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At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1984

Definition of ground test for verification of large space structure control

Control theory and design, dynamic system modelling, and simulation of test scenarios are the main ideas discussed. The overall effort is the achievement at Marshall Space Flight Center of a successful ground test experiment of a large space structure. A simplified planar model of ground test experiment of a large space structure. A simplified planar model of ground test verification was developed. The elimination from that model of the uncontrollable rigid body modes was also examined. Also studied was the hardware/software of computation speed.

Doane, G. B., III↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advanced Modeling of Control-Structure Interaction in Thrust Vector Control Systems

The Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage (CS) Thrust Vector Control (TVC) system is comprised of 8 mechanical feedback Shuttle heritage Type III TVC actuators and four RS-25 engines, each attached to a Shuttle heritage gimbal block/bearing. Two actuators are used to move each engine in two planes perpendicular to one another (i.e., pitch and yaw). The TVC system design leverages hardware from the Space Shuttle program as well as new hardware designed specifically for the Core Stage. During the development of the SLS TVC system, a family of advanced dynamics models were developed to extend and compliment the simplified quasi-linear “simplex” model historically used for flight control design and stability analysis. The importance of these advanced models became increasingly evident after ambient and hot fire testing of the Core Stage, which revealed a number of findings associated with the dynamic response of the TVC integrated system. Test responses suggested that the TVC did not meet its performance specifications and its step and frequency responses exhibited unexpected departures from prior lab tests and modeled behavior. One driving factor for these results was a higher-than-expected degree of coupling between the TVC system, the engine dynamics, and the Core Stage structure. This paper is the third installment in a seven-paper series surveying the design, engineering, test validation, and flight performance of the Core Stage Thrust Vector Control system. In this paper, a new method of modeling rocket vehicle thrust vectoring servoelastic dynamics is presented. In this approach, the load dynamics are replaced by a detailed finite element model containing both the rigid body and elastic modes. A partitioning technique is used to compute the effective compliance from the modal data and obtain accurate simulation results using a reduced number of generalized coordinates. Coupled backup structure and nozzle attach compliance effects on multiple engines are captured in higher fidelity than with a spring approximation, eliciting novel effects due to the complex load paths involved in the Core Stage structure. Validation of the model is demonstrated using a variety of structural/modal, laboratory, and full-scale hot fire test data.

Launch Vehicles↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advanced Modeling of Control-Structure Interaction in Thrust Vector Control Systems

The Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage (CS) Thrust Vector Control (TVC) system is comprised of 8 mechanical feedback Shuttle heritage Type III TVC actuators and four RS-25 engines, each attached to a Shuttle heritage gimbal block/bearing. Two actuators are used to move each engine in two planes perpendicular to one another (i.e., pitch and yaw). The TVC system design leverages hardware from the Space Shuttle program as well as new hardware designed specifically for the Core Stage. During the development of the SLS TVC system, a family of advanced dynamics models were developed to extend and compliment the simplified quasi-linear “simplex” model historically used for flight control design and stability analysis. The importance of these advanced models became increasingly evident after ambient and hot fire testing of the Core Stage, which revealed a number of findings associated with the dynamic response of the TVC integrated system. Test responses suggested that the TVC did not meet its performance specifications and its step and frequency responses exhibited unexpected departures from prior lab tests and modeled behavior. One driving factor for these results was a higher-than-expected degree of coupling between the TVC system, the engine dynamics, and the Core Stage structure. This paper is the third installment in a seven-paper series surveying the design, engineering, test validation, and flight performance of the Core Stage Thrust Vector Control system. In this paper, a new method of modeling rocket vehicle thrust vectoring servoelastic dynamics is presented. In this approach, the load dynamics are replaced by a detailed finite element model containing both the rigid body and elastic modes. A partitioning technique is used to compute the effective compliance from the modal data and obtain accurate simulation results using a reduced number of generalized coordinates. Coupled backup structure and nozzle attach compliance effects on multiple engines are captured in higher fidelity than with a spring approximation, eliciting novel effects due to the complex load paths involved in the Core Stage structure. Validation of the model is demonstrated using a variety of structural/modal, laboratory, and full-scale hot fire test data.

