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Innovative Methods for Optimally Mixing a Diverse Suite of Control Effectors…

Award Information

Agency:
Department of Defense 		Branch:
Navy 		Award ID:
69979 		Program Year/Program:
2004 / SBIR
Agency Tracking Number:
N041-033-1358 		Solicitation Year:
N/A 		Solicitation Topic Code:
N/A 		Solicitation Number:
N/A
Small Business Information
Barron Associates, Inc.
1410 Sachem Place CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA -
View profile »
Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No
 
Phase 1
Fiscal Year: 2004
Title: Innovative Methods for Optimally Mixing a Diverse Suite of Control Effectors for Marine Vehicles
Agency / Branch: DOD / NAVY
Contract: N00024-04-C-4162
Award Amount: $69,137.00
 

Abstract:

As the Navy expands its presence in shallow coastal waters, new technologies are required to address the precise and aggressive maneuvering desirable for many littoral mission scenarios. This translates directly to higher performance requirements for a ship's guidance, navigation, and control system. Current generation control systems for marine applications are characterized by independent control loops designed to use a specific effector/actuator set to achieve maneuvering in a single axis. The aggressive maneuvering required in littoral regions can violate axis- and frequency-separation assumptions inherent in the baseline controller, resulting in cross coupling, undesirable handling qualities, and, in extreme cases, instability. This proposal presents a novel control system architecture to optimally mix the diverse complement of control effectors/actuators available on marine vehicles. The challenges associated with mixing such a diverse set of effectors are addressed through a combination of model predictive control and control allocation techniques developed for aerospace applications. In this approach, commands are found that effectively blend actuators with very different bandwidths while minimizing any cross coupling effects typically seen during aggressive multi-axis maneuvering.

Principal Investigator:

Alec J. Bateman
Research Scientist
4349731215
bateman@barron-associates.com

Business Contact:

David G. Ward
President
4349731215
barron@barron-associates.com
Small Business Information at Submission:

BARRON ASSOC., INC.
1160 Pepsi Place, Suite 300 Charlottesville, VA 22901

EIN/Tax ID: 541243694
DUNS: N/A
Number of Employees:
Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No