Load alleviation maneuvers for a launch vehicleThis paper addresses the design of a forward-looking autopilot that is capable of employing a priori knowledge of wind gusts ahead of the flight path to reduce the bending loads experienced by a launch vehicle. The analysis presented in the present paper is only preliminary, employing a very simple vehicle dynamical model and restricting itself to wind gusts of the form of isolated spikes. The main result of the present study is that LQR based feedback laws are inappropriate to handle spike-type wind perturbations with large amplitude and narrow base. The best performance is achieved with an interior-point penalty optimal control formulation which can be well approximated by a simple feedback control law. Reduction of the maximum bending loads by nearly 50 percent is demonstrated.
Document ID
19930050576
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Seywald, Hans (Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc.; NASA, Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Bless, Robert (Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Co.; NASA, Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
February 1, 1993
Subject Category
Launch Vehicles And Space Vehicles
Report/Patent Number
AAS PAPER 93-139
Meeting Information
Meeting: AAS and AIAA, Spaceflight Mechanics Meeting