Vibration Control of Flexible Launch Vehicles Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Arrays
The effects of mechanical vibrations on control system stability could be significant in control systems designed on the assumption of rigid-body dynamics, such as launch vehicles. Vibrational loads can also cause damage to launch vehicles due to fatigue or excitation of structural resonances. This...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/1/204 |
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| author | Bartel van der Veek Hector Gutierrez Brian Wise Daniel Kirk Leon van Barschot |
| author_facet | Bartel van der Veek Hector Gutierrez Brian Wise Daniel Kirk Leon van Barschot |
| author_sort | Bartel van der Veek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The effects of mechanical vibrations on control system stability could be significant in control systems designed on the assumption of rigid-body dynamics, such as launch vehicles. Vibrational loads can also cause damage to launch vehicles due to fatigue or excitation of structural resonances. This paper investigates a method to control structural vibrations in real time using a finite number of strain measurements from a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor array. A scaled test article representative of the structural dynamics associated with an actual launch vehicle was designed and built. The main modal frequencies of the test specimen are extracted from finite element analysis. A model of the test article is developed, including frequency response, thruster dynamics, and sensor conversion matrices. A model-based robust controller is presented to minimize vibrations in the test article by using FBG measurements to calculate the required thrust in two cold gas actuators. Controller performance is validated both in simulation and on experiments with the proposed test article. The proposed controller achieves a 94% reduction in peak–peak vibration in the first mode, and 80% reduction in peak–peak vibration in the second mode, compared to the open loop response under continuously excited base motion. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3b4f0fb8e17a42cc85f8546324993c34 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj-art-3b4f0fb8e17a42cc85f8546324993c342025-01-10T13:21:13ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-01-0125120410.3390/s25010204Vibration Control of Flexible Launch Vehicles Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor ArraysBartel van der Veek0Hector Gutierrez1Brian Wise2Daniel Kirk3Leon van Barschot4Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USADepartment of Aerospace Engineering, Physics and Space Science, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USADepartment of Electrical Engineering, Technical University Eindhoven, 5612 AZ Eindhoven, The NetherlandsThe effects of mechanical vibrations on control system stability could be significant in control systems designed on the assumption of rigid-body dynamics, such as launch vehicles. Vibrational loads can also cause damage to launch vehicles due to fatigue or excitation of structural resonances. This paper investigates a method to control structural vibrations in real time using a finite number of strain measurements from a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor array. A scaled test article representative of the structural dynamics associated with an actual launch vehicle was designed and built. The main modal frequencies of the test specimen are extracted from finite element analysis. A model of the test article is developed, including frequency response, thruster dynamics, and sensor conversion matrices. A model-based robust controller is presented to minimize vibrations in the test article by using FBG measurements to calculate the required thrust in two cold gas actuators. Controller performance is validated both in simulation and on experiments with the proposed test article. The proposed controller achieves a 94% reduction in peak–peak vibration in the first mode, and 80% reduction in peak–peak vibration in the second mode, compared to the open loop response under continuously excited base motion.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/1/204fiber Bragg sensor arraystrain sensorflexible structuremodal shapesreal time control |
| spellingShingle | Bartel van der Veek Hector Gutierrez Brian Wise Daniel Kirk Leon van Barschot Vibration Control of Flexible Launch Vehicles Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Arrays Sensors fiber Bragg sensor array strain sensor flexible structure modal shapes real time control |
| title | Vibration Control of Flexible Launch Vehicles Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Arrays |
| title_full | Vibration Control of Flexible Launch Vehicles Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Arrays |
| title_fullStr | Vibration Control of Flexible Launch Vehicles Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Arrays |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vibration Control of Flexible Launch Vehicles Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Arrays |
| title_short | Vibration Control of Flexible Launch Vehicles Using Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Arrays |
| title_sort | vibration control of flexible launch vehicles using fiber bragg grating sensor arrays |
| topic | fiber Bragg sensor array strain sensor flexible structure modal shapes real time control |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/1/204 |
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