SEARCH · Engineering Papers
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
A feedback controller for the stabilization of closed-loop systems is proposed which is based on the Liapunov stability criterion. A feedback control law is first generated for the linear portion of the system equation using linear control theory. A feedback control is then designed for the nonlinear portion of the system equation by making negative the time derivative of a positive definite Liapunov function.
A novel and efficient approach for the eigenvalue assignment of large first-order time-invariant systems is developed using full-state feedback and output feedback. First, a Schur decomposition is applied to triangularize the state matrix. Second, a series of coordinate rotations (Givens rotations) are used to move the eigenvalue to be reassigned to the end of the diagonal of its Schur form. Third, the eigenvalue is moved to the desired location by a full-state feedback, without affecting the remaining eigenvalues. The second and third step can be repeated until all the assignable eigenvalues are moved to the desired locations. Given the freedom of multiple inputs, the feedback gain matrix is calculated to minimize an objective function composed of a gain matrix norm and/or a robustness index of the closed-loop system. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach.
The light scattering and absorption programs of Cai and Liou (1982) and Takano and Jaweera (1985) are extended to include hexagonal ice crystals randomly and horizontally oriented in space. The scattering and polarization results for the ice crystals are calculated. The results are compared with measurement data. The single-scattering properties for horizontally oriented columns and plates are presented and used to explain halos and arcs observed in the atmopshere. In the second section, the theory and computations for multiple scattering in cirrus clouds containing oriented ice crystals are presented. The radiative transfer in clouds composed of horizontally oriented ice crystals is formulated. Also, reflected and transmitted intensities, planetary albedo, and polarization in multiple scattering by ice crystals are discussed.
An explicit formula is obtained for the first-order eigenvector derivative that corresponds to the eigenvector of a repeated eigenvalue, in the case of the nonself-adjoint eigenvalue problem. This method applies to the class of nondefective problems whose first eigenvalue derivatives of the repeated eigenvalues are distinct. A singular-value decomposition approach is used to compute four requisite bases for eigenspaces, as well as to keep track of the dimensions of state variables and the conditioning of the state equations.
The system identification process presently discussed for the case of large space structures uses the observed input to a system and its observed response, or output, to derive an analytical model of the system which can then be used to predict its response to future inputs. Due to their size and complexity, as well as the intrinsic difficulty of identifying the environment in which they function, large space structures will require vast amounts of information, encompassing both experimental and analytical data for identification. A status evaluation is made of the structural system identification literature to date.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
An efficient algorithm is developed for multisession adjustment of GPS data with simultaneous orbit determination and ambiguity resolution. Application of the algorithm to the analysis of data from a five-year campaign in progress in southern and central California to monitor tectonic motions using observations by GPS satellites, demonstrates improvements in estimates of station position and satellite orbits when the phase ambiguities are resolved. Most of the phase ambiguities in the GPS network were resolved, particularly for all the baselines of geophysical interest in California.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Single-mode projection filters are developed for eigensystem parameter identification from both analytical results and test data. Explicit formulations of these projection filters are derived using the orthogonal matrices of the controllability and observability matrices in the general sense. A global minimum optimization algorithm is applied to update the filter parameters by using the interval analysis method. The updated modal parameters represent the characteristics of the test data. For illustration of this new approach, a numerical simulation for the MAST beam structure is shown by using a one-dimensional global optimization algorithm to identify modal frequencies and damping. The projection filters are practical for parallel processing implementation.
A one-dimensional climate model with an interactive cloud formation and precipitation program is used to study the relationship between cloud microphysical processes and climate. It is shown that the rate of precipitation is directly proportional to the fourth power of the mean cloud particle radius. The effects of CO2 doubling on the climate are examined. It is suggested that smaller cloud droplets may be produced by condensation nuclei over the oceans, as a result of greenhouse warming and pollution over land. Larger cloud droplets could be caused by the removal of cloud-forming nuclei, resulting from enhance precipitation due to greenhouse perturbations.
