Design and Analysis of Control Laws for the Vertical Seeking Seat and the MICRAD (Microwave Radiometric) Attitude Reference System
Abstract
The Maximum Performance Ejection Seat (MPES) or Vertical Seeking Seat (VSS) escape system requires a vertical reference to provide commands for the control system. Previous tests of the MPES/VSS system performed using a strap- down vertical reference system which was initialized at the planned 'launch' attitude. Although this attitude hand-off is satisfactory for initial tests, the operational system should use an autonomous reference system such as the Microwave Radiometric (MICRAD) Attitude Reference System (MARS). One problem with using MARS to provide error signals to the VSS control system is that the MARS outputs vary significantly depending on whether the local earth's surface is land or water. This variation changes the control system gain resulting in degraded performance. As a result, efforts were initiated to develop alternatives and/or improvements to control laws studied previously at the Naval Weapons Center. An alternate control law was developed and evaluated using a digital simulation. Results indicated that this control law provided good performance and adequately compensated for variations in the MARS outputs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 04, 1980
- Accession Number
- ADA162036