The study of parameter optimization in vehicle-borne tracking systems Final technical report
Data smoothing technique for parameter optimization in free flight orbit vehicle-borne tracking systems
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Data smoothing technique for parameter optimization in free flight orbit vehicle-borne tracking systems
A description is given of the application of a multivariable control design method (SANDY) based on constrained parameter optimization to the design of a multiloop aircraft flight control system. Specifically, the design method is applied to the direct synthesis of a multiloop AFCS inner-loop feedback control system based on total energy control system (TECS) principles. The design procedure offers a structured approach for the determination of a set of stabilizing controller design gains that meet design specifications in closed-loop stability, command tracking performance, disturbance rejection, and limits on control activities. The approach can be extended to a broader class of multiloop flight control systems. Direct tradeoffs between many real design goals are rendered systematic by proper formulation of the design objectives and constraints. Satisfactory designs are usually obtained in few iterations. Performance characteristics of the optimized TECS design have been improved, particularly in the areas of closed-loop damping and control activity in the presence of turbulence.
Orbit maintenance is the series of burns performed during a mission to ensure the orbit satisfies mission constraints. Low-altitude missions often require non-trivial orbit maintenance (Delta)V due to sizable orbital perturbations and minimum altitude thresholds. A strategy is presented for minimizing this (Delta)V using impulsive burn parameter optimization. An initial estimate for the burn parameters is generated by considering a feasible solution to the orbit maintenance problem. An example demonstrates the dV savings from the feasible solution to the optimal solution.
Orbit maintenance is the series of burns performed during a mission to ensure the orbit satisfies mission constraints. Low-altitude missions often require non-trivial orbit maintenance Delta V due to sizable orbital perturbations and minimum altitude thresholds. A strategy is presented for minimizing this Delta V using impulsive burn parameter optimization. An initial estimate for the burn parameters is generated by considering a feasible solution to the orbit maintenance problem. An low-lunar orbit example demonstrates the Delta V savings from the feasible solution to the optimal solution. The strategy s extensibility to more complex missions is discussed, as well as the limitations of its use.
A technique is described for designing feedback control systems using frequency domain models, a quadratic cost function, and a parameter optimization computer program. FORTRAN listings for the computer program are included. The approach is applied to the design of shock position controllers for a supersonic inlet. Deterministic or random system disturbances, and the presence of random measurement noise are considered. The cost function minimization is formulated in the time domain, but the problem solution is obtained using a frequency domain system description. A scaled and constrained conjugate gradient algorithm is used for the minimization. The approach to a supersonic inlet included the calculations of the optimal proportional-plus integral (PI) and proportional-plus-integral-plus-derivative controllers. A single-loop PI controller was the most desirable of the designs considered.
Near-minimum-time attitude maneuvers of space structures as well as ground based test articles are considered. Switching nature of the controls for rigid body maneuvers are illustrated using a control-cube and a critical control axis of rotation. The presence of torque smoothing and where appropriate, gravitational effects and connections to other bodies are explicitly included in the mathematical models of the systems to be optimized. A maximum fuel consumption constraint is included besides the required terminal conditions on attitude and angular velocities. The switch times, maximum thrust magnitudes, and smoothing parameters are determined using the Sequential Quadratic Programming method for parameter optimization. Results indicating attitude and angular velocity histories, thruster forces, and structural vibrations are presented for three, four, and five switch maneuvers, as well as maneuvers that involve large coasting arcs.
This report presents the conceptual development of a life extending control system where the objective is to achieve high performance and structural durability of the plant. A life extending controller is designed for a reusable rocket engine via damage mitigation in both the fuel and oxidizer turbines while achieving high performance for transient responses of the combustion chamber pressure and the O2/H2 mixture ratio. This design approach makes use of a combination of linear and nonlinear controller synthesis techniques and also allows adaptation of the life extending controller module to augment a conventional performance controller of a rocket engine. The nonlinear aspect of the design is achieved using nonlinear parameter optimization of a prescribed control structure.
A paper discusses the optimization of the parameters of a high-rate, deep-space optical communication link that utilizes pulse-position modulation (PPM) and an error-correcting code (ECC). The parameters in question include the PPM order (number of pulse time slots in one symbol period), the ECC rate, and the uncoded symbol error rate. In simple terms, the optimization problem is to choose the combination of these parameters that maximizes the throughput data rate at a given bit-error-rate (BER), subject to several constraints, including limits on the average and peak power and possibly a limit on the uncoded symbol error rate. This is a complex, multidimensional optimization problem, the solution of which involves computation of channel capacities for various combinations of the parameters. The paper presents extensive theoretical analyses and numerical predictions that elucidate the many facets of the optimization problem. It shows how a nearly optimum solution can be obtained by choosing the optimum PPM order for the desired number of bits per slot and concatenating the PPM mapping with an error-correction code so that the decoded bits satisfy some BER threshold.
