The optical power of satellites such as the Hubble telescope is directly related to the size of the primary mirror. However, due to the limited capacity of the shuttle bay, progress towards the development of more powerful satellites using traditional construction methods has come to a standstill. Therefore, to allow larger satellites to be launched into space significant interest has been shown in the development of ultra large inflatable structures that can be packaged inside the shuttle bay and then deployed once in space. To facilitate the packaging of the inflated device in its launch configuration, most structures utilize a thin film membrane as the optical or antenna surface. Once the inflated structure is deployed in space, it is subject to vibrations induced mechanically by guidance systems and space debris as well as thermally induced vibrations from variable amounts of direct sunlight. For the optimal performance of the satellite, it is crucial that the vibration of the membrane be quickly suppressed. However, due to the extremely flexible nature of the membrane structure, few actuation methods exist that avoid local deformation and surface aberrations. One potential method of applying damping to the membrane structure is to use magnetic damping. Magnetic dampers function through the eddy currents that are generated in a conductive material that experiences a time varying magnetic field. However, following the generation of these currents, the internal resistance of the conductor causes them to dissipate into heat. Because a portion of the moving conductor's kinetic energy is used to generate the eddy currents, which are then dissipated, a damping effect occurs. This damping force can be described as a viscous force due to the dependence on the velocity of the conductor. While eddy currents form an effective method of applying damping, they have normally been used for magnetic braking applications. Furthermore, the dampers that have been designed for vibration suppression have typically been ineffective at suppressing structural vibration, incompatible with practical systems, and cumbersome to the structure resulting in significant mass loading and changes to the dynamic response. To alleviate these issues, three previously unrealized damping mechanisms that function through eddy currents have been developed, modeled and tested. The dampers do not contact the structure, thus, allowing them to add damping to the system without inducing the mass loading and added stiffness that are typically common with other forms of damping. The first damping concept is completely passive and functions solely due to the conductor's motion in a static magnetic field. The second damping system is semi-active and improves the passive damper by allowing the magnet's position to be actively controlled, thus, maximizing the magnet's velocity relative to the beam and enhancing the damping force. The final system is completely active using an electromagnet, through which the current can be actively modified to induce a time changing magnetic flux on the structure and a damping effect. The three innovative damping mechanisms that have resulted from this research apply control forces to the structure without contacting it, which cannot be done by any other passive vibration control system. Furthermore, the non-contact nature of these dampers makes them compatible with the flexible membranes needed to advance the performance of optical satellites. / Ph. D.

In this thesis, the performance of piezoelectric patches on investigation of vibration characteristics and active vibration control of a smart beam is presented. The smart beam is composed of eight surface-bonded piezoelectric patches symmetrically located on each side of a cantilever aluminium beam. At first, vibration characteristics of the smart beam is investigated by employment of piezoelectric patches as sensors and actuators. Smart beam is excited by either impact hammer or piezoelectric patch and the response of the smart beam particular to these excitations is measured by piezoelectric patches used as sensors. In order to investigate the performance of piezoelectric patches in sensing, the measurements are also conducted by commercially available sensing devices. Secondly, active vibration suppression of the smart beam via piezoelectric sensor/actuator pair is considered. For this purpose, system identification of the smart beam is conducted by using four piezoelectric patches as actuators and another piezoelectric patch as a sensor. The designed robust controller is experimentally implemented and active vibration suppression of the free and first resonance forced vibration is presented. Thirdly, active vibration control of the smart beam is studied by employment of piezoelectric patches as self-sensing actuators. Following the same approach used in the piezoelectric sensor/actuator pair case, system identification is conducted via self-sensing piezoelectric actuators and robust controller is designed for active vibration suppression of the smart beam. Finally, active vibration suppression via self-sensing piezoelectric actuators is experimentally presented.

Optical membranes are currently pursued for their ability to replace the conventional mirrors that are used to correct wave front aberration and space-based telescopes. Among some of the many benefits of using optical membranes, is their ability to considerably reduce the weight of the structure. As a secondary effect, the cost of transportation, which is of great interest in space applications, is reduced as well. Given the low density of these thin-film membranes, the lower end dynamics play a greater significant role than their rigid plate-like counterparts in achieving functional mirrors. Space-based mirrors are subjected to a series of disturbances. Among those encountered are thermal radiation, debris impact, and slewing maneuvers. Thus, dynamic control is essential for the adequate performance of thin-film membrane mirrors. With this in mind, the work described herein aims to improve the performance of optical membranes with an innovative, acoustical control approach to suppress vibration of optical membranes backed by an air cavity. This is achieved by using a centralized acoustic source in the cavity as the method of actuation. The acoustic actuation is of great interest since it does not mass load the membrane in the conventional way, as most methods of actuation would. To achieve this end goal, two structural-acoustic coupled models are developed to describe the dynamics of a pressurized optical membrane system. This is done through an impedance based modeling approach where the subsystems are modeled individually, and then coupled at the interface. The control of the membrane is implemented using a positive position feedback approach. The theory is also extended to positive velocity and positive acceleration feedback. Three experiments are carried out to validate the models previously mentioned. Successful implementation of a control experiment is also accomplished leading to considerable attenuations in the coupled membrane's dynamics. / Ph. D.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第21091号 / 工博第4455号 / 新制||工||1692(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科都市社会工学専攻 / (主査)教授 五十嵐 晃, 教授 八木 知己, 准教授 古川 愛子 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM