoretical convergence (e.g., convexity, smoothness) to capture realistic settings. In this evaluation, our proposed algorithms are able to find near-optimal incentives even when the reaction to an incentive is modeled by a theoretically difficult (yet realistic) function.
Aircraft dynamic loads and vibrations resulting from landing impact and from runway and taxiway unevenness are recognized as significant in causing fatigue damage, dynamic stress on the airframe, crew and passenger discomfort, and reduction of the pilot's ability to control the aircraft during ground operations. One potential method for improving operational characteistics of aircraft on the ground is the application of active control technology to the landing gears to reduce ground loads applied to the airframe. An experimental investigation was conducted which simulated the landing dynamics of a light airplane to determine the feasibility and potential of a series hydraulic active control main landing gear. The experiments involved a passive gear and an active control gear. Results of this investigation show that a series hydraulically controlled gear is feasible and that such a gear is very effective in reducing the loads transmitted by the gear to the airframe during ground operations.
A sampled data model of a control loader system for flight simulation was developed and successfully validated. The model accounts for the effects of the central digital simulation computer on the response of the analog control loader system and includes the spring-gradients, bob-weight, and actuator-lag effects of the aircraft. The revelation of a frequency error introduced by the implementation of force feedback through the digital computer that could adversely affect pilot performance in simulated flight has led to a proposed new implementation which will minimize the impact of the frequency problem.
Langley Differential Maneuvering Simulator (DMS) realistically simulates two aircraft operating in differential mode. It consists of two identical fixed-base cockpits and dome projection systems. Each projection system consists of sky/Earth projector and target-image generator and projector. Although programmable control forces are small part of overall system, they play large role in providing pilot with kinesthetic cues.
The application of wing tip modifications and active control technology to the Boeing 747 airplane for the purpose of improving fuel efficiency is considered. Wing tip extensions, wing tip winglets, and the use of the outboard ailerons for active wing load alleviation are described. Modest performance improvements are indicated. A costs versus benefits approach is taken to decide which, if any, of the concepts warrant further development and flight test leading to possible incorporation into production airplanes.
This report discusses a new maturity model that regulators and utilities can use to guide and expand demand flexibility programs and enable the resources to provide more grid services. The model has six demand flexibility categories: planning and design; customer engagement; program operations; evaluation, measurement and verification; distributed energy resource orchestration; and data infrastructure. Within each category, capabilities are identified and described on a maturity scale that ranges from performing below expectations to improving on best practices.
The Energy 101: Distributed Energy Resources and Storage presentation, developed for the Energy Technology Innovation Partnership Project (ETIPP), provides an overview of distributed energy resources (DERs) and energy storage. It covers fundamental concepts, technologies, considerations, case studies, and additional resources.
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Even though thermostatically controlled loads like air conditioners present a great potential for providing ancillary services to the electric power grid, the practical challenges associated with their real-time coordination have not received the necessary attention. In this work, we present a nondisruptive load control application, specifically, we demonstrate how real residential air conditioners can provide frequency regulation. Aggregate power adjustment is achieved by modifying the ON/OFF modes of the air conditioners. To account for both single and multi-zone houses, we extend the currently available techniques and develop an approach that can be used for controlling aggregations that include both types of houses. A discussion of the practical challenges encountered in our field experiments is provided, along with the hardware and software approaches we developed to circumvent them. Here, we argue that limitations of current thermostat APIs introduce significant challenges and are an impediment to widespread adoption of fast load control applications.
Stand-alone photovoltaic systems have been modeled and analyzed from sunlight in to consumer product out. By including the consumer product in the analysis, concepts such as 'product storage' (a storage tank for water or cold-plates for refrigeration) and loads controllable by the system controller have been added to the system analysis. From a controls analysis viewpoint, this adds state variables to the system. The result is that the system controller can make operating control decisions on the energy flow between these various system elements to optimize system performance and reduce system cost. The effects on system performance of various control schemes employing these concepts are presented. Analysis of water pumping and/or refrigeration systems show possible performance improvements of greater than 15% with the addition of controllable loads with product storage.
Analysis of specific problems in rotorcraft dynamics. Topics include hingeless rotor theory, dynamic stall modelling, periodic systems identification, analysis of complex systems with phasing matrices, flapping stability, flap-lag dynamics at high advance ratios, finite element analysis and fuselage free-vibration characteristics, coupled rotor/frame vibration methods, gust response characteristics with unsteady stall effects, antiresonance theory, cyclic feathering motions and dynamic loads, control load envelope shaping, rotor aeroelasticity, use of Floquet theory, theory of proprotors and tilt-rotors, two-bladed teetering rotors, stability of air and ground resonance, vertical-plane pendulum absorbers, multicyclic jet-flap control, engine/frame interface dynamics, and others. The minutes of the question and answer periods following the presentations are presented in the supplement. Individual items are announced in this issue.