Sliding-Mode-Based Attitude Tracking Control of Spacecraft Under Reaction Wheel Uncertainties

The attitude tracking operations of an on-orbit spacecraft with degraded performance exhibited by potential actuator uncertainties(including failures and misalignments) can be extraordinarily challenging. Thus, the control law development for the attitude tracking task of spacecraft subject to actuator(namely reaction wheel) uncertainties is addressed in this paper. More specially, the attitude dynamics model of the spacecraft is firstly established under actuator failures and misalignment(without a small angle approximation operation). Then, a new non-singular sliding manifold with fixed time convergence and anti-unwinding properties is proposed, and an adaptive sliding mode control(SMC) strategy is introduced to handle actuator uncertainties, model uncertainties and external disturbances simultaneously. Among this, an explicit misalignment angles range that could be treated herein is offered. Lyapunov-based stability analyses are employed to verify that the reaching phase of the sliding manifold is completed in finite time, and the attitude tracking errors are ensured to converge to a small region of the closest equilibrium point in fixed time once the sliding manifold enters the reaching phase. Finally, the beneficial features of the designed controller are manifested via detailed numerical simulation tests.

Observer-based robust high-order fully actuated attitude autopilot design for spinning glide-guided projectiles

This paper investigates the design of an attitude autopilot for a dual-channel controlled spinning glideguided projectile(SGGP),addressing model uncertainties and external disturbances.Based on fixed-time stable theory,a disturbance observer with integral sliding mode and adaptive techniques is proposed to mitigate total disturbance effects,irrespective of initial conditions.By introducing an error integral signal,the dynamics of the SGGP are transformed into two separate second-order fully actuated systems.Subsequently,employing the high-order fully actuated approach and a parametric approach,the nonlinear dynamics of the SGGP are recast into a constant linear closed-loop system,ensuring that the projectile's attitude asymptotically tracks the given goal with the desired eigenstructure.Under the proposed composite control framework,the ultimately uniformly bounded stability of the closed-loop system is rigorously demonstrated via the Lyapunov method.Validation of the effectiveness of the proposed attitude autopilot design is provided through extensive numerical simulations.

Time-varying Sliding Mode Controls in Rigid Spacecraft Attitude Tracking

To solve the problem of attitude tracking of a rigid spacecraft with an either known or measurable desired attitude trajectory, three types of time-varying sliding mode controls are introduced under consideration of control input constraints. The sliding surfaces of the three types initially pass arbitrary initial values of the system, and then shift or rotate to reach predetermined ones. This way, the system trajectories are always on the sliding surfaces, and the system work is guaranteed to have robustness against parameter uncertainty and external disturbances all the time. The controller parameters are optimized by means of genetic algorithm to minimize the index consisting of the weighted index of squared error （ISE） of the system and the weighted penalty term of violation of control input constraint. The stability is verified with Lyapunov method. Compared with the conventional sliding mode control, simulation results show the proposed algorithm having better robustness against inertia matrix uncertainty and external disturbance torques.

Adaptive Sliding Mode Control for Re-entry Attitude of Near Space Hypersonic Vehicle Based on Backstepping Design

Combining sliding mode control method with radial basis function neural network (RBFNN), this paper proposes a robust adaptive control scheme based on backstepping design for re-entry attitude tracking control of near space hypersonic vehicle (NSHV) in the presence of parameter variations and external disturbances. In the attitude angle loop, a robust adaptive virtual control law is designed by using the adaptive method to estimate the unknown upper bound of the compound uncertainties. In the angular velocity loop, an adaptive sliding mode control law is designed to suppress the effect of parameter variations and external disturbances. The main benefit of the sliding mode control is robustness to parameter variations and external disturbances. To further improve the control performance, RBFNNs are introduced to approximate the compound uncertainties in the attitude angle loop and angular velocity loop, respectively. Based on Lyapunov stability theory, the tracking errors are shown to be asymptotically stable. Simulation results show that the proposed control system attains a satisfied control performance and is robust against parameter variations and external disturbances. © 2014 Chinese Association of Automation.

High-order sliding mode attitude controller design for reentry flight

A novel high-order sliding mode control strategy is proposed for the attitude control problem of reentry vehicles in the presence of parametric uncertainties and external disturbances, which results in the robust and accurate tracking of the aerodynamic angle commands with the finite time convergence. The proposed control strategy is developed on the basis of integral sliding mode philosophy, which combines conventional sliding mode control and a linear quadratic regulator over a finite time interval with a free-final-state and allows the finite-time establishment of a high-order sliding mode. Firstly, a second-order sliding mode attitude controller is designed in the proposed high-order siding mode control framework. Then, to address the control chattering problem, a virtual control is introduced in the control design and hence a third-order sliding mode attitude controller is developed, leading to the chattering reduction as well as the control accuracy improvement. Finally, simulation examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.