An algorithm is developed for recursively calculating the minimum realization of a linear system from sampled impulse response data. The Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization technique is used to generate an orthonormal basis for factorization of the data matrix. The system matrix thus identified is in upper Hessenberg form, which has advantages for the identification of modal parameters including damping coefficients, frequencies, mode shapes, and modal participation factors. It also has the property that once an element of the system matrix is computed, it is never altered as the dimension of the model is increased in the recursive process. Numerical examples are presented for comparison of the recursive and nonrecursive forms of the eigensystem realization algorithm.
This paper presents a survey of U.S. ground experiments and facilities dedicated to the study of active control of flexible structures. The facilities will be briefly described in terms of capability, configuration, size and instrumentation. Topics on the experiments include vibration suppression, slewing and system identification. Future research directions, particularly of the NASA Langley Research Center's Controls/Structures Interaction (CSI) ground test program, will be discussed.
A new approach for the eigenvalue assignment of linear, first-order, time-invariant systems using output feedback is developed. The approach can assign the maximum allowable number of closed-loop eigenvalues through output feedback provided that the system is fully controllable and observable, and both the input influence and output influence matrices are full rank. First, a collection of bases for the space of attainable closed-loop eigenvectors is generated using the Singular Value Decomposition or QR Decomposition techniques. Then, an algorithm based on subspace intersections is developed and used to compute the corresponding coefficients of the bases, and the required output feedback gain matrix. Moreover, the additional freedom provided by the multi-inputs and multi-outputs beyond the eigenvalue assignment is characterized for possible exploitation. A numerical example is given to demonstrate the viability of the proposed approach.
A relationship between the closed-loop eigenvalues and the amount of perturbations in the open-loop matrix is addressed in the context of performance robustness. If the allowable perturbation ranges of elements of the open-loop matrix A and the desired tolerance of the closed-loop eigenvalues are given such that max(j) of the absolute value of Delta-lambda(j) (A+BF) should be less than some prescribed value, what is a state feedback controller F which satisfies the closed-loop eigenvalue perturbation-tolerance requirement for a class of given perturbation in A? The paper gives an algorithm to design such a controller. Numerical examples are included for illustration.
Future space manipulators may need translational base motion to expand the access region of a manipulator. An experiment was conducted to demonstrate slewing of flexible structures with coupled rotational and translational axes while simultaneously suppressing vibrational motion during the maneuver. In the experiment, a flexible steel beam carried by a translational cart was maneuvered by an active controller to perform position-control tasks. Experimental results are presented to show how the flexibility of the steel beam influences the multi-input multi-output feedback controller.
A least-squares finite element method, based on the velocity-pressure-vorticity formulation, is developed for solving steady incompressible Navier-Stokes problems. This method leads to a minimization problem rather than to a saddle-point problem by the classic mixed method, and can thus accommodate equal-order interpolations. This method has no parameter to tune. The associated algebraic system is symmetric, and positive definite. Numerical results for the cavity flow at Reynolds number up to 10,000 and the backward-facing step flow at Reynolds number up to 900 are presented.
The results of a recent surface adjustment of the 15-meter diameter hoop-column antenna are presented. A least-squares differential algorithm is used to adjust the surface shape as close as possible to a perfect parabola. Since the desired perfect parabola is not uniquely known a priori, parameters of the perfect parabola are included in the design vector along with the cable length changes. As an extension to an earlier study, lateral sensitivity is included in the least-squares adjustment procedure. In addition, the effect of cable length uncertainties on the surface RMS error is considered and an error bound is derived. The results in this study indicate an improvement over earlier studies. The sensitivity analysis provided a quantitative measure of the needed accuracy of the cable adjustments in the laboratory. Recommendations are included to further enhance shape adjustment.
A brief survey of large space structure control related experiments and facilities was presented. This survey covered experiments performed before and up to 1982, and those of the present period (1982-...). Finally, the future planned experiments and facilities in support of the control-structure interaction (CSI) program were reported. It was stated that new, improved ground test facilities are needed to verify the new CSI design techniques that will allow future space structures to perform planned NASA missions.