Adaptive nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode controller design for a smart flexible satellite in general planar motion

Abstract

In this research, a new mathematical modeling is obtained for a smart satellite with flexible appendages in general planar motion by considering two control thrust forces, a control torque and piezoelectric actuators and sensors. The satellite consists of a central rigid body and two flexible appendages modeled as Euler-Bernoulli beams. It has ability to translate and rotate in the plane of motion. Moreover, its flexible appendages can arbitrarily vibrate in the satellite's moving plane. The Lagrange method based on the Rayleigh-Ritz method is employed to derive the governing equations of motion and the sensors equations. The nonlinearity of the satellite's motion equations is the result of considering large angle rotation. Continuous terminal sliding mode and adaptive nonsingular fast terminal sliding mode controllers are designed to control the smart flexible satellite's position and attitude and suppress vibrations of the flexible appendages in the presence of uncertainties and external disturbances simultaneously. Finally, numerical simulations are presented in order to validate the proposed dynamic model and demonstrate the performance of the proposed controllers.