Impact dynamics analysis of free-floating space manipulator capturing satellite on orbit and robust adaptive compound control algorithm design for suppressing motion

The impact dynamics, impact effect, and post-impact unstable motion sup- pression of free-floating space manipulator capturing a satellite on orbit are analyzed. Firstly, the dynamics equation of free-floating space manipulator is derived using the sec- ond Lagrangian equation. Combining the momentum conservation principle, the impact dynamics and effect between the space manipulator end-effector and satellite of the cap- ture process are analyzed with the momentum impulse method. Focusing on the unstable motion of space manipulator due to the above impact effect, a robust adaptive compound control algorithm is designed to suppress the above unstable motion. There is no need to control the free-floating base position to save the jet fuel. Finally, the simulation is proposed to show the impact effect and verify the validity of the control algorithm.

Motion planning for redundant prismatic-jointed manipulators in the free-floating mode

This paper investigates the motion planning of redundant free-floating manipulators with seven prismatic joints. On the earth, prismatic-jointed manipulators could only position their end-effectors in a desired way. However, in space, the end-effectors of free-floating manipulators can achieve both the desired orientation and desired position due to the dynamical coupling between manipulator and satellite movement, which is formally expressed by linear and angular momentum conservation laws. In this study, a tractable algorithm particle swarm optimization combined with differential evolution （PSODE） is provided to deal with the motion planning of redundant free-floating prismatic-jointed manipulators, which could avoid the pseudo inverse of the Jacobian matrix. The polynomial functions, as argument in sine functions are used to specify the joint paths. The co- efficients of the polynomials are optimized to achieve the desired end-effector orientation and position, and simulta- neously minimize the unit-mass-kinetic energy using the redundancy. Relevant simulations prove that this method pro- vides satisfactory smooth paths for redundant free-floating prismatic-jointed manipulators. This study could help to recognize the advantages of redundant prismatic-jointed space manipulators.

Terminal sliding mode control for coordinated motion of a space rigid manipulator with external disturbance

The control problem of coordinated motion of a free-floating space rigid manipulator with external disturbance is discussed. By combining linear momentum conversion and the Lagrangian approach, the full-control dynamic equation and the Jacobian relation of a free-floating space rigid manipulator are established and then inverted to the state equation for control design. Based on the terminal sliding mode control （SMC） technique, a mathematical expression of the terminal sliding surface is proposed. The terminal SMC scheme is then developed for coordinated motion between the base＇s attitude and the end-effector of the free-floating space manipulator with external disturbance. This proposed control scheme not only guarantees the existence of the sliding phase of the closed-loop system, but also ensures that the output tracking error converges to zero in finite time. In addition, because the initial system state is always at the terminal sliding surface, the control scheme can eliminate reaching phase of the SMC and guarantee global robustness and stability of the closed-loop system. A planar free-floating space rigid manipulator is simulated to verify the feasibility of the proposed control scheme.