This dissertation introduces the Explicit Reference Governor: a simple and systematic add-on control unit that provides constraint handling capabilities to any pre-stabilized nonlinear system by suitably manipulating its applied reference. The main innovation of the proposed framework is that constraint satisfaction is ensured without having to solve implicit equations. As a result, the Explicit Reference Governor is particularly well suited for applications with limited computational capabilities. The basic idea behind the scheme consists in manipulating the derivative of the applied reference so that, at any given time instant, the currently applied reference will not cause a violation of constraints anytime in the future. The theory behind the proposed framework is presented in general terms and is then detailed to provide specific design strategies. Possible extensions to ensure robustness are also proposed. In addition to introducing the general theory of the Explicit Reference Governor, the dissertation illustrates its step-by-step implementation on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur et technologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

In this work, we investigate the active vibration isolation and damping of sensitive equipment. Several single-axis isolation techniques are analyzed and tested. A comparison between the sky-hook damper, integral force feedback, inertial velocity feedback and LagLead control techniques is conducted using several practical examples. The study of single-axis systems has been developed and used to build a six-axis isolator. A six degrees of freedom active isolator based on Stewart platform has been designed manufactured and tested for the purpose of active vibration isolation of sensitive payloads in space applications. This six-axis hexapod is designed according to the cubic configuration; it consists of two triangular parallel plates connected to each other by six active legs orthogonal to each other; each leg consists of a voice coil actuator, a force sensor and two flexible joints. Two different control techniques have been tested to control this isolator : integral force feedback and Lag-Lead compensator, the two techniques are based on force feedback and are applied in a decentralized manner. A micro-gravity parabolic flight test has been clone to test the isolator in micro-gravity environment. ln the context of this research, another hexapod has been produced ; a generic active damping and precision painting interface based on Stewart platform. This hexapod consists of two parallel plates connected to each other by six active legs configured according to the cubic architecture. Each leg consists of an amplified piezoelectric actuator, a force sensor and two flexible joints. This Stewart platform is addressed to space applications where it aims at controlling the vibrations of space structures while connecting them rigidly. The control technique used here is the decentralized integral force feedback.

Cette thèse s'inscrit dans la continuation du travail de Younes Achkire, consacré au contrôle actif des ponts haubanés. Elle traite de l'implémentation d'un système de contrôle actif sur des maquettes de structures câblées. Deux types de structures sont étudiés expérimentalement: les ponts haubanés et les treillis spatiaux. Après une brève introduction sur l'usage du contrôle actif dans ces domaines, le chapitre 2 traite numériquement des mécanismes d'interaction entre le câble et la structure. Au chapitre 3, nous présentons la stratégie de contrôle que nous utilisons pour stabiliser une structure câblée: il s'agit d'un contrôle décentralisé, basé sur des paires capteur/actionneur colocalisées, placées au niveau des ancrages des câbles, chacune équipée d'un contrôleur Intégral Force Feedback. Nous présentons une théorie linéaire simplifiée permettant de dimensionner le système et de prévoir son efficacité. Elle est illustrée sur un exemple, et nous discutons de la validité de certaines hypothèses simplificatrices. Le chapitre 4 est consacré au contrôle actif des ponts haubanés. Nous y présentons 2 maquettes. La première, de petite taille (3m) représente un pylône de pont haubané en construction. Elle est équipée d'actionneurs piézoélectriques. La seconde, installée au Centre Commun de Recherche d'Ispra (Italie), mesure 30m de long, et est équipée d'actionneurs hydrauliques. Les expériences réalisées sur ces maquettes ont démontré l'efficacité du contrôle et la fiabilité de la théorie prédictive. Le contrôle du flottement des ponts est traité sur un exemple numérique. Le chapitre 5 relate nos expériences d'amortissement actif des treillis spatiaux. Deux structures ont été étudiées: une colonne en treillis équipée de 3 câbles actifs, et une structure triédrique suspendue à des cordons élastiques pour simuler l'absence de gravité, également munie de câbles actifs. Deux concepts d'actionneur piézoélectrique ont été testés. Nous avons ensuite examiné le problème de la saturation des actionneurs, et celui du contrôle actif des microvibrations (~10nm) d'une structure câblée. Le chapitre 6 conclut ce travail, en souligne les aspects originaux et donne quelques perspectives de développement.