Launch Vehicles↗
NASA NTRS1988

Effect of natural damping on the dynamics and control of a class of optimally designed structures

In this study the vibration control of large space structures with structural damping is investigated. Emphasis is made on the control of both a class of optimally designed (stepped) structures and also the corresponding uniform structures using a cantilever beam as an example. The open loop and closed loop dynamics are compared and the transient responses are determined to study the effect of damping on the control system design.

Satyanarayana, K.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Vortex pairing in a circular jet under controlled excitation. I - General jet response. II - Coherent structure dynamics

Hot-wire and flow visualization studies were performed in three air jets subjected to pure-tone excitation. The instability, vortex roll-up, and transition to the controlled excitation were investigated. The conditions most favorable to vortex parting were determined as a function of the excitation Strouhal number, the Reynolds number, and the initial shear-layer state; it was shown that the rolled-up vortex rings undergo pairing under 'the shear layer mode', and the 'jet-column mode' when the Strouhal numbers based on the initial shear-layer momentum thickness are 0.012 and 0.85, respectively. Coherent ring-like vortical structures could be educed to the end of the potential core; however, the paired vortex becomes weaker with increasing downstream distances. The transverse transport of 'u' momentum by the coherent structures was much larger during the pairing process than in regions where a single vortex is studied.

Zaman, K. B. M. Q.↗
NASA NTRS1989

JPL control/structure interaction test bed real-time control computer architecture

The Control/Structure Interaction Program is a technology development program for spacecraft that exhibit interactions between the control system and structural dynamics. The program objectives include development and verification of new design concepts - such as active structure - and new tools - such as combined structure and control optimization algorithm - and their verification in ground and possibly flight test. A focus mission spacecraft was designed based upon a space interferometer and is the basis for design of the ground test article. The ground test bed objectives include verification of the spacecraft design concepts, the active structure elements and certain design tools such as the new combined structures and controls optimization tool. In anticipation of CSI technology flight experiments, the test bed control electronics must emulate the computation capacity and control architectures of space qualifiable systems as well as the command and control networks that will be used to connect investigators with the flight experiment hardware. The Test Bed facility electronics were functionally partitioned into three units: a laboratory data acquisition system for structural parameter identification and performance verification; an experiment supervisory computer to oversee the experiment, monitor the environmental parameters and perform data logging; and a multilevel real-time control computing system. The design of the Test Bed electronics is presented along with hardware and software component descriptions. The system should break new ground in experimental control electronics and is of interest to anyone working in the verification of control concepts for large structures.

Briggs, Hugh C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Determining structural performance

An overview of the methods and concepts developed to enhance and predict structural dynamic characteristics of advanced aeropropulsion systems is presented. Aeroelasticity, vibration control, dynamic systems, and computational structural methods are four disciplines that make up the structural dynamic effort at LeRC. The aeroelasticity program develops analytical and experimental methods for minimizing flutter and forced vibration of aerospace propulsion systems. Both frequency domain and time domain methods were developed for applications on the turbofan, turbopump, and advanced turboprop. In order to improve life and performance, the vibration control program conceives, analyzes, develops, and demonstrates new methods for controlling vibrations in aerospace systems. Active and passive vibration control is accomplished with electromagnetic dampers, magnetic bearings, and piezoelectric crystals to control rotor vibrations. The dynamic systems program analyzes and verifies the dynamics of interacting systems, as well as develops concepts and methods for high-temperature dynamic seals. Work in this field involves the analysis and parametric identification of large, nonlinear, damped, stochastic systems. The computational structural methods program exploits modern computer science as an aid to the solutions of structural problems.

