Autonomous decentralized intelligent vibration control for large split-blanket solar arrays

Large split-blanket solar arrays are semi-rigid structures. It is difficult for this kind of structure to achieve vibration suppression. In order to solve this problem effectively, firstly, we use the finite element method to construct a dynamic model of a solar array with piezoelectric smart structure, and then we propose a new control method, namely the autonomous decentralized intelligent control to address the vibration control problem. Based on the concept of autonomous decentralized control presented in this paper, the control system can be divided into multiple autonomous subsystems. Each subsystem performs several control functions without external intervention. Numerical simulations are carried out to verify the proposed control strategy. The results indicate that this method is effective. Compared with the traditional positive position feedback control method, the attenuation time of the structural bending vibration can be reduced by half with the proposed method. Furthermore, the control system can perform well even under severe subsystem failure without external intervention.