A Physics-Guided Coordinated Distributed MPC Method for Shape Control of an Antenna Reflector

Area of Science:

• Aerospace Engineering
• Control Systems
• Structural Mechanics

Background:

• Space environments pose significant challenges to antenna reflector shape accuracy.
• Active shape control is crucial for maintaining reflector performance in orbit.
• Existing control methods may struggle with complex dynamics and input constraints.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel physics-guided distributed model predictive control (DMPC) framework for antenna reflector shape control.
• To address the issue of input saturation within the control system.
• To validate the effectiveness of the proposed DMPC approach through experimental testing.

Main Methods:

• A substructuring technique decomposes the reflector into multilevel subsystems.
• Each subsystem utilizes a prediction model discretized via the explicit Newmark-β method.
• A coordinator is designed iteratively to enhance system-wide control performance.
• Input saturation is managed by transforming the problem into a linear complementarity problem (LCP).

Main Results:

• The proposed DMPC framework effectively controls the antenna reflector's shape.
• The method successfully handles input saturation constraints.
• Experimental validation confirms the algorithm's performance and robustness.
• The physics-guided approach ensures accurate modeling of structural dynamics.

Conclusions:

• The developed physics-guided DMPC framework offers a robust solution for active antenna reflector shape control.
• The substructuring and iterative coordination effectively manage complex system dynamics.
• The LCP formulation provides an efficient way to handle input saturation.
• This approach is experimentally validated and suitable for real-world space applications.