Ernst, Michael A.↗
NASA NTRS2008

An Integrated Approach to Damage Accommodation in Flight Control

In this paper we present an integrated approach to in-flight damage accommodation in flight control. The approach is based on Multiple Models, Switching and Tuning (MMST), and consists of three steps: In the first step the main objective is to acquire a realistic aircraft damage model. Modeling of in-flight damage is a highly complex problem since there is a large number of issues that need to be addressed. One of the most important one is that there is strong coupling between structural dynamics, aerodynamics, and flight control. These effects cannot be studied separately due to this coupling. Once a realistic damage model is available, in the second step a large number of models corresponding to different damage cases are generated. One possibility is to generate many linear models and interpolate between them to cover a large portion of the flight envelope. Once these models have been generated, we will implement a recently developed-Model Set Reduction (MSR) technique. The technique is based on parameterizing damage in terms of uncertain parameters, and uses concepts from robust control theory to arrive at a small number of "centered" models such that the controllers corresponding to these models assure desired stability and robustness properties over a subset in the parametric space. By devising a suitable model placement strategy, the entire parametric set is covered with a relatively small number of models and controllers. The third step consists of designing a Multiple Models, Switching and Tuning (MMST) strategy for estimating the current operating regime (damage case) of the aircraft, and switching to the corresponding controller to achieve effective damage accommodation and the desired performance. In the paper present a comprehensive approach to damage accommodation using Model Set Design,MMST, and Variable Structure compensation for coupling nonlinearities. The approach was evaluated on a model of F/A-18 aircraft dynamics under control effector damage, augmented by nonlinear cross-coupling terms and a structural dynamics model. The proposed approach achieved excellent performance under severe damage effects.

Boskovic, Jovan D.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Control/structure interaction design methodology

The Control Structure Interaction Program is a technology development program for spacecraft that exhibit interactions between the control system and structural dynamics. The program objectives include development and verification of new design concepts (such as active structure) and new tools (such as a combined structure and control optimization algorithm) and their verification in ground and possibly flight test. The new CSI design methodology is centered around interdisciplinary engineers using new tools that closely integrate structures and controls. Verification is an important CSI theme and analysts will be closely integrated to the CSI Test Bed laboratory. Components, concepts, tools and algorithms will be developed and tested in the lab and in future Shuttle-based flight experiments. The design methodology is summarized in block diagrams depicting the evolution of a spacecraft design and descriptions of analytical capabilities used in the process. The multiyear JPL CSI implementation plan is described along with the essentials of several new tools. A distributed network of computation servers and workstations was designed that will provide a state-of-the-art development base for the CSI technologies.

Briggs, Hugh C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The impact of remote manipulator structural dynamics on Shuttle on-orbit flight control

The performance of the Space Shuttle on-orbit flight control system during payload operations with the remote manipulator system is described. The changing mass and inertia distribution associated with payload manipulation can have a significant effect on the control authority provided by the orbiter's reaction control jets. Commanded payload motion and jet firings can excite significant flexure in the orbiter/manipulator/payload structure. These effects combine to stress the control capabilities of the flight control system. Data from recent flight tests is presented to illustrate these effects.

Sargent, D. G.↗
NASA NTRS1999

CEAS/AIAA/ICASE/NASA Langley International Forum on Aeroelasticity and Structural Dynamics 1999

These proceedings represent a collection of the latest advances in aeroelasticity and structural dynamics from the world community. Research in the areas of unsteady aerodynamics and aeroelasticity, structural modeling and optimization, active control and adaptive structures, landing dynamics, certification and qualification, and validation testing are highlighted in the collection of papers. The wide range of results will lead to advances in the prediction and control of the structural response of aircraft and spacecraft.

Woodrow Whitlow, Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1999

CEAS/AIAA/ICASE/NASA Langley International Forum on Aeroelasticity and Structural Dynamics 1999

The proceedings of a workshop sponsored by the Confederation of European Aerospace Societies (CEAS), the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Washington, D.C., and the Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering (ICASE), Hampton, Virginia, and held in Williamsburg, Virginia June 22-25, 1999 represent a collection of the latest advances in aeroelasticity and structural dynamics from the world community. Research in the areas of unsteady aerodynamics and aeroelasticity, structural modeling and optimization, active control and adaptive structures, landing dynamics, certification and qualification, and validation testing are highlighted in the collection of papers. The wide range of results will lead to advances in the prediction and control of the structural response of aircraft and spacecraft.