Adaptive backstepping finite-time sliding mode control of spacecraft attitude tracking

This paper investigates the finite-time attitude tracking problem for rigid spacecraft. Two backstepping finite-time slid- ing mode control laws are proposed to solve this problem in the presence of inertia uncertainties and external disturbances. The first control scheme is developed by combining sliding mode con- trol with a backstepping technique to achieve fast and accurate tracking responses. To obtain higher tracking precision and relax the requirement of the upper bounds on the uncertainties, a se- cond control law is also designed by combining the second or- der sliding mode control and an adaptive backstepping technique. This control law provides complete compensation of uncertainty and disturbances. Although it assumes that the uncertainty and disturbances are bounded, the proposed control law does not require information about the bounds on the uncertainties and disturbances. Finite-time convergence of attitude tracking errors and the stability of the closed-loop system are ensured by the Lya- punov approach. Numerical simulations on attitude tracking control of spacecraft are provided to demonstrate the performance of the proposed controllers.

Concept Design,Modeling and Station-keeping Attitude Control of an Earth Observation Platform

The stratosphere airship provides a unique and promising platform for earth observation. Researches on the project design and control scheme for earth observation platforms are still rarely documented. Nonlinear dynamics, model uncertainties, and external disturbances contribute to the difficulty in maneuvering the stratosphere airship. A key technical challenge for the earth observation platform is station keeping, or the ability to remain fixed over a geo-location. This paper investigates the conceptual design, modeling and station-keeping attitude control of the near-space earth observation platform. A conceptual design of the earth observation platform is presented. The dynamics model of the platform is derived from the Newton-Euler formulation, and the station-keeping control system of the platform is formulated. The station-keeping attitude control approach for the platform is proposed. The multi-input multi-output nonlinear control system is decoupled into three single-input single-output linear subsystems via feedback linearization, the attitude controller design is carried out on the new linear systems using terminal sliding mode control, and the global stability of the closed-loop system is proven by using the Lyapunov theorem. The performance of the designed control system is simulated by using the variable step Runge-Kutta integrator. Simulation results show that the control system tracks the commanded attitude with an error of zero, which verify the effectiveness and robustness of the designed control system in the presence of parametric uncertainties. The near-space earth observation platform has several advantages over satellites, such as high resolution, fast to deploy, and convenient to retrieve, and the proposed control scheme provides an effective approach for station-keeping attitude control of the earth observation platform.

Reentry Attitude Tracking Control for Hypersonic Vehicle with Reaction Control Systems via Improved Model Predictive Control Approach

This paper studies the reentry attitude tracking control problem for hypersonic vehicles(HSV)equipped with reaction control systems(RCS)and aerodynamic surfaces.The attitude dynamical model of the hypersonic vehicles is established,and the simplified longitudinal and lateral dynamic models are obtained,respectively.Then,the compound control allocation strategy is provided and the model predictive controller is designed for the pitch channel.Furthermore,considering the complicated jet interaction effect of HSV during RCS is working,an improved model predictive control approach is presented by introducing the online parameter estimation of the jet interaction coefficient for dealing with the uncertainty and disturbance.Moreover,considering the strong coupling effect between the yaw channel and roll channel,a coupled model predictive controller is designed by introducing the feedback of sideslip angle into the roll control channel to eliminate the coupling effect.Finally,the comparison simulations using the classical control method,MPC and IMPC approach are given to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the presented IMPC scheme.

Fractional order nonsingular terminal sliding mode control for flexible spacecraft attitude tracking

This paper investigates a fractional terminal sliding mode control for flexible spacecraft attitude tracking in the presence of inertia uncertainties and external disturbances. The controller is based on the fractional calculus and nonsingular terminal sliding mode control technique,and it guarantees the convergence of attitude tracking error in finite time rather than in the asymptotic sense. With respect to the controller,a fractional order sliding surface is given,the corresponding control scheme is proposed based on Lyapunov stability theory to guarantee the sliding condition,and the finite time stability of the whole close loop system is also proven. Finally,numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed scheme.

Control of Underwater Robot Attitude in Wave Based on Fuzzy Sliding Mode Method

When an underwater robot works with its manipulator, it is very critical to keep the position and attitude stable in wave. The modeling, numerical calculus of the rolling motion of a small openframe underwater robot in wave was discussed. A sliding mode control（SMC） strategy with adaptive fuzzy reasoning is presenated to change the rolling response process of the underwater robot by using the two lateral thrusters to reduce the rolling amplitude when the manipulators are working. The results comparing between the simulation and the numerical calculus has shown the effectiveness. There is few analogous research on underwater robot attitudes in wave. Some attempts are made here.

