Simulator investigations of various control systems for VTOL aircraft
Six-degree-of-freedom motion simulator study of handling qualities and control system power requirements for VTOL aircraft
CONTROL SYSTEM↗
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Fault Detection and Correction for the Solar Dynamics Observatory Attitude Control System
The Solar Dynamics Observatory is an Explorer-class mission that will launch in early 2009. The spacecraft will operate in a geosynchronous orbit, sending data 24 hours a day to a devoted ground station in White Sands, New Mexico. It will carry a suite of instruments designed to observe the Sun in multiple wavelengths at unprecedented resolution. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly includes four telescopes with focal plane CCDs that can image the full solar disk in four different visible wavelengths. The Extreme-ultraviolet Variability Experiment will collect time-correlated data on the activity of the Sun's corona. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager will enable study of pressure waves moving through the body of the Sun. The attitude control system on Solar Dynamics Observatory is responsible for four main phases of activity. The physical safety of the spacecraft after separation must be guaranteed. Fine attitude determination and control must be sufficient for instrument calibration maneuvers. The mission science mode requires 2-arcsecond control according to error signals provided by guide telescopes on the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, one of the three instruments to be carried. Lastly, accurate execution of linear and angular momentum changes to the spacecraft must be provided for momentum management and orbit maintenance. In th~sp aper, single-fault tolerant fault detection and correction of the Solar Dynamics Observatory attitude control system is described. The attitude control hardware suite for the mission is catalogued, with special attention to redundancy at the hardware level. Four reaction wheels are used where any three are satisfactory. Four pairs of redundant thrusters are employed for orbit change maneuvers and momentum management. Three two-axis gyroscopes provide full redundancy for rate sensing. A digital Sun sensor and two autonomous star trackers provide two-out-of-three redundancy for fine attitude determination. The use of software to maximize chances of recovery from any hardware or software fault is detailed. A generic fault detection and correction software structure is used, allowing additions, deletions, and adjustments to fault detection and correction rules. This software structure is fed by in-line fault tests that are also able to take appropriate actions to avoid corruption of the data stream.
Starin, Scott R.↗
Information Signals in Automatic Production Control Systems
Attention focuses on the functional relations between the information signals processed in automatic production control systems, with a view to constructing a monitoring system for network interactions that is able to detect abnormal operation. The parameters of information signals, types of functional relations, and methods of determining such relations by statistical analysis are described. The sample size for reliable determination of the basic relations between the information signals is estimated.
42 ENGINEERING↗
Logic and control system for a panoramic television camera.
Dielectric-tape TV camera for panoramic scanning application in meteorological satellite, discussing subject logic and control system design
CONTROL SYSTEM↗
Mid-Lift-to-Drag Ratio Rigid Vehicle Control System Design and Simulation for Human Mars Entry
The Mid-Lift-to-Drag Ratio Rigid Vehicle (MRV) is a proposed candidate in the NASA Evolvable Mars Campaign's (EMC) Pathfinder Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) architecture study. The purpose of the study is to design a mission and vehicle capable of transporting a 20mt payload to the surface of Mars. The MRV is unique in its rigid, asymmetrical lifting-body shape which enables a higher lift-to-drag ratio (L/D) than the typical robotic Mars entry capsule vehicles that carry much less mass. This paper presents the formulation and six-degree-of-freedom (6DOF) performance of the MRV's control system, which uses both aerosurfaces and a propulsive reaction control system (RCS) to affect longitudinal and lateral directional behavior.
mars↗
AFTI/F-111 MAW flight control system and redundancy management description
The wing on the NASA F-111 transonic aircraft technology (TACT) airplane was modified to provide flexible leading and trailing edge flaps; this modified wing is known as the mission adaptive wing (MAW). A dual digital primary fly-by-wire flight control system was developed with analog backup reversion for redundancy. This report discusses the functions, design, and redundancy management of the flight control system for these flaps.
Larson, Richard R.↗
Pilot interface with fly by wire control systems
Aircraft designers are rapidly moving toward full fly by wire control systems for transport aircraft. Aside from pilot interface considerations such as location of the control input device and its basic design such as side stick, there appears to be a desire to change the fundamental way in which a pilot applies manual control. A typical design would have the lowest order of manual control be a control wheel steering mode in which the pilot is controlling an autopilot. This deprives the pilot of the tactile sense of angle of attack which is inherent in present aircraft by virtue of certification requirements for static longitudinal stability whereby a pilot must either force the aircraft away from its trim angle of attack or trim to a new angle of attack. Whether or not an aircraft actually has positive stability, it can be made to feel to a pilot as though it does by artificial feel. Artificial feel systems which interpret pilot input as pitch rate or G rate with automatic trim have proven useful in certain military combat maneuvers, but their transposition to other more normal types of manual control may not be justified.
Melvin, W. W.↗
Development of a Design Methodology for Reconfigurable Flight Control Systems
A methodology is presented for the design of flight control systems that exhibit stability and performance-robustness in the presence of actuator failures. The design is based upon two elements. The first element consists of a control law that will ensure at least stability in the presence of a class of actuator failures. This law is created by inner-loop, reduced-order, linear dynamic inversion, and outer-loop compensation based upon Quantitative Feedback Theory. The second element consists of adaptive compensators obtained from simple and approximate time-domain identification of the dynamics of the 'effective vehicle' with failed actuator(s). An example involving the lateral-directional control of a fighter aircraft is employed both to introduce the proposed methodology and to demonstrate its effectiveness and limitations.
Hess, Ronald A.↗
Thermal Control System of the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS)
The ECOSystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) is a thermal infrared imaging multispectral scanner science mission. ECOSTRESS is designed and built by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and will be deployed on the International Space Station (ISS). ECOSTRESS will measure the water loss from growing leaves and the evaporation from the soil by measuring the temperature of plants and will gather data on the health of the agriculture system on Earth. The ISS orbit will allow ECOSTRESS to take observations at different times during each day over the seasons to provide coverage over the contiguous United States. The ECOSTRESS Thermal Control System (TCS) consists of a combination of active and passive components to maintain the ECOSTRESS components within the allowable flight temperature (AFT) limits. The active thermal control systems include mechanical cryocoolers, heaters and a single-phase pumped fluid loop for Instrument and Payload. The focal plane detector is cooled to 65K by a pair of mechanical cryocoolers and a third mechanical cryocooler cools an intermediate cold shield to 130K. The pumped fluid loop transfers the instrument waste heat to JAXA’s Japanese Exposed Module External Facility (JEM-EF) provided external fluid loop before rejection to space from the ISS radiators. The passive TCS includes multi-layer and single layer insulations, flexible thermal links and coatings on the radiometer. This paper describes the ECOSTRESS instrument TCS architecture, instrument thermal requirements and key design drivers, the top level thermal design and analysis approach, and reports preliminary test results.
Carroll, Brian↗
A study of electronic packages environmental control systems and vehicle thermal systems integration Quarterly report no. 1, May - Jul. 1966
Environmental control systems for thermally conditioning individual electronic packages for Saturn space missions
SATURN V LAUNCH VEHICLE↗
THE MERCURY CAPSULE ATTITUDE CONTROL SYSTEM
In accordance with the basic design concepts of the Mercury Capsule, the manual and automatic control systems were developed to provide a redundant and integrated method of controlling the capsule attitude. The systems were designed to meet the requirements of ballistic and orbital flight, for normal and abort missions. Since the orbital mission includes all modes of control, it will serve as a basis for the system description.
Mercury capsule↗
Control system design for the MOD-5A 7.3 mW wind turbine generator
This paper provides descriptions of the requirements analysis, hardware development and software development phases of the Control System design for the MOD-5A 7.3 mW Wind Turbine Generator. The system, designed by General Electric Company, Advanced Energy Programs Department, under contract DEN 3-153 with NASA Lewis Research Center and DOE, provides real time regulation of rotor speed by control of both generator torque and rotor torque. A variable speed generator system is used to provide both airgap torque control and reactive power control. The wind rotor is designed with segmented ailerons which are positioned to control blade torque. The central component of the control system, selected early in the design process, is a programmable controller used for sequencing, alarm monitoring, communication, and real time control. Development of requirements for use of aileron controlled blades and a variable speed generator required an analytical simulation that combined drivetrain, tower and blade elastic modes with wind disturbances and control behavior. An orderly two phase plan was used for controller software development. A microcomputer based turbine simulator was used to facilitate hardware and software integration and test.
Barton, Robert S.↗
TFR-2578 MARVEL Reactivity Control System (RCS)
This document contains the Level 3 requirements associated with the subsystems of the Reactivity Control System (RCS) in the Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) project.
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
Apollo experience report: Guidance and control systems. Engineering simulation program
The Apollo Program experience from early 1962 to July 1969 with respect to the engineering-simulation support and the problems encountered is summarized in this report. Engineering simulation in support of the Apollo guidance and control system is discussed in terms of design analysis and verification, certification of hardware in closed-loop operation, verification of hardware/software compatibility, and verification of both software and procedures for each mission. The magnitude, time, and cost of the engineering simulations are described with respect to hardware availability, NASA and contractor facilities (for verification of the command module, the lunar module, and the primary guidance, navigation, and control system), and scheduling and planning considerations. Recommendations are made regarding implementation of similar, large-scale simulations for future programs.
Gilbert, D. W.↗
Flight investigation of a structural mode control system for the XB-70 aircraft
A flight investigation of a structural mode control system termed identical location of accelerometer and force (ILAF) was conducted on the XB-70-1 airplane. During the first flight tests, the ILAF system encountered localized structural vibration problems requiring a revision of the compensating network. After modification, successful structural mode control that did not adversely affect the rigid body dynamics was demonstrated. The ILAF system was generally more effective in supersonic than subsonic flight, because the conditions for which the system was designed were more nearly satisfied at supersonic speeds. The results of a turbulence encounter at a Mach number of 1.20 and an altitude of 9754 meters indicated that the ILAF system was effective in reducing the vehicle's response at this flight condition. An analytical study showed that the addition of a small canard to the modal suppression system would greatly improve the automatic control of the higher frequency symmetric modes.
Lock, W. P.↗
Solar Particle Induced Upsets in the TDRS-1 Attitude Control System RAM During the October 1989 Solar Particle Events
The three large solar particle events, beginning on October 19, 1989 and lasting approximately six days, were characterized by high fluences of solar protons and heavy ions at 1 AU. During these events, an abnormally large number of upsets (243) were observed in the random access memory of the attitude control system (ACS) control processing electronics (CPE) on-board the geosynchronous TDRS-1 (Telemetry and Data Relay Satellite). The RAM unit affected was composed of eight Fairchild 93L422 memory chips. The Galileo spacecraft, launched on October 18, 1989 (one day prior to the solar particle events) observed the fluxes of heavy ions experienced by TDRS-1. Two solid-state detector telescopes on-board Galileo, designed to measure heavy ion species and energy, were turned on during time periods within each of the three separate events. The heavy ion data have been modeled and the time history of the events reconstructed to estimate heavy ion fluences. These fluences were converted to effective LET spectra after transport through the estimated shielding distribution around the TDRS-1 ACS system. The number of single event upsets (SEU) expected was calculated by integrating the measured cross section for the Fairchild 93L422 memory chip with average effective LET spectrum. The expected number of heavy ion induced SEU's calculated was 176. GOES-7 proton data, observed during the solar particle events, were used to estimate the number of proton-induced SEU's by integrating the proton fluence spectrum incident on the memory chips, with the two-parameter Bendel cross section for proton SEU'S. The proton fluence spectrum at the device level was gotten by transporting the protons through the estimated shielding distribution. The number of calculated proton-induced SEU's was 72, yielding a total of 248 predicted SEU'S, very dose to the 243 observed SEU'S. These calculations uniquely demonstrate the roles that solar heavy ions and protons played in the production of SEU's during the October 1989 solar particle events.
Croley, D. R.↗
TFR-2574 MARVEL Instrumentation and Control System (ICS)
This document contains the Level 3 requirements associated with the subsystems of the Instrumentation Control System (ICS) in the Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) project.
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
Best Practices from the Design and Development of the Ares I Launch Vehicle Roll and Reaction Control Systems
On April 15, 2010 President Barak Obama made the official announcement that the Constellation Program, which included the Ares I launch vehicle, would be canceled. NASA s Ares I launch vehicle was being designed to launch the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, returning humans to the moon, Mars, and beyond. It consisted of a First Stage (FS) five segment solid rocket booster and a liquid J-2X Upper Stage (US) engine. Roll control for the FS was planned to be handled by a dedicated Roll Control System (RoCS), located on the connecting interstage. Induced yaw or pitch moments experienced during FS ascent would have been handled by vectoring of the booster nozzle. After FS booster separation, the US Reaction Control System (ReCS) would have provided the US Element with three degrees of freedom control as needed. The best practices documented in this paper will be focused on the technical designs and producibility of both systems along with the partnership between NASA and Boeing, who was on contract to build the Ares I US Element, which included the FS RoCS and US ReCS. In regards to partnership, focus will be placed on integration along with technical work accomplished by Boeing. This will include detailed emphasis on task orders developed between NASA and Boeing that were used to direct specific work that needed to be accomplished. In summary, this paper attempts to capture key best practices that should be helpful in the development of future launch vehicle and spacecraft RCS designs.
Butt, Adam↗