Cleaning space debris with a space-based laser system

High-energy pulsed laser radiation may be the most feasible means to mitigate the threat of collision of a space station or other valuable space assets with orbital debris in the size range of 1–10 cm. Under laser irradiation, part of the debris material is ablated and provides an impulse to the debris particle. Proper direction of the impulse vector either deflects the object trajectory or forces the debris on a trajectory through the upper atmosphere, where it burns up. Most research concentrates on ground-based laser systems but pays little attention to space-based laser systems.There are drawbacks of a ground-based laser system in cleaning space debris. Therefore the placement of a laser system in space is proposed and investigated. Under assumed conditions,the elimination process of space debris is analyzed. Several factors such as laser repetition frequency, relative movement between the laser and debris, and inclination of debris particles which may exercise influence to the elimination effects are discussed. A project of a space-based laser system is proposed according to the numerical results of a computer study. The proposed laser system can eliminate debris of 1–10 cm and succeed in protecting a space station.     

电动力缆绳离轨系统中绳索建模研究

 空间碎片对在轨运行航天器的安全构成重大威胁,使废弃卫星脱离原轨道进入大气层烧毁是减少空间碎片的有效途径。利用导电缆绳与地磁场相互作用产生的洛仑兹力使卫星特别是低地球轨道卫星的轨道高度快速衰减是一种很有应用前景的离轨方式。在研究电动力缆绳离轨的刚性杆模型基础上,建立了更符合电动力缆绳特性的柔索模型,并对刚性杆模型和柔索模型进行仿真。结果表明柔索模型能更精确地体现电动力缆绳的性质。     

电动力绳系离轨系统电流与拉力混合展开控制

电动力绳系离轨系统是一种典型的空间碎片主动消除技术,本文针对电动力绳离轨系统在初始阶段展开的控制问题,仅通过调节有限的系绳张力与电流,不依赖其他推进器,将导电系绳释放至期望长度并抑制系绳的摆动。首先,采用倾斜偶极子地磁场模型,建立考虑系绳质量的近地轨道二体电动力绳系卫星系统动力学模型;其次,在系绳张力与电流存在约束的条件下,采用反步法结合抗饱和辅助函数解决控制输入受限问题,并引入动态尺度广义逆实现了欠驱动电动力绳系统展开稳定控制问题;然后,应用Lyapunov稳定性定理证明了其闭环系统的稳定性;最后,在MATLAB/SIMULINK平台上进行了仿真验证。结果表明：通过调节系绳张力与电流,可以将系绳释放到指定位置,同时控制输入满足约束条件。     

Feasibility study of autonomous orbit determination using only the crosslink range measurement for a combined navigation constellation

In order to expand the coverage area of satellite navigation systems, a combined navigation constellation which is formed by a global navigation constellation and a Lagrangian navigation constellation was studied. Only the crosslink range measurement was used to achieve long-term precise autonomous orbit determination for the combined navigation constellation, and the measurement model was derived. Simulations of 180 days based on the international global navigation satellite system(GNSS) service(IGS) ephemeris showed that the mentioned autonomous orbit determination method worked well in the Earth–Moon system. Statistical results were used to analyze the accuracy of autonomous orbit determination under the influences of different Lagrangian satellite constellations.     

Progress in helicopter infrared signature suppression

Due to their low-attitude and relatively low-speed fight profiles, helicopters are subjected to serious threats from radio, infrared(IR), visual, and aural detection and tracking. Among these threats, infrared detection and tracking are regarded as more crucial for the survivability of helicopters. In order to meet the requirements of infrared stealth, several different types of infrared suppressor(IRS) for helicopters have been developed. This paper reviews contemporary developments in this discipline, with particular emphasis on infrared signature suppression, advances in mixer-ejectors and prediction for helicopters. In addition, several remaining challenges, such as advanced IRS, emissivity optimization technique, helicopter infrared characterization, etc., are proposed, as an initial guide and stimulation for future research. In the future, the comprehensive infrared suppression in the 3–5 lm and 8–14 lm bands will doubtfully become the emphasis of helicopter stealth. Multidisciplinary optimization of a complete infrared suppression system deserves further investigation.     

Dynamic analysis of spinning solar sails at deployment process

The spinning deployment process of solar sails is analyzed in this study.A simplified model is established by considering the out-of-plane and in-plane motions of solar sails.The influences of structure parameters,initial conditions,and feedback control parameters are also analyzed.A method to build the geometric model of a solar sail is presented by analyzing the folding process of solar sails.The finite element model of solar sails is then established,which contains continuous cables and sail membranes.The dynamics of the second-stage deployment of solar sails are simulated by using ABAQUS software.The influences of the rotational speed and out-of-plane movement of the hub are analyzed by different tip masses,initial velocities,and control parameters.Compared with the results from theoretical models,simulation results show good agreements.     

Elliptical formation control based on relative orbit elements

A new set of relative orbit elements（ROEs）is used to derive a new elliptical formation flying model.In-plane and out-of-plane motions can be completely decoupled,which benefts elliptical formation design.The inverse transformation of the state transition matrix is derived to study the relative orbit control strategy.Impulsive feedback control laws are developed for both in-plane and out-of-plane relative motions.Control of in-plane and out-of-plane relative motions can be completely decoupled using the ROE-based feedback control law.A tangential impulsive control method is proposed to study the relationship of fuel consumption and maneuvering positions.An optimal analytical along-track impulsive control strategy is then derived.Different typical orbit maneuvers,including formation establishment,reconfguration,long-distance maneuvers,and formation keeping,are taken as examples to demonstrate the performance of the proposed control laws.The effects of relative measurement errors are also considered to validate the high accuracy of the proposed control method.     

An approach for parameter estimation of combined CPPM and LFM radar signal

In this paper, the problem of parameter estimation of the combined radar signal adopting chaotic pulse position modulation (CPPM) and linear frequency modulation (LFM), which can be widely used in electronic countermeasures, is addressed. An approach is proposed to estimate the initial frequency and chirp rate of the combined signal by exploiting the second-order cyclostationarity of the intra-pulse signal. In addition, under the condition of the equal pulse width, the pulse repetition interval (PRI) of the combined signal is predicted using the low-order Volterra adaptive filter. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed cyclic autocorrelation Hough transform (CHT) algorithm is theoretically tolerant to additive white Gaussian noise. When the value of signal noise to ratio (SNR) is less than 4 dB, it can still estimate the intra-pulse parameters well. When SNR = 3 dB, a good prediction of the PRI sequence can be achieved by the Volterra adaptive filter algorithm, even only 100 training samples.     

Ignition enhancement of ethylene/air by NOx addition

Recently, non-equilibrium plasma assisted combustion (PAC) has been found to be promising in reducing the ignition delay time in hypersonic propulsion system. NO x produced by non-equilibrium plasma can react with intermediates during the fuel oxidation process and thereby has influence on the combustion process. In this study, the effects of NO x addition on the ignition process of both the homogeneous ethylene/air mixtures and the non-premixed diffusion layer are examined numerically. The detailed chemistry for ethylene oxidization together with the NO x sub-mechanism is included in the simulation. Reaction path analysis and sensitivity analysis are conducted to give a mechanistic interpretation for the ignition enhancement by NO x addition. It is found that for both the homogenous and non-premixed ignition processes at normal and elevated pressures, NO 2 addition has little influence on the ignition delay time while NO addition can significantly promote the ignition process. The ignition enhancement is found to be caused by the promotion in hydroxyl radical production which quickly oxidizes ethylene. The promotion in hydroxyl radical production by NO addition is achieved in two ways:one is the direct production of OH through the reaction HO2+NO = NO2+OH, and the other is the indirect production of OH through the reactions NO+O2=NO2+O and C2H4+O = C2H3+OH. Moreover, it is found that similar to the homogeneous ignition process, the acceleration of the diffusion layer ignition is also controlled by the reaction HO2+NO = NO2+OH.     

Low-frequency unsteadiness of vortex wakes over slender bodies at high angle of attack

A type of flow unsteadiness with low frequencies and large amplitude was investigated experimentally for vortex wakes around an ogive-tangent cylinder. The experiments were carried out at angles of attack of 60–80 and subcritical Reynolds numbers of 0.6–1.8×105. The reduced frequencies of the unsteadiness are between 0.038 and 0.072, much less than the frequency of Karman vortex shedding. The unsteady flow induces large fluctuations of sectional side forces. The results of pressure measurements and particle image velocimetry indicate that the flow unsteadiness comes from periodic oscillation of the vortex wakes over the slender body. The time-averaged vortex patterns over the slender body are asymmetric, whose orientation is dependent on azimuthal locations of tip perturbations. Therefore, the vortex oscillation is a type of unsteady oscillation around a time-averaged asymmetric vortex structure.     

