Control of nonlinear flexible space structures

Abstract

With the advances made in computer technology and efficiency of numerical algorithms over last decade, the MPC strategies have become quite popular among control community. However, application of MPC or GPC to flexible space structure control has not been explored adequately in the literature. The work presented in this thesis primarily focuses on application of GPC to control of nonlinear flexible space structures. This thesis is particularly devoted to the development of various approximate dynamic models, design and assessment of candidate controllers, and extensive numerical simulations for a realistic multibody flexible spacecraft, namely, Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) a Prometheus class of spacecraft proposed by NASA for deep space exploratory missions. A stable GPC algorithm is developed for Multi-Input-Multi-Output, (MIMO) systems. An end-point weighting (penalty) is used in the GPC cost function to guarantee the nominal sta­ bility of the closed-loop system. A method is given to compute the desired end-point state from the desired output trajectory. The methodologies based on Fake Algebraic Riccati Equation (FARE) and constrained nonlinear optimization, are developed for synthesis of state weighting matrix. This makes this formulation more practical. A stable reconfigurable GPC architecture is presented and its effectiveness is demonstrated on both aircraft as well as spacecraft model. A representative in-orbit maneuver is used for assessing the performance of various con­ trol strategies using various design models. Different approximate dynamic models used for analysis include linear single body flexible structure, nonlinear single body flexible structure, and nonlinear multibody flexible structure. The control laws evaluated include traditional GPC, feedback linearization-based GPC (FLGPC), reconfigurable GPC, and nonlinear dissi­ pative control. These various control schemes are evaluated for robust stability and robust