Feedback Attitude Sliding Mode Regulation Control of Spacecraft Using Arm Motion

The problem of spacecraft attitude regulation based on the reaction of arm motion has attracted extensive attentions from both engineering and academic fields.Most of the solutions of the manipulator’s motion tracking problem just achieve asymptotical stabilization performance,so that these controllers cannot realize precise attitude regulation because of the existence of non-holonomic constraints.Thus,sliding mode control algorithms are adopted to stabilize the tracking error with zero transient process.Due to the switching effects of the variable structure controller,once the tracking error reaches the designed hyper-plane,it will be restricted to this plane permanently even with the existence of external disturbances.Thus,precise attitude regulation can be achieved.Furthermore,taking the non-zero initial tracking errors and chattering phenomenon into consideration,saturation functions are used to replace sign functions to smooth the control torques.The relations between the upper bounds of tracking errors and the controller parameters are derived to reveal physical characteristic of the controller.Mathematical models of free-floating space manipulator are established and simulations are conducted in the end.The results show that the spacecraft’s attitude can be regulated to the position as desired by using the proposed algorithm,the steady state error is 0.000 2 rad.In addition,the joint tracking trajectory is smooth,the joint tracking errors converges to zero quickly with a satisfactory continuous joint control input.The proposed research provides a feasible solution for spacecraft attitude regulation by using arm motion,and improves the precision of the spacecraft attitude regulation.

Novel Logarithmic Non-Singular Terminal Sliding Mode and ItsApplication in Attitude Control of QTR

In this study we mainly focus on the attitude control problem of a quad tilt rotor aircraft with respect to unknown external disturbance. We propose a class of control methods based on a novel logarithmic fast non singular terminal sliding surface a new fast reaching law and extended state disturbance observer. A logarithmic non singular terminal sliding surface is used owing to its convergence in finite time and significant robustness. A fast reaching law with two order characteristics of the sliding mode is designed. This reaching law can be used reduce the convergence time of traditional reaching law. In addition the extended state disturbance observer is utilized for online estimation and to compensate for system disturbance. The simulation experiment results show that the control strategy proposed in this paper outperforms the traditional non singular fast sliding mode control.

Fuzzy Sliding Mode Observer for Vehicular Attitude Heading Reference System

In low-cost Attitude Heading Reference Systems (AHRS), the measurements made by Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) type sensors are affected by uncertainties, noises and unknown disturbances. In this paper, considering the robustness of sliding mode observers against structured and unstructured uncertainties, and also exogenous inputs, the process of design and implementation of a sliding mode observer (SMO) is proposed based on a linearized model of the AHRS. To decrease the chattering phenomenon is the main difficulty of the SMO. Through smoothing the discontinuity term, the tracking performance of the observer is attenuated. Boundary layer technique, for example, using a saturation term, is the common smoother to remove the chattering drawbacks. However, through poor tracking performance, the high range chattering could not be removed by this method. Therefore, a knowledge-based Mamdani-type fuzzy SMO (FSMO) is proposed to decrease the chattering effects intelligently, which in turn could obtain the high accuracy tracking performance of the SMO. Following proving the stability of the proposed SMOs based on direct Lyapunov’s method, the performance of the proposed observers is compared with that of the extended Kalman filter through simulation and real experiments of an AHRS.

Attitude Control of Multiple Rigid Bodies with Uncertainties and Disturbances

Decentralized attitude synchronization and tracking control for multiple rigid bodies are investigated in this paper. In the presence of inertia uncertainties and environmental disturbances, we propose a class of decentralized adaptive sliding mode control laws. An adaptive control strategy is adopted to reject the uncertainties and disturbances. Using the Lyapunov approach and graph theory, it is shown that the control laws can guarantee a group of rigid bodies to track the desired time-varying attitude and angular velocity while maintaining attitude synchronization with other rigid bodies in the formation. Simulation examples are provided to illustrate the feasibility and advantage of the control algorithm. © 2014 Chinese Association of Automation.

Attitude tracking control of flexible spacecraft with large amplitude slosh

This paper is focused on attitude tracking control of a spacecraft that is equipped with flexible appendage and partially filled liquid propellant tank. The large amplitude liquid slosh is included by using a moving pulsating ball model that is further improved to estimate the settling location of liquid in microgravity or a zero-g environment. The flexible appendage is modelled as a three-dimensional Bernoulli–Euler beam, and the assumed modal method is employed.A hybrid controller that combines sliding mode control with an adaptive algorithm is designed for spacecraft to perform attitude tracking. The proposed controller has proved to be asymptotically stable. A nonlinear model for the overall coupled system including spacecraft attitude dynamics,liquid slosh, structural vibration and control action is established. Numerical simulation results are presented to show the dynamic behaviors of the coupled system and to verify the effectiveness of the control approach when the spacecraft undergoes the disturbance produced by large amplitude slosh and appendage vibration. Lastly, the designed adaptive algorithm is found to be effective to improve the precision of attitude tracking.

