Optimization of a Nutation Damper Attached to a Spin-Stabilized Satellite

摘要

This study uses linearized equations of motion for a rigid body with an attachedspring-mass-damper to maximize the decay rate of a satellite's coning motion. An analysis of the numerical eigenvalues is presented which leads to an optimal relationship between relevant parameters: damper placement, spring constant, damping coefficient, system moments of inertia, and damper mass fraction. The coupled system's eigenvalues do not provide truly critical damping, thus the real eigenvalue parts are minimized in order to achieve damping which requires the minimum amount of time. A comparison between this optimal design method and a classical method concludes a noticeable improvement in damping performance for optimized systems.