Near minimum-time attitude maneuvers for large, inherently-flexible space structures with finite fuel supplies are investigated. The open loop maneuver is determined with the Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) algorithm, which optimizes a bang-off-bang control parameter set for the given maneuver. Torque smoothing is used to prevent discontinuities in the control which would excite the flexible structure. Additional system dynamics such as thruster inefficiency, spring forces and pressure leaks are identified from preliminary experiments on the ASTREX test article.
The results are presented of a study of a candidate load relief control law for use during the pullup phase of Return-to-Launch-Site (RTLS) abort entries. The control law parameters and cycle time which optimized performance of the normal load factor limiting phase (load relief phase) of an RTLS entry are examined. A set of control law gains, a smoothing parameter, and a normal force coefficient curve fit are established which resulted in good load relief performance considering the possible aerodynamic coefficient uncertainties defined. Also, the examination of various guidance cycle times revealed improved load relief performance with decreasing cycle time. A .5 second cycle provided smooth and adequate load relief in the presence of all the aerodynamic uncertainties examined.
A reliable algorithm for the evaluation of a quadratic performance index and its gradients with respect to the controller design parameters is presented. The algorithm is part of a design algorithm for an optimal linear dynamic output feedback controller that minimizes a finite time quadratic performance index. The numerical scheme is particularly robust when it is applied to the control law synthesis for systems with densely packed modes and where there is a high likelihood of encountering degeneracies in the closed loop eigensystem. This approach through the use of a accurate Pade series approximation does not require the closed loop system matrix to be diagonalizable. The algorithm has been included in a control design package for optimal robust low order controllers. Usefulness of the proposed numerical algorithm has been demonstrated using numerous practical design cases where degeneracies occur frequently in the closed loop system under an arbitrary controller design initialization and during the numerical search.
This report documents a case study on the application of Reliability Engineering techniques to achieve an optimal balance between performance and robustness by tuning the functional parameters of a complex non-linear control system. For complex systems with intricate and non-linear patterns of interaction between system components, analytical derivation of a mathematical model of system performance and robustness in terms of functional parameters may not be feasible or cost-effective. The demonstrated approach is simple, structured, effective, repeatable, and cost and time efficient. This general approach is suitable for a wide range of systems.
The spherical reflector at the Arecibo Observatory (AO) offers great advantages for the design of simple and inexpensive high performance steerable antennas at VHF. Light and small feeds have the added benefit that they can be quickly installed in the Arecibo platform. It is important to evaluate the performance of any given feed including the effects of the spherical reflector. The optimization is emphasized of two parameters, namely, the distance below the focal point of the reflector and the beam width of a point feed. For the design of the feed at 46.8 MHz at the AO there were other requirements independent of MST (mesosphere stratosphere troposphere) work. The design of the primary array is discussed along with its performance with the AO spherical reflector.
The numerical operations involved in a currently used optimization technique are discussed and analyzed with special attention to the numerical accuracy. Alternative methods for deriving linear system transfer functions, finding the relationships between the transfer function coefficients and the design parameters, and solving a matrix equation are presented for more accurate and cost effective solutions.
Aircraft icing remains a significant threat to aviation safety. Software that predicts the impingement and ice accretion on full aircraft geometries and aircraft components are in demand and NASA Glenn is committed to produce software that meets this need. One of the key parameters affecting an accurate prediction of iced geometry is the effect of ice roughness on the heat transfer coefficient. While many efforts have been made to implement the roughness in the flow solver, this report takes a correlation for roughness height distribution that is based on experimental measurements and demonstrates how to relate those measurements to an augmentation to the heat transfer coefficient provided by the flow solution. The outcome of this effort was the calibration of defaults for user supplied parameters to this correlation through comparison with 95 large glaze conditions from experiment by adjusting user-supplied parameters in the roughness augmentation equation.
The experimental data were aimed at obtaining the effect of jet mixing, the effective length/diameter of the ejector tube, the entrance length shape factor, the shape loading, and the optimum primary jet location. The total augmented thrust is proportional to the diameter of the ejector. The data show that for a practical design the entrance lip shape and the stream lines around the lip are also important in order to optimize the percentage augmentation.
Search algorithms for computer programming of multivariate optimization techniques for nonlinear, parametrically defined systems
Modifications to interplanetary trajectory program for providing capability of generating optimum low-thrust trajectory in N-body field