Analysis of Man-in-the-Loop Control Systems in the Presence of Nonlinearities

Abstract

The BRL and HEL are jointly investigating the effects of system nonlinearities on the accuracy of turret control systems with human operators in the loop. The system response at very low rates (one milliradian per second and less) is degraded because of the increased relative importance of nonlinear elements such as coulomb friction, backlash, and dead space. Good low rate response is necessary for accurate tracking of long range targets with laser designators and guided missile directors. This report describes the first phase of the BRL contribution to the joint project. This phase developed a simplified simulation of a turret control with a human transfer function. There is an adaptive algorithm to adjust the coefficients of the human transfer function to account for changes in the system characteristics. Backlash, coulomb friction, and dead space are introduced and their effects on system response and loop performance are documented. The next phase will adjust the simulation to agree with the system response of a concurrent turret measurement program. It will compare the loop performance to a concurrent experiment with a real man-in-the- loop. It will relate loop performance (tracking accuracy) to system response at low rates.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1981
Accession Number
ADA102574

Entities

People

  • Irving L. Chidsey
  • Robert T. Gschwind

Organizations

  • Ballistic Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Algorithms
  • Classification
  • Closed Loop Systems
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Control Systems
  • Frequency
  • Frequency Bands
  • Friction
  • Measurement
  • Optimization
  • Security
  • Simulations
  • Transfer Functions
  • United States
  • White Noise

Readers

  • Control Systems Engineering.
  • Robotics and Automation.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Space
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers