Slewing Maneuvers and Vibration Control of Space Structures by Feedforward/Feedback Moment-Gyro Controls

Abstract

This paper presents a momentgyro control approach to the maneuver and vibration suppression of a flexible truss arm undergoing a constant slewing motion. The overall slewing motion is triggered by a feedforward input, and a companion feedback controller is employed to augment the feedforward input and subsequently to control vibrations. The feedforward input for the given motion requirement is determined from the combined CMG (Control Momentum Gyro) devices and the desired rigid-body motion. The rigid-body dynamic model has enabled us to identify the attendant CMG momentum saturation constraints. The task for vibration control is carried out in two stages; first in the search of a suitable CMG placement along the beam span for various slewing maneuvers, and subsequently in the development of LQ control algorithms for CMG spin-stabilization. Both analytical and numerical results are presented to show the effectiveness of the present approach.