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Future generations of space-based telescopes will require increasingly large primary reflectors, with very tight optical-quality tolerances. However, as their size grow, it becomes more and more difficult to meet the requirements, due to the manufacturing complexity and the associated costs. Chapters 2 and 3 propose two concepts of Adaptive Optics deformable mirrors, intended to be used as secondary corrector to compensate for manufacturing errors, gravity release and thermal distortion of large lightweight primary mirrors of space telescopes: (i) A scalable segmented bimorph mirror, based on independent PZT patches glued on Silicon wafers, providing a large number of degrees of freedom, a low mass while overcoming the problem of a low resonance mode; and (ii) A monolithic bimorph mirror, controlled by an array of independent electrodes, done by laser ablation on a single PZT patch. The modelling, the control strategy and the technological aspects are described. The performances of the manufactured prototypes are demonstrated experimentally. These prototypes have been developed in the framework of the ESA project, Bimorph Adaptive Large Optical Mirror Demonstrator (BIALOM). Chapter 4 introduces alternative designs, allowing to face the thermal distortion inherent to the bimorph architecture. They are compared in terms of stroke, voltage budget and first resonance frequency. These designs are required to be controlled in both directions using only positive voltages. Finally, the last chapter explores the feasibility of the shape control of a small size active thin shell reflector (with double curvature). The prototype is intended to be a technology demonstrator of a future large and very light active primary reflector. The behavior of the shell is studied through numerical simulations, and a preliminary design is proposed. This investigation is carried out in the framework of the ESA project: Multilayer Adaptive Thin Shell Reflectors (MATS). / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur et technologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Cette thèse s'inscrit dans la continuation du travail de Younes Achkire, consacré au contrôle actif des ponts haubanés. Elle traite de l'implémentation d'un système de contrôle actif sur des maquettes de structures câblées. Deux types de structures sont étudiés expérimentalement: les ponts haubanés et les treillis spatiaux. Après une brève introduction sur l'usage du contrôle actif dans ces domaines, le chapitre 2 traite numériquement des mécanismes d'interaction entre le câble et la structure. Au chapitre 3, nous présentons la stratégie de contrôle que nous utilisons pour stabiliser une structure câblée: il s'agit d'un contrôle décentralisé, basé sur des paires capteur/actionneur colocalisées, placées au niveau des ancrages des câbles, chacune équipée d'un contrôleur Intégral Force Feedback. Nous présentons une théorie linéaire simplifiée permettant de dimensionner le système et de prévoir son efficacité. Elle est illustrée sur un exemple, et nous discutons de la validité de certaines hypothèses simplificatrices. Le chapitre 4 est consacré au contrôle actif des ponts haubanés. Nous y présentons 2 maquettes. La première, de petite taille (3m) représente un pylône de pont haubané en construction. Elle est équipée d'actionneurs piézoélectriques. La seconde, installée au Centre Commun de Recherche d'Ispra (Italie), mesure 30m de long, et est équipée d'actionneurs hydrauliques. Les expériences réalisées sur ces maquettes ont démontré l'efficacité du contrôle et la fiabilité de la théorie prédictive. Le contrôle du flottement des ponts est traité sur un exemple numérique. Le chapitre 5 relate nos expériences d'amortissement actif des treillis spatiaux. Deux structures ont été étudiées: une colonne en treillis équipée de 3 câbles actifs, et une structure triédrique suspendue à des cordons élastiques pour simuler l'absence de gravité, également munie de câbles actifs. Deux concepts d'actionneur piézoélectrique ont été testés. Nous avons ensuite examiné le problème de la saturation des actionneurs, et celui du contrôle actif des microvibrations (~10nm) d'une structure câblée. Le chapitre 6 conclut ce travail, en souligne les aspects originaux et donne quelques perspectives de développement. / Doctorat en sciences appliquées / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis proposes, validates, and compares low-complexity algorithms for the fast-and-safe charge and balance of Li-ion batteries both for the single cell case and for the case of a serially-connected string of battery cells. The proposed algorithms are based on a reduced-order electrochemical model (Equivalent Hydraulic Model, EHM), and make use of constrained-control strategies to limit the main electrochemical degradation phenomena that may accelerate aging, namely: Lithium plating in the anode and solvent oxidation inthe cathode. To avoid the computational intensiveness of solving an online optimization as in the Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework, this thesis proposes the use of Reference Governor schemes. Variants of both the Scalar Reference Governors (SRG) and the Explicit Reference Governors (ERG) are developed to deal with the non-convex admissible region for the charge of a battery cell, while keeping a low computational burden. To evaluate the performance of the proposed techniques for the single cell case, they are experimentallyvalidated on commercial Turnigy LCO cells of 160 mAh at four different constant temperatures (10, 20, 30 and 40 °C). In the second part of this thesis, the proposed charging strategies are extended to take into account the balance of a serially-connected string of cells. To equalize possible mismatches, a centralized policy based on a shunting grid (active balance) connects or disconnects the cells during the charge. After a preliminary analysis, a simple mixed-integer algorithm was proposed. Since this method is computationally inefficient due to the high number of scenarios to be evaluated, this thesis proposes a ratio-based algorithm based on a Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) approach. This approach can be used within both MPC and RG schemes. The numerical validations of the proposed algorithms for the case of a string of four battery cells are carried out using a simulator based on a full-order electrochemical model. Numerical validations show that the PWM-like approach charges in parallel all the cells within the pack, whereas the mixed-integer approach charges the battery cells sequentially from the battery cell with the lowest state of charge to the ones with the highest states of charge. On the basis of the simulations, an algorithm based on a mixed logic that allows to charge in a “sequential parallel” approach is proposed. Some conclusions and future directions of research are proposed at the end of the thesis. / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur et technologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

In this work, we investigate the active vibration isolation and damping of sensitive equipment. Several single-axis isolation techniques are analyzed and tested. A comparison between the sky-hook damper, integral force feedback, inertial velocity feedback and LagLead control techniques is conducted using several practical examples.<p><p>The study of single-axis systems has been developed and used to build a six-axis isolator. A six degrees of freedom active isolator based on Stewart platform has been designed manufactured and tested for the purpose of active vibration isolation of sensitive payloads in space applications. This six-axis hexapod is designed according to the cubic configuration; it consists of two triangular parallel plates connected to each other by six active legs orthogonal to each other; each leg consists of a voice coil actuator, a force sensor and two flexible joints. Two different control techniques have been tested to control this isolator :integral force feedback and Lag-Lead compensator, the two techniques are based on force feedback and are applied in a decentralized manner. A micro-gravity parabolic flight test has been clone to test the isolator in micro-gravity environment.<p><p>ln the context of this research, another hexapod has been produced ;a generic active damping and precision painting interface based on Stewart platform. This hexapod consists of two parallel plates connected to each other by six active legs configured according to the cubic architecture. Each leg consists of an amplified piezoelectric actuator, a force sensor and two flexible joints. This Stewart platform is addressed to space applications where it aims at controlling the vibrations of space structures while connecting them rigidly. The control technique used here is the decentralized integral force feedback.<p><p> / Doctorat en sciences appliquées / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished