Distributed Area Averaging Sensors

Vibration suppression/rejection is important for many space system attitude controls. Structural vibration of solar arrays and instrumentation booms can significantly degrade the performance of attitude control systems and reduce the accuracy of scientific instrumentations. In establishing effective attitude control, the effect of disturbance loads due to the structural vibration must be measured. An innovative approach to measuring the structural response is the use of area averaging sensors. Spatially distributed sensors constructed from an intelligent polymer film represent a viable, practical alternative for obtaining measurements for the control purpose. These sensors are lightweight, durable, highly sensitive, and they can also be shaped to provide innovative spatial filtering not obtainable with conventional sensors. This Phase I proposal will fully innovate and develop these attractive properties of area averaging sensors and apply these sensors to attitude control of space system with flexible solar arrays and instrumentation booms. Phase II will design (in detail), fabricate and test a prototype of the proposed sensor. Inexpensive area averaging sensors are ideal for a number of commercial applications, including high speed disk-head control, gust alleviation, flutter suppression, vibration suppression/isolation, and helicopter higher harmonic control. Establishing area averaging sensors as a practical and proven engineering solution would help reduce design costs while enabling higher performance.