Robust Attitude Control for Reusable Launch Vehicles Based on Fractional Calculus and Pigeon-inspired Optimization

In this paper, a robust attitude control system based on fractional order sliding mode control and dynamic inversion approach is presented for the reusable launch vehicle RLV during the reentry phase. By introducing the fractional order sliding surface to replace the integer order one, we design robust outer loop controller to compensate the error introduced by inner loop controller designed by dynamic inversion approach. To take the uncertainties of aerodynamic parameters into account, stochastic robustness design approach based on the Monte Carlo simulation and Pigeon-inspired optimization is established to increase the robustness of the controller. Some simulation results are given out which indicate the reliability and effectiveness of the attitude control system. © 2014 Chinese Association of Automation.

Robust Adaptive Attitude Maneuvering and Vibration Reducing Control of Flexible Spacecraft with Prescribed Performance

A robust adaptive control scheme with prescribed performance is proposed for attitude maneuver and vibration suppression of flexible spacecraft,in which the parametric uncertainty,external disturbances and unmeasured elastic vibration are taken into account simultaneously.On the basis of the prescribed performance control(PPC)theory,the prescribed steady state and transient performance for the attitude tracking error can be guaranteed through the stabilization of the transformed system.This controller does not need the knowledge of modal variables.The absence of measurements of these variables is compensated by appropriate dynamics of the controller which supplies their estimates.The method of sliding mode differentiator is introduced to overcome the problem of explosion of complexity inherent in traditional backstepping design.In addition,the requirements of knowing the system parameters and the unknown bound of the lumped uncertainty,including external disturbance and the estimate error of sliding mode differentiator,have been eliminated by using adaptive updating technique.Within the framework of Lyapunov theory,the stability of the transformed system is obtained.Finally,numerical simulations are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

Research on the attitude regulation of 3-DOF hover system

Quadrotor helicopter is emerging as a popular platform for unmanned aerial vehicle re- search, due to its simplicity of structure and maintenance as well as the capability of hovering and vertical take-off and landing. The attitude controller is an important feature of quadrotor helicopter since it allows the vehicle to keep balance and perform the desired maneuver. In this paper, nonlin- ear control strategies including active disturbance rejection control （ADRC）, sliding mode control （SMC） and backstepping method are studied and implemented to stabilize the attitude of a 3-DOF hover system. ADRC is an error-driven control law, with extended state observer （ESO） estimating the unmodeled inner dynamics and external disturbance to dynamically compensate their impacts. Meanwhile; both backstepping technique and SMC are developed based on the mathematical model, whose stability is ensured by Lyapunov global stability theorem. Furthermore, the performance of each control algorithm is evaluated by experiments. The results validate effectiveness of the strate- gies for attitude regulation. Finally, the respective characteristics of the three controllers are high- lighted by-comparison, and conclusions are drawn on the basis of the theoretical and experimental a- nalysis.

Earth-observation satellite attitude control using passive and active hybrid magnetically suspended flywheels

The control strategy is presented using passive and active hybrid magnetically suspended flywheels（P＆A MSFWs）,which can help meet the requirements of high precision and high stability for earth-observation satellites.Compared with the conventional flywheel,P＆A MSFW has more rotation degrees of freedom（DOFs）since the rotor is suspended by magnetic bearings,and thus requires more efficient controllers.A modified sliding mode control law（SMC）to our novel nonlinear and coupled system is presented,which is interrupted by inertia matrix uncertainties and external disturbances.SMC law via Lyapunov method is improved,and a fuzzy control scheme is used to attenuate the chatting and control attitude accuracy and maintain the robustness of SMC.Simulation results are provided to illustrate the efficiency of our model by using our control law.

Re-entry Attitude Double-loop SMC of the Spacecraft and Its Logic Selection

A spacecraft re-entry attitude control method using sliding mode control (SMC) theory is developed. The controller utilizes double-loop SMC scheme and provides the robust, de-coupled tracking of both the angular velocity and the shuttle orientation angles. In accordance with the hybrid-controlling characteristics of the aerodynamic surfaces and reaction control system of the spacecraft, the control torque commands are allocated into the actuators such as the aerodynamic surfaces and reaction control system by using the optimal control selection allocation algorithm. The simulation of the spacecraft re-entry attitude controlling demonstrates the robust, de-coupled tracking performance of the proposed method and its validity.