Control of approach and landing phase for reentry vehicle using fuzzy logic

The reentry vehicle is affected by various disturbances such as a wind gust, atmospheric condition or aerodynamic problems in the approach and landing phase. Therefore it is necessary to design a robust control scheme. This paper presents a control scheme using Mamdani fuzzy PD controller. In this paper, the reference trajectories are generated using geometric parameters for disturbed circumstances with 4 cases: nominal, headwind and tailwind, drag increased case. Then, a Mamdani fuzzy PD controller was designed in this study. Twenty-five rules were applied in the knowledge-based system. The max–min method for a fuzzy inference system and the center-of-mass method in defuzzification were used. Finally, guidance and control simulations are performed for verification of proposed controller using generated reference trajectories. In addition, the Monte Carlo simulation is performed considering various disturbances. The results show that proposed Mamdani fuzzy PD controller has reliability and robustness for control of reentry vehicle with wind disturbance in the approach and landing phases.     

Optimal air-launching rocket design using system trades and a multi-disciplinary optimization approach

Compared with the conventional ground rocket launching, air-launching has many advantages. However, a comprehensive and integrated system design approach is required because the physical geometry of air launch vehicle is quite dependent on the installation limitation of the mother plane. For the selection of the best system alternative, a trade study for the first stage engine type and launching speeds is performed using a sequential optimization technique, confirming the feasibility of the baseline air-launching rocket. Then, a system design has been performed using the multi-disciplinary feasible (MDF) design optimization method. Analysis modules include mission analysis, staging, propulsion analysis, configuration, weight analysis, aerodynamics analysis and trajectory analysis. As a result of multi-disciplinary system optimization, a supersonic air launching rocket with total mass of 1244.9 kg, total length of 6.36 m, outer diameter of 0.60 m has been successfully designed to launch a satellite of 7.5 kg to the 700 km circular orbit.     

Mechanical behavior and properties of fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composites for high temperature use

Ceramics can keep their mechanical characteristics up to 2 000℃ or higher.In this paper,A model to predict ultimate strength of continuous fiber-reinforced brittle matrix composites is developed.A statistical theory for the strength of a uni-axially fiber-reinforced brittle matrix composite is presented.Also a semi-empirical frictional heating method for estimating in-situ interfacial shear in fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites was improved.Local uneven fiber packing variation as well as uneven micro-damage during fatigue can be expected to have effects on the composites:generation of frictional heating,thermal gradients,and residual stresses around local fiber breaks.This study examined those engineering interests by the finite element method.      

Noise covariances estimation for systems with bias states

This paper presents a new approach to noise covariances estimation for a linear, time-invariant, stochastic system with constant but unknown bias states. The system is supposed to satisfy controllable/observable conditions without bias states. Based on a restructured data representation, the covariance of a new variable that consists of measurement vectors is expressed as a linear combination of unknown parameters. Noise covariances are then estimated by employing a recursive least-squares algorithm. The proposed method requires no a priori estimates of noise covariances, provides consistent estimates, and can also be applied when the relationship between bias states and other states is unknown. The method has been applied to strapdown inertial navigation system initial alignment. Simulation results indicate a satisfactory performance of the proposed method     

The Plasma and Suprathermal Ion Composition (PLASTIC) Investigation on the STEREO Observatories

The Plasma and Suprathermal Ion Composition (PLASTIC) investigation provides the in situ solar wind and low energy heliospheric ion measurements for the NASA Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory Mission, which consists of two spacecraft (STEREO-A, STEREO-B). PLASTIC-A and PLASTIC-B are identical. Each PLASTIC is a time-of-flight/energy mass spectrometer designed to determine the elemental composition, ionic charge states, and bulk flow parameters of major solar wind ions in the mass range from hydrogen to iron. PLASTIC has nearly complete angular coverage in the ecliptic plane and an energy range from ～0.3 to 80 keV/e, from which the distribution functions of suprathermal ions, including those ions created in pick-up and local shock acceleration processes, are also provided.     