空间绳系组合体的继电型控制离轨策略

为了使空间绳系组合体更好地完成空间碎片清理任务,提出一种更接近工程实际应用的继电型推力（Bang-Bang）离轨控制策略。利用带有差动间隙的Bang-Bang控制策略,实现绳系组合体切向的继电式推力加速;设计了一种全新的被动式卷扬机构,以避免在使用继电式推力离轨的过程中多次开关发动机对绳系组合体带来的负面影响;针对径向推力设计了输入受限的滑模控制器,且最终控制指令同样以继电式推力形式实现,抑制了离轨过程中绳系组合体的面内摆动。数值仿真结果显示,继电型推力能够实现与连续推力近似的效果,能够将绳系组合体的摆动角度抑制在一个较小的范围内;整个离轨控制策略能够使得空间绳系组合体在保持姿态稳定的前提下将空间碎片拖曳到坟墓轨道。     

Effects of different aging treatments on microstructures and mechanical properties of Al-Cu-Li alloy joints welded by electron beam welding

Post-weld single aging treatment(solution treatment at 510 ℃ for 1 h, water quenching,and aging at 155 ℃ for 16 h) and post-weld double aging treatment(solution treatment at 510 ℃ for 1 h, water quenching, aging at 155 ℃ for 16 h, and aging at 130 ℃ for 12 h) are carried out on Al-Cu-Li alloy joints by electron beam welding(EBW) respectively. The effects of aging treatments on microstructures and mechanical properties of welded joints are investigated. Results show that the mechanical properties of welded joints are obviously improved after both aging treatments. The strength coefficient of joints is increased from 0.64 in an as-welded condition(AW) to 0.90 after post-weld double aging treatment. Microstructure analysis shows that the precipitates of the fusion zone within grains and grain boundaries are less in the AW condition. After post-weld heat treatment(PWHT), a lot of fine needle-like phases T_1(Al_2 Cu Li) precipitate in grain boundaries of the fusion zone, and more horseshoe-shaped β' (Al_3 Zr) particles precipitate within grains. In addition,grains of the fusion zone are refined after post-weld double aging treatment, which leads to an effect of grain refinement strengthening. Consequently, the mechanical properties of welded joints are greatly improved.     

Fatigue crack propagation of new aluminum lithium alloy bonded with titanium alloy strap

A new type of aluminum lithium alloy (Al-Li alloy) Al-Li-S-4 was investigated by test in this paper. Alloy plate of 400 mm · 140 mm · 6 mm with single edge notch was made into samples bonded with Ti-6Al-4V alloy (Ti alloy) strap by FM 94 film adhesive after the surface was treated. Fatigue crack growth of samples was investigated under cyclic loading with stress ratio (R) of 0.1 and load amplitude constant. The results show that Al-Li alloy plate bonded with Ti alloy strap could retard fatigue crack propagation. Retardation effect is related with width and thickness of strap. Flaws have an observable effect on crack propagation direction.     

Springback prediction of thick-walled high-strength titanium tube bending

Significant springback occurs after tube rotary-draw-bending （RDB）, especially for a high-strength Ti-3A1-2.5V tube （HSTT） due to its high ratio of yield strength to Young＇s modulus. The combination scheme of explicit and implicit is preferred to predict the springback. This simulation strategy includes several numerical parameters, such as element type, number of elements through thickness （NEL）, element size, etc. However, the influences of these parameters on spring- back prediction accuracy are not fully understood. Thus, taking the geometrical specification 9.525 mm × 0.508 mm ofa HSTT as the objective, the effects of numerical parameters on prediction accuracy and computation efficiency of springback simulation of HSTT RDB are investigated. The simulated springback results are compared with experimental ones. The main results are： （1） solid and continuum-shell elements predict the experimental results well; （2） for C3DSR elements, NEL of at least 3 is required to obtain reliable results and a relative error of 29% can occur as NEL is varied in the range of 1-3; （3） specifying damping factor typically works well in Abaqus/Emplicit simulation of springback and the springback results are sensitive to the magnitude of damping factor. In addition, the explanations of the effect rules are given and a guideline is added.     

SCC investigation of low alloy ultra-high strength steel 30CrMnSiNi2A in 3.5wt%NaCl solution by slow strain rate technique

To evaluate stress corrosion cracking(SCC) mechanism of low alloy ultra-high strength steel 30CrMnSiNi2 A in environment containing NaCl, SCC behavior of the steel in 3.5wt% NaCl solution is investigated by slow strain rate technique(SSRT) with various strain rates and applied potentials, surface analysis technique, and electrochemical measurements. SCC susceptibility of the steel increases rapidly with strain rate decreasing from 1 · 10 5s 1to 5 · 10 7s 1, and becomes stable when strain rate is lower than 5 · 10 7s 1. SCC propagation of the steel in the solution at open circuit potential(OCP) needs sufficient hydrogen which is supplied at a certain strain rate.Fracture surface at OCP has similar characteristics with that at cathodic polarization 1000 mVSCE, which presents characteristic fractography of hydrogen induced cracking(HIC).All of these indicate that SCC behavior of the steel in the solution at OCP is mainly controlled by HIC rather than anodic dissolution(AD).     

面内轨道转移过程中的绳系系统摆振特性研究

轨道转移过程中的绳系系统处于非开普勒轨道,导致系统呈现复杂的动力学行为并影响着星体的飞行安全,因此研究系统摆振特性具有重要的理论和实际意义。针对复杂的非线性和强耦合问题,利用动量矩定理建立绳系系统姿态动力学方程,以切向常值加速度轨道转移为任务背景,给出了系统质心运动轨迹;通过分析面内摆角的静态分岔现象,推导了面内、面外摆角的一阶摆动解析解;引入经典的珠点模型,研究系绳纵向和横向的振动特性,并分析了系绳摆动与系绳振动之间的耦合关系。仿真结果表明:面内轨道转移过程中,面内、面外摆角以固定的频率绕平衡位置做往返摆动,摆动频率大小以及平衡位置的变化均与系绳长度、推力加速度和所处轨道密切相关,面内摆角摆动频率接近轨道角频率时会引起共振现象,系绳在轨道转移过程中会出现大幅度横向振动等现象。     

Parametric analyses for synthetic jet control on separation and stall over rotor airfoil

Numerical simulations are performed to investigate the effects of synthetic jet control on separation and stall over rotor airfoils. The preconditioned and unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations coupled with a k x shear stream transport turbulence model are employed to accomplish the flowfield simulation of rotor airfoils under jet control. Additionally,a velocity boundary condition modeled by a sinusoidal function is developed to fulfill the perturbation effect of periodic jets. The validity of the present CFD procedure is evaluated by the simulated results of an isolated synthetic jet and the jet control case for airfoil NACA0015. Then, parametric analyses are conducted specifically for an OA213 rotor airfoil to investigate the effects of jet parameters(forcing frequency, jet location and momentum coefficient, jet direction, and distribution of jet arrays) on the control effect of the aerodynamic characteristics of a rotor airfoil. Preliminary results indicate that the efficiency of jet control can be improved with specific frequencies(the best lift-drag ratio at F+= 2.0) and jet angles(40 or 75) when the jets are located near the separation point of the rotor airfoil. Furthermore, as a result of a suitable combination of jet arrays, the lift coefficient of the airfoil can be improved by nearly 100%, and the corresponding drag coefficient decreased by26.5% in comparison with the single point control case.     

Radical recombination in a hydrocarbon-fueled scramjet nozzle

To reveal the radical recombination process in the scramjet nozzle flow and study the effects of various factors of the recombination, weighted essentially non-oscillatory(WENO)schemes are applied to solve the decoupled two-dimensional Euler equations with chemical reactions to simulate the hydrocarbon-fueled scramjet nozzle flow. The accuracy of the numerical method is verified with the measurements obtained by a shock tunnel experiment. The overall model length is nearly 0.5 m, with inlet static temperatures ranging from 2000 K to 3000 K, inlet static pressures ranging from 75 k Pa to 175 k Pa, and inlet Mach numbers of 2.0 ± 0.4 are involved.The fraction Damkohler number is defined as functions of static temperature and pressure to analyze the radical recombination progresses. Preliminary results indicate that the energy releasing process depends on different chemical reaction processes and species group contributions. In hydrocarbon-fueled scramjet nozzle flow, reactions with H have the greatest contribution during the chemical equilibrium shift. The contrast and analysis of the simulation results show that the radical recombination processes influenced by inflow conditions and nozzle scales are consistent with Damkohler numbers and potential dissociation energy release. The increase of inlet static temperature improves both of them, thus making the chemical non-equilibrium effects on the nozzle performance more significant. While the increase of inlet static pressure improves the former one and reduces the latter, it exerts little influence on the chemical non-equilibrium effects.     

电推进在静止轨道空间碎片减缓中的应用

研究了电推进在静止轨道空间碎片减缓中应用的可行性和效果。通过分析电推进中离子推进的技术特点、发展和应用,阐明了用电推进将静止轨道卫星在寿命末期移高到“垃圾轨道”是可行的。提出了电推进采用沿飞行方向的常值推力,以多次双脉冲变轨方式工作的方案,并通过仿真计算,得出了该方案中推力大小、工作时间、特征速度、燃料消耗量等参数的确定方法和量化性指标,验证了电推进应用在空间碎片减缓中的作用和效果。探讨了电推进以脉冲方式工作的工程实现方案．