Woodrow Whitlow, Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Identification of large space structures on orbit : A survey

The Task Committee on Methods for Identification of Large Structures in Space was founded in Jul. 1984. The charter of the committee was to prepare a state-of-the-art report on methods of system identification applicable to large space structures (LSS). Funding to support preparation of the report was received in Aug. 1985 from the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (now the Air Force Astronautics Laboratory), in the form of a contract to the ASCE. The report was completed, and published by AFRPL in Sep. 1986. The Task Committee consisted of ten members, including ASCE and AFRPL representatives. The membership represented Government, Industry, and Universities, and consisted of electrical, mechanical, and civil engineers, with backgrounds in Structural Dynamics, Optimization, and Controls. An effort was made to use consistent terminology and notation throughout the report which would be compatible with the terminology used in both the structures and controls communities.

Denman, Eugene E.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Integrated Approach to the Dynamics and Control of Maneuvering Flexible Aircraft

This work uses a fundamental approach to the problem of simulating the flight of flexible aircraft. To this end, it integrates into a single formulation the pertinent disciplines, namely, analytical dynamics, structural dynamics, aerodynamics, and controls. It considers both the rigid body motions of the aircraft, three translations (forward motion, sideslip and plunge) and three rotations (roll, pitch and yaw), and the elastic deformations of every point of the aircraft, as well as the aerodynamic, propulsion, gravity and control forces. The equations of motion are expressed in a form ideally suited for computer processing. A perturbation approach yields a flight dynamics problem for the motions of a quasi-rigid aircraft and an 'extended aeroelasticity' problem for the elastic deformations and perturbations in the rigid body motions, with the solution of the first problem entering as an input into the second problem. The control forces for the flight dynamics problem are obtained by an 'inverse' process and the feedback controls for the extended aeroservoelasticity problem are determined by the LQG theory. A numerical example presents time simulations of rigid body perturbations and elastic deformations about 1) a steady level flight and 2) a level steady turn maneuver.

Waszak, Martin R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Multidisciplinary analysis of actively controlled large flexible spacecraft

The control of Flexible Structures (COFS) program has supported the development of an analysis capability at the Langley Research Center called the Integrated Multidisciplinary Analysis Tool (IMAT) which provides an efficient data storage and transfer capability among commercial computer codes to aid in the dynamic analysis of actively controlled structures. IMAT is a system of computer programs which transfers Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) configurations, structural finite element models, material property and stress information, structural and rigid-body dynamic model information, and linear system matrices for control law formulation among various commercial applications programs through a common database. Although general in its formulation, IMAT was developed specifically to aid in the evaluation of the structures. A description of the IMAT system and results of an application of the system are given.

Cooper, Paul A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Astrodynamics 1989; Proceedings of the AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Conference, Stowe, VT, Aug. 7-10, 1989. Parts 1 & 2

The conference focuses of analytical and numerical aspects of astrodynamics and celestial mechanics with emphasis on planetary mission design, trajectory analysis and design, orbit determination, attitude determination and control, guidance systems, and dynamics and control of large flexible space structures. Trajectory computation techniques, satellite dynamics, and geocentric satellite orbit analysis are presented, along with earth orbiter mission analysis, trajectory optimization applications, planetary spacecraft orbit determination, and orbiting debris considerations. Neutral upper-atmosphere density is addressed, and guidance analysis, planetary mission design and analysis, trajectory analysis, estimation/identification techniques are discussed in addition to the dynamics and control of space structures or multi-body systems.

Thornton, Catherine L.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Dynamics and control of a 25-meter aperture virtual structure Gossamer telescope in GEO

In this paper we conduct a feasibility analysis of a 25-meter aperture virtual-structure space telescope example concept based on formation control of separated free-flying optical modules orbiting the Earth at GEO. We develop a Formation Flying implementation approach, and design and analyze the dynamics, control, metrology and estimation methods.

Gossamer virtual structure formation flying↗