Day-to-day variability of equatorial anomaly in GPS-TEC during low solar activity period

The ionospheric total electron content (TEC) in the northern hemispheric equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) crest region is investigated by using dual-frequency signals of the Global Positioning System (GPS) acquired from Rajkot (Geog. Lat. 22.29°N, Geog. Long. 70.74°E; Geom. Lat. 14.21°N, Geom. Long. 144.90°E), India. The day-to-day variability of EIA characteristics is examined during low solar activity period (F10.7∼83 sfu). It is found that the daily maximum TEC at EIA crest exhibits a day-to-day and strong semi-annual variability. The seasonal anomaly and equinoctial asymmetry in TEC at EIA is found non-existent and weaker, respectively. We found a moderate and positive correlation of daily magnitude of crest, Ic with daily F10.7 and EUV fluxes with a correlation coefficient of 0.43 and 0.33, respectively indicating an existence of a short-term relation between TEC at EIA and the solar radiation even during low solar activity period. The correlation of daily Ic with Dst index is also moderate (r = −0.35), whereas no correlation is found with the daily Kp index (r = 0.14) respectively. We found that the magnitude of EIA crest is moderately correlated with solar flux in all seasons except winter where it is weakly related (0.27). The magnitude of EIA crest is also found highly related with EEJ strength in spring (r = 0.69) and summer (r = 0.65) than autumn (0.5) and winter (r = 0.47), though EEJ is stronger in autumn than spring.     

Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass for the International Space Station (ISS-CREAM)

The Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) instrument is configured with a suite of particle detectors to measure TeV cosmic-ray elemental spectra from protons to iron nuclei over a wide energy range. The goal is to extend direct measurements of cosmic-ray composition to the highest energies practical, and thereby have enough overlap with ground based indirect measurements to answer questions on cosmic-ray origin, acceleration and propagation. The balloon-borne CREAM was flown successfully for about 161 days in six flights over Antarctica to measure elemental spectra of Z = 1–26 nuclei over the energy range 10¹⁰ to >10¹⁴ eV. Transforming the balloon instrument into ISS-CREAM involves identification and replacement of components that would be at risk in the International Space Station (ISS) environment, in addition to assessing safety and mission assurance concerns. The transformation process includes rigorous testing of components to reduce risks and increase survivability on the launch vehicle and operations on the ISS without negatively impacting the heritage of the successful CREAM design. The project status, including results from the ongoing analysis of existing data and, particularly, plans to increase the exposure factor by another order of magnitude utilizing the International Space Station are presented.     

Shock acceleration of energetic particles in the heliosphere

The theory of shock acceleration of energetic particles is briefly discussed and reviewed with an emphasis on clarifying the apparent distinction between the V × B and Fermi mechanisms. Attention is restricted to those situations in which the energetic particles do not themselves influence the given shock structure. In particular, application of the theory to the acceleration of energetic particles in corotating interaction regions (CIR) in the solar wind is presented. Here particles are accelerated at the forward and reverse shocks which bound the CIR by being compressed between the shock fronts and magnetic irregularities upstream from the shocks, or by being compressed between upstream irregularities and those downstream from the shocks. Particles also suffer adiabatic deceleration in the expanding solar wind, an effect not included in previous shock models for acceleration in CIRs. The model is able to account for the observed exponential spectra at Earth, the observed behavior of the spectra with radial distance, the observed radial gradients in the intensity, and the observed differences in the intensity and spectra at the forward and reverse shocks.Calculations and resulting energy spectra are also presented for shock acceleration of energetic particles in large solar flare events. Based on the simplifying assumption that the shock evolves as a spherically symmetric Sedov blast wave, the calculation yields the time-integrated spectrum of particles initially injected at the shock which eventually escape ahead of the shock into interplanetary space. The spectra are similar to those observed at Earth. Finally further applications are suggested.An invited paper presented at STIP Workshop on Shock Waves in the Solar Corona and Interplanetary Space, 15–19 June, 1980, Smolenice, Czechoslovakia.     

PI controller relay auto-tuning using delay and phase margin in PMSM drives

This paper presents an auto-tuning method for a proportion plus integral（PI） controller for permanent magnet synchronous motor（PMSM） drives, which is supposed to be embedded in electro-mechanical actuator（EMA） control module in aircraft. The method, based on a relay feedback with variable delay time, explores different critical points of the system frequency response.The Nyquist points of the plant can then be derived from the delay time and filter time constant.The coefficients of the PI controller can then be obtained by calculation while shifting the Nyquist point to a specific position to obtain the required phase margin. The major advantage of the autotuning method is that it can provide a series of tuning results for different system bandwidths and damping ratios, corresponding to the specification for delay time and phase margin. Simulation and experimental results for the PMSM controller verify the performance of both the current loop and the speed loop auto-tuning.