A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DOUBLE- AND SINGLE-GIMBALED CONTROL MOMENT GYROSCOPES FOR VIBRATION SUPPRESSION

摘要

Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs) have typically been used for attitude control of satellites. This paper extends the application of CMGs to regulate vibrations in the flexible appendages of orbiting spacecraft using a novel double- and single-gimbaled CMG prototype design. System Identification and control experiments were carried out to compare the effectiveness of this new CMG to regulate lightly damped, low frequency vibrations in a single flexible rib. Experimental results conclude that the CMG can be effectively used to regulate vibrations in flexible structures and, for equivalent values of gyricity and disturbance, the double-gimbaled CMG performance can be two to three times more effective and independent of the direction of applied disturbance.