What is it about?
Magnetic actuators have been used to control small satellite attitudes. We applied an optimal control scheme, Model Predictive Control (MPC), to achieve attitude stabilization and control. Our main contribution is to use discretized control inputs generated by Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) method.
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Why is it important?
We employed the C/GMRES method to solve the real-time optimal problem, an essential part of any MPC approach. This method creates smooth, continuous control inputs; however, control actuators, in our case magnetic torquers, might have trouble producing such control inputs. We, therefore, applied the PWM method to discretize the smooth inputs and make them actuator-friendly. Although this discretization adds another layer of implementation difficulty, this paper successfully shows its feasibility through simulation results.
Perspectives
This article is an advanced version of my previous work, Model Predictive Approach for Detumbling an Underactuated Satellite, where we consider a single-axis magnetic torquer. It was a great pleasure to work on this project, which eventually led to another publication, Nonlinear Model Predictive Detumbling of Small Satellites with a Single-Axis Magnetorquer, published on AIAA JGCD.
Kota Kondo
Kyushu University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Pulse Width Modulation Method Applied to Nonlinear Model Predictive Control on an Under-actuated Small Satellite, January 2021, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA),
DOI: 10.2514/6.2